Marylin, when I was at Rice, I lived for a while at 1111 Hawthorne Street, between Yoakum and Mt Vernon in what seemed to us at the time to be a spacious house, built in 1925. Next door was an old dormitory for the University of St Thomas that had been abandoned, and so some squatters moved in who collected old stoves and cats. They had indoor cats and outdoor cats, and the two groups never mixed. Across the street from us was the Catholic Charities Annex, which was a home for unwed mothers. Down the street from us (towards Montrose) was a Greek Orthodox church, and people used to line up all the way to our house to get in when they had a Greek festival.

It was a very interesting part of town to live, and I loved all the trees in the neighborhood.

I had two cats at the time, and they always used litter boxes in the house. The garage to the house had an apartment above it, and we sublet that to a friend.

Howard Hughes grew up down the street from us as well, on Yoakum Blvd. I walked by his boyhood house many times.

Eventually UST decided to tear down the old dormitory to build something new, and so the squatters had to move out. They were still moving vintage stoves out of the building while it was being demolished.

One time I was sitting on my back porch and saw a car stop at the side of the road that borders my yard down front. Two young people got out with a puppy (looked to be) and sat it down in my yard, letting it run about, peeing and yeah - pooping. The girl had her phone out taking photos or video. It wasn't just at the edge of the yard, it was way into the yard. And they spent probably five minutes or so ambling about before they scooped up the dog and left.

I get it, could have been an emergency pit stop, but they never picked anything up that I noticed. Not once did they look towards the house for approval or disapproval. And they could have let the dog run in the field across the road.

Owners like that give pets a bad name. A hope might be often apartments take DNA claiming they will trace what's left behind. 🤞

Our town is pretty good about picking up but then I don't walk the town anymore. However, the crazy thing is on the Appalachian Trail some owners pick up their dogs' poop , bag it and then let it sit there like someone makes a poop collection every day. Let your dog poop in the woods like the other wildlife does. Plastic stays forever and is an eyesore and eventually, the trail volunteers have to pick it up.

I live in a dog-rich neighbourhood. I know all the dogs' names more than the owners. LOL. The vast majority are responsible owners and pick up the poop studiously. But there is that one (or two) who will leave rhe large dog poop on the lawn or boulevard. The one that I really don't understand and makes me shake my head is who takes the time to bag it, knot the little bag and drop it on the sidewalk. You already did the gross part of this exercise, you twit.

That must've been soooo annoying. So, in my brother's neighborhood, one neighbor got so irritated about the same dog pooping on her suburban lawn every day, they got cameras and got a good photo, then made giant "wanted" posters, and put them up throughout the neighborhood. I don't know the eventual outcome, whether the dog-pooping-owner was "outed" and apologized, or changed her ways, or what.

It must've been soooooo embarassing for that woman in the photo, but I don't know.... some people have no shame, and maybe she didn't even care.

I would really REALLY love to know who they think is going to pick up the bags of poo that they leave sitting on the sidewalk or under a tree etc? Ridiculous!

Greek festival. Lars I loved the times that I went to that festival, the food was awesome.

Haha @ littebug, Hubby did something similar to our former neighbor who used to let his big dog out and stand on his porch while it went in our yard. Hubby got so fed up, he went around and collected all the piles with a shovel and tossed them onto neighbor's driveway. That stopped it 😄

I feel like some of those shirkers think they're too good to pick up after their dogs 🙄

Our city has little signs everywhere threatening a $500 fine, which I think makes a difference.

Fortunately, our neighbors are very good about picking up after their dogs.

I do wonder why people think dogs must go for a walk to do their business or why they let their own dog poop and pee all over their lawns. (Especially the females.)

We had four Westies over the years. Each came home with a 'sample' of poop from the breeder that we put into a small, fenced, pea graveled pen near our back door. We'd take the dog out to the pen to do his business before he was allowed out into the rest of the yard or taken for a walk.

In our neighborhood, someone(s) will bag the poop but then leave it in the bushes. One day, dh and I were walking and came across a bag on the edge of the sodewalk and commentd. woman was walking toward us with her dog and said ”oh, that’s mine, I bag it and pick it up on our way back.” Yeah, right.

