Tips for getting neighbors to clean up after their dogs

[Anonymous]

What about putting out a bag or a bin of plastic bags with a sign that suggests the dog owners use them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious what people consider to be their lawn? I clean up after my dogs and keep my dogs to the grass area between the sidewalk and the street. Not sure what I'd do if there were no sidewalk. This area of grass is actually owned by the city.

Yes - this is true - but the city does not come and mow the grass between the sidewalk and street, or clean up dog poop in this area, or plant new grass. So therefore, I consider it my responsibility and unofficially, my lawn.

i can see complaining about poop left there, but not pee and not poop that is picked up. where else are the dogs supposed to go?

the grass / tree box in front of the building where the dog lives

doesn't work that way. dogs need walks. on walks they are going to have to go #1 and #2. Certainly fair to complain about a dog pooping in YOUR yard and not getting picked up, but not fair to complain about a dog pooping or peeing in the grassy area adjacent to the street if the poop is then picked up. if you are that uptight, #1 move to a condo or the suburbs, or #2 don't let your kid play in that area next to the street and #3 don't plant expensive plants next to the street.

[Anonymous]

Come on! Dogs on walks will pee and poop. That's just the way it is. No dogs I know -including mine- does these things on command. And, no, I will not NOT walk my dog.

What I will do is pick up the poop that is left behind.

The rest, you're just going to have to deal with it. And, unless you're rolling around in the grass and eating by the little bit of grass by the side of road -and I don't know anyone that does- you need to relax about the dog pee. Dogs are legal. Walking dogs are legal. THere is no "pee restrictions". End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on! Dogs on walks will pee and poop. That's just the way it is. No dogs I know -including mine- does these things on command. And, no, I will not NOT walk my dog.

What I will do is pick up the poop that is left behind.

The rest, you're just going to have to deal with it. And, unless you're rolling around in the grass and eating by the little bit of grass by the side of road -and I don't know anyone that does- you need to relax about the dog pee. Dogs are legal. Walking dogs are legal. THere is no "pee restrictions". End of story.

Is it OK if I have my kid pee on your lawn?

[Anonymous]

Put up a fence with a gate. Even though it's an expense, how else will you get them out of your yard.

[Anonymous]

Is anyone really worried about exposure to dog pee? It soaks into the ground pretty quickly and it doesn't carry bacteria or parasites the way poop can. It isn't appetizing and I wouldn't want to make dandelion tea or anything (not that I would want to anyhow) if it had been peed on, but it isn't a health hazard.

As a practical matter, if brown spots bother you, either fence your front yard or have a hedge or something on the border that is not going to be bothered by dog pee.

A hedge will also help keep your DC from wandering into the street after a ball, or at least slow DC down a bit so you have a chance to chase.

[Anonymous]

anyone complaining about dog pee in the area bordering the street (which you likely don't own anyways) needs to STFU.

[Anonymous]

To answer the OP's question of whether a cute sign really deters dog owners, I would say that, for me, it does. We used to live in a townhouse development where some people put cute little "no dog poop here" signs out and I always tried to avoid those yards since they took the time to actually put the sign out. Give it a try and see if it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:anyone complaining about dog pee in the area bordering the street (which you likely don't own anyways) needs to STFU.

Well, I think dog poop is the bigger quality of life and health problem, but urine is also somewhat problematic in dog-dense neighborhoods. It damages plants and even erodes the facing of buildings over time if they're the direct targets.

Private property near a sidewalk is still private property. Tree boxes are public property, but it is still pretty crappy for dog owners to allow their pets to spoil someone's work (and shoes) and hamper efforts to beautify the streetscape. I think my neighborhood would look and smell a lot nicer if less of it were yielded as a dog toilet area.

[Anonymous]

i think we need to reel in our expectations a little. picking up dog poop...EXPECTED and no one should leave their dog's poop anywhere EVER. not having a dog pee on "said specific corner" sorry, but until you can learn to speak "dog" well enough to tell my dog not to do it, then i can't help you with that. dogs pee and they generally think its ok as long as they're outside so they are not going to stop and ask you if this spot is any better than that spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think we need to reel in our expectations a little. picking up dog poop...EXPECTED and no one should leave their dog's poop anywhere EVER. not having a dog pee on "said specific corner" sorry, but until you can learn to speak "dog" well enough to tell my dog not to do it, then i can't help you with that. dogs pee and they generally think its ok as long as they're outside so they are not going to stop and ask you if this spot is any better than that spot.

But if they start in a bad spot, you can't pull them away? Who's in charge here, and why does it become everyone else's problem?

Re. picking up poop-- a PP has already said that if the poop is not so solid, she doesn't bother trying to clean up the mess. (What should she do? I don't know, exactly, but if it gets all over my kid's socks and shoes she has made it my problem. If it contributes to the rat problem in my neighborhood, it has also been made my problem.) I also seriously wonder if people walking dogs while enjoying their morning coffee are actually prepared to pick up.

[Anonymous]

Much like the book says, everybody pees. So not only dogs, but cats, birds, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rats, etc. are all peeing on your lawn. Really, what can you do?

[Anonymous]

pee on the grass near the street is not a problem. shut up.

I suppose dog owners SHOULD have water or something to clean up runny dog poop, but its gross. My german shepherd as a solid poop maybe once a month. I guess I should stop feeding her Big Macs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pee on the grass near the street is not a problem. shut up.

I suppose dog owners SHOULD have water or something to clean up runny dog poop, but its gross. My german shepherd as a solid poop maybe once a month. I guess I should stop feeding her Big Macs.

1) What exactly are you describing as "grass near the street"? In a walking neighborhood, plantings near the sidewalk are very visible to pedestrians and contribute to their impressions of the neighborhood. In neighborhoods with few pedestrians, you could maybe argue that no one driving would notice.

2) If I'm cleaning my property (or my shoes) after your pet because you didn't bother, I'm going to be looking for a stronger argument than "shut up" or even STFU.

3) Yes, runny dog poop is gross. That is exactly why it is your responsibility to remove it from public spaces if your pet created the problem. Arguments like "don't tell me, tell my dog" don't make sense. You are responsible for your pets' actions and need to take measures to curb the ones that negatively impact other people's quality of life. Arguments like "ew... I won't deal with that" don't fly when you leave it for other people to deal with after you walk away.

4) Nobody should eat Big Macs... not even dogs.

4) (In response to another PP) The many rats and squirrels around are generally smaller animals and tend not to concentrate their pee in ways that contribute to streetscape damage over time. Pigeon poop can be a problem, but since human agents don't directly contribute to this, it isn't an analogous situation.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that there are no consequences. If you're the type of person who would keep walking and not clean up after your pet, then you're also the type of person immune to someone verbally shaming you or a pretty sign, or whatever. You need to have consequences. I told a woman whose dog repeatedly crapped in my treebox to clean up after her dog. After she flipped me the bird, I followed her and took a picture of her with my phone and told her that I would be reporting her. She never did it again.