Get Off My Lawn!

I don't know if it's true in your neighborhood as well, but a lot of folks around here have put up signs telling dog owners to keep their dogs off of the lawns/away from landscaping.  Honestly, I get it.  Between the ill-mannered dog owners who don't pick up behind their dogs, and dogs whose urine burns the grass and plants, keeping an attractive yard can be challenging. One of my neighbors with these "keep off signs" has a dog himself who he toilets out on that lawn.  When we made eye contact last week, as I crossed the street with my dogs to give his dog space, he seemed to feel the need to explain himself, saying "My lawn, my rules, and when other dogs pee here or walk on the lawn, my dog starts barking and peeing in the house by my front window!" I waved and moved on, but this got me thinking about territoriality in dogs and how we live here in suburbia has affected the way dogs communicate.

Dogs behind windows and in their fenced yards have every right to bark when you walk past or walk on their home turf.  Hopefully, if that same dog is out in front of their house in an unfenced space, they are on leash as that same dog who charges the fence or window when you walk by, might feel compelled to charge at you without a leash (or fence) to stop them. As the owner of three collies, I know all about territorial barking.  While Desi doesn't bark much anymore (except to tell me that I'm late with his meals), Ozzie and Henley do bark.  While it's true that they "own the fence" they are barking at, it's also true that the neighbors on the other side of that fence own their side of the fence as well. As a responsible dog owner, it is my job to go out and call my dogs off of that shared fence when they bark. I do let them give a couple of barks because, again, I recognize that they are just doing their job of telling me that there is someone there, but they do need to stop and come indoors when told to do so. If they don't, there will be consequences.  What are the consequences?  Ozzie doesn't test me anymore, Henley on the other hand, tests me daily.  If he doesn't immediately come in behind Ozzie, I'll leash him, bring him inside, and give him a time out. Same goes for barking at the front window or front door.  They can bark, but they need to quiet when told. And if your dog is toileting on my front lawn, or if you've let them wander on that flexi-lead all the way up to the plants under my front window, then yes, I'm going to let them bark you and your dog off that space!  Dog owner etiquette implies that you, at a minimum, keep your dog on a leash at the border of other people's property.  Just one more reason to hate those flexi-leads!

My daughter lives in Los Angeles. In her neighborhood, everyone "curbs" their dogs, meaning the dogs toilet on the city owned urban plantings or in the street.  I've seen this in San Francisco as well.  Sometimes, I do curb my dogs when walking in my own neighborhood, so that I can be respectful of the folks who don't want dogs on their lawn/plants/etc. For myself, I'm okay with dogs sniffing and relieving themselves on my lawn as long as their owners keep them at the sidewalk adjacent plantings AND pick up behind them.  I also let my own dogs re-mark those areas when we leave the house as I know it's important to them to do so. It's their territory and anyone who tries to lay claim to it otherwise, needs that reminder.

What I really feel like this all boils down to is this:  Be a good neighbor AND be a responsible dog owner.  Respect your neighbors' rights to be in their backyard without your dog barking incessantly at them.  Respect that some of your neighbors are proud of their lawns and landscaping and don't want your dog marking/toileting there.  When you are walking, keep your dog's leash at 8 feet or shorter so that they don't inadvertently wander further into someone else's yard.  Be mindful of those dogs barking at you in the window and give them space.  While I feel for my neighbor whose dog is marking in the house in response to dogs going past their house, that's something he should get a handle on, but since I wasn't asked to help, I'll keep my mouth shut, and move across the street to, at a minimum, reduce the pressure that my dogs put on his dog.  It's all about being neighborly.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

This is an old picture, but I love it nonetheless. This is Desi and Ozzie with their friend, Stella, in front of her house.  Desi and Ozzie were always invited onto their property to run around, have snacks, and yes, leave their mark.  Stella never minded as I always had treats for her too.  We miss Stella as she passed away a couple of years ago, though the neighbors have a new Labrador puppy to love and Ozzie and Westley enjoy romping with her as well.