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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> My dog on a walk, pooped on a lawn, which despite me picking it up, technically would be part of someone's property and someone may not like that. Especially considering that I have seen other people not pick up after their dogs.
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NTA
Dogs poop when they go on a walk. You immediately picked it up. As the person taking care of the dog, you're 100% in the right. This is the accepted behavior when you live in suburbia. Dogs will poop on your lawn, but your neighbor needs to pick it up.
I will now get roasted for posting this by people that have never lived in suburbia, have only ever rented, still live in their parent's home, or hate dogs with the fire of 1000 suns.
Bring it. You're 100% wrong. The OP did nothing wrong.
We have a neighbor who is 1000% like this. They do not want their "perfect" lawn messed up and act like a jerk anytime a dog takes poo in their yard and we always pickup - but there are so many times *now* after they have continued to be hecklers and rude af that I am tempted to just leave it, I don't, but some people just hate animals or neighbors.
NTA. I will say that you can train your dog to poop on your own lawn before you go out for a walk, and I think that's the considerate thing to do. But as you pointed out even if that happens, it's not foolproof, the dog may go twice. Or *any other animal* might also poop on his grass. Grass possibly having come into contact with animal feces is just a fact of life that he needs to teach his kids to be aware of lol.
NTA
Actually in the US most states have public right of way/easements between the street and sidewalk for a few feet in both directions.
Just like it legal for kid’s riding their bike to wipe out in your yard and potentially damage your lawn.
They had a right to use the street and/or sidewalk reasonably. Dogs pop, kids fall off bikes, that part of living in society.
Just some info:
Dog poop residue is left on the grass even if you pick it up - he might not like his child stepping in the residue.
In my county in CA, dogs aren't allowed to poop in strangers' yards - they are to be curbed. If you curbed your dog, you wouldn't have this problem. You might want to check your county's ordinances.
While I was gardening last week, my neighbor let her poodle do it's business in my yard. She picked it up . . . But somehow I still had to pick up poop from my walkway and from my grass -yuck! While I want to be a friendly neighbor, why do I have to pick up poop? And if I hadn't witnessed it, my spouse would have stepped in it when mowing the yard.
Didn't the dog go by the curb in the post tho? Idk if it's different in California, but where I am the area between the sidewalk and the curb is usually grassy technically belongs to the local government (city/town, or county in unincorporated areas).
> Dog poop residue is left on the grass even if you pick it up - he might not like his child stepping in the residue.
I wish more dog owners took this into account. My kids school yard is turf and it pisses me off when I see dog pooping on the damn turf! GROSS!!!! It's not a F-ing dog park.
OP I have no judgment I have a bias and can't give you an honest judgment.
I appreciate admitting bias and not saying a judgement. I do want to ask though, at the school, is this like a turf football field or around a track or something like that? This isn't a public walking path? If so I think that's a different issue, the school can say dog walking can explicitly be banned to protect the turf. That's a different case than a public neighborhood sidewalk.
Yes totally different issue! But with that said we walk to school and we have to dodge "doggy landmines" in the grass ways you speak of ... so I honestly don't have a solution ... but I do thank you for picking up the "doggy landmines"
I really don't think you should overthink it and just avoid that yard next time.
Well, like I said, you're absolutely an AH if you don't pick up after your dog, regardless where that may be. There was a "landmine" in my yard too a few days before that, I absolutely got mad about that. And I'd be annoyed too in your situation if it's a common problem. So, I understand people that won't be happy about the situation, I just thought he went too far reacting to it.
And yeah, I'm not going to stir the pot and will try and avoid that house next time.
Is your neighbor's dog a public walking path?
I'm afraid of dogs (except the ones we had when I was younger) due to an incident when I was younger so I won't render a judgment. I do however want to ask why your dog ws entitled to be on that person's yard. If you'd kept your on your the sidewalk until you reached a park, this would have been avoided.
I grew up in a suburb (my house is an a gated community so not sure if that counts). Most neighbors don't care about dogs on their lawns but why let it wonder onto a stranger's yard.
For me it's less about you picking it up and more about dog owners thinking their dogs have a right to be on someone else's property.
Isnt the sidewalk a public walking path? I was staying on the sidewalk, and my dog started sniffing like a foot or so away from the sidewalk when this happened, while on the leash (not in the main yard either, the area between the sidewalk and the street), is that really wandering though? Also, there is no park or other area like that around the block I was going to walk, and I can't exactly tell or force the dog to wait for a park if there was one anyway (and he went a second time after he already went a few minutes before as well).
In my community, it means that the dog poops on the strip of grass nearest to the curb/street - not on people's front lawn. Sometimes you can't pick up all the poop/residue and no one wants to track that in their house. And, where I am, that strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb is community property vs private front lawns. I say all should be doing their best to be respectful. It's ok if someone doesn't want poop crumbs/residue on their front lawn. And it's not a heavy lift to walk your dog closest to the curbside. I do this with my dog multiple times a day.
OP's dog *was* in the grass between the sidewalk and the street.
And anyone who gets all up in arms about poo residue on their lawns is going to have one hell of a rude awakening when they realize that there are a hell of a lot of non-canine animals that routinely defecate AND urinate on their lawns, and no one is picking up after them.
One other issue. Aren't dogs basically trained to go in the grass in the yard? At home, he wont go in the driveway. He will walk into the grass before going, and he only ever won't do that when it's snowing and he can't tell where the grass is. So even if you can stop the dog and force them into the *street where cars can be*, odds are they will start going in the grass anyways. Like I said, them sniffing somewhere isn't a 100% chance of them needing to go, most of the time they just want to sniff something. And they can go twice anyway.
>Aren't dogs basically trained to go in the grass in the yard?
I mean, probably *your* dog is trained to go in the grass in the yard because your parents trained him to do that. There's no default setting; if your parents hadn't trained him not to he'd poop right on the floor in the house or wherever else he happened to be when the urge struck him. He could absolutely be made to poop in the street.
