Dog walking etiquette

[RowdyDogs]

Originally Posted by Angelina03

How?

I've had success just not allowing it. My dog lifts his leg, I know he doesn't have a full bladder, we keep walking. Couple of drops might come out at first but eventually he'll learn.

A more involved method of training is teaching them that being on leash=total focus on you. This is done by a combination of rewarding the dog for focusing on you, and making him do so (through directional changes whenever he gets distracted, that sort of thing). This is more reliable in the end, but it takes some time of looking silly as you constantly backtrack/walk in circles when you take your dog out.

Like always, this is dependent on you making sure your dog's biological needs are met at home. If you walk him first thing after you get home from 8 hours at work or first thing in the morning or 10 minutes after you feed him, that's not going to work. He needs to have ample opportunity to relieve himself at home before you walk him, so that his actual need to go is a fluke, not an expected thing.

[Lilie]

Originally Posted by RowdyDogs

But I also don't think it's wrong to let your dogs relieve themselves in people's yards (unless you don't pick up the poop!), and for some people that's really the only option--those without fences who prefer to walk their dogs, or people in apartments, etc. Having the occasional dog pee on your tree is just part of home ownership.

Allowing your dog to relieve themselves in other people's yards is rude.

I live in a rural area. I have live stock. If I see a dog on my property (fence or no fence), my first responsibility is to defend my livestock as well as any and all domestic animals in my care. I have the legal right. If that is the chance you are willing to take because you feel you have the right to allow your dog to relieve itself on my property...go for it.

[Caledon]

I take my dog outside to go before our walks. Sometimes she has to go again. I can't control everything. I do allow her to go on the grass between the sidewalk and the road.

I don't consider that rude.

What is rude is if my neighbour brought their dog to pee in front of my house vs in front of their house. People we know will not allow their dog to go in their back yard. They walk him down the street to the park and allows him it go there. I'm sure he does not make it that far all the time

[Lilie]

Originally Posted by Caledon

I take my dog outside to go before our walks. Sometimes she has to go again. I can't control everything. I do allow her to go on the grass between the sidewalk and the road.

I don't consider that rude.

What is rude is if my neighbour brought their dog to pee in front of my house vs in front of their house. People we know will not allow their dog to go in their back yard. They walk him down the street to the park and allows him it go there. I'm sure he does not make it that far all the time

True. We have deep ditches in front of our houses in my neighborhood. Folks who walk their dogs on leash allow their dogs to go along the road and the ditch. They don't normally pick it up. It ticks me off, because I have to mow & weed eat that ditch. So I have to deal with their poop. But - I don't say anything to them because that ditch is county property. I just maintain it.

But the folks who don't have their dog on a leash - or utilize a retractable leash and allow their dogs to run up into our yards to do their business is pushing the envelope in my opinion. Plus it sets my dogs off if they see another dog on our property.

[RowdyDogs]

Originally Posted by Lilie

Allowing your dog to relieve themselves in other people's yards is rude.

I live in a rural area. I have live stock. If I see a dog on my property (fence or no fence), my first responsibility is to defend my livestock as well as any and all domestic animals in my care. I have the legal right. If that is the chance you are willing to take because you feel you have the right to allow your dog to relieve itself on my property...go for it.

I also live in a rural area and have livestock, and I have actually shot loose dogs on my property (I try to avoid it, but my animals come first--I'm just trying to illustrate that I know where you're coming from). Again, I'm talking about someone walking in a legal public area (on a sidewalk or in the street) and the leashed dog going right at the edge of the property. Male dogs can manage to pee on people's property without ever setting foot on it, you know?

I already stated that if the dog is actually roaming more than an inch or so onto the yard, or just wandering loose, or whatever, then yes, that is a big problem. But I'm honestly surprised that so many people have a problem with a dog relieving itself right at the edge of the property, as long as the feces is cleaned up. And as has been said, where the OP's dog was peeing isn't even technically the homeowner's property in most areas--the homeowner might maintain it, but it belongs to the city.

I mean, if someone asked me to be sure I didn't ever let my dogs relieve themselves at the very edge of the property or in that area between the sidewalk and the street, I would make sure to do so out of courtesy for their wishes. I just think it's an unreasonable expectation to have as a homeowner.

And again, this may be a bit of a culture thing--for the first few years I owned dogs, I was in an apartment about 3 miles from the nearest park. I really had no option but to let my dogs relieve themselves on people's yards, and because there were a lot of apartment dogs in that area, it was pretty much expected. I've even stood and chatted with homeowners as my dog peed on their bushes or whatever and no one ever had a problem with it.

[Questforfire]

I live in the UK and very rurally, so don't tend to have a problem with dogs (loose or otherwise) relieving themselves on or around my property.

I don't think you are doing anything wrong in allowing your dog to relieve himself, so long as if he poops you scoop it.

To avoid any confrontation with your neighbour though I would probably just cross the street, or go a different way in future.

[TrentL]

We try REALLY hard to make sure that Draven does his Business in our yard, I will let him pee as we walk on the nature trail, but this stopping to mark everything we pass meh not so much.

[lennoxbradley88]

Ha, this reminds me when a little girl was walking her little pitbull puppy and the pup decided to take a dump on our front lawn and the little girl didn't pick it up right away. NEVER have I seen my dad get up from his chair that fast to run out side Then he bluntly asked, "Aren't you going to pick that s**t up?" I felt bad for the little girl, but it's only obvious you have to pick up after your dog

Anyways, I am lucky that Schatzi hardly goes outside. She prefers to hold it till we get home. I hope my male malamute (cudi) is the same. I hate when dogs mark and I definetly not let cudi do that.

[Smith3]

If I am out on a walk with my dog - I usually try to get it to go before we start walking. We don't stop long enough for any marking to occur.

But, if we are walking on a sidewalk and she is on a 6' leash (of which she has little slack) and she goes, so be it. I'll pickup the poop and of course - ignore the pee. If she #1's or #2's on the 1'-2' space around a sidewalk - hey guess what IT HAPPENS.

"Rude" to allow it, please. That is crazy talk.

[arycrest]

Originally Posted by huntergreen

in most places that i am aware of, that grass and tree belongs to the town, not the owner of the house.
...

I'm under the same impression that in many juristictions the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the road belongs to some type of governmental jurisdiction. BUT since the neighbor got her nose out of joint, I wouldn't go across the street, but would make the dog walk past her yard before allowing him to pee.