To douse, or not to douse

I'm curious about urban dog owner etiquette if owners could chime in: I had a man scold me yesterday morning for not dousing my puppy's pee-pee in the street with water. He peed in the middle of a quiet street; not on a storefront or building. I know as the pup grows bigger I will have to decide whether to carry a water bottle every time I go outside or not. I'm developing my opinion but I feel pouring water over a dog's pee is window dressing versus ridding the sidewalk or street of stench. I have a problem schlepping water around to pretend it makes a difference. If I had a pressure washer strapped to my back and blasted my pup's urine to kingdom come then we're talking, but sprinkling water on a puddle of urine is a sideshow. City dwellers, where do you stand on this issue?

You like it or not you might want to check with your local laws. A number of spanish municipalities have started to give recommendation to douse with water mixed with white vinegar or bleach. I don't have a dog but there are now signs in my street about it and I see people doing it. In some cities it is only a recommendation, in others you can be fined. I think the main reasonning is to avoid the stains in the sidewalk. I think in Málaga it is only a recomendation. In Valencia you can get fined 50€ for example. I think these recommendation came alongside laws that prohibit the use of sulphur to repel dogs. It was quite common from some property owners used to do that to protect their walls/corners.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJ_qc_rWsAAu8I9?format=jpg

While we're on the subject this is a Spanish phenomenon below that I just learned when you see errant water bottles they are to deter dogs from peeing

https://i0.wp.com/www.galiciatips.co...24%2C683&ssl=1

In Barcelona I think it's only recommended owners douse but I'm not 100% sure tbh. The first word that comes out of Spanish cops' mouths is how much the fine they're going to give you is. It's never good day or hello or about teaching but always a swift display of power.

Tell him to never visit France and have a nice day.

Dog urine destroys the lower 2' of the facade of our apartment building, it corrodes the sidewalk transom door and freezes the lock, it eats away our iron railing around the tree well in front of our building, it kills any plant we put in the tree well except for the Bradford pear tree the city planted there, it removes the anodization on the aluminum frame on our front door and transom. Plus when one dog pisses on a spot every fcking dog in the city has to go over a piss on the spot. And it costs the owners in our building money because we are required by city regulation to keep most of those things repaired and in good condition.

I had an urban forestry teacher in college who gave this lecture about dog pee killing trees. I didn't believe her, so I conducted an experiment: I was living in a basement converted garage that I rented from a retired professor. Every day when I got home from class I went outside and pissed in the same green spot. I don't remember if it was a plant, shrub, or tree but I rendered it as dead as a doornail in a few weeks.

A few times a week my wife and I walk my (aging) parents dog to give them a break.

One early morning we saw their building staff pouring white vinegar over most of the lower area of the building nearest the lobby door. When we asked why, he said to keep dogs from peeing on the building and in the area because the urine is very corrosive. He then shared the building management gave up trying to get dog owners to be more responsible so they decided to find a way to deter the dogs. Apparently, in the long run it costs less to provide the white vinegar and pay the workers to do it than the damage the dogs will cause.

I had to reread this whole thread to understand what it was about. You learn something new every day. I have never in my life lived in a place where there isn't green space for your pets. Not sure I ever want too...

Rant deleted. No one cares obviously. Most people would live in filth even given the choice not to.

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Originally Posted by KonaSS

I had to reread this whole thread to understand what it was about. You learn something new every day. I have never in my life lived in a place where there isn't green space for your pets. Not sure I ever want too...

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Outside of New York this probably isn't an issue anywhere in the USA. Barcelona is probably an outlier in this sense. Spain has very little green to offer in its cities. This is why I posted about a dog trailer for I want to get my dog up to the mountains as soon as possible.

Urban dog ownership is a new game for me. I learn something new every day. The sociability is insane. There are misfit dogs at every turn. Then you have to be friendly with other dog owners.

I just got back from a playdate with someone I met in the street who adored my puppy. I've also gotten lunch with her partner. Kind of the opposite of Covid in that regard for as sheltered as lockdown and the pandemic was it's nice to just grab a bite to eat with someone for no other reason than they seem like a nice person.

