Anonymous wrote:I didn't put this in the "Pets" subsection b/c it's really more of a neighborhood/community question.
I am not a dog owner, so I don't know what the standards are. We have an older man in the neighborhood whom we have always been pleasant with when we see him. I don't know his name, but he frequently walks his dog (seems like it is a younger black lab maybe -- not full grown) on the sidewalks. He tends to let his dog roam on the various owners' property. I don't really have a problem with this b/c dogs want to explore, right? As long as the dog is on a leash, he can sniff around my flowers or grass.
My problem is that he lets his dog pee on our lawn. My handyman saw it and commented on it yesterday. So, when I saw the man and his dog today, I watched, and sure enough, the dog came to the middle of our lawn and peed. I went outside and said "sir, could I ask that you not let your dog pee on our lawn." And he immediately resisted saying, "oh, so I should keep him off of your lawn, but he can pee on everyone else's lawn?" (or something close to that -- suggesting that I was increasing the burden on other lawns by restricting his access to my lawn. And I said that the pee is acidic and can kill the grass, and again he argued with me about asking if he was supposed to remember that JUST MY LAWN was the one his dog couldn't pee on... etc. I said, well, we recently found dog poop on our lawn as well. He said it wasn't his, etc. (maybe it wasn't). Ultimately, he was miffed that I asked for him to keep his dog off our property. (FWIW, there is a little strip of grass b/t the sidewalk and the street and I presume most people let their dogs pee there on all the mailboxes -- b/c the paint at the bottom of all the mailboxes gets stripped off from it.)
Anyway -- what is the usual practice for dog owners in regards to neighbors' lawns?
First, get a life. Seriously. A dog occasionally peeing on your lawn is not going to kill it. It's just not. I've had dogs my entire life. I've also had other dogs pee in my yard. Get a hobby.
Second, my rules are this: dog poops, I pick it up. Wherever that may be. I do not let my dog go far onto others' property b/c I know there are people like OP who are very concerned over their little estate and any intrusion thereon. I will let them pee on the perimeter (eg., where the grass meets the road, on the mailbox bottom, etc.). Some don't like even that. I just don't care, honestly. It doesn't affect them. It's not destructive. They won't smell it. I had a guy come out and yell at me for my dog peeing on the grass by the road. He was carrying on loudly. I just let my dog finish and ignored him.
I carry my poo bags home and deposit in my own garbage. Depositing in the trash bins left out for pick also offends some people - despite the fact that they already put spoiled food, and used hygiene products in it already.
I'm not saying people don't have the "right" to object to the above. I am saying that people who do are ridiculous.