TuttleTree.com

Megan walks our dog Moxie through the neighborhood twice a day – he's a big dog and needs lots of exercise, and wouldn't get it otherwise. I tag along for the afternoon walks if my hips will allow it. Yesterday when returning from her walk, she told me that someone that lives down the street asked her to walk Moxie on the other side of the street because his scent "kind of makes their dog go crazy." We're positive that he's never pooped in their yard, and pretty sure he doesn't pee there either. This isn't the first time that someone from the neighborhood has expressed their distaste for Moxie. Last time, it was a lady pulling out of her driveway who stopped to stare-down Megan while Moxie was pooping in her yard – even though Megan waived and showed her the bag she was going to be picking the poop up with. But the woman continued to stare in disgust until it had been picked up.

My dog shits by TuttleTree We're not going to change anything. I'm personally of the opinion that if anyone has a problem with it they can knock on my door or take it to the homeowners association. And if the homeowners association has a problem with it, they can build a public dog run. I have to say that I can understand a small bit of concern. If someone was deathly allergic and it might send a person to the hospital if my dog peed in their yard, I wouldn't have a problem walking on the other side of the street. Not many people in our neighborhood have more than 5-10 feet of front yard, and if that's where my kids play, I don't really like the idea of poop residue that couldn't be picked up scattered in the yard. But being a dog owner myself, I understand that there's only so much you can do. We are as responsible as we can be: We're exercising our dog, we pick up his poop and take it all the way back to our own house every day – even if we pass a trash can on the way, and we've even installed an anti-bark device at the front window so that he won't go crazy when strangers and other dogs walk by. What more can we do? Am I crazy, are we in the wrong? And what about all of the dog poop we find in our own yard? I'm not talking about residue here, full piles. We aren't happy – we downright hate it, considering we pick our dog's up – but we live with it. We pick it up and throw it away. Because we're not rude, inconsiderate, meany-heads.