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as the owner of a great dane and as a city dweller, i can sympathize with residents who don't want poo in their yards, but:

what's the harm of poo, so long as it's picked up right away?

and, it's one thing for someone to put up these signs in their yards, but on parkways? i see that in our neighborhood.

and finally, some a-hole near us posted a sign next to the sidewalk warning: "toxic chemicals, keep dogs away". someone reported them to the police for having toxic chemicals right next to the sidewalk and so they've amended it to reflect their true intent: keep dogs away.

they have the little scottie one in front of where i park every day.

This is a huge issue for me, and it gets me angry thinking about it. I live in an apartment complex that allows dogs, and we have a Corgie. Hardly anyone clean up after their dogs here and it's horrible. There are long yard "alleys" behind each building that is for anyone, and i enjoy walking our dog back there. But so many people just let their dogs out the sliding door (we have a 2nd floor...) and just let their dogs do their thing and let them back in, without every cleaning it up. After stepping in you know what 3 times back there i gave up trying.

So now we only take him in the bigger yard areas, but people still don't clean up. No matter what if we go out we have a bag, and if we do forget for some unknown reason, we go back down and take care of it. We wrote a letter to the apartment complex and they sent a letter out to all the dog owners, and it got a little better, but it's still bad. I think this also has to do with how i doubt a lot of people tell the apartment that they have a dog, since they don't want to pay extra for it, so they don't get the letter, but also wouldn't be the people to clean it up anyways.

Plus the other day i go out with Rocky. At the same another woman takes her 2 dogs out across the way. We say hi and smile and all that jazz. So we're on 2 separate sides of a big yard and she lets her dog do it's thing and just walk away. I'm like are you freakin kidding me. So guess who picked it up.....yeah me.

Can you tell it hits a nerve?

Oh, what a coincidence, I was just thinking about making a sign today to post on the sidewalk in front of my house. I wanted to write something like:

"Dear Dogwalkers: please pick up after your dog! It's the law!!"

is that too harsh? I think it is the law too, isn't it?

As a city dog owner I always pick up, but dude I am not about to move him if he's mid-buisness and on your sidewalk strip (between sidewalk and road).

A reminder to pick up is fine, sad they have to reminded.
and i have to agree with this "what's the harm of poo, so long as it's picked up right away?"

Mostly, i think the signs make you look like a crank. In my neighboorhood there is a laminated sign hanging from a tree that says "pick up after your dog, we're watching you"

Poop is no big deal if someone picks it up right away. Judging from my front yard, however, many people don't bother to do that. One neighbor explained that they didn't want to trespass into my yard.

I can understand why someone would put up the toxic chemical sign. I don't want to scoop the poop of a pet I don't own, and common courtesy doesn't seem to register with some people. It's exasperating.

as a non-dog-owning but dog-loving individual, i say don't address the sign to the DOG, who has no idea what you're talking about, rather you should address it to the owner of the cute pup:

make a sign with a guy squatting with his drawers around his ankles. and in nice scrolly font write write: "if your dog shits on my lawn, I'LL shit on YOUR lawn!"

Dog mess is the one and only thing I dislike about living in France. It always amazes me that people who seem so conscious of their environment, with flowers and nice paving etc., don't pick up after their dogs. Most towns even provide special dispensers with plastic bags or designated doggy loos you still have to watch your step.

If you aren't going to pickup after your dog no cute sign is going to jar you into be respectful of your neighbors.

"what's the harm of poo, so long as it's picked up right away?"

i agree - but the harm if it's not picked up right away is pretty serious:

http://www.doodycalls.com/resources_toxic_dog_waste.asp

and so many people are so bad at picking it up! i wouldn't want anyone using my lawn and then having my (future) kids play near it.

we have a house in my neighborhood that reeks of dog poo - i have reported it to the city before because in rainy season, it's a major water pollutant! but i think dog poo is the least of my city's worries, so unfortunately nothing has changed! bleh.

"Cheeky"? Hardly. And the squatting Scottie is kitsch, and not the hip ironic kind.

The French, esp. in Paris,figure that they pay such high municipal taxes that mais oui! of course someone else can pick up the mess.

kdkaboom i hear you! I own a dog and always pick up after him. Even if I have forgotten my bag, I always return the "scene of the crime" ASAP and pick up my dog's poop.

