Is It Rude To Let Your Dog Poop In A Neighbors Yard, Even If You Bag It?
The etiquette for dog owners seems pretty standard and straightforward. Don’t let your dog bark at all hours of the night, be sure to keep them leashed when out for a neighborhood walk, only let them greet a stranger or a stranger's dog if the stranger wants them to, and be sure to scoop their poop.
Basically, it all boils down to common decency. Don’t let your dog negatively impact someone's day.
But what happens if you do follow all the expected “rules” of dog ownership and still upset someone? A woman recently came across an unexpected encounter while walking her dog in their new neighborhood and was left feeling conflicted about her actions.
Redditor Juniper2020 turned to the famous r/AITA community to put her interaction up for judgment. She explains that she used to live near a park where they would regularly take their dog for walks, but they had moved to a new neighborhood that was not close to a park anymore.
While walking around their new neighborhood, her pup picked a spot in a side yard to take a poo on some pine straw. She dutifully bagged up her dog's waste and that’s all she thought of it until the neighbor who lived there came out.
The neighbor asked her to keep her dog from using his lawn in the future. OP says that even after she politely pointed out that she picked up after her dog, her neighbor “didn’t seem to think that mattered much.”
Confused by the interaction, she turned to Reddit to clarify anything she may have missed. Keep scrolling to read the responses and to see how she was judged.
OP turned to r/AITA to see if she was in the wrong.
She had assumed that picking up after her pup was more than enough to be considerate, so naturally, she was confused by her neighbor asking her not to let her dog use his lawn for a potty.
Juniper2020At surface level, it seemed like this would be a pretty unanimous decision.
giphyIf she were to ignore his request going forward, she would be in the wrong, but the first instance could be chalked up to not knowing any better
treatyourselftocatsIf someone asks you to stay off their property, then stay off it
Easy peasy, right?
Creative_Tart7794It turns out, there were some strong feelings about this topic on both sides.
CrazyBoPeepIt's impossible to get every bit of waste picked up.
stropetteA few users felt that picking up the waste is enough
princessro123
And that she should avoid that neighbors lawn if she can
loveable_fuzzy_bear
There are a LOT of neighborhoods that don't have sidewalks, making it difficult for dog walkers to keep their dogs out of yards
MonolithicPlatypus
They helped elaborate more about the no sidewalks - and again suggested to avoid that neighbors lawn
Emotional-Parfait348
The homeowner has the final say on what they want happening on their land
Brilliant_Seesaw_794
I do agree that some folks are weirdly obsessed with their lawns...
finance_n_fitness
Dogs absolutely can be trained to go in specific areas
Deserted-mermaid
And then... OP stuck her foot in her mouth
dolphin_menace
"Fine fine, I'll do it begrudgingly"
Maybe a joke that didn't translate well over text.
widefeetwelcome
Their "begrudgingly" comment definitely didn't help their case
KimmyStand
OP isn't coming across as "conscientious" as she claims to be
scallopedpotaozrock
Still, many folks agreed that you can't choose where you dog goes
Reytotheroxx
A user shared their own personal funny story essentially backing up that a dog will go wherever they decide
2_Bears_1_Puck
Turned out that this situation was not as easy to judge as it initially seemed
tenor
This became objectively one of the most divide AITA threads
Strange_One_3790
Ultimately, the majority agreed that neither OP or the neighbor were being jerks
4682458
This user personally wouldn't care if the dog was picked up after, but neighbor was fully within his rights
simplylisa
Some fights aren't worth the energy
granda_grandpa
Another user suggested the pine straw could have been freshly planted seeds
Which would definitely justify their neighbor's request even more.
sigdiff
Having a dog use the sidewalk where people use more often would be more annoying to this user
fritocloud
The homeowner is entitled to not want dogs on his property, it should be easy enough to avoid his yard
lovetoread_87
Literally no one is the a-hole for this specific situation, she didn't know it was an issue until he told her, and he's within his rights to decide what he wants on his lawn
gapeach980
While it may be the general etiquette to pick up after your pooch, her neighbor was polite about asking her to not do it again
NannyBismo
If everyone was polite, and OP respects his request, then no one is the AH
Spank_Cakes
OP is following the "right" rules by picking up after her dog, and now knows not to let her pup use this specific lawn
ThankKinsey
What do you think, do you agree with the community’s rating of No A-holes Here for Juniper2020’s situation? Was OP in the wrong, was her neighbor being overly sensitive, are they both jerks, or are neither in the wrong?
I personally would have thought that picking up my dog's waste was the extent of my responsibility while walking my dog. But if someone were to ask me to avoid letting them use their lawn, it wouldn’t be any issue to walk away from there.
