We’ve recently adopted a dog and now get to do the whole walkies thing. We live in a suburban neighborhood with no sidewalks, which means we don’t have the nice strip of “no man’s land” between sidewalk and street that’s generally considered fair game for dogs. My feeling on it is, the dog is going to need to go, and it’s gonna have to be in somebody’s yard, because there’s no place else. I only allow him to travel about a foot or two into the yard, and if he poops, I have baggies to pick it up, which is what I’m OK with other people’s dogs doing in my yard. I wouldn’t want them going in the middle, but at the edge is OK.
I’m still a little concerned about people getting upset at my dog peeing or pooping in their yard, though. Thoughts? Anybody dealt with this, and how did you handle it?
This subject was brought up in a Pit thread (it was a bit of a tanget–the original subject was leaving poop and/or litter in parks, not private property.)
I don’t think a person who complains about picked-up-poop is exactly an ass, but I do think there are more important things to get all het up about.
A couple weeks ago, I was told to get off a guy’s property after my dog peed (at the outer edge, basically between two properties). We had words but of course I moved along.
Where we live (in an urban setting, many dog owners, some areas of no sidewalks) people just don’t get too excited about dogs going as long as you clean up. I’ve lived here 23 years and that guy was a first.
It’s the inconsiderate dog owners who ruin everything.
This is what I do:
I have an established area in my yard for my dogs to go. I have them go there first, before the walk.
We stay on the outer edges.
I don’t let the male dog go on anybody’s shrubs.
I always have poop bags.
This might sound gross but I will often clean up poop that does not belong to my dogs. Sort of for karma I guess.
As long as you pick up and keep them to the edge of the yard, I think that’s fine. That’s what we always do and no one where we’ve lived has had a problem with it. I also keep my pups out of any landscaping at the ends of driveways and I don’t let them pee on mailbox posts.
I don’t think most people realize that the last few feet of land next to the street usually belongs to whatever government entity maintains the roads - so it’s not private property anyway (though most municipalities will compel homeowners to keep that area mowed, free of debris, etc.).
Pick the feces up right then and there and don’t let it urinate on any plants, trees, shrubbery, decorative rocks, mail boxes, etc., and there should be few valid complaints as long as it remains leashed and not trespassing on another’s property.
“Trespassing on another’s property” seems to be the issue in question.
When is somebody trespassing? Bull reamed me out in the Pit for letting my dog pee in the very manner that he describes above.
I have been told that, if there is no sidewalk, the area nearest the street is public domain, but I dunno for sure about that. Regardless, I’ve only had the one complaint, and I think maybe the guy thought I was letting my dog poop w/o picking it up.