I don't own a dog but.....

[asta]

I'm not a dog owner. I'm sure letting a dog pee or poop on your grass might cause some discoloration, but I really don't see why it is such a big deal if the owner cleans it up. Maybe people are just good about it in our neighborhood, but I rarely see poop when we go on walks. I've never met a dog that liked going on cement and there are no public gassy places. Where are they going to go? You're going to ask Fido to politely hold it until you get home?

I completely understand being annoyed if the evidence is not picked up.

I can tell you that at least some dog urine will kill flowers or cause brown spots on grass and shrubs. I don't know if it is just some dogs because of what they eat or if it is all but the urine does kill things. I don't get why if you are walking your dog on a leash that you can't pull it away from other people's property if it starts to go. I also don't think dog owners stop to think or they don't care that once their dog pees every other dog will want to pee there. That concentrated urine in a spot in your neighbors yard is probably a lot more than in the dog owners yard so maybe the dog owner doesn't understand the damage. I still think it is beyond rude for an owner to walk your dog away from your yard to let it damage someone else's yard.

 

[mjkacmom]

Sorry to be negative but we had a problem with dogs peeing on the flowers around our front sidewalk. I loved those flowers but the dog pee killed them. And once one dog made my flowers their pee place then other dogs peed there also. I replanted and tried to grow them for several years but it was of no use. It infuriated me to see dog owners walking their dogs on a leash stop and letting them pee at my house. I finally gave up. My yard has no flowers but I have one less thing to get angry about. It does stink that selfish dog owners get to determine what my yard looks like.

It boggles my mind that a dog owner walks their dog away from their yard to pee or poop somewhere else and thinks it could ever be OK. Let them soil their own yard.

Dogs need to be walked, for exercise and mental stimulation. My dog has a fenced in yard, but will poop once or twice on walks, and pee a million times. I always carry bags and clean up. We live in a pretty densely populated area, pretty much homes or businesses.

 

[asta]

If you don't clean up after your dog you stink as bad as the pooh they leave. If you let your dog kill peoples plantings same rule applies. However, your lawn is not a temple. It gets defecated on all day and all night. squirrels,birds,raccoon,deer,fox,rabbits, bats etc... You are bound to have some of these and they all do it on your lawn. Plus let's not forget the worst offenders. Insects. They do it as well, plus leave their decaying bodies everywhere. So don't pretend dog urine is going to tip the balance.

I agree there are a lot of things in our lawns but when the flowers are only dying and turning brown in the flower bed by the sidewalk where you see dog owners walking their dog there to pee then it seems obvious that the dog and its owner is killing your plants. Also a major factor is that once a dog starts using your flower bed as a potty it attracts all the other dogs that get walked by that spot. That would tip the balance past an occasional insect dying in your flower bed.

 

[asta]

Dogs need to be walked, for exercise and mental stimulation. My dog has a fenced in yard, but will poop once or twice on walks, and pee a million times. I always carry bags and clean up. We live in a pretty densely populated area, pretty much homes or businesses.

I still don't get why your or anyone else's dog trumps my right to have flowers in the beds along my sidewalk. If your dog is on a leash you should pull him away if he tries to go in someone else's yard.

 

[tvguy]

It would be great if all pet owners cleaned up after their pets. But they don't. And female dogs tend burn the lawn when they pee on it. Peeing on the mailbox post or the trees is not a big deal. It's when they walked across my lawn and my driveway stopping to let their dogs urninate and poop and not cleaning it up. I would never ever presume to walk across anyone's lawn and driveway with my dogs or for any reason. Let alone allow them to potty while I just stand there looking at my cell phone. So, the little dog sticks did the trick. It seems to just make people think about what they're doing.

Our mailboxes here are at the sidewalk, so they are mostly on public property if they using my mailbox as a tree. Usually just the tinkle gets on my property.

 

[maxiesmom]

I still don't get why your or anyone else's dog trumps my right to have flowers in the beds along my sidewalk. If your dog is on a leash you should pull him away if he tries to go in someone else's yard.