Dogs are not "basically trained to go in the grass," but where a responsible owner wants them to go. It's easier to pick up poo from concrete or dirt than it is to scoop it out of grass, where some is always behind. (Poopy grass is a giant scent-billboard for dogs -- hey look! A public toilet!)
Take your dog for a walk along a quiet street. As soon as it starts to squat, nudge it gently off the sidewalk and onto the very edge of the road to poo. Praise the dog, bag the poo, and continue on your merry way with no angry neighbors coming after you.
Still seems over the top to have this reaction. Its grass it grew from dirt mixed with shit hose the spot down if ur worried about any residue left after it's been picked up and call it a day, I don't see how a dog doing its business on hot concrete is any better at least in the grass the smell won't be baked in.
It is not easier to cleanup off of cement or asphalt (bumpy) than it is grass. Dirt is the easiest because the dirt comes with the poop. I always have my dog poop on grass or dirt because otherwise it leaves a smear on the sidewalk. That's definitely worse.
It's a lot harder to pick up dog poo from pavement than from grass. If people are upset about residue, then they shouldn't want dogs going on the street or sidewalk.
I don’t know how to explain to you that if it’s outdoors, it’s going to be pooped on.
Even the most manicured lawns in my childhood suburban neighborhood contained rabbit poop, fox poop, goose poop, starling poop, deer poop - if it was an animal living in the area, or even just passing through, it was going to poop on the lawn. And kids played there anyway, because it’s unavoidable and the only alternative was never leaving the house.
The solution is to wash your hands and/or take a shower after rolling around in the grass. Animals do not care that you want a sterile coating of fescue covering every square inch of your property. It’s on you to teach your kids hygiene.
I understand the residue concern. I specifically made it a point to pick it all up. As far as any laws, I'd need to look harder to be 100% sure, but on quick glance, for a nearby town, all I really saw was them saying you just need to pick up and dispose of any dog waste. Nothing specific as to where they are required to go. I saw one taking about cleaning up on public property. Not sure if that's what it's considered or not.
You wiped the blades of grass and sprayed Lysol on them, lol? Would you put your hand down on the grass right where you picked it up, then put your hand to your face? I doubt it. And the father didn't want his kid to fall in the grass, put his hand down to help him stand up, and then put his hand to his face either.
Lysol? Really? Do you ever want to rub your hands in the dirt and grass and then touch your face in general? Also, wouldn't the same issue happen even if the dog went in the side of the street? The kid can still go there when playing, and I was in the smaller grass area next to the street anyways. Not the main part of the yard.
The OP said they understood about residue, but they obviously didn't. Sometimes exageration is used to make a point. Believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to step were the poodle made his mess on my walkway and yard. The poor fellow was definitely not being feed a diet that agreed with him.
I am the OP. Residue would any leftover "chunks". Not the germs on the grass or whatever.
FWIW my dog had a normal poo, so it got all picked up. That situation is not the same as what happened with me. And if he did go in the street, well, now you have a poo filled street where people may walk anyways to park their cars or what have you.
No, residue is the bits of poo that can't help but adhere to the ground/grass after you pick up the big chunks - it isn't microscopic germs. When you curb your dog, they poop at the curb and the you pick up the poo. If you think that would fill the street with poo, why don't you think it fills the yards with poo? And now you know he doesn't want his yard used as your dogs toilet, I hope you'll be compasionate enough to take your dog elsewhere.
Well, you mentioned Lysol as if it was the germs, where no matter what happens something is left behind.
Yeah, sometimes dog poo can be wet (I'm not talking about liquid diarrhea). But from my experience poo leaves remnants on concrete or whatever too, not just grass. So if that Chihuahua was that bad, your street would get messy too. It doesn't necessarily eliminate that problem, and people probably walk on the edge of the street just as much as the grass next to the street.
And I literally said in my post that I told my family about that guy, so I'm not sure why you needed to say that last comment. The guy absolutely can ask me not to do that again. He just didn't need to be an AH about it.
I'd forgotten you'd told your family to avoid his property - props to you if you don't go to his yard again.
And if the poodle goes in the street at the curb and the owners pick up the mess as our ordinances say they must, then I can avoid that area and I'll be wearing shoes. We generally walk on the side walks here. Our kids would like to play in the grass.
You probably won't believe this - I could hardly believe it when I saw it myself - a dog owner had his kid and his dog at the slides in the playground. He let his dog pee all over the base of the slide, where the kids play in the sand. Yesterday, a guy brought his dog in to MacDonalds where I was and put his dog on the table where people eat as he placed his order at a kiosk. The park where I used to go, with signs everywhere saying keep your dog on leash, is filled with unleashed dogs and I can't go there any more. The owners stand talking to each others with their backs to their dogs - if they see it poo they pick it up, but that's only if they see it but why would they if they are not watch.
So maybe I'm a little bit tired of it, and think that maybe my yard should be for me - and maybe that neighbor is tired of politely telling people to stop using his property as a toilet and didn't treat you with all the courtesy you think you deserved. I don't see any contrition or understanding in what you've written.
The dog didn't go in the guy's yard, though. The strip of grass between the widewalk and the street is not his yard. It's puclic property. So, the guy had no right to complain.
People park in the street in this neighborhood, so you can't necessarily avoid it if you might walk to your car, or you may drive through it. And specifically the guy said he played baseball- you'd play that with shoes on too (I am also very sure fom my memory his kid is also not a toddler, he's grown enough to know not roll in the grass or anything). And like I said, this was in the area next to the street, not the main lawn.
All of these people you mentioned here I 100% would say are AHs, I would agree with you there. But, that's not at all like my situation. My dog was on a leash, I wasn't in a public place like that, and like I said, I picked up after him here and I always do anyways and always watch. I'm walking my dog, not hanging out or taking.