Needless to say it is unnerving to come outside my house everyday and see the poop of others' dogs on my yard. There are just too many ignorant, irresponsible people who have pets.

I actually dont mind poo, what I do mind is cigarette butts and wrappers, yuck!

hehehe
my mother got so fed up with neighbor's dog shit all over our lawn and steps. They had 2 big friendly dogs which they let roam all over our lawn without a leash every day. Occasionally they would use the leashes, however they would never pick up after their dogs. One day she said "GET THE SHOVELS!!" We gathered it all up with shovels and dumped it all just outside their front door. It took several trips back and forth and their porch was filled with enormous chunks of crap.

It got really ugly a few weeks later when, during a bbq party I threw & in front of all my friends, these two neighbors confronted me on my lawn. They were returning from a party ...were drunk coming out of the car and had the dogs in tow. The wife asked me why I keep dumping my dog's crap on her porch. I told her it was from her dogs, not my 4 lb yorkie. My mother and I were merely returning their own giant size dog crap to them. Right when she was starting to curse me out and threatening to call a lawyer, both her dogs assumed the position and began to poop in front of us. Argument over, the husband had to pull the wacko away from me and she was still screaming.....he was apologizing...the dogs were still happy and barking...impervious to everyone's anger. Ever since then we never had a problem with the neighbor's dog curbing habits again. LMAO

My neighborhood has a ton of dogs, but I think most people are pretty good about picking up after them - we've had problems on occasion, but not many. A lot of people have extra bags out, and we always carry extra if someone needs one. I agree with DahliaCactus, though - if my dog starts, we're staying in that spot for the duration. It'd be messier to try to move him, frankly.

What I do if I see someone let their dog poop and then start to walk away is ask very sweetly, "Oh, do you need a bag?" They are always too embarrassed at being called out to say no, and I figure it lets them know that other people notice and disapprove. Hopefully it will make them more aware in the future.

Picking up after your dog is part of the responsibility of owning a dog. If your dog poops and you dont have an extra bag there is always some type of litter you can use. I have on many occassions used an old dirty starbucks cup. I also try to pick up poop if it's near my dog's drop because it's the neighboorly thing to do.

I hate the signs but I'd rather the dog intolerant neighboors identify themselves. It's better than them yelling at you from their porch.

Mark me on the "as long as it is picked up right away" side of the ledger. And also disappointed that not everyone does.

I've been thinking of stealing an idea from a neighbor who has one of these signs but also has a bucket filled with water next to a tree and a sign saying "Dog Water" right over it. I think this is such a nice friendly gesture - kind of off-setting the sign. It seems like something nice to do to make the neighborhood a friendlier place.

we dont have a fence between our backyards and our neighbors' chihuahuas crap in our backyard all the time ( i know this because i have stepped in it repeatedly)... with our next door neighbor standing there watching. we are dog sitting for a much bigger (but nice) dog this weekend at our house. i'm hoping that big-dog's unleashed and unannounced presence will scare the neighbor into keeping her dogs off our lawn. now if i could just figure out how to keep our neighbor from DRIVING across our front lawn..... god i cant stand her!

Our landlady when I was a kid (and then neighbor when we moved) back in the 70s when people were even more selfish about dog poo, would shove it back into the sidewalk whenever it appeared in the parkway.

I've confronted various baby boomer types leaving their bags in the park "where I'll get it on my way home...."

sorry, matt in kc

i think putting a sign saying there are toxic chemicals next to the side walk is just wrong. addressing dog poo is one thing, but people walk with dogs, and kids too, and having to figure out if there are there really are toxic chemicals that both can accidentally get exposed to, even while not pooing, is just not right.
how would you like it if you came home one day to find a sign on your neighbor's door or window reading: "toxic chemicals inside."

It is terribly frustrating that people won't clean up after their dogs. It is part of a general disrespect that too many people display towards other people. To get them to change either requires some form of external control or an unlikely internal change.

Any kind of sign, clever or not, subtle or not, is probably not going to make a difference to someone who simply doesn't care.

Maybe a surveillance camera would.

Isn't that a lovely thought. Having to become Big Brother in order to enforce what should be simple courtesy.

