For some time, people were allowed to walk their dogs inside Rosedale Mall on Sunday mornings. How great was that? It gave people a place to exercise and socialize their dogs no matter the weather – an invaluable perk in the land of subzero temps and windchills.
Unfortunately, this opportunity came to an end recently due to the irresponsible dog owners who ruined it for everyone. Why? Some people failed to clean up after their dogs.
Not picking up your dog’s poop is not an option.
Letting your dog pee and poop any old place also is not an option.
We see it all the time at the school. No matter how many times we ask – in person, via email messages, with posted signs – there is always someone who lets their dog pee where we ask them not to and who leaves their dog’s poop for someone else to pick up.
Why do people ignore the signs/directions/requests or choose not to clean up after their dogs? Are these dog owners lazy? Do they think the rules don’t apply to them? Can they not read? Or are they simply that irresponsible and disrespectful?
Maybe people think, what’s the harm with one dog peeing on the side of the building or with not picking up one dog’s poop? Well, it’s never just ONE dog. One dog may do it initially – often with the owner standing there, watching and doing nothing, and pretty soon it’s a dozen dogs; one person may walk away from the pile of poop their dog left and pretty soon several people do it. Invariably, at least at the school, someone steps in the poop or walks through the pee and it gets tracked into the building on everyone’s feet. The floor, the rugs, the mats all get stinky and dirty with dog waste. Not pleasant. Not necessary.
The bottom line is this: cleaning up your dog’s poop is a must do – so much so that the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy curriculum has “Owner brings bags to classes for cleaning up after puppy.” as item #5 under the OWNER BEHAVIORS check list.
Additionally, your dog should NOT be allowed to pee on other people’s property – whether it be buildings, fences, garbage cans, shrubs and landscape areas, car tires, or whatever. It’s just not cool to let your dog soil other people’s things that they then have to clean.
And, if there are posted signs or other communication requesting that you exercise your dog in specific areas such as are found at road side rest stops, or at vet clinics, or where you might go to do therapy dog work, or at the airport, or at hotels, or at any other place where your dog is welcome (yes, even at Cloud Nine Training School for Dogs), you need to respect and follow those directions. If not, you run the risk of you and your dog no longer being welcome or, as in the case of Rosedale Mall, losing privileges and ruining opportunities for everyone.
Here’s something to consider: sniffing leads to peeing; if there’s no sniffing, there’s no peeing.
Brilliant, right? The truth is that dogs don’t need to sniff in places and areas that are none of their business. So keep those leg-lifting boy dogs and the girl dogs who like to “mark” from sniffing vertical surfaces and other places where they try to linger and you will prevent them from peeing on things they should not pee on. How simple is that?
Remember, if you have a dog, it’s your job to clean up after your dog and not let your dog poop and pee any old place. Please take this responsibility seriously so you don’t ruin it for yourself and others. It would be a sad thing if dogs were no longer welcome in public places because their owners failed to be respectful and responsible.