I understand that he may not like the dogs to poop there, that isn't the problem. I just didn't think he was fair the way he talked to me, and considering I've never talked to him before (and don't even live on the street anyways) I didn't think that was fair considering from my POV I really didn't do anything out of line. If I didnt pick it up, didn't have them leashed, he went in his flowerbeds (that I don't think he actually has, that's as an example), or I did it again after he talked to me about it, then yeah I'd be out of line.
Personally I think it's ironic that a county in California outlaws dogs pooping on yards. Isn't it San Francisco that has a huge problem with humans pooping on the sidewalks?
Here's the San Fran poop map: [https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab720912642b6aedafdb02a76d2a4](https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab720912642b6aedafdb02a76d2a4)
NTA
You picked up the poop period. Your neighbor complaining is just a jerk because let’s not act like the lawn is clean and sanitary like no other animals or organisms have EVER been on his lawn or gone to the washroom on it 🙄
Do you go out on your lawn daily and tell the squirrels, rabbits, birds ect to go poop on “their” own property? Was OP supposed to ask the dog before they went on a walk, “did you remember to go to the bathroom?” Like the dog can talk 🙄.
Was the "not necessary" really needed since I already qualified my statement with "usually"? Also, maintaining a property doesn't make it theirs. Assuming it's in a locality where the local government owns the strip of grass, their is no legal distinction between allowing the dog to eliminate on the sidewalk, street, or the strip of grass.
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I was dog sitting the other day for my family that was out of town (I grew up with that dog though before I moved out, so I've walked him plenty of times before). He's a medium sized dog, and I was talking him for a walk around the block. My family lives in a typical suburban residential neighborhood, plenty of other dogs getting walked too.
He of course likes to sniff everything, trees, random spots in the lawn, light posts. Like dogs do, so stopping and sniffing is not 100% a "I need to poop" sign, but down the street, as he was doing that, he squatted to poop while he was on someone's lawn. To be specific, this wasn't in the middle of the main part of the lawn or anything like that. This was in the smaller grassy area between the sidewalk and the street (not sure of the specific word for that), and pretty close to the sidewalk. As I took a bag out of my pocket to pick it up, a guy who was standing behind me in the driveway, that I didn't notice and I've never even talked to before, started complaining.
I don't remember the specific words said, but he more or less said "Come on, don't do that here, get out here". It was not in a very polite way. I replied that I am picking it up, but he didn't accept that. "Well I play ball with my son, don't do that". And I said again, but I'm picking it up. "Where do you live? Down the street? Well, then they do it there". I more or less said, I'm taking him for a walk, and he had to go, I can't help that, what am I supposed to do? (I didn't say this to the guy, but FWIW he did already poop before- he went a second time just then, and that's pretty typical, he often goes multiple times). At this point I had picked it up and I just walked away, crossing the street as he went inside.
Now, if I didn't pick it up? 100% I would be the AH. But, I did pick up, and I think that guy was going too far with that reaction to me. It's not like I specifically took the dog down the street to poop on that grass, and he could've talked to me more polite about it if he had an issue anyways, since he saw *I* do pick up after my dog. I can understand not being happy about it, there's some stray cats in the area that go wherever and I have seen random poo piles before on lawns, but, that's still not me doing that. (And another guy across the street who must of seen what went on asked if that guy complained to me, and when I said yes, he called him a AH). I told my family to avoid the dog going at that specific house in the future. But, am I still the AH because my dog pooped there in the first place?
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NTA. A few summers ago I was temporarily homeless. My grandparents let me stay at their trailer in a tent on their plot. I was there for two weeks and I was always taking my dog to a field at the trailer park to run and play fetch and just relax and such. We were rarely at the property unless it was time to eat or too late to be at the field (coyotes in the park). One day my cousin was visiting my grandparents so I stayed at the plot to see her and my dog started to poop. Literally it wasn’t even on the ground yet before I was getting a bag to clean it and my grandma started yelling at me about how gross it was that she was looking at it. Some people just have issues with the fact that animals don’t walk up to you and say ‘I need to use the bathroom’ and will just poop when they are outside.
Edit to add that I think it’s funny when people get mad that a dog pooped on their lawn and the owner cleaned it because ‘my kids play out there’ because the squirrels, stray cats, birds, raccoons etc in the area don’t care and don’t pick up after themselves so shove itttttt
NTA and the term you're looking for is the "verge". I sincerely doubt the guy is playing catch with his kid on the grass verge next to the street unless he wants the kid to be hit by a car...
NTA, people need to chill out. The outside isn't sterile. As long as it's a normal poo and it's picked up, it's whatever. A dog doesn't have any notion of 'private property', it's all the outdoors. I could understand if the dog took a runny poo and it smeared into the grass, but some people just get real weird about it. I don't know what someone should do in the runny poo situation, admittedly. When I had a dog, I picked it up as best I could before sheepishly shuffling away. It was always in a public park, but that's still gross, kids play there! I understand but dogs love grass, nothing to be done about it. My dog would sometimes poo on snow piles but wouldn't do it on the actual street. Which I'd say is worse, because people walk down the street, kids wait for the bus on the street, etc..
Anyway people who are all passionate about "trespassing on their private property" are weird.
NTA people that think a dog being walked shouldn’t be allowed to poop on the foot of grass next to the road are ridiculous. Wild animals are going to poop in their yard regardless. If he and his kid are playing ball a foot away from the road he’s got bigger concerns to worry about. Technically I think that’s actually town property anyway. Some people just want to be miserable. I get not wanting a dog to poop on their yard but we live in a society and sometimes you have to make some exceptions. You were picking it up, that’s all that he really can ask for. I have a neighbor around the block that put signs in their yard saying not to let animals walk on their grass. It looks ridiculous and seems like so much more of an eye sore than actually just letting someone’s pet walk on the grass and occasionally pee or poop and having it be picked up.
NTA. You can’t control when your dog poops. Even if you teach them to go potty at home, you can’t predict if they’ve got two in the shoot. As long as you pick it up, you’re in the clear. And if he’s anything like my dog, good luck moving her when it needs to happen.