I think in general people are pretry good about it these days. When I think back to my childhood, stepping in poo was a pretty regular occurence. My kids have missed out on that pleasure. Of course some people don’t pick up and thet angers me as much as the next person, but what really blows my mind is the people who leave the bags on the side of the road. So they know they should clean up, have bags and do pick it up, but then just leave it there? What the heck?!

(ETA - I missed bpath’s post about this)

The following story is kinda funny. I knew Nicole and Leo, let’s just say she’s a character.

https://nypost.com/2014/12/24/bulldog-and-owner-cleared-after-pup-bites-choker/amp/

In my previous house I could see the front yard from my kitchen window and at least once or twice a week i saw dog walkers let their dogs go in my yard. One day a fellow let his dog do his business in my yard and continued walking. i bagged it, got in my car and pulled up next to him. Then I rolled down the window and said 'excuse me - I think you dropped something' When he came over to my window I handed him the bag. Never saw him again

There was an ER doctor who lived about 10 houses away and walked her Bernese Mountain dogs every morning around 5:30. Usually I was still sleeping but a few times I managed to see her walk past the house and then noticed the dog piles later. But one day I was driving my son home from ice hockey practice and as we came up the street we both caught her in the act. I got out of the car and told her she had to pick it up, she claimed she didn't have any bags and that she didn't have time to go home and get them because her ER shift started soon. I think she thought I'd be impressed with her profession but she didn't realize that my DH was also a physician with significantly more training. And people pulling the 'doctor' card annoys me almost as much as dog doo. I told her that I'd be happy to bag it and deliver it to her house and that I'd bring my 2 huge dogs with me so that they could 'visit' her yard.

I'm normally very easy going and I'm definitely non-confrontational - except when it comes to dog dirt. We lived there for 38 years and I could fill a book with tales about dog owners. We always had dogs but our back yard was fenced and that's where they did their business - then I'd take them for a walk.

In my current home most of the people are responsible. Our HOA follows the township ordinance that states dogs may only relieve themselves 'between the curbs' and not on public or private property and of course it must be cleaned up and taken home.

Lucille, try leaving the poop on your neighbour’s doormat without the bag.

Do people walk their dogs because they want the exercise themselves, or so that their dogs don’t poop on their own lawn?When I was a kid, dogs stayed in their yard. our mom trained our dogs to use one corner of our yard, it was behind-ish of the neighbors’ garage and near our shed, and planted with ivy, so of course no one walked there.

Don’t get me atarted on dogs off-leash, or dogs that bark for an hour at a time.

Lars, I hung out in Montrose a lot in '72 and :73. I had a lot of gay friends and many lived there. My daughter lived in the new dorms at UST and then they had trouble with flooding and mold, and moved everyone into a motel on south Main and ferried them back and forth by bus. She ended up moving into an old apartment building on Richmond...and I can't remember the cross street. It was 20 yrs ago. The building she lived in was pink and across from it was one just like it, but white. They demolished them years ago.

Lots of eccentric people who lived in Montrose back in the day. There was a place on Almeda that refurbished and sold vintage stoves. It was right across from Herman Park. It was called Macy's. The lady who owned it was very eccentric. Might be the cat lady who lived in Montrose. She died and the stove place is gone now, but I heard one of her former employees still restores stoves and moved across town...and kept the name Macy's. I hope so...I am a big fan of vintage stoves...and cats....so I can relate to your story.

Did you ever hear about the couple who lived in Montrose and were found murdered and their bodies cut up and put in their refrigerator? Investigators believed their son did it, but he disappeared and no one ever found him. The creepy part....aside from being cut up and put in the refrigerator...was the neighbors had no idea they had a son. No one had ever seen him. He lived in their attic.

It was 1965....so probably before your time, Lars.

People walk their dogs in my neighborhood all the time and sometimes I find their poo in my yard. So rude.

Decades ago, we had a neighbor down the lane from our home. We were the last house on a dead end. A woman who was "very important" in local government, walked her dog each night after dinner and pottied on my lawn. My DH did not want me to confront her or lose my temper. I was pretty mad about cleaning up after her dog every day. So I promised him I would not SAY a word. I shoveled all the material out into the lane where she would walk and parked my lawn chair where she usually stopped and read my book. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me and never came back our way again.

