Potty Etiquette

OK, you are a dog owner and with dog ownership, comes certain responsibilities.  Making sure your dog has food, shelter and plenty of water are some of the obvious responsibilities.  But one responsibility not so obvious, at least to some, is picking up after your dog during his potty break.

If you have visited any pet store at all, you probably have seen a plethora of brightly colored, fancily designed and multi-floral fragranced poop bags.  And with those little plastic gems of frank utility, comes the ensemble of the fancy, functional, ever clever poop bag holder.

So you’ve decided you are a responsible dog owner and with much deliberation, have chosen your tools very carefully.  Now that you are outfitted with the proper equipment of pink poka-dotted, lavender fragranced, bio-degradable poop bags, complete with matching holder with clever belt clip, let’s talk about what exactly is appropriate potty etiquette.  You’ve heard all about those pet owners that never pick up after their dogs and you certainly aren’t going to be like them.  You’re a responsible dog owner.  Anyone can tell that by the pretty bags you purchased.

So you take Fluffy for her walk in your neighborhood.  Fluffy delights in sniffing every plant and leaf along the way in the common area of the neighborhood.  However, all the sniffing isn’t bringing about the desired results of the much needed elimination phase of this walk.  So you continue to walk Fluffy, but now you are at your neighbor’s yard.  It’s a nicely groomed yard with pretty flowers all about.  You decide to let Fluffy sniff the flowers.  Uh oh!  Fluffy has decided this is the perfect picturesque spot for her morning constitution.  Now it could be said that it’s OK, to let Fluffy go ahead and relieve herself right there between the Impatiens and the Black-Eyed-Susan’s.  It’s OK because you are equipped with the pink poka-dotted bags.  Right? 

Well, no, not right.  Not only have you allowed Fluffy to ignore the appropriate potty area and move on to a neighbor’s yard, you have now allowed her to parade through the delicate flower bed that someone belabored over and wants to keep pretty without fear of being trampled by your beloved Fluffy.

OK, OK, it was an accident, I get it.  Besides you have the appropriate equipment.  So you dutifully bend down to pick up the deposit that has been made and find that Fluffy seems to be having tummy troubles.  So much for having the appropriate tools.  No amount of cleverly donning your hand with the lavender fragranced, bio-degradable poop bag is ever going to be able to pick that up.  Well, you certainly won’t make that mistake again.  Lesson learned.  Stay away from flower beds.  They cause diarrhea. 

The next week you are out for Fluffy’s walk and again she decides the common potty area just isn’t where she wants to relieve herself, so you again let her walk on.  You make sure this time to walk on the other side of the road to avoid those pretty flowers that caused Fluffy to have tummy troubles.  Fluffy thinks the yard on this side of the road is a nice spot to sniff and low and behold, decides to make a deposit of an oh so smelly nature.  You quickly don your poop bag, bend down to pick up the deposit and realize the grass is a little deep and you can’t quite get all of the deposit.  Hmmm, well, it’s OK because you got most of it.  Right?

No, not right!  You have let your dog poop in someone else’s yard and now you can’t pick all of the poop up yet again.  Hopefully the owner won’t mind too much when he goes to mow his lawn and steps in dog poop.  Oh and by the way, he doesn’t even own a dog. 

I’m always amazed at people that think it’s OK to let their dogs potty in someone else’s yard, not thinking twice about how the owner feels about it.  Even though you dutifully pick up the poop, you can’t be sure you’ll be able to pick it all up and urine can potentially kill the plants and grass. 

Let your dog use your own yard to relieve himself or take him to an appropriate common area.  Not everyone is a dog person and those that are, don’t necessarily want other dogs pooping in their yard.  Always pick up after your dog, but be aware of where you allow your dog to relieve himself.  Be mindful and courteous to your neighbors.  They will be very appreciative. 

Happy potty breaks!

Dog Training At Home Tips
www.DogTrainingAtHomeTips.com