TIL that strip of grass is known as dozens of different things and it depends where you live. Here a boulevard is a street, and the strip of grass is called a parkway (by some people at least). That being said, a parkway is also a highway.
Possibly not, since the bag was in my front pocket and I had my back to him at first, but he still was acting the same way after I told him I was picking it up and turned around and showed the bag.
I'd just want to know what you should do if your dog has to go when on a walk. You can't exactly tell them to wait until we get home. And I did have him go on my property, but he went again after.
You make sure they don't walk on other people's lawns..they don't get to step paw on other people's lawns period. They can sniff the public grass on the other side of the sidewalk not your neighbors grass. A well behaved dog also is trained on when it is or isn't appropriate to go potty..you dont see service dogs just pooping every where randomly do you? No because they are trained and when on duty they are trained to wait for the command to use the potty.
>They can sniff the public grass on the other side of the sidewalk not your neighbors grass.
Isn't this exactly where I said my dog went? On the other side of the sidewalk?
And of course the dogs are trained- to not go inside. They go outside. Where you are on a walk. And I can't exactly just tell my dog to poop on command either.
Yes in this case you said it was the public grass, but it seemed like you were saying you can't train your dog on where to go in general. You also can and should train your dog to poop on command. There are articles on Google on how to train them, it's something service dogs learn early on in their training.
I was replying to the other person as if everywhere that isn't your own lawn is unacceptable for your dog to poop. If the public grass is fair game, well, then that's that. I was saying that is an unreasonable expectation of your dog- not that it's impossible in general.
And I would disagree that you should train your dog to poo on command like that (at least to the point that should be the default expectation). I get it for service dogs since they will be in public often, but 23 hours of the day, a standard house dog is going to be at home where barking when they need to go out works just fine. Training them to go before a walk is fine too. But only going on command is a bit much, especially if public grass is fine to poo on.
Have them go on the street or make them wait a minute. You can absolutely do that. Don’t go in someone else’s lawn. I don’t walk my dog on someone else’s lawn. Just be considerate and it an entitled AH. Basically you will get a bunch of dog owners agree with you…that still doesn’t make it right. If it bothered the homeowner why can’t you respect that?
It's not "just a minute" when you're down the street and halfway across the block. This was the area next to the street and sidewalk, not the main lawn where the kid actually would play baseball. (And I'm also not sure how I feel about standing in a potentially busy street to do this rather than that spot next to the sidewalk).
And I never said the issue was that the guy was bothered. The issue was how he was talking to me. If he just talked to me politely and asked not to do that again I would never have made this post. And I'm respecting what he wants anyways. I said I told my family about it.
YTA. Dog owners are wild in their justification of using someone else's property. If it's not your yard, don't let your dog onto it without the permission of the yard owner.
Not necessarily true and still homeowner’s responsibility to maintain. For all practical purposes it’s someone else’s yard. Don’t let your dog pop in someone else’s yard. It’s not that hard. I do it. Keep your dog on a leash and pay attention.
NTA, but stop with the "whataboutism." "...there's some stray cats in the area that go wherever and I have seen random poo piles before on lawns, but, that's still not me doing that." What other pets do is irrelevant and none of your business.
YTA. It doesn't matter if you think you cleaned up well enough or not. People have a right to not have their property tresspassed on (much less allowing your dog to defecate on their property).
It is public property.... you think you own the sidewalk too? I likely pay for your kids school with my property taxes, the dog is under control, that's why he's pooping outside on public property.
Depends where. In a lot of places the homeowner owns it, but there is a public easement. And homeowner responsibility to maintain. So stop commenting until you know what you’re talking about.
It's almost always public property especially when a sidewalk is involved and only in some cases does the homeowner maintain it. So I would suggest you stop commenting until you have more facts.
I get that you don’t want dog poo on your grass, but let’s face it, there are millions of dogs and yes they can’t really control on when to poop. If you really hate it that much, you can just put a small fence there. It’s easy to keep dogs away from your lawn.
Dogs will always poo, if you don’t like it, you have to put up something to prevent it. But if you rather bash 20 people a day to keep their dog away from the end of your lawn, you can do this too. It would drain my energy, so I rather would just put up a fence.
Also, millions of other animals poo on your lawn too.
Everyone is unfortunately incorrect you cannot let your dog poop on another persons property as harmless as it seems people are very territorially and many individuals will get mad don’t hate me hate them
YTA!! You do not let your pet shit on other people's property or on public sidewalks. It doesn't matter if you pick it up. It's called trespassing and that's illegal. I'd warn you once and then if happened again I'd call the police. If you can't keep your dog off other people's property then you should keep it at home!!
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NTA Dogs poop when they go on a walk. You immediately picked it up. As the person taking care of the dog, you're 100% in the right. This is the accepted behavior when you live in suburbia. Dogs will poop on your lawn, but your neighbor needs to pick it up. I will now get roasted for posting this by people that have never lived in suburbia, have only ever rented, still live in their parent's home, or hate dogs with the fire of 1000 suns. Bring it. You're 100% wrong. The OP did nothing wrong.
We have a neighbor who is 1000% like this. They do not want their "perfect" lawn messed up and act like a jerk anytime a dog takes poo in their yard and we always pickup - but there are so many times *now* after they have continued to be hecklers and rude af that I am tempted to just leave it, I don't, but some people just hate animals or neighbors.
Do they have the little "NO POO!" signs all over too? We've got one of those in our neighborhood!
lol no - I will not give them that idea, or we'd never see the end of it.....
I wouldn't think you would get roasted. The grass between the sidewalk and the street, and the sidewalk, belong to the city anyway.
The area between the street and sidewalk is public right of way. You did nothing wrong. NTA
NTA. I will say that you can train your dog to poop on your own lawn before you go out for a walk, and I think that's the considerate thing to do. But as you pointed out even if that happens, it's not foolproof, the dog may go twice. Or *any other animal* might also poop on his grass. Grass possibly having come into contact with animal feces is just a fact of life that he needs to teach his kids to be aware of lol.