I've been to the City several times with my dog. It's not easy being a dog when everything looks like a tree.

My wife and I were just discusses owning a dog in Tokyo and how everyone is expected to douse. It's common sense.

On the other hand, with all the post pandemic dog owners in London, the city is really horrible with poo and pee at least on the west end.
And people have bought some really big ass dogs.

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Originally Posted by Too Tall

I've been to the City several times with my dog. It's not easy being a dog when everything looks like a tree.

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Dogs as per always are not the problem.

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Originally Posted by holliscx

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I just got back from a playdate with someone I met in the street who adored my puppy. I've also gotten lunch with her partner. Kind of the opposite of Covid in that regard for as sheltered as lockdown and the pandemic was it's nice to just grab a bite to eat with someone for no other reason than they seem like a nice person.

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Careful there Elroy. You may be a happily married man with a cute puppy who likes nice people. Dog parks and dog walking society are full of wolves in sheep's clothing. There's a blog somewhere done by someone documenting the social goings-on at the dog park on 80th and Central Park West at the Natural History Museum. Read it and beware.

My HOA wants to build a dog park in our current park which has a four acre open space with grass (irrigated). The wailing, gnashing of teeth, and pearl clutching are off the charts. "I have a small dog, will smaller dogs have a separate area?" "Who will clean it up?" "my dog doesn't like other dogs, will there be times for single dogs to run around?" Dog people don't clean up after their pets now. Otherwise this is the Mohave Desert, the whole thing is a litter box.

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Originally Posted by holliscx

I had an urban forestry teacher in college who gave this lecture about dog pee killing trees. I didn't believe her, so I conducted an experiment: I was living in a basement converted garage that I rented from a retired professor. Every day when I got home from class I went outside and pissed in the same green spot. I don't remember if it was a plant, shrub, or tree but I rendered it as dead as a doornail in a few weeks.

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I had a professor who was a specialist in the physiology of herbicides. He noticed that one particular spot of the university lawns was dead and that a particular dog pissed on it every day so he got out there and captured some of that dog's urine and tested it for herbicidal activity.

Nope, it was just piss, which in high enough concentration kills anything.

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Originally Posted by j44ke

Dogs as per always are not the problem.

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I'd invite dogs into my yard to pee. I'm AOK with having to pick up the occasional fox turd in my driveway.

The drivers who go by on the road? I'm not too keen on their habits. Yes, some of these were trucker bombs.

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net...cw&oe=63EA3A09

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net...WQ&oe=640CE149

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net...sQ&oe=640CD10B

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net...-Q&oe=640CD007

And occasionally one of these idiots will dispatch a dog. Last summer and less than two miles from my house, a human friend was hit by a driver and left for dead. They've recovered from the broken neck and TBI and are riding again. We don't deserve dogs.

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Originally Posted by thollandpe

https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net...-Q&oe=640CD007

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I wonder if that Smirnoff bottle collection is courtesy of one person.

Thread drift: Is the dropout on your Rock Lobster(?) modified to allow the wheel axle to sit lower? Or did it come that way? I was thinking you might lowered the axle for more tire clearance.

I am sure the smirnoff bottles are the work of one person. Nitrous Oxide cartridges (aka Hippy Crack) are a road hazard in London.

It is almost spring which means Fly Tipping season will soon be upon us out in Surrey Hills and the Downs.... You want couches, I have couches, You want tires, I have tires, You want used mattresses, I have used matresses. Book cases, shelves, pots and pans.... you name it, I got it. Everything must go...

Hey now denigrate NO2 at the risk of defaming my Alma Mater who had the worst football team in all of college sports and we have the Sports Illustrated interview to prove it. One of our more infamous cheers "Nitrous Oxide Inert Gases All OUR players go to classes".

Back to your regular program.

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Originally Posted by KonaSS

I had to reread this whole thread to understand what it was about. You learn something new every day. I have never in my life lived in a place where there isn't green space for your pets. Not sure I ever want too...

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This is not