“Do people walk their dogs because they want the exercise themselves, or so that their dogs don’t poop on their own lawn?”

Neither. Exercise and activity for the dog.

Oh I don't know, plenty of people consider walking their dog to be exercise for themselves as well.

When my sister and her fam were visiting, I wound up taking their tiny Shih Tzu for walks in the mornings to do her business. She would need to walk for awhile before she'd go. It would have been nice if she was trained to go without having to walk far away from home. Sometimes she'd want to walk for blocks, then get tired and have to be carried home - dogs are silly 😄

Lucille, try leaving the poop on your neighbour’s doormat without the bag.

I decided to just email the offsite apartment manager. I think this might be a better choice for 2 reasons: One, she has a vested interest in doing something about this issue, especially if other tenants start to complain, and if there is poop fragrantly decorating the grass when she shows apts to potential future tenants. Two, if one bagged poop-o-gram didn't work, to me that means the dog owner flat out doesn't care and further private escalation will not work and may invite retribution.

when i lived in town, right across the street there was an elderly couple who had a little schnauzer. the old man walked the dog every day, twice a day, same route. one of his poop spots was the front yard at the house 3 doors down from mine. without fail, the dog pooped in that yard every single time. the homeowner finally had enough and one day, stepped out onto his front porch to confront the old man.

the conversation went something like this:

HO (home owner): that sure is a cute dog you got there.

OM (old man): thank you.

HO: i bet you really love that cute little dog!

OM: oh, yes, he's like a son to me.

HO: well, if i see him sh!tting in my yard one more time, i'm gonna blow his brains out.

it never happened again.

“Oh I don't know, plenty of people consider walking their dog to be exercise for themselves as well.”

Well yeah you kind of can’t walk the dog without walking yourself so it does kill two birds with one stone. You don’t need a dog to walk but a dog should be walked. Milling around the back yard is not exercise.

i'm gonna blow his brains out.

I'm curious as to how you knew of this exchange? It is dramatic, but especially here in Texas, I think one might be very careful about making a threat involving guns.

Here is where security cameras play a big part.

We try to keep our lawn looking nice. It's especially important to DH. He puts a lot of time and effort.

I hate when people allow their dogs to urinate our lawn. My dog has special areas where he can't.

The thing this neighborhood has plenty of corners and a long street where it's a marshland.

Your does not have to right on my lawn. Should I take my dog over to your house.

Side story: similar issue. We have multiple properties. One has an alley with a dumpster for the tenants of the building. Our cameras caught a man urinating behind our dumpster!

DH took a snapshot, showed it to the tenants, one recognized him, took the photo to the and politely told him the dumpster was not a public restroom.

Picking up and being courteous is all part of dog ownership. If you frail to bend over, sorry, you can't have a dog.

Like Nini mentions, dogs can go on particular spots, Train them to go in your yard.

Ninapearl, I am in stitches!

Much more to the point than, ”nice dog you have there; it’d be a shame if…”

I live on a corner and my front lawn was becoming a dog park. I saw three neighbors in particular deliberately walking their dog to the center of my lawn so they could go. Most did it late at night or very early so i wouldnt see them, but my doorbell cam recorded them. The one woman, who has since moved, said, ” well i pick it up” as if that excused her. Another one i spoke to directly and another i sent an email. They both stopped.

All of my neighbors are good about picking up, I think because of so many security cameras. Still, the brown urine spots are annoying. I wish people would keep their dog on the strip of grass between the sidewalk and street, or better yet, use their own yard. I dont have a dog.

Here‘s a fantasy.

Have a party. Invite every guest to visit the offending dog owner’s yard to drop trough and relieve themselves.

Or, Take a video (if have already spoken to the irresponsible pet owner and they are still allowing their dog to use your lawn).

The next time the owner comes by with his/her pup, tell them yo have something for them and play them the video. Warning shot over their bow (or snout).

I walk to exercise myself. Years ago, when I walked in a park at was close by to our house we lived in at the time, I brought my pit bull with me so people would leave me alone. It worked most of the time. I would have walked there even if I didn't have a dog, but it was handy to have him with me and he enjoyed it. I felt safer with him with me. I made sure he did his business at home BEFORE we left for the park. It would irritate me to see people let their dogs poop everywhere and they would leave it, even though the park supplied poop bags in several places all over the park.