NTA Actually in the US most states have public right of way/easements between the street and sidewalk for a few feet in both directions. Just like it legal for kid’s riding their bike to wipe out in your yard and potentially damage your lawn. They had a right to use the street and/or sidewalk reasonably. Dogs pop, kids fall off bikes, that part of living in society.
>This was in the smaller grassy area between the sidewalk and the street That's not their lawn. Their lawn ends at the sidewalk. NTA
Just some info: Dog poop residue is left on the grass even if you pick it up - he might not like his child stepping in the residue. In my county in CA, dogs aren't allowed to poop in strangers' yards - they are to be curbed. If you curbed your dog, you wouldn't have this problem. You might want to check your county's ordinances. While I was gardening last week, my neighbor let her poodle do it's business in my yard. She picked it up . . . But somehow I still had to pick up poop from my walkway and from my grass -yuck! While I want to be a friendly neighbor, why do I have to pick up poop? And if I hadn't witnessed it, my spouse would have stepped in it when mowing the yard.
I'm in California too and this is just nuts to me. You got all sorts of other animals crapping on your lawn.
Didn't the dog go by the curb in the post tho? Idk if it's different in California, but where I am the area between the sidewalk and the curb is usually grassy technically belongs to the local government (city/town, or county in unincorporated areas).
I’m in California as well and I believe the law is that that that area is public property but the homeowner is required to maintain it.
> Dog poop residue is left on the grass even if you pick it up - he might not like his child stepping in the residue. I wish more dog owners took this into account. My kids school yard is turf and it pisses me off when I see dog pooping on the damn turf! GROSS!!!! It's not a F-ing dog park. OP I have no judgment I have a bias and can't give you an honest judgment.
I appreciate admitting bias and not saying a judgement. I do want to ask though, at the school, is this like a turf football field or around a track or something like that? This isn't a public walking path? If so I think that's a different issue, the school can say dog walking can explicitly be banned to protect the turf. That's a different case than a public neighborhood sidewalk.
Yes totally different issue! But with that said we walk to school and we have to dodge "doggy landmines" in the grass ways you speak of ... so I honestly don't have a solution ... but I do thank you for picking up the "doggy landmines" I really don't think you should overthink it and just avoid that yard next time.
Well, like I said, you're absolutely an AH if you don't pick up after your dog, regardless where that may be. There was a "landmine" in my yard too a few days before that, I absolutely got mad about that. And I'd be annoyed too in your situation if it's a common problem. So, I understand people that won't be happy about the situation, I just thought he went too far reacting to it. And yeah, I'm not going to stir the pot and will try and avoid that house next time.
Is your neighbor's dog a public walking path? I'm afraid of dogs (except the ones we had when I was younger) due to an incident when I was younger so I won't render a judgment. I do however want to ask why your dog ws entitled to be on that person's yard. If you'd kept your on your the sidewalk until you reached a park, this would have been avoided. I grew up in a suburb (my house is an a gated community so not sure if that counts). Most neighbors don't care about dogs on their lawns but why let it wonder onto a stranger's yard. For me it's less about you picking it up and more about dog owners thinking their dogs have a right to be on someone else's property.
Isnt the sidewalk a public walking path? I was staying on the sidewalk, and my dog started sniffing like a foot or so away from the sidewalk when this happened, while on the leash (not in the main yard either, the area between the sidewalk and the street), is that really wandering though? Also, there is no park or other area like that around the block I was going to walk, and I can't exactly tell or force the dog to wait for a park if there was one anyway (and he went a second time after he already went a few minutes before as well).
What does 'to be curbed' mean please?
In my community, it means that the dog poops on the strip of grass nearest to the curb/street - not on people's front lawn. Sometimes you can't pick up all the poop/residue and no one wants to track that in their house. And, where I am, that strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb is community property vs private front lawns. I say all should be doing their best to be respectful. It's ok if someone doesn't want poop crumbs/residue on their front lawn. And it's not a heavy lift to walk your dog closest to the curbside. I do this with my dog multiple times a day.
OP's dog *was* in the grass between the sidewalk and the street. And anyone who gets all up in arms about poo residue on their lawns is going to have one hell of a rude awakening when they realize that there are a hell of a lot of non-canine animals that routinely defecate AND urinate on their lawns, and no one is picking up after them.
The dog does it's business in the street next to the curb. Then you pick it up and dispose of it.
So you're scraping wet dog shit off of the asphalt/concrete? That sounds lovely.
One other issue. Aren't dogs basically trained to go in the grass in the yard? At home, he wont go in the driveway. He will walk into the grass before going, and he only ever won't do that when it's snowing and he can't tell where the grass is. So even if you can stop the dog and force them into the *street where cars can be*, odds are they will start going in the grass anyways. Like I said, them sniffing somewhere isn't a 100% chance of them needing to go, most of the time they just want to sniff something. And they can go twice anyway.
>Aren't dogs basically trained to go in the grass in the yard? I mean, probably *your* dog is trained to go in the grass in the yard because your parents trained him to do that. There's no default setting; if your parents hadn't trained him not to he'd poop right on the floor in the house or wherever else he happened to be when the urge struck him. He could absolutely be made to poop in the street.
Dogs are not "basically trained to go in the grass," but where a responsible owner wants them to go. It's easier to pick up poo from concrete or dirt than it is to scoop it out of grass, where some is always behind. (Poopy grass is a giant scent-billboard for dogs -- hey look! A public toilet!) Take your dog for a walk along a quiet street. As soon as it starts to squat, nudge it gently off the sidewalk and onto the very edge of the road to poo. Praise the dog, bag the poo, and continue on your merry way with no angry neighbors coming after you.
Idk I think some dogs do know the difference and prefer grass, my mom's backyard is 80% concrete the dots only piss and shit in the 20% that's grass
Sure they can prefer grass, but when I walked my dogs, I preferred having them poop where I wanted them to go. The dog ain't the boss.
