Why do some people let their dogs out to potty in the their front yard (San Antonio: house, neighborhood)

[shenane]

I'm just curious
I've seen it my neighborhood and others. People have fenced backyards, yet they let their dogs out to potty (no leash) in the front yard.

I'm not talking about people who have their dog keep them company while they do yard work or wash the car. The dogs are just going out to potty. I'm not talking about folks have their dogs well-trained under voice command either.
Folks let their dogs out to potty in the front yard; the dog sees someone walking their dog and they run out at the them. The person walking the dog has to fight off the charging dog. I've seen these dogs run out into traffic - I've even seen one get hit by a car, yet the owners continue to put the dogs in the front yard to potty instead of in the back yard.

Even if the back yard fence is in disrepair, I would think that it is still much safer than letting dogs out off-leash in the front hard. And even if the owners aren't concerned about safety of their pet - what about the people who are walking by with their leashed dog? Not to mention, it's against the law in San Antonio to let a dog out off-leash.

I might sound like I'm complaining (I might be a little bit) but mostly, I'm just really curious about why.

At least I'm glad to see that the dogs live in the house with the folks instead of being in the back yard 24/7

Thanks

[RecovringKrspyKremeAddict]

I'm with ya on this one! This is a problem in my neighborhood as well. All of us have fenced in back yards and yet I see them constantly in the front yards off leash. This is a problem for me, as I have two very large dogs (Samoyed mixes, brother and sister from the same litter), of which one is a total Alpha male. Mac could eat some of these dogs for lunch, and yet I have no way of keeping the off-leash dogs from running toward us. Everyone thinks, "Oh, well MY dog will stay in the yard." Uh huh, until my Mac and Misty are walking by and then I'M the one who feels bad if my dog gets aggressive and wants to attack. (I walk them in the street as much as possible and not on neighborhood sidewalks to help avoid this problem.)

[rd2007]

My chihuahua will only go in the front yard.. he considers himself better than the other dogs and they go in the back yard. He's totally trained though and definitely isn't an attack dog. He sometimes growls at people, but that's about it

[ShaneSA]

Some dogs will not deficate where they play all day. They are like people, don't poop where you eat. The dogs are not that dumb. They consider the front yard the bathroom and the back yard or house thier play space. The dogs are not the problem, it's people not managing the dogs habits with consideration of other people. I had a dog charge me for walking down the street and the owner just smiled and said he won't hurt you. Well guess what, I hurt him ( the dog) because he came to close with big teeth. I wasn't about to find out how close he was going to get before he stopped. I kicked him in the mouth and he ran away. The owner was furious. I told him to call the cops if he was so upset. He went bavk in the house.
Not the best solution, but I didn't give the dog a chance to hurt me.

[rd2007]

Should've kicked the neighbor in the teeth, but unfortunately the law probably would've protected him. Irresponsible morons like that are the root of most problems. I would never let my big dog (chow) free in the front yard. She's very nice and the chances of her hurting anyone is very close to 0%, but I'm not stupid enough to think it couldn't happen...

[Lauren0319]

Hmmm.... I can sometimes be guilty of this, but it's for my own selfish & lazy reasons. We have a massive, fenced backyard. However, we have been completely redoing the patio and landscape so there is a lot of dirt. If the sprinklers went off in the morning, that = mud! And I get tired of wiping my dogs feet every single time I let him out back.
That said, my dog (v. friendly lab) is 100% under my voice command and will not even chase a squirrel unless I give him the okay. AND I clean up after him every time.
AND, our backyard re-do is about done and the grass should begin growing in nicely So Jaws (my killer lab ) should be sticking to his backyard soon.

[slaleman]

Problems in my neighborhood too. Although, the dogs being in their own front yard isn't as much of an issue as those people who let their dogs out and don't watch them, then they come into MY yard to do their business. Combined with riling up my dog through the gate when he's in our back yard, it really yanks my chain.

[Steel Man]

I have problems with neighborhood cats that use both front and back as their litter boxes. Nothing like digging around the tree to plant some flowers and you grab something, and it isn't a rock! It's a good thing we have a cat (indoor type) that I like.

[hadleyzoo]

Originally Posted by slaleman

Problems in my neighborhood too. Although, the dogs being in their own front yard isn't as much of an issue as those people who let their dogs out and don't watch them, then they come into MY yard to do their business. Combined with riling up my dog through the gate when he's in our back yard, it really yanks my chain.

That's the problem I see where I live too. As a matter of fact, the biggest violator happens to be the "President" of our HOA.

[Paka]

[quote=ShaneSA;3277784]Some dogs will not deficate where they play all day.

It kinda seems to me that if you only let them go in the back yard, they will eventually go even if they don't want to.

We have a dog, and I think the fact that we show her the respect of cleaning up every 3-4 days works for her.