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Dog walking etiquette

6K views 54 replies 29 participants last post by  marshies 
#1 ·
I feel frustrated and upset. Rocco likes to pee and poop when I walk him. I always keep him off people's actual yard. I allow him to go on the grassy area between the sidewalk and the street. When he poops, I always pick up his poop (I carry doggy poop bags). But when he pees, usually more like "marking", there is nothing I can do (I can't pick it up). So, I thought I was doing everything right. This morning, my neighbor yelled at me because Rocco peed on the palm tree that is in the grassy area between the sidewalk and the street. Now, I feel like I have to cross the street everytime I walk him so that he won't go in front of her house. Am I doing something wrong by allowing him to pee? I can't stop him from peeing or pooping if he needs to...
 
#2 ·
No, you're not doing anything wrong by letting him pee. The only time I try to prevent my dogs from peeing is if it's on like a white fence or a statue or something--and even then, I think it's sort of expected by reasonable people that if you've got something on the edge of your yard, dogs might pee on it. Your neighbor might also have a point if you had your dog on a long leash or off leash and were letting him pee way up by the house, but a tree by the sidewalk is fair game.

I think your neighbor sounds like a nut. I might cross the street anyway just to not have to deal with drama, but I don't think you should feel guilty for your dog peeing on a tree.
 
#30 ·
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.
 
#5 ·
I actually agree with you WD, my dogs generally don't relieve themselves on walks unless we're out for a really long time, and I don't like marking when we're walking. 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.
 
#15 ·
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.
No, that isn't correct. It is rude to allow your pet to pee or poop on someone else's property. Even if you pick it up, it kills the grass. Once your dog goes, every other dog will go in the same spot. And that kills the grass, plant, tree, bush etc.

Not to mention if your pet is up on the homeowners property, and that homeowner has a pet, you are causing a reaction for homeowners dog.

I have a wooden fence along the front of my property. It isn't dog proof. Certainly doesn't mean I'm inviting the neighbor's dogs over for a poop party. In fact, if a dog is on my property, they are going to be shot with rat shot...for the first offense.
 
#6 ·
Personally, I don't like seeing male dogs mark every single post, etc. on a walk. There are a LOT of dogs in my neighbourhood, and there's about 15 telephone posts that freaking REEK in the summer time (when the humidity comes full force) ... and they reek of dog pee.

It's up to the owner of the dog as to where they are going to let their dog (NOT PUPPY) pee.

I've NEVER let Ky pee in the middle of the sidewalk. I think it's gross ... I wouldn't want to walk through, why should I expect a stranger to walk through it?

When she was a puppy we kept to parks, grassy areas or the backyard ... and yes, I always pick up her poop too.

To the OP ... your neighbour's not really being very "friendly" about it. I don't like it, but I certainly wouldn't walk up to someone and tell them that their dog shouldn't be peeing there. And I'm not a shy person, and WOULD walk up to someone if their dog pooped and they had no intention of picking it up!
 
#7 ·
If every dog that walks by pees on a bush, which is not uncommon, it could kill it. I have seen it happen in my neighborhood, so I keep my dogs away from shrubs. Now trees, I think they are hardier, with one exception, Arborvitea. My own Arborvitea have suffered from the boys peeing on it. So I try to curtail "pee-mail" from my dogs during walks.
 
#8 ·
You absolutely can keep him from peeing/pooping. Should you have to - well, that could be an entirely different debate.

Personally speaking, I am NOT interested in lugging home bags of poop and I know my dogs routines, so I put them out in the backyard to poop if it's their normal poop time, then walk.

Technically, here, the grassy area between the sidewalk and streets does belong to the city. But people maintain it like it's their own, so I would respect it as their own property unless you want bad neighbor relations (which you don't). So in this case, I would give the dog a little pop on the leash to keep moving while in front of that house, and continue on to the next one.

I have two males and both would mark regularly if given the opportunity, but don't mark unless I let them stop and sniff. I definitely don't let them pee on nice flowers, bushes, mailboxes, etc. I wouldn't have worried about a tree either, as in your case, but clearly the homeowner is concerned about the tree for whatever reason. So make your life and hers less stress free, and don't let your dog pee on her property.
 
#9 ·
I agree with what you're doing, though maybe let him mark once or twice and then stop it. I allow Nikon to mark until he's had the chance to "go" but not just keep marking after that. My dogs walk on the sidewalk and if they have to potty, they go on the grass by the street. I don't let them walk on lawns.
 