A friend of mine’s doctor wrote on a prescription pad ”JR must get a dog and walk it.”

Some people think that because they are in a forest preserve, they don’t have to bag the dog poop and remove it. UGH.

My neighbor irritation is yard waste. They own a beautiful magnolia that's very very old. Magnolias are evergreen. Which means it drops leaves 24/7/365. I don't understand why she can't bag them up once every 3 months, and leave them at the curb for free pickup from the city? I've asked her and she's almost complied after 7 years, to at least aim the mower towards her yard so that they don't go in the street (or my yard).

Yesterday, the neighbor beside me, decided that they would blow their grass clippings towards my house. They don't own any trees, so when I rake my leaves I make sure to get them out of their yard. I keep their yard leaf-free, so you think they might want to reciprocate. Worse, it's against the law to blow them out in the street. That's because it's dangerous to motorcyclists.

What I don't understand, is why people think they can walk their dog in my yard?! How would you like it if I brought my cat litter over and threw it in your yard? Oy. I had about 10 shrubs out front and I'm down to five now I think. I would attribute at least three if not four of them to dogs ruining them, for sure. Probably also the last one or two.

I just don't understand why people can't respect property lines. I respect theirs, respect mine! Don't drive in my yard, don't let your workers in my yard, keep your pets out of my yard... I put up shrubs and a fence and it finally kept people from going into and out of my yard, most of the time.

I had to fight the city because they were going to put a guy wire over my driveway. Luckily that was one phone call, and one incident after and now it's done. I understand there's a telephone pole there, don't put it across my driveway? Block something else. Must have been reasonable because the workers haven't been back. For some reason people seem to think my yard is a community yard, even though there are houses that abut me and across from me that have the same accesses.

And those are my property issues.

I'm curious as to how you knew of this exchange? It is dramatic, but especially here in Texas, I think one might be very careful about making a threat involving guns.

i heard it directly from the homeowner. this happened probably 40 years ago, long before this country went to hell in a handbasket as far as guns are concerned. i just remember it well because it had been an ongoing problem for such a long, long time.

Oh, this is so petty, and I feel so guilty for feeling this way, but: when the power goes out, the generators in the neighborhood go on, and they are so loud. Of course, WE don’t have one, which is why they bother me so much. And I feel guilty because people have formula and medications and people with breathing issues and work, and they need the cold refrigerators and conditioned air and internet. It is so rare that we have an outage lasting more than a couple of hours, although we have had a day or two without power.

Seems to me that having a municipal ordinance might solve some of these issues - or at least reduce them. Why not lobby your city board or council? Our city's ordinance states that dog droppings must be removed and disposed of by dog owners or face a fine.

Obviously, I realize there would still be scofflaws, but at least there could be real consequences for them.

carolb, we do have an ordinance - but scofflaws are rampant and ignoring all sorts of laws, including much more important ones.

I like to keep my front lawn looking good - this because I think that it adds to the appeal if I decide I want to sell. I do it as organically and with as little effort as possible, with success - until the dogs start peeing repeatedly in the same spot. Happens every summer.

Once got into a debate with a neighbor about it - she just could not hear me when I suggested that she put the dog in her back yard to do its business before the walk (we always did with our dog). She was so defensive about a complaint re her little "furbaby" that she immediately turned it into "can't walk her dog, can't own a dog..."

Another incident was when I had reseeded the grass adjacent to the sidewalk for the 2nd time that summer, because of dog damage. I put some of that short garden border fencing along the area to keep the dogs off - but kept finding it pulled up and tossed in the yard. Finally spotted the man from 2 doors down in the act. When I caught up to him (fencing in hand) I politely asked him not to do so and explained why it was there. He responded that his dog was running into it so he removed it! I suggested that he either walk on the other side of the street, or shorten the leash - and his response was that my leash needed to be shortened !!!

We also live in a neighborhood where the lots are 2 -2.5 acres. Almost everyone has all or a portion of their yard fenced, a portion of our back yard is fenced, and the back perimiter backs up to the road. Ourt yard is the only one that doesn't have a fence along the road, meaning, yu can cut through our yard and be out of the 'hood in no time at all. Almost everyone has a dog, most of them have big dogs.

