Dog walking etiquette

[Mary Beth]

I have both a boulevard it's called here (grass between sidewalk & street) and my backyard borders the alley. And I have to keep those areas maintained. Dog pee won't harm the tough old cottonwood tree on the boulevard nor the weeds in my front lawn, and I do let my dog mark in his front yard before I take him for a walk. But the neighbors who lived next to me when I first moved in had a prize winning lawn. Well, the first words they said to me when they saw I had a dog was "if you let your dog poop/pee in our yard or on the bouvelard or on the strip by the alley we will report you". They went on to say that neighbors on the corner had according to them, trained their lab to poop/pee in this owners's alley strip. It got really bad and they finally called the police. Though I understand their frustration, it made me feel very unwelcome, and I always avoided them after that. So I can understand the op's frustration and hurt.

[RowdyDogs]

^^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.

Originally Posted by Mary Beth

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. 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.

[martinaa]

My understanding is that here in the US there are two primary ways this works out. Either the homeowner owns the property all the way to the street and the public has a 'right of way' for a strip alongside the road OR alternatively that strip is actually owned by the public via the city, county, or other local governmental unit. The end result is the same - there is a strip of property running adjacent to the road that the public has the right to use in any manner that is not illegal. Usually there is an ordinance requiring the removal of solid waste a domestic animal leaves behind so it would be illegal to not pick that up. On the flip side, allowing your domestic animal to cross that 'right of way' line onto their private property is trespassing even if no damage is done. Killing plants (even weeds) on private property is damaging someone elses property, regardless of whether you or I place any value on those plants.

Etiquette is much more nuanced and can change based on different circumstances and even different localities.

I train my dogs to do their thing in a specific place in my backyard because I'd prefer not to carry their waste around, I don't like to stop and juggle leashes while cleaning up, and I appreciate having good relations with my neighbors. I can depart my home in 5 different directions and I use them all, diverging as much as possible as quickly as possible, in order to keep our walks different and interesting. This also helps spread the love around whenever they do need another bathroom stop. So it isn't focused on a favorite tree for example. I do prevent them from going on any landscaping on the public land simply out of courtesy. Sure the homeowner is taking their chances investing time and effort planting things there; but there are plenty of other places to go and I wouldn't want to have to dig through urine soaked dirt to split my bulbs for example. A simple "not there" tells my boys they can read the peemail but they can't reply.

I rarely get the stink eye from a property owner, but if I do I just smile and wave knowing I'm well within the law and and being more considerate then the average dog walker in my city. They nearly always just give an embarassed wave back. The only time anyone accosted me I gave a brief summary of the points above, explained that he was an unneighborly **** (this was because he wasn't listening), and then told him I would continue as I normally did unless he accosted me again. In which case I would have my dogs pee in front of his house for a week instead of in their backyard bathroom. I've never heard from him again although I've seen him peeking from the windows from time to time.

Now, the dog walking etiquette around meeting another dog walker on the sidewalk is much more complicated...

Sorry about the length. I debated this topic with a coworker and then returned to find my desk full of work that needed to be avoided!

[selzer]

Cujo never pottied, save in his back yard, but that doesn't mean he does not sniff. One day I was walking with him down the road in front of a used car lot. The lot has a maybe 12 foot long 12 inch wide strip of grass within high curbs. It is not pretty grass, just the ordinary weed I have been trying to kill for the last 11 years out at my place.

Anyhow, being within town, the weed did have to be maintained, but it still didn't look any fuller, greener, fresher, sharper than the weed at my house.

Well, anyhow, the fellow who either works there or owns the place saw us coming and came out and stationed himself near his strip of tundra. And me and Cujo are meandering along, sniffing here, sniffing there, and he says to me, "Don't let him go on my grass."

I looked at him like he was from Mars.

Cujo does not go on people's grass, but no one knows that, and I was ornery enough not to tell him. I just said, "Well ---, if he has to go ---," and I watched him start to boil, and I whipped a baggie out of my pocket and said, "I'll just have to pick it up."

He said, "Oh, well that's ok then, most people don't."

He was ok with it so long as I would have picked it up.

I kept baggies on me because my girls are not as particular about where they will drop a load, and no way will you get away with not picking it up at training classes. I also have walked the dog away from a pile at 2:30 in the AM, and then drove the car back to collect it.

[marshies]

Originally Posted by selzer

Cujo never pottied, save in his back yard, but that doesn't mean he does not sniff. One day I was walking with him down the road in front of a used car lot. The lot has a maybe 12 foot long 12 inch wide strip of grass within high curbs. It is not pretty grass, just the ordinary weed I have been trying to kill for the last 11 years out at my place.

Anyhow, being within town, the weed did have to be maintained, but it still didn't look any fuller, greener, fresher, sharper than the weed at my house.

Well, anyhow, the fellow who either works there or owns the place saw us coming and came out and stationed himself near his strip of tundra. And me and Cujo are meandering along, sniffing here, sniffing there, and he says to me, "Don't let him go on my grass."

I looked at him like he was from Mars.

Cujo does not go on people's grass, but no one knows that, and I was ornery enough not to tell him. I just said, "Well ---, if he has to go ---," and I watched him start to boil, and I whipped a baggie out of my pocket and said, "I'll just have to pick it up."

He said, "Oh, well that's ok then, most people don't."

He was ok with it so long as I would have picked it up.

I kept baggies on me because my girls are not as particular about where they will drop a load, and no way will you get away with not picking it up at training classes. I also have walked the dog away from a pile at 2:30 in the AM, and then drove the car back to collect it.

No car, but have also walked back in the dark of the night, searching a patch of grass up and down for the elusive poop. I usually have to bend down very close in hopes of smelling it since I certainly can't see it.