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Tampa is a great place to live, I recommend it. Most people behave well, there's just a few un-civilized types who can make it annoying for the rest of us.
I do not live in the suburbs. My neighborhood has sidewalks and a green space/curb/median between the front yard of homes and the street. These dog walkers are welcome to do whatever they want on that space, as it is city property. In fact, they can let their dogs poop there and not pick it up, no problem with me.
ONCE AGAIN: I am not talking about an errant paw a few inches or a few feet into my front yard.
I am talking about someone who has two gigantic dogs. This person walks the dogs on leash, down the sidewalk. This person, when they arrive at my front yard, they take their dogs off the leash and the dogs proceed to traipse all over my yard for 10-15 minutes. While this is going on this person is usually walking up and down my driveway yapping on the cell phone, and sometimes staring into the windows mindlessly (as people on cell phones tend to do), walking on the grass, etc. One time I had just woken up and I look at my front window and there is this jerkoff yapping on the phone in my driveway, as though he lives in my house! Not what I want to see at 7:30 a.m.
Another idiot in the neighborhood does the same thing. In fact, this morning, she had the audacity to grab my newspaper from my driveway in order to pick up her dog's poop with it. She then proceeded to dump the crap-smeared newspaper into my garbage can which was on the street cuz the garbage came today. Now let me see. Is that an acceptable behavior as well?
I am sorry but sometimes there is such a thing as "too laid back" and too permissive of other people's disrespect. You all are wayyyyyy too willing to put up with bad behavior (and then you wonder why our society breeds the kind of sick minds and criminals we are seeing today). I for one am not gonna allow this slippery slope. I am installing a fence. In addition, as a dog walker/owner/lover myself, it is sad that some dog owners make all of us dog owners look like arrogant self-absorbed jerks.
Tampa is a great place to live, I recommend it. Most people behave well, there's just a few un-civilized types who can make it annoying for the rest of us.
I do not live in the suburbs. My neighborhood has sidewalks and a green space/curb/median between the front yard of homes and the street. These dog walkers are welcome to do whatever they want on that space, as it is city property. In fact, they can let their dogs poop there and not pick it up, no problem with me.
ONCE AGAIN: I am not talking about an errant paw a few inches or a few feet into my front yard.
I am talking about someone who has two gigantic dogs. This person walks the dogs on leash, down the sidewalk. This person, when they arrive at my front yard, they take their dogs off the leash and the dogs proceed to traipse all over my yard for 10-15 minutes. While this is going on this person is usually walking up and down my driveway yapping on the cell phone, and sometimes staring into the windows mindlessly (as people on cell phones tend to do), walking on the grass, etc. One time I had just woken up and I look at my front window and there is this jerkoff yapping on the phone in my driveway, as though he lives in my house! Not what I want to see at 7:30 a.m.
Another idiot in the neighborhood does the same thing. In fact, this morning, she had the audacity to grab my newspaper from my driveway in order to pick up her dog's poop with it. She then proceeded to dump the crap-smeared newspaper into my garbage can which was on the street cuz the garbage came today. Now let me see. Is that an acceptable behavior as well?
I am sorry but sometimes there is such a thing as "too laid back" and too permissive of other people's disrespect. You all are wayyyyyy too willing to put up with bad behavior (and then you wonder why our society breeds the kind of sick minds and criminals we are seeing today). I for one am not gonna allow this slippery slope. I am installing a fence. In addition, as a dog walker/owner/lover myself, it is sad that some dog owners make all of us dog owners look like arrogant self-absorbed jerks.
We live in a very self-centered world. I would put a sign up that says "if your dog comes on my lawn, I will catch it, cook it, and eat it".
Put another sign up that says "Dog BBQ This Saturday".
If that doesnt work, get some tattoos on your face, because if there is one thing Americans are afraid of, it is people that are different than them.
I have used mothballs in my landscaped area out front to keep my neighbors' cats from using the mulch as a litter box, as they make piles of my pine straw and uncover other areas totally to the dirt. It seems to work. I have to put the mothballs out periodically, but the cats don't like the smell and have found another place (hopefully their own yard) to do their business. I've also placed mothballs in an area in my yard near the street where people frequently let their dogs do their business. It seems to have stopped some of the dog pee/poop also. I don't have pets and feel like I shouldn't have to put up with other people's animals.
The pet store sells this biodegradable product that you can spray into your lawn (or other areas you don't want pets to crap on) - might look into spraying that over your lawn and see what happens.
That is very rude of the person just letting their dogs have a free for all on your property......
I would say a fence, even a short one across the front, will at least solve the situation.
Where I use to live there was a ton of "common ground" this was a big space area all along the entire community. So one day I walked my small dog and lo and behold........he went way up by the
end of our road.......in the common area. I did feel bad though because the people who are seldom at the house were home. Also, I noticed that their kids played close to the common area. There was nothing I could do, as I had no bag with me. Although it is allowed in the common areas and no clean up is required.
The next time I walked him there was a note for me in chalk, on the road area, telling me to " clean up after my dog".....among other words. Ugh! Now I was doublely embarrassed........