We have 2 small dogs. We don't walk ours often, and when we do, we take the obligatory poop bags with us. Hey, poop happens, be prepared.

Neighbor that lives across the street used to have 2 large dogs. For years, after dark, I kid you not, he would TURN THEM OUT to run. They ran straight from their house to our yard and out the back. They would not only crap in our front yard, they did their business in the back as well. They'd stay out all night. One night when I saw them racing out the back, I called the neighbor and told him his dogs were out. "Oh it's okay. I turned them out. They'll come back."

I couldn't believe how ignorant this guy was. After awhile, one of them didn't come back, I assume it got hit by a car or eaten by a coyote. The other dog finally died as well, I'd say old age, but not sure. We knew it was his dogs that crapped in our yard bkz when the dogs died, the crap stopped.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to have dogs. Or cats.

Poison Ivy.

Petalique, yes. And now we have a new toxic weed in the area that looks just like Queen Anne's Lace.

What about something like this?

I don’t think this is a petty matter. I didn't think it was petty when my 3-year old fell on some grass with his hand in it. It’s not funny when you inadvertently step in it either.

i had a dog who was allowed to constantly peeon my stone column at the end of the driveway. 1 - it stunk 2- it started to stain the stone 3- if he 'missed' the column, then my bush got the brunt ot if.

solution: a Dog-Away spray. used for about a month. dog hated the smell and never peed there again for years. Owner could not care less. And they never let their dog do his business in their yard, but very content to let him go everywhere else!

now they have a new dog, sprayed stone column, no issues. good for that dog and others.

i will say most people pick up the dog waste.

I "had" a neighbor that walked her Collie over to the end of my driveway, stood there while it pooped and peed. I walked out said "Hello". She said the poop was too small to pick it up....I said, "NO IT ISN'T".

This is the perfect thread for MY petty peeve. Last year our only close neighbor installed 'decorative' outdoor up-lighting that illuminates front yard trees and the front and both sides of their house, one of which faces our MBR. The city allows this, with a cut off time of 11 p.m. These lights were on all nigh past dawn for weeks until I mentioned the 'light curfew'. They said they didn't know how to alter the timer but would talk to the installer. Time went by. Daylight Saving Time arrived. Now their lights go off at midnight. How's that for 'kinda-sorta' compliance along with tongue stuck out?

IDK why people want to make their homes look like public buildings -- funeral homes come to mind. It's for 'show', not safety, as the rear of the house isn't illuminated. (They probably don't want the light intruding into their private space!)

Chisue a couple of years ago the bldg next door to me installed a bright light that was to illuminate the parking lot. It shone over their parking lot and right at our bldg and our cars.

Our bldg was lit up like noon all night long and that's my black car in the foreground.

I got hold of the bylaw officer who obviously said this was unacceptable and they fixed it. Prior talks with the owner did nothing.

You would not have to plant poison ivy, but just put a sign up and you could plant something like Parthenocissus quinquefolia, “Virginia creeper.”

Reading this thread and similar exchanges on Nextdoor/neighborhood FB groups - whatever you do, don't put a bag in someone's trash can on the curb, even if it's the night before collection - I'm beginning to wonder if the Hatfield/McCoy fued didn't actually start over dog poop.....

I have two large dogs, a German Shepherd and a Lab, who I walk 3-4 times a day. I have a fenced yard, and they simply won't go unless they are walked. They also need and enjoy the exercise. That being said, I am VERY cognizant about respecting other people's property. I do not allow them to go on anyone's front lawn but direct them to an empty lot or the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road, which is public property. I always clean it up, and I never throw bags in anyone else's trash.

Caroline - I wish all dog owners were as responsible.

I'm not sure how it is where you live but in most of NJ and PA the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road is usually part of the owner's property - we pay property tax on it, maintain it, seed it and mow it. The municipalities do have a right of way for utilities but they don't own it.

A Burdock Plantation.

A quickly woven vine and burdock globe or two next to a stone pillar or bolder. One to three feet high. Want me to send you some wild burdock?

An automatic motion sensing sprinkler — with or withoutsound effects (shotgun, …).