[downeaster]

Originally Posted by Skybo

Notlongnow, yes there are a lot of threads which are critical of dog owners and I can see how you might get the impression that there is a dislike for dogs in TV. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. TV is very dog friendly. It would be interesting to know how many homeowners here have dogs, but there are thousands of us. And the majority of folks I’ve met who don’t currently have dogs have had them in the past and love the opportunity to interact with the dogs they meet. I’ve yet to personally meet anyone who dislikes dogs, although I’m sure there are some out there, but they must be few and far between.

Having said that, as you’ve already seen, dogs pooping and urinating on private property gets people really riled up. I am a dog lover, I’ve had them all of my life and have them now, but even so, it irritates me when people walking their dogs allow them onto my property. My backyard lawn, which is where my dogs do their business is damaged. We have spots and continually over-seed the spots to keep living grass back there. We don’t usually take our dogs in the front to do their business because we try to keep the front lawn as healthy and nice looking as possible. So, you can see why it would be irritating to have other dogs use our front lawn when we don’t even allow our own dogs to use it. The poor people who have corner lots get lots and lots of dogs making pit stops in their yards. And once a dog marks an area, other dogs are attracted to the same spot.

When I walk my dogs, I make them stay on the street or sidewalk. If nature calls while we are walking, then they just have to do it in the street. But I’ve found that doesn’t happen very often because before we go for a walk, I give them opportunity to go to the bathroom in our own yard and once they are on the street, they aren’t “stimulated” by the scents of other dogs like they would be if they are allowed to wander into areas with grass and other vegetation. There are plenty of dog parks and “green” common areas where dogs can be dogs. In the hot months when the street is to hot for them to walk on, then I put them in the golf cart or car and transport them to an area where they can walk on grass without trespassing on private property.

The bottom line is, we must have respect for the private property of others. It doesn’t matter that you “pick up” after your dog...allowing them to even walk onto other’s property is no different than say a human walking through their neighbor’s yard because they prefer walking on grass. It’s trespassing and a violation of the homeowner’s private property rights.

Thank you Skybo. One of the best posts on any subject.