Cat Fight - I guess some of these folk feel it should be (or is) illegal for you to walk your dog in a manner such that they step on anyone else’s private property.
I remember 20-some years ago, soon after I had moved into my first house. I was walking my dog and he was taking a leak on a lawn 3 doors down from me. A guy whom I had not yet met came out of his front door hollering, “What is THAT?!” Thinking it a trick question, I responded somewhat querolously, “A dog urinating?” I thought (and still think) the guy was being a dick - and I’m sure he thought the same of me. But thereafter I made sure my dog didn’t piss or shit on that jerk’s lawn. (Well, at least when it was light enough out for the guy to see!)
Out of daily dog walks in residential areas over 20-some years, that’s the only complaint I’ve heard about my dog pissing.
I’m all for making it explicitly legal when it comes to unfenced front yards, but any country that has any sort of claim towards allowing private property will have this defacto illegal
In my own experience, I’ve got a couple things working against me: I have no strip of grass between sidewalk and street, and I’ve got multiple blocks between me and the nearest stretch of public grass.
My dog gets the “leave it” command, but if he can’t help it and has to go, what am I to do? Stop walking him ever again in fear of trespassing in case of urgency?
I get that there are dicks who let their dogs do whatever, but why do I get a big serving of ire when I walk with a cleanup bag clearly visible AND a flashlight if it’s nighttime? I’M the good guy! I’M the one that’s trying to put a good face on dog walking and owner responsibility. (yes, I’m the one that even uses a flashlight and cleans up poop in the dark with a bag on a public piece of grass- I’m a good citizen, dammit!)
My main reason for bringing all of this up and also trying to get to the bottom of what all the debate is (because there is only a “clean up your dog’s poop on other people’s property” law in my city’s municipal code): I’ve just started a dog-walking business (30 minute and 60 minute fitness walks) and to be honest, I’m petrified at the experiences I’m going to have with these dogs. Because they’re not my dogs, in neighborhoods that aren’t my own, and I’ve got to figure out how I’m supposed to make this happen, reasonably, without getting screamed at. It’s definitely reasonable that dogs need exercise, it’s reasonable that I’ve started a business to help people achieve that. But if I’m in the middle of house city and the dog in my care has GOT to take a dump, and I clean it up, and I still get screamed at: is that reasonable?
I just wish I knew which way it’s gotta be. Maybe that’s too much to ask
An urban legend says that sales of Toostsie Roll chocolate candy have picked up, because of a trick some dog owners use. A Tootsie Roll in a zippy bag, held in the leash hand, will create the illusion the the dog owner is a good citizen, who has picked up after the dog. Only the owner of the lawn where the dog actually craps is onto the ruse. It doesn’t work for owners of big dogs that put out kielbasa-sized poop. :dubious:
As for my own opinion, I’m staying out of this round of the frequent dog-poo-in-the-yard dance. It’s going smoothly without me.
Trust me, I’m not even sure why I’m putting myself through this. It’s like a question without an answer. Well really it’s a question with a million very different answers.
We don’t have a strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street in my neighborhood ,either. The law here requires that dog owners not only clean up the poop, but also “curb their dog”, that is, have the dog pee or poop in the street (and then clean up the poop) rather than on the sidewalk or in my front yard. I don’t really understand how people who were able to housebreak a dog can’t also train the dog to use the gutter ( where people don’t garden and children don’t usually play).
My guess is the reason you’re getting the ire is actually not completely due to the dog peeing/pooping. I get annoyed at people who let their dogs pee or poop in my front garden, but I also get annoyed at the delivery people who walk through it and the children who play in it and I’d get annoyed if you and a friend were standing in it talking. It’s very clearly private property and separated from the sidewalk-you have to walk up a few steps to get to it. I presume you wouldn’t feel free to let your dog use my backyard ( although one of my neighbors has). Why would my front yard be different?
They could make it a Federal offense punishable by eating the evidence and it wouldn’t make a wit of difference. There isn’t anyone who will enforce it. Seriously, you can’t get a policeman to come out and investigate a stolen car stereo.
Go to your local warehouse club and buy an industrial can of cayenne pepper. Refresh the area as needed.
Well, your best bet will probably be to keep the dogs off other people’s private property as much as possible (ideally, to keep them off other people’s private property entirely). Can you start your walks with a few minutes’ strolling around the owner’s property, to encourage the dogs in the habit of doing their business there before you take them out onto the streets?
And then perhaps you could keep the dog moving briskly along (it’s supposed to be a fitness walk, after all) with some designated pauses on your route at sites where it’s okay for the dog to take a pee or poop stop, like a dog park or some waste ground or a telephone pole, etc. IME most dogs can learn to recognize the preferred “places to go”, with a little encouragement and reinforcement.
