I got home from cat sitting this morning to find that the management
folks had sent out fliers to everyone in my building. Apparently,
folks have been letting their dogs run loose. They've also gotten
complaints about people letting their dogs relieve themselves out
front (a huge no-no that's addressed in our leases) and on the
sidewalks (yuck!), and that people aren't cleaning up after their
dogs.

I know for sure that part of the problem is the people in my section
who have the Boxer and Lab puppies. They've been letting them go
pretty much anywhere, which wouldn't be so bad, if they'd just clean
up after them. But they don't. I watched the girl pull up a clump
of grass to cover up a pile. Not good. Why the hell can't people
just carry a baggie with them? The dumpsters are just on the other
side of the parking lot, centrally located to all the buildings in
the complex, so it only takes two minutes to chuck the baggie
directly into the dumpster and be done with it. Or, if that's too
much work, there is a dedicated pet waste disposal trash can over by
the swimming pool.

I don't let my dog roam around off-lead, and I clean up after her, so
I am hopefully not going to have problems with management. However,
Kayla is now about Harriet's size, and they look superficially alike.
I'm concerned about them getting a complaint about a Boxer and me
getting blamed for it. If I get my pet lease revoked onna counta
someone else's dog, I am not going to be a happy camper. (They're
not the only problem owners, but they're the ones who are potentially
going to cause me a bunch of grief.)

I'm going to try talking to across-the-hall neighbor (she works for
the management company), to see what she thinks. I'm weighing the
pros and cons of pre-emptively telling the management company exactly
who the problem owners are. I really don't want to do that, though,
because I don't want to be a big, fat tattle-tale. On the other
hand, the stakes are kind of high.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

"Shelly" wrote in message
6...

I'm going to try talking to across-the-hall neighbor (she works for
the management company), to see what she thinks. I'm weighing the
pros and cons of pre-emptively telling the management company exactly
who the problem owners are. I really don't want to do that, though,
because I don't want to be a big, fat tattle-tale. On the other
hand, the stakes are kind of high.


Get Harriet a *very distinctive*, brightly colored collar and lead, so she
can't be 'mistaken' for any other dog and no other dog can be mistaken for
her.


td

On 2008-09-10 12:06:05 -0400, Terri said:

No one wants to rat out people but you and Harriet are at risk
here and quite frankly, I'm getting more than a bit tired of the many
irresponsible ruining things for the few who aren't.
It's time to take a stand and fight for your rights. It's not
going to get any easier to find places that will allow dogs.

Definately let management know who it is and make sure they know
it's not you and Harriet. In fact I'd go so far as to put giant
hot pink panties on Harriet just to make sure everyone sees YOU
making a point of picking up your dog's poop.

Sad but so.

Why should you be punished for the misdeeds of others?

Our street has a number of dogs and our street attracts a lot of dog
walkers. I was pleased to see a boy about 8-11 years old walking a cute
dog and tied to the dog's leash was an obviously-not-empty orange
newspaper bag.

Somebody trained that kid.

Why is it so difficult to train adults?

The only unclaimed poop around here belongs to the Pug who lives two
doors down. Her people are feral and can't even keep tabs on her. Our
street can be busy and people drive like maniacs.

Shelly wrote in
6:

I'm weighing the
pros and cons of pre-emptively telling the management company exactly
who the problem owners are. I really don't want to do that, though,
because I don't want to be a big, fat tattle-tale. On the other
hand, the stakes are kind of high.


I'm wondering whether it might be worth approaching Kayla's owners --
you've had good interactions with them, right? Or am I misremembering? If
so, you could share your fears with them. Peer pressure can be pretty
effective...

When Zoe was a puppy, we lived on a farm and it wasn't necessary to clean
up after her. The whole idea of cleanup kind of grossed me out, which
seems laughable now, but I talked to someone at work who lived in town
and thus I knew he had to be cleaning up after his dogs -- he kind of
talked me through the process (don't laugh! I didn't understand what to
do!) and made a crude remark which made me laugh and from then on, I had
no problem. If these folks never clean up after Kayla, they might have
these issues...

Also, I buy blue poop bags with handles -- even though some (most?) would
find that a waste of money, for me it makes the whole thing easier to
deal with.

--
Catherine
& Zoe, Queenie, & Max, 3 black dogs of varying sizes
& Rosalie the calico cat
www.ourladyofperfection.blogspot.com

Shelly said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

I'm weighing the
pros and cons of pre-emptively telling the management
company exactly who the problem owners are. I really don't
want to do that, though, because I don't want to be a big,
fat tattle-tale. On the other hand, the stakes are kind of
high.

I have no such reservations when it comes to this. Rat them
out.

Outdoor agility trials are best on rugby and polo fields (great
drainage when it rains). The rules are for a reason. I've
known agility groups who've lost the use of the facility because
a competitor has allowed their dog to defecate on a playing
field or chase polo ponies.