And what would you suggest someone do if they are out walking their dog and they suddenly need to pee? It isn't as if you can tell them to hold it. Or would you rather they pee on the sidewalk?

 

[asta]

And what would you suggest someone do if they are out walking their dog and they suddenly need to pee? It isn't as if you can tell them to hold it. Or would you rather they pee on the sidewalk?

Respectfully, it is not my dog, don't make it my problem. But if I have to choose between dead flowers and pee on the sidewalk then I would pick the sidewalk. Maybe your choice should be pay for new flowers to be planted in my yard or don't let your dog pee where it does not belong.

 

[mom2rtk]

Respectfully, it is not my dog, don't make it my problem. But if I have to choose between dead flowers and pee on the sidewalk then I would pick the sidewalk. Maybe your choice should be pay for new flowers to be planted in my yard or don't let your dog pee where it does not belong.

Dogs are gonna pee. People are gonna walk their dogs. All you are doing is working yourself up over something you can't control. The poop? Sure. Valid point, and there are steps you can take to deter the behavior (cameras, signs, etc). But I don't think you have a snowball's chance of getting the dogs to stop peeing by the sidewalk. I would just make different choices on where you plant your flowers.

 

[mjkacmom]

Dogs are gonna pee. People are gonna walk their dogs. All you are doing is working yourself up over something you can't control. The poop? Sure. Valid point, and there are steps you can take to deter the behavior (cameras, signs, etc). But I don't think you have a snowball's chance of getting the dogs to stop peeing by the sidewalk. I would just make different choices on where you plant your flowers.

Right? The dogs are walking on the sidewalk, don't plant flowers on the edge of your property (it's not your sidewalk).

 

[asta]

Dogs are gonna pee. People are gonna walk their dogs. All you are doing is working yourself up over something you can't control. The poop? Sure. Valid point, and there are steps you can take to deter the behavior (cameras, signs, etc). But I don't think you have a snowball's chance of getting the dogs to stop peeing by the sidewalk. I would just make different choices on where you plant your flowers.

You probably missed my first post but I gave up on expecting my neighbors to be decent and kind and keep their dogs out of my flower beds. I gave up and the area by the steps leaving the front sidewalk have been brown dirt for the past several years. Not very attractive but it keeps someone else's dog happy so that matters more to selfish dog owners. Not that it matters to someone looking for a place for the dog to relieve itself other than their own yard, but prior to building our home the developer hired landscape architects to design planting plans for each home. It was their idea to have decorative plantings where each house's sidewalk met the street sidewalk. We were one of the first families and the beautiful beds of dianthus thrived until the neighborhood grew and people came with their dogs.

 

[IAHFTPT]

I always carried bags with me when I walked the dogs. That worked for the solids. I didn't even think to worry about the pee though.

 

[Hikergirl]

I get what you are saying asta, and I do what I can to keep my dog from peeing on other people's yards. I would not let her go into someone's flowers ever. Having said that, I'm not perfect and she doesn't understand me saying "hold it until you get home" so there are times where she has gone on someone's lawn.
If you have a spot in your yard where a neighbor is constantly letting their dog go, I would suggest you put a sign there. It may help.

 

[asta]

Right? The dogs are walking on the sidewalk, don't plant flowers on the edge of your property (it's not your sidewalk).

Wrong. The dogs are peeing into the flower bed on property we own. There is even a devil strip between the sidewalk and the curb and we have to maintain that too. In our neighborhood we are expected to irrigate that area to keep the grass green and we have to mow that area. That area may be no man's land but we have to maintain it according to the neighborhood covenants.

 

[mom2rtk]

You probably missed my first post but I gave up on expecting my neighbors to be decent and kind and keep their dogs out of my flower beds. I gave up and the area by the steps leaving the front sidewalk have been brown dirt for the past several years. Not very attractive but it keeps someone else's dog happy so that matters more to selfish dog owners. Not that it matters to someone looking for a place for the dog to relieve itself other than their own yard, but prior to building our home the developer hired landscape architects to design planting plans for each home. It was their idea to have decorative plantings where each house's sidewalk met the street sidewalk. We were one of the first families and the beautiful beds of dianthus thrived until the neighborhood grew and people came with their dogs.