If the dog does trespass onto someone else’s property for a bathroom break before you can stop it—well, I’d say just clean up the poop if there is any, move on, try to keep it from happening again, but don’t subject yourself to agonies of guilt and remorse. If an irate property-owner spots it happening and screams at you (or even expresses mild displeasure), apologize politely and assure him/her that you hadn’t meant to let the dog trespass, that you’re always very careful about trying to keep the dogs off of private property, and you’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Yes, you have a fine line to walk between the fact that many property owners don’t like to have trespassing dogs excreting bodily wastes on their private property, and the fact that dogs don’t understand the concept of private property and want to go when they gotta go. But politeness, respect, and good-faith efforts on your part will go a long way towards preventing and/or mitigating friction. Good luck in your new business!
This may be the correct literal interpretation of the phrase “Curb your dog”, but it is not in fact what the phrase means nowadays in ordinary use.
The most common meaning of “Curb your dog” as now used is “Pick up and dispose of your dog’s poop instead of leaving it on the ground”. It is also frequently used to mean “Don’t let your dog urinate or defecate on other people’s property”.
Some examples:
Any “strict constructionist” dog owners who think they have carte blanche to let their dogs pee or poop anywhere they like (and/or not clean up the poop afterwards), just because the word “curb” literally only means “restrain”, are living in a fool’s paradise. They will soon have irate neighbors loudly explaining to them what the phrase “curb your dog” means in current usage.
Kimstu, I never claimed carte blanche to do anything, and am well aware of what local pooper scooper ordinances often say.
But people seem to think that an ordinance that requires owners to curb their dogs has something to do with a concrete curb, or delineates where a pet may be walked. That is not the case, even if you are able to cite a blog or two where someone mis-uses the term (in each case, fairly vaguely).
You seem to be claiming that there is some universal present-day understanding of what the term means. Please explain – where may a dog be walked, if a local ordinance requires that he be “curbed”?
E.g., on sidewalks, in parks, and on all other public property where dogs are allowed (assuming he is properly cleaned up after).
Are there really people out there who think that the phrase “curb your dog” means dogs aren’t allowed to walk on the sidewalk?
The only thing I can think of that could possibly give rise to such a misinterpretation is the original 1938 “Curb Your Dog” ordinance in New York City that was widely taken to mean that dogs should be kept off the sidewalk when defecating. But that was amended to the “pooper scooper” mandate way back in the 1970’s:
First of all, I love animals. Doesn’t matter big or small. My heart is aching when I see animal in distress. I do what I can to save them. I do belong to ASPCA and participate with No-Kill shelters. However, this time I am drawing the line when I say-ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Here are my thoughts on the subject. Dog owners, do you realize that SOME OF YOU are being an extremely inconsiderate? For instance, there are places where apartments are facing the street and people are smelling the stench of urine all day long? We have buildings were disabled, senior citizens and young children live and they smell dog urine. People cannot open windows to ventilate their apartments because instead of getting fresh air in they get the smell of urine and feces. Have I also mentioned, the sidewalk is decomposing from the urine? I see a proud dog owners letting their fur-babies urinate right down below the apartment window. Dogs can’t think, but you must where you let your dogs relieve themselves. Those are not designated areas for your dogs to relieve themselves. this is preposterous! This poses a health hazard. Have I also mentioned that rodents are attracted to the smell of urine? Being an animal lovers you supposed to be kind and considerate. Our neighbors are washing the pavement with a bleach every morning. Do you understand that this is a very bad situation? Put yourself in their shoes. Would you like if someone would be constantly urinating and defecating near your windows? Would you like to wash pavement with bleach every single day and still smell urine? Ask yourself these questions and you shall find an answer. Please, get your fur babies to relieve themselves away from the streets where people live(especially those of who live on the first floor). As an animal lovers, you should be kind and considerate! This also means that you should be emphatic toward other people. If you would like to ask me where should your dog has to relieve itself? I say- AWAY from the apartment complexes. You , obviously love to live in a clean environment. I bet you love when you open window and you smell a fresh air. Right? So, what makes you think that others should smell the urine? Otherwise, walk with your dog and carry a pile of water mixed with bleach and start washing. Clean after your dog. Please, do not make other people lives miserable.
One more point- See the feces can dry up and overtime the smell is diminishing, but the urine stays there and it smells forever. Have I also mentioned that rodents (i.e. rats and mice) are attracted to the smell of urine? Thus, this situation can create a rodent infestation. How about different insects swirling around the body fluids (i.e. flies and cockroaches)? What about people who walk on the sidewalk and carry urine and feces on their shoes and get them further all around the street and into their houses? Who knows what kind of disease the dog can carry or be a carrier. Some of us have pets at home and we don’t want them to get sick from the body fluid that came via the air. DISGUSTING!
Does the law punish the act of the owner allowing his dog to relieve itself, or rather, punish failure to clean up afterwards?
I think a law punishing the latter would make far more sense.