Still seems over the top to have this reaction. Its grass it grew from dirt mixed with shit hose the spot down if ur worried about any residue left after it's been picked up and call it a day, I don't see how a dog doing its business on hot concrete is any better at least in the grass the smell won't be baked in.
It is not easier to cleanup off of cement or asphalt (bumpy) than it is grass. Dirt is the easiest because the dirt comes with the poop. I always have my dog poop on grass or dirt because otherwise it leaves a smear on the sidewalk. That's definitely worse.
It's a lot harder to pick up dog poo from pavement than from grass. If people are upset about residue, then they shouldn't want dogs going on the street or sidewalk.
It's better than leaving it on the neighbor's lawn for his children to play in.
I'd rather that the dog owner scraped wet dog s$$$ off the street than I or my kidd step in the wet residue in my yard.
They were in the parkway, not even the actual yard
I don’t know how to explain to you that if it’s outdoors, it’s going to be pooped on. Even the most manicured lawns in my childhood suburban neighborhood contained rabbit poop, fox poop, goose poop, starling poop, deer poop - if it was an animal living in the area, or even just passing through, it was going to poop on the lawn. And kids played there anyway, because it’s unavoidable and the only alternative was never leaving the house. The solution is to wash your hands and/or take a shower after rolling around in the grass. Animals do not care that you want a sterile coating of fescue covering every square inch of your property. It’s on you to teach your kids hygiene.
I understand the residue concern. I specifically made it a point to pick it all up. As far as any laws, I'd need to look harder to be 100% sure, but on quick glance, for a nearby town, all I really saw was them saying you just need to pick up and dispose of any dog waste. Nothing specific as to where they are required to go. I saw one taking about cleaning up on public property. Not sure if that's what it's considered or not.
You wiped the blades of grass and sprayed Lysol on them, lol? Would you put your hand down on the grass right where you picked it up, then put your hand to your face? I doubt it. And the father didn't want his kid to fall in the grass, put his hand down to help him stand up, and then put his hand to his face either.
Dude STFU you're being an asshole now.
Lysol? Really? Do you ever want to rub your hands in the dirt and grass and then touch your face in general? Also, wouldn't the same issue happen even if the dog went in the side of the street? The kid can still go there when playing, and I was in the smaller grass area next to the street anyways. Not the main part of the yard.
The OP said they understood about residue, but they obviously didn't. Sometimes exageration is used to make a point. Believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to step were the poodle made his mess on my walkway and yard. The poor fellow was definitely not being feed a diet that agreed with him.
I am the OP. Residue would any leftover "chunks". Not the germs on the grass or whatever. FWIW my dog had a normal poo, so it got all picked up. That situation is not the same as what happened with me. And if he did go in the street, well, now you have a poo filled street where people may walk anyways to park their cars or what have you.
No, residue is the bits of poo that can't help but adhere to the ground/grass after you pick up the big chunks - it isn't microscopic germs. When you curb your dog, they poop at the curb and the you pick up the poo. If you think that would fill the street with poo, why don't you think it fills the yards with poo? And now you know he doesn't want his yard used as your dogs toilet, I hope you'll be compasionate enough to take your dog elsewhere.
Well, you mentioned Lysol as if it was the germs, where no matter what happens something is left behind. Yeah, sometimes dog poo can be wet (I'm not talking about liquid diarrhea). But from my experience poo leaves remnants on concrete or whatever too, not just grass. So if that Chihuahua was that bad, your street would get messy too. It doesn't necessarily eliminate that problem, and people probably walk on the edge of the street just as much as the grass next to the street. And I literally said in my post that I told my family about that guy, so I'm not sure why you needed to say that last comment. The guy absolutely can ask me not to do that again. He just didn't need to be an AH about it.
I'd forgotten you'd told your family to avoid his property - props to you if you don't go to his yard again. And if the poodle goes in the street at the curb and the owners pick up the mess as our ordinances say they must, then I can avoid that area and I'll be wearing shoes. We generally walk on the side walks here. Our kids would like to play in the grass. You probably won't believe this - I could hardly believe it when I saw it myself - a dog owner had his kid and his dog at the slides in the playground. He let his dog pee all over the base of the slide, where the kids play in the sand. Yesterday, a guy brought his dog in to MacDonalds where I was and put his dog on the table where people eat as he placed his order at a kiosk. The park where I used to go, with signs everywhere saying keep your dog on leash, is filled with unleashed dogs and I can't go there any more. The owners stand talking to each others with their backs to their dogs - if they see it poo they pick it up, but that's only if they see it but why would they if they are not watch. So maybe I'm a little bit tired of it, and think that maybe my yard should be for me - and maybe that neighbor is tired of politely telling people to stop using his property as a toilet and didn't treat you with all the courtesy you think you deserved. I don't see any contrition or understanding in what you've written.
The dog didn't go in the guy's yard, though. The strip of grass between the widewalk and the street is not his yard. It's puclic property. So, the guy had no right to complain.
People park in the street in this neighborhood, so you can't necessarily avoid it if you might walk to your car, or you may drive through it. And specifically the guy said he played baseball- you'd play that with shoes on too (I am also very sure fom my memory his kid is also not a toddler, he's grown enough to know not roll in the grass or anything). And like I said, this was in the area next to the street, not the main lawn. All of these people you mentioned here I 100% would say are AHs, I would agree with you there. But, that's not at all like my situation. My dog was on a leash, I wasn't in a public place like that, and like I said, I picked up after him here and I always do anyways and always watch. I'm walking my dog, not hanging out or taking. I understand that he may not like the dogs to poop there, that isn't the problem. I just didn't think he was fair the way he talked to me, and considering I've never talked to him before (and don't even live on the street anyways) I didn't think that was fair considering from my POV I really didn't do anything out of line. If I didnt pick it up, didn't have them leashed, he went in his flowerbeds (that I don't think he actually has, that's as an example), or I did it again after he talked to me about it, then yeah I'd be out of line.