I could go on.

I will go on. I stayed in a motel with my three dogs last
weekend. I picked up poo that wasn't mine or my dogs'. I
combed the carpet every morning to pick up Rocky-hair. All so
that the next dog person can get a reservation.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Shelly wrote:


I'm going to try talking to across-the-hall neighbor (she works for
the management company), to see what she thinks. I'm weighing the
pros and cons of pre-emptively telling the management company exactly
who the problem owners are. I really don't want to do that, though,
because I don't want to be a big, fat tattle-tale. On the other
hand, the stakes are kind of high.

Damned right.

I wouldn't even approach the problem dogs' owners. Go straight to the
management company and let them deal with it.

And I think the suggestions for making your dog visually distinctive are
good. Morons failing to clean up after their dogs are an ongoing issue
at Canine Country, as are idiots who feel it's perfectly okay to have 8
out-of-control dogs careening around.

My dogs wear blaze orange vests with reflective striping that make them
instantly recognizable from far away. Nobody is going to mistake them
for any other dogs, and conversely, it keeps me on the up and up as
well. They drop a load or misbehave in any other way, I own it.

"Shelly" wrote in message
6...
I got home from cat sitting this morning to find that the management
folks had sent out fliers to everyone in my building. Apparently,
folks have been letting their dogs run loose. They've also gotten
complaints about people letting their dogs relieve themselves out
front (a huge no-no that's addressed in our leases) and on the
sidewalks (yuck!), and that people aren't cleaning up after their
dogs.

We went to the closing of the pool on Sunday - a local YMCA has dog games in
the pool on the last day. Very fun, and constant announcements to pick up
after your dog. There was an, oh, about 14 year old girl there. Her dog
left a pile on the cement, poolside. She started to walk away, and the lady
sitting there asked her to clean it up. She looked at it, looked at the
lady, and replied... I'm not cleaning up that ****. And walked away. At
the other end of the pool, a dog had vomited right beside the pool, the
owner left it. People drive me nuts. I saw people step in both things
before I got back to scoop and throw buckets of pool water on it to wash it
to the drain. Heck, they even provided bags for you to use.

This is exactly why facilities like this don't invite dog groups back. Atty
had so much fun, I'd hate for them to cancel it (it was the third year). I
feel the same way about hotels. Just be responsible - clean up. We use
scoopers from any pet store that are bags connected to a cardboard handle -
no need to even touch it. Just scoop and push down - makes a nice little
carrying case of poo - handle and all.

I don't care what you do in your yard, but in public - rest stops, streets,
I don't care where you are... be responsible and clean up. There is
nothing worse than taking your dog out and coming back to your hotel room
(or wherever) with dog crap on your shoes.

While the tattling is tricky, I'm all for letting management know who's
responsible. Let them deal with it - that's why they get paid. And while
you're there, make sure you let them know that it's NOT you. It's not your
fault if they can't follow the rules and get evicted. They have obviously
had complaints and have sent the generic letter to all people. If it
doesn't stop, *they* will need to deal directly with the offenders. It's
not fair for the tenents who follow the rules to be punished for those who
don't.

Just my 2 cents and my added rant. I feel the same about people who toss
trash out their car windows and empty ashtrays in parking lots.... but
that's another rant for another day.

Sue and Atty

In article ,
"Sue and Atty" wrote:

There was an, oh, about 14 year old girl there. Her dog
left a pile on the cement, poolside. She started to walk away, and the lady
sitting there asked her to clean it up. She looked at it, looked at the
lady, and replied... I'm not cleaning up that ****. And walked away.

Don't you wish you could just grab her ear and walk her over to it and
make her do it? Brat.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Janet Boss wrote:

In article ,
"Sue and Atty" wrote:


There was an, oh, about 14 year old girl there. Her dog
left a pile on the cement, poolside. She started to walk away, and the lady
sitting there asked her to clean it up. She looked at it, looked at the
lady, and replied... I'm not cleaning up that ****. And walked away.


Don't you wish you could just grab her ear and walk her over to it and
make her do it? Brat.


I would have. Sorry, I've dealt with that with a few 4-H kids. And I've
walked right up to them and said, "Yes, you ARE. It's your job, it's
something you agreed to do when you came here. I'll get you a bag."
Very, very few kids, even 14 year olds, are willing to stand up to that
kind of pressure from an adult.

The one kid I forced to do it was surly as hell about it, but she got it
done. Mission accomplished.

In article vxYxk.336761$yE1.287723@attbi_s21,
Robin Nuttall wrote:


Very, very few kids, even 14 year olds, are willing to stand up to that
kind of pressure from an adult.

Good for you! I think I would have pressed her verbally as well.
Grabbing the ear would have gotten me arrested, but I still would have
been tempted!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com