So perhaps you can drag out the chalk and write the dude a note......before you spend on the fence.
In my embarrassment I still knew that even though she was demanding this of me.....all the dogs did use the common areas. This was a huge, huge, area in and around the community....Because it wasn't on a persons property it worked well for animal walkers.
Anyhow, I'd try the chalk.......see if he gets it.......then go from there.
I guess I should have asked if it was normal for people to not be considerate of others! It sounds like there are people who walk their dogs and just are clueless. The same thing happens in my neighborhood, although the majority are responsible pet owners. I misread your post and I apologize. I thought you (and others) we getting uptight over people walking along the sidewalk and letting their dogs sniff a few feet of your lawn. I can understand your frustration. I guess some of the responses with guns and violence isn't the tone I am use to. That is the culture I'm talking about too.
I know confrontations can be uncomfortable, but this person is obviously clueless so perhaps just letting them know could be a first step. If not I would suggest making a note like Summering suggested. My husband wrote a note on cardboard and stuck it next to the pile of poo that was left behind. Maybe at least next time they will think about it. I'd do that before spending cash on a fence.
I'm considering moving to Tampa and I would like to know if this mentality is the norm? Do people really get upset if someone or their pet happens to take a step off the sidewalk and walks a few inches onto their lawn? I'm not talking traipsing all over their front lawn, or not cleaning up after their pets. I'm just curious if things like stepping onto one's lawn really angers a lot of people in the Tampa area or if this is just a few people ranting online?
No, people don't get upset about that here. I don't know where all the malcontents in this thread are coming from, but it's not the norm to get upset about people walking their dogs in your neighborhood in Tampa. Or any place else I've ever lived.
Tampa is a great place to live, I recommend it. Most people behave well, there's just a few un-civilized types who can make it annoying for the rest of us.
I do not live in the suburbs. My neighborhood has sidewalks and a green space/curb/median between the front yard of homes and the street. These dog walkers are welcome to do whatever they want on that space, as it is city property. In fact, they can let their dogs poop there and not pick it up, no problem with me.
ONCE AGAIN: I am not talking about an errant paw a few inches or a few feet into my front yard.
I am talking about someone who has two gigantic dogs. This person walks the dogs on leash, down the sidewalk. This person, when they arrive at my front yard, they take their dogs off the leash and the dogs proceed to traipse all over my yard for 10-15 minutes. While this is going on this person is usually walking up and down my driveway yapping on the cell phone, and sometimes staring into the windows mindlessly (as people on cell phones tend to do), walking on the grass, etc. One time I had just woken up and I look at my front window and there is this jerkoff yapping on the phone in my driveway, as though he lives in my house! Not what I want to see at 7:30 a.m.
Another idiot in the neighborhood does the same thing. In fact, this morning, she had the audacity to grab my newspaper from my driveway in order to pick up her dog's poop with it. She then proceeded to dump the crap-smeared newspaper into my garbage can which was on the street cuz the garbage came today. Now let me see. Is that an acceptable behavior as well?
I am sorry but sometimes there is such a thing as "too laid back" and too permissive of other people's disrespect. You all are wayyyyyy too willing to put up with bad behavior (and then you wonder why our society breeds the kind of sick minds and criminals we are seeing today). I for one am not gonna allow this slippery slope. I am installing a fence. In addition, as a dog walker/owner/lover myself, it is sad that some dog owners make all of us dog owners look like arrogant self-absorbed jerks.
So let me get this straight...because if what you described is true, then you have a right to be upset.
You live in a somewhat urban neighborhood, with sidewalks, etc. More than one person in your neighborhood walks their dogs through your neighborhood and then specifically stops ONLY in your yard, and then proceeds to let their dogs off the leash to run in your yard. They only do this in your yard, and while doing this, they stand in your driveway talking on the phone. Their dogs trample your flowers, and the person looks in your windows.
They do pick up the poop in your yard that their dogs create.
They eventually then put their dogs back on leash and go on with their walk.
This happens frequently. You don't say how much though, but it sounds like it happens a lot.
I never said it's only my yard where they do this. I have no idea whether they do this elsewhere. Quite frankly I don't give a rats ass if they do. I don't know when and whether they put the dogs back on the leash. All I care about is what is going on in my yard.
I believe the reason they do this in my yard, however, is b/c I have a dog, and their dogs want to sniff around my yard b/c my dog has peed/pooped there. ALSO: Neither my neighbor to my left, nor to my right, have a "grassy" lawn-ish front yard (like I do) that is "walkable". In fact most of my neighbors have xeriscaping (no grass) and their yards are really not TRESPASS-FRIENDLY like mine. Maybe that is another reason why people xeriscape, come to think of it. Because you can't really walk on a bunch of dense, scratchy ground cover plants.
This behavior happens at least 4-5 times a week. Sometimes they will do it twice a day, then skip a day, then once a day the next day, etc.
Apparently you find these events hard to believe. Trust me, SO DO I.
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