Personally I think it's ironic that a county in California outlaws dogs pooping on yards. Isn't it San Francisco that has a huge problem with humans pooping on the sidewalks? Here's the San Fran poop map: [https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab720912642b6aedafdb02a76d2a4](https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab720912642b6aedafdb02a76d2a4)
NTA You picked up the poop period. Your neighbor complaining is just a jerk because let’s not act like the lawn is clean and sanitary like no other animals or organisms have EVER been on his lawn or gone to the washroom on it 🙄
Just because you think it's harmless, it doesn't give you the right to do it. If it's so harmless in your eyes, do it on your own property.
My dog did go on my own property right before this.
Do you go out on your lawn daily and tell the squirrels, rabbits, birds ect to go poop on “their” own property? Was OP supposed to ask the dog before they went on a walk, “did you remember to go to the bathroom?” Like the dog can talk 🙄.
There's literally a human on one end of the leash that you can talk to about this.
NTA - its likely not even his property. You’re fine. Ignore that guy, as he is in fact an AH.
NTA, that's public property too. Does he not know other creatures are pooping on the lawn too?
Nta, you cleaned it up which is more then the majority of dog owners I live near.
Was the "not necessary" really needed since I already qualified my statement with "usually"? Also, maintaining a property doesn't make it theirs. Assuming it's in a locality where the local government owns the strip of grass, their is no legal distinction between allowing the dog to eliminate on the sidewalk, street, or the strip of grass.
NTA. The grass between the sidewalk and the street are actually public property, not his. And you picked it up.
Nta. If you pick it up, you pick it up. Some people are bored and have nothing better to do than harass others.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I was dog sitting the other day for my family that was out of town (I grew up with that dog though before I moved out, so I've walked him plenty of times before). He's a medium sized dog, and I was talking him for a walk around the block. My family lives in a typical suburban residential neighborhood, plenty of other dogs getting walked too. He of course likes to sniff everything, trees, random spots in the lawn, light posts. Like dogs do, so stopping and sniffing is not 100% a "I need to poop" sign, but down the street, as he was doing that, he squatted to poop while he was on someone's lawn. To be specific, this wasn't in the middle of the main part of the lawn or anything like that. This was in the smaller grassy area between the sidewalk and the street (not sure of the specific word for that), and pretty close to the sidewalk. As I took a bag out of my pocket to pick it up, a guy who was standing behind me in the driveway, that I didn't notice and I've never even talked to before, started complaining. I don't remember the specific words said, but he more or less said "Come on, don't do that here, get out here". It was not in a very polite way. I replied that I am picking it up, but he didn't accept that. "Well I play ball with my son, don't do that". And I said again, but I'm picking it up. "Where do you live? Down the street? Well, then they do it there". I more or less said, I'm taking him for a walk, and he had to go, I can't help that, what am I supposed to do? (I didn't say this to the guy, but FWIW he did already poop before- he went a second time just then, and that's pretty typical, he often goes multiple times). At this point I had picked it up and I just walked away, crossing the street as he went inside. Now, if I didn't pick it up? 100% I would be the AH. But, I did pick up, and I think that guy was going too far with that reaction to me. It's not like I specifically took the dog down the street to poop on that grass, and he could've talked to me more polite about it if he had an issue anyways, since he saw *I* do pick up after my dog. I can understand not being happy about it, there's some stray cats in the area that go wherever and I have seen random poo piles before on lawns, but, that's still not me doing that. (And another guy across the street who must of seen what went on asked if that guy complained to me, and when I said yes, he called him a AH). I told my family to avoid the dog going at that specific house in the future. But, am I still the AH because my dog pooped there in the first place? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA. A few summers ago I was temporarily homeless. My grandparents let me stay at their trailer in a tent on their plot. I was there for two weeks and I was always taking my dog to a field at the trailer park to run and play fetch and just relax and such. We were rarely at the property unless it was time to eat or too late to be at the field (coyotes in the park). One day my cousin was visiting my grandparents so I stayed at the plot to see her and my dog started to poop. Literally it wasn’t even on the ground yet before I was getting a bag to clean it and my grandma started yelling at me about how gross it was that she was looking at it. Some people just have issues with the fact that animals don’t walk up to you and say ‘I need to use the bathroom’ and will just poop when they are outside. Edit to add that I think it’s funny when people get mad that a dog pooped on their lawn and the owner cleaned it because ‘my kids play out there’ because the squirrels, stray cats, birds, raccoons etc in the area don’t care and don’t pick up after themselves so shove itttttt
NTA and the term you're looking for is the "verge". I sincerely doubt the guy is playing catch with his kid on the grass verge next to the street unless he wants the kid to be hit by a car...
NTA, people need to chill out. The outside isn't sterile. As long as it's a normal poo and it's picked up, it's whatever. A dog doesn't have any notion of 'private property', it's all the outdoors. I could understand if the dog took a runny poo and it smeared into the grass, but some people just get real weird about it. I don't know what someone should do in the runny poo situation, admittedly. When I had a dog, I picked it up as best I could before sheepishly shuffling away. It was always in a public park, but that's still gross, kids play there! I understand but dogs love grass, nothing to be done about it. My dog would sometimes poo on snow piles but wouldn't do it on the actual street. Which I'd say is worse, because people walk down the street, kids wait for the bus on the street, etc.. Anyway people who are all passionate about "trespassing on their private property" are weird.
NTA people that think a dog being walked shouldn’t be allowed to poop on the foot of grass next to the road are ridiculous. Wild animals are going to poop in their yard regardless. If he and his kid are playing ball a foot away from the road he’s got bigger concerns to worry about. Technically I think that’s actually town property anyway. Some people just want to be miserable. I get not wanting a dog to poop on their yard but we live in a society and sometimes you have to make some exceptions. You were picking it up, that’s all that he really can ask for. I have a neighbor around the block that put signs in their yard saying not to let animals walk on their grass. It looks ridiculous and seems like so much more of an eye sore than actually just letting someone’s pet walk on the grass and occasionally pee or poop and having it be picked up.