Great story, Little Flower!!

I always think its ironic when someone goes through all the trouble of a manicured garden/flower bed and then sticks a tacky sign in it (as happens in my neighborhood all the time) in order to keep it from getting ruined! Hate to break it to you but the sign already did that!

I always clean up after my dogs but when there is limited area to walk them, I'm going to let them go on wherever they can and pick it right up.

And, as others have said, no sign is going to make a rude person do anything they don't want to...especially if a law doesn't already!

Lots of people here in Denver put plastic bags out in front of their houses: they tie an old milk jug to a tree or their fence, cut a hole in the jug and stuff it full of bags.

I agree with the comments that say signs are fine if they're polite and imply "dog business is fine, as long as it is removed." As a dog owner who always bags, it is really gross and frustrating to see it when people don't.

It makes me happy to see all the comments by dog owners on here who do pick it up.

I've learned that putting out a container of bags is like an invitation to people to let their dogs do business on your lawn. Then you get those nice dry brown polka dots all over your lawn.


When I was walking around the park in my old neighborhood one day, I spotted a colorful pile in the middle of the sidewalk. From a distance I couldn't make out what it was. Finally when I came up to it... it was a pile of poo filled plastic bags piled about knee high with a sign from the homeowner that read: "These bags were all found in the bushes and shrubs around my house. Please take your dog poo HOME WITH YOU! I have video cameras set up and I'm ready to turn you in!"
I just smiled and gave the camera a big thumbs up!!!
I can't believe people would be so rude and dense as to toss their sh!t bags on someone's lawn rather than just take them to their own home.

I have found that city dwelling dog owners are just rude Rude RUDE!!!

My condo building has a lovely courtyard. We (the HOA) furnished it with a nice new BBQ grill, wrought iron tables and chairs and a hammock. But everytime I go to enjoy the beautiful day, I nearly step in dog poo - or I sit in the hammock and am overwhelmed by the smell of POO!!
What is wrong with these people?!?!?!?!? It's not dog run... it's a place for HUMANS to eat and entertain.

If you can't handle the duties that go along with having a pet... go find your pet a decent home!!!

I have also found that "returning" poo to the porch of the offending dog owner works, perhaps not without hard feelings but then the feelings of neighbors was hardly a great concern of the offender in the first place.
Several people on my block all had the same problem with a certain " house o free range big dogs" and signs and helpful offers of doggie bags plus calls to the landlord were of no avail. I went to a cheapo store and got lots of kiddie shovels in bright plastic. The 10 bucks was sooo worth it.
Every morning for a few weeks we gathered the droppings and flung them back on the porch and driveway of the house of crap, right before work. Must have been a hellish walk to their cars and being saluted with those bright shovels seemed to embarrass them a bit, I KNOW they were unhappy with us doing it one Saturday when they had guests. We smiled and waved our shovels, just helpful friendly neighbors. No need at all to be unpleasant.
They moved, sudden like- peace and unpooed lawns returned.
Don't ya just love a happy ending?

Oh yeah, the dogs barked at night too and we were working on a plan for THAT issue but the piles o poo came first, well, that and the disemboweled rabbits the dogs keep leaving around, which were returned with the poo, of course.
As it happens, we never got the chance to test any of the very creative and hilarious barking dog abatement plans but we kept the highly visible shovels and wrote down the ideas because you just never know who might move into a rental house.
The shame of it is that we all LIKED the doggies and often took water to them on hot days when the owners negle..er..forgot. Those dogs deserved better.

Love it witchdoc!

Just thinking how hilarious it would be to 'shovel' their lawn. If you've ever seen the prank of 'forking' someone's lawn --- instead you would just push like 50 different colored sand shovels into their lawn. That would be awesome. I thought that was what you were going to tell us!

This discussion misses the point that urine is also an issue. Dog owners who clean up the dog poop don't realize that the pee kills trees, grass, plants, etc. People don't let their dogs pee in their living room, so don't let them pee on my plants - curb (not grass or plant) your dog.

Very true about the urine problem.

My aunt says she puts a teaspoon or tablespoon (depending on size of dog) of olive oil ( I think it's olive oil) in her dog's food and presto... no urine stains on her lawn.

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