So now that the people and their dogs have arrived, what's your plan?

 

[mjkacmom]

Wrong. The dogs are peeing into the flower bed on property we own. There is even a devil strip between the sidewalk and the curb and we have to maintain that too. In our neighborhood we are expected to irrigate that area to keep the grass green and we have to mow that area. That area may be no man's land but we have to maintain it according to the neighborhood covenants.

It's no mans land, for sure. We have to maintain it, and repair sidewalks in front of our homes (and get fined if our sidewalks aren't shoveled and cleared of ice), but it's not our property, it's where the dogs pee and poop on walks, because that's what dogs do, can't really stop it (I assume you are not a dog owner).

 

[mjkacmom]

You probably missed my first post but I gave up on expecting my neighbors to be decent and kind and keep their dogs out of my flower beds. I gave up and the area by the steps leaving the front sidewalk have been brown dirt for the past several years. Not very attractive but it keeps someone else's dog happy so that matters more to selfish dog owners. Not that it matters to someone looking for a place for the dog to relieve itself other than their own yard, but prior to building our home the developer hired landscape architects to design planting plans for each home. It was their idea to have decorative plantings where each house's sidewalk met the street sidewalk. We were one of the first families and the beautiful beds of dianthus thrived until the neighborhood grew and people came with their dogs.

Do you understand it is instinctual for dogs to pee a dozen or more times during walks? It's their way of communicating in some way with other dogs? That if left to bathroom in their own yards, they can go a bit crazy and start to exhibit negative behaviors?
http://blog.adoptandshop.org/10-truths-dog-walking/

 

[asta]

So now that the people and their dogs have arrived, what's your plan?

The flower beds on either side of the sidewalk leading to our front door are just a pile of dirt. We gave up but it doesn't mean I am happy about. We got tired of buying new plants and the hassle of replanting. The beds are surrounded by decorative shrubs on one side and sidewalk on the other so it doesn't make sense to plant grass there. So dirt it is. A neighbor up the street planted plastic flowers but that got her in trouble with the homeowners association.

 

[dosekies]

My dog is going to pee wherever she needs to pee. Do I try to keep her on the strip of grass closest to the street? Of course. Does she always stay there? Of course not. Does anyone throw this big of a fit about rabbits and other animals peeing in their grass?

 

[Westcoastwild]

Sorry to be negative but we had a problem with dogs peeing on the flowers around our front sidewalk. I loved those flowers but the dog pee killed them. And once one dog made my flowers their pee place then other dogs peed there also. I replanted and tried to grow them for several years but it was of no use. It infuriated me to see dog owners walking their dogs on a leash stop and letting them pee at my house. I finally gave up. My yard has no flowers but I have one less thing to get angry about. It does stink that selfish dog owners get to determine what my yard looks like.

It boggles my mind that a dog owner walks their dog away from their yard to pee or poop somewhere else and thinks it could ever be OK. Let them soil their own yard.

It boggles my mind that you think owners have complete control over their dogs bathroom habits. Some dog owners don't have a yard. Or maybe the dog has to go on the way home from the park. When a dog has to go, you maybe have a few seconds to redirect them. But if my 100 lb dog suddenly decides he's got to go, it's not like I can do a whole lot to stop him. Dog owners train dogs to find the nearest dirt because most people don't want dogs to do their business on the sidewalk.

So it depends on what the Op is complaining about. The dog doing the business at all (which is what you're upset about) or the dog doing it and the owner not cleaning it up. The latter - the problem is not the act it's the fact the owner is irresponsible. You should clean it up no matter where it is.

Avid gardeners I know put a decorative fence arround their flower beds and or lawn. Because signs help but they won't deter the people who don't pick up after the dog in the first place. The fence will.

 

[asta]

What boggles the mind is that dog owners think it is OK to damage the property of others. I can't think of any other circumstance where people think it is OK to go on someone's property and cause damage. I don't think dog owners are given special exemptions to this rule. Maybe you should not be walking your dog so close to areas belonging to others where you can not control what they are doing.