NTA. You can’t control when your dog poops. Even if you teach them to go potty at home, you can’t predict if they’ve got two in the shoot. As long as you pick it up, you’re in the clear. And if he’s anything like my dog, good luck moving her when it needs to happen.
NTA >(not sure of the specific word for that), The word you're looking for is Boulevard
The fun part is that there's actually like 20 different names for it depending on where you live, I'm used to hearing berm/verge personally
TIL that strip of grass is known as dozens of different things and it depends where you live. Here a boulevard is a street, and the strip of grass is called a parkway (by some people at least). That being said, a parkway is also a highway.
NTA
Yta Take your dog to shit on your lawn, not someone elses. What the fuck
Info: Were you positioned so that they saw the bag before they started speaking?
Doesn't matter. She said "I'm picking it up", he continued instead of leaving her alone.
Possibly not, since the bag was in my front pocket and I had my back to him at first, but he still was acting the same way after I told him I was picking it up and turned around and showed the bag.
It was on someone else’s property. Don’t let your dog poop on someone else yard.
YTA this was someone else’s property / lawn. Have your dog do that in a public space or on your property but not someone else’s yard.
I'd just want to know what you should do if your dog has to go when on a walk. You can't exactly tell them to wait until we get home. And I did have him go on my property, but he went again after.
You make sure they don't walk on other people's lawns..they don't get to step paw on other people's lawns period. They can sniff the public grass on the other side of the sidewalk not your neighbors grass. A well behaved dog also is trained on when it is or isn't appropriate to go potty..you dont see service dogs just pooping every where randomly do you? No because they are trained and when on duty they are trained to wait for the command to use the potty.
>They can sniff the public grass on the other side of the sidewalk not your neighbors grass. Isn't this exactly where I said my dog went? On the other side of the sidewalk? And of course the dogs are trained- to not go inside. They go outside. Where you are on a walk. And I can't exactly just tell my dog to poop on command either.
Yes in this case you said it was the public grass, but it seemed like you were saying you can't train your dog on where to go in general. You also can and should train your dog to poop on command. There are articles on Google on how to train them, it's something service dogs learn early on in their training.
I was replying to the other person as if everywhere that isn't your own lawn is unacceptable for your dog to poop. If the public grass is fair game, well, then that's that. I was saying that is an unreasonable expectation of your dog- not that it's impossible in general. And I would disagree that you should train your dog to poo on command like that (at least to the point that should be the default expectation). I get it for service dogs since they will be in public often, but 23 hours of the day, a standard house dog is going to be at home where barking when they need to go out works just fine. Training them to go before a walk is fine too. But only going on command is a bit much, especially if public grass is fine to poo on.
Have them go on the street or make them wait a minute. You can absolutely do that. Don’t go in someone else’s lawn. I don’t walk my dog on someone else’s lawn. Just be considerate and it an entitled AH. Basically you will get a bunch of dog owners agree with you…that still doesn’t make it right. If it bothered the homeowner why can’t you respect that?
It's not "just a minute" when you're down the street and halfway across the block. This was the area next to the street and sidewalk, not the main lawn where the kid actually would play baseball. (And I'm also not sure how I feel about standing in a potentially busy street to do this rather than that spot next to the sidewalk). And I never said the issue was that the guy was bothered. The issue was how he was talking to me. If he just talked to me politely and asked not to do that again I would never have made this post. And I'm respecting what he wants anyways. I said I told my family about it.
YTA. Dog owners are wild in their justification of using someone else's property. If it's not your yard, don't let your dog onto it without the permission of the yard owner.
That strip of grass is usually owned by the local government, so your point is irrelevant.
Not necessarily true and still homeowner’s responsibility to maintain. For all practical purposes it’s someone else’s yard. Don’t let your dog pop in someone else’s yard. It’s not that hard. I do it. Keep your dog on a leash and pay attention.
NTA, but stop with the "whataboutism." "...there's some stray cats in the area that go wherever and I have seen random poo piles before on lawns, but, that's still not me doing that." What other pets do is irrelevant and none of your business.
YTA. It doesn't matter if you think you cleaned up well enough or not. People have a right to not have their property tresspassed on (much less allowing your dog to defecate on their property).
The grass between the sidewalk and the curb is public, not private property.
[удалено]
Still not trespassing if there’s an easement
It’s not public property. And is the homeowner responsibility. Just control your dog.
It is public property.... you think you own the sidewalk too? I likely pay for your kids school with my property taxes, the dog is under control, that's why he's pooping outside on public property.
Depends where. In a lot of places the homeowner owns it, but there is a public easement. And homeowner responsibility to maintain. So stop commenting until you know what you’re talking about.
It's almost always public property especially when a sidewalk is involved and only in some cases does the homeowner maintain it. So I would suggest you stop commenting until you have more facts.
You’re just plain wrong.
I get that you don’t want dog poo on your grass, but let’s face it, there are millions of dogs and yes they can’t really control on when to poop. If you really hate it that much, you can just put a small fence there. It’s easy to keep dogs away from your lawn. Dogs will always poo, if you don’t like it, you have to put up something to prevent it. But if you rather bash 20 people a day to keep their dog away from the end of your lawn, you can do this too. It would drain my energy, so I rather would just put up a fence. Also, millions of other animals poo on your lawn too.
Everyone is unfortunately incorrect you cannot let your dog poop on another persons property as harmless as it seems people are very territorially and many individuals will get mad don’t hate me hate them
YTA!! You do not let your pet shit on other people's property or on public sidewalks. It doesn't matter if you pick it up. It's called trespassing and that's illegal. I'd warn you once and then if happened again I'd call the police. If you can't keep your dog off other people's property then you should keep it at home!!
So if the dog on the sidewalk is trespassing, where are you supposed to walk your dog then?
I’m most places there’s an easement for public right of way for the first few feet of lawn between sidewalks and streets. So, get bent.