#10 ·
OK. I feel a bit better now. I have to walk Rocco. We have a yard but it is not enough outlet for him. It's not like a big piece of land. If I had that, I wouldn't walk him either. Now, I know that I am courteous. I don't allow him on others "actual" yard and I pick up his poop. I also don't allow him to mark cement or mailboxes. And, the area is public. But, like you said, Rerun, some people maintain it as their own. I'm fine with that. I understand if they wouldn't like it and I can respect that. I just got upset at "how" she expressed it. She's always been nice and friendly to me; and this morning she was a real b****. I guess I'll just cross the street from now on.
 
#11 ·
Consider that he may have been peeing on it regularly and she's getting more and more frustrated, had a bad day, and all the frustration came out at once. Not polite or neighborly on her part.

I wouldn't cross the street. I'd just give him a leash pop and tell him to keep moving. He needs to learn he can't pee on whatever he wants to pee on anyway. Now is as good a time as any. :)
 
#12 ·
Your shouldn't feel bad at all. Some people are just nuts I was walking Chief just walking he wasn't peeing and had not pooped yet and walked by this ladieshouse and she came out screaming at me that I need to pick my dogs poop up and not leave it in peoples yard. I showed her my bag and said I will pick it up once he poops, but thanks. She went grumbling into her house peeking out the window.
 
#13 ·
I use to make Link go poop in our yard before we went on a walk, but sometimes he needs to go pee and poo more than once, and I never know. Plus I don't always have the time to wait around, so now he often goes in people's yards, though I try not to encourage it and I treat him when he goes in our yard.
I always pick up the poop, no matter where it is ASAP.
As for peeing, he can go on any lawn anywhere, I don't see the problem.


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#14 ·
I would never let them poop in someones yard, even with the excuse of "I'll pick it up". We all know that you can't always leave it clean. But I also would not like another dog to poop on my lawn even when the owner picks it up. The city grassy area next to the sidewalk is another issue.
Thank goodness we live on property so we don't have to deal with this stuff but if I lived in town and had a lawn I'd fence it to avoid the issues with other dog owners.
 
#17 ·
Dogs poop. Yes you should pick it up so no one steps on it. Horses poop -- no one picks that up. Deer poop, no one picks that crap up either, but you should pick up the dog poop.

Urine, I am sorry, but if your dog goes on someone's treelawn or tree, fine. I think it is unrealistic to try to keep only domestic dogs from peeing on a tree. A skunk can spray the tree, squirrels poop on it, cats will spray on it. Big hairy deal if your dog adds a little of his own DNA to the multitude of flavors the tree carries.

I knew a lady who bought a piece of property in an area goverened by a home-owner's association. She bought the property knowing that it was zoned agricultural. She should have known all the rules, but she did not. The property was large that she had, but the road was private. So when she built a building on her property that she could hold some dog-training classes in, they took her to court. So now she has a beautiful dog-training building, built large enough that she could actually hold dog shows there, and she can do nothing with it.

I told her what I would do. I would go to the nearest biker bar and make friends with 50-60 Harley Davidson enthusiasts, and then I would host parties in and about that building from April through October, every weekend.

Actually, I never would, but it is fun to think about. Sometimes when I hear about neighbors being ridiculous, I do wish there was a way you could let them know that you aren't the worst thing that happened to your block.
 
#19 ·
I always give my dogs time to relieve themselves in our yard before we walk, but sometimes you just can't help it. As long as you're picking up the solid waste and not allowing the dog to pee on any "personal" items of your neighbors, then I don't see a problem with it.
If he's "marking" and that's something you don't like, you could always train him not to do that.
 
#20 ·
I always give my dogs time to relieve themselves in our yard before we walk, but sometimes you just can't help it. As long as you're picking up the solid waste and not allowing the dog to pee on any "personal" items of your neighbors, then I don't see a problem with it.
If he's "marking" and that's something you don't like, you could always train him not to do that.
How?
 
#23 ·
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
 
#24 ·
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.
 
#26 ·
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.
 
#28 ·
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 :rofl::rofl: 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.
 
#29 ·
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.
 
#31 ·
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.
I don't believe anybody is saying that it's rude to allow your dog to potty on public property (the space between the sidewalk and the road).

Allowing your dog to go on someone else's personal property is rude. I suppose I'm just plain crazy that way. Maybe because I'm from down south where 'it happens' doesn't excuse rudeness.
 
#32 ·
I live in the country. We have a ditch. Motorists who live in residential areas, roll their windows down and shove their fast food wrappers and cans out their windows into my ditch. It sucks. Because I have to mow the ditch and clean up that crap. They would never do that in their villages.

I drive my dogs to the village to walk them. I pick up poop. But I don't feel any qualms about letting them pee anywhere they want. And if the poop in someone's yard, I pick it up, but I really don't worry too much about the fact that they did poop in the yard. There are a lot of things pooping that no one cleans up. The fact that a dog did, and its person picked it up, is not the end of the world.

I would have taken the comment as hostile. And I might have told the person to get a life. As for the dad who swore at the little girl, well, what a big hero he is. I wonder if he would have done the same if the pit bull owner was a young man, maybe a black man, I wonder if he would have been as quick off his couch and as free with his tongue.
 
#33 ·
The exact same situation that the OP went thru, happened to me. And I did avoid that house after that. I have always picked up after my dog and do potty him first in the backyard but sometimes it happens. I can understand how the OP feels as the lady also hollered even before my dog was done and I did have the bag in my hand. I did nicely tell that I was going to pick it up but she was on a rant. After I finished the cleanup, and she was still going on, I did quietly remind her that I was obeying the city ordinance. I don't mind if people's dogs go in my front yard (the back is fenced) as long as they pick it up. If I see someone who doesn't, like the other day I was driving by the park and a lady had let her lab poop and she was walking away. Well, I stopped and she came over ( it helped my dog was in the back seat) and handed her a mutt mitt - saying "oh, I see you need one" and told her are much better they work than plastic grocery bags. She thanked me and did go back and pick it up.
 
#52 · (Edited)
^^I really don't have a problem with people asking others to keep their dogs completely away from the lawn, not pee on it or on certain plants, etc. But I think that a bit of kindness goes a long way, at least as a first impression. I had a neighbor who was the same way except with loose dogs, and not without reason--this was a really rural area where a lot of people let their dogs roam. The first time he saw me out with my dogs, he called to me that if my dogs were ever on his property, he'd call animal control and they'd be picked up, really aggressive about it. I felt really uncomfortable and unwelcome.

Well I lived there for years and got to know him and he turned out to be a nice guy, and as I said I understand--I had 6 dogs at the time, and in an area with a lot of irresponsible dog owners, I'd be nervous too if someone with that many dogs moved in next door. ;) But I felt like we would have had a much friendlier relationship if he'd just been a bit less aggressive about it. I've had to deal with irresponsible dog-owning neighbors too and so I know how annoying it can be, but I've found that 4 times out of 5, a nice talk fixes the problem--then if it doesn't I'll escalate.

JMO, of course. I'll respect their wishes either way, I just like 'em better if they're nice about it. ;)

If I see someone who doesn't, like the other day I was driving by the park and a lady had let her lab poop and she was walking away. Well, I stopped and she came over ( it helped my dog was in the back seat) and handed her a mutt mitt - saying "oh, I see you need one" and told her are much better they work than plastic grocery bags. She thanked me and did go back and pick it up.
Good for you! I'm the same way...I figure it's my business even if it's not my property, because people who don't clean up after their dogs make it bad for all of us!

I actually just moved in with my boyfriend in a town (rather than way out in the middle of nowhere where I used to live), and for the first couple of weeks I was really bad about remembering to bring bags with. I would have actually been grateful if you'd stopped like that for me, and maybe the following story will illustrate why...

So it wasn't usually a problem because I also try to make it so my dogs don't have to on walks, but once I was caught out on a walk without a bag when, shall we say, a deposit was made. :blush: No one was around and it was after dark so I finished my walk and went home...then drove back to pick it up, LOL. The homeowner saw me (it took me a moment to find the pile) and came out all, "What the heck are you doing?" obviously suspicious about someone hunting around in his yard with a flashlight at like 9 PM. I explained and he started cracking up and thanked me for doing it. He was like, "You could have just knocked on the door, I would have given you a bag." He even tossed it out for me so I didn't have to drive home with the bag.

Now I've gotten those little bag dispensers for all my leashes so it isn't a big deal, but that was pretty darn funny. The guy lives just like a block away from me too and is retired and does a lot of yard work, so we see him a lot and now we always stop to chat.

So there is like the one story in the history of civilization where dog poop actually improved relations between neighbors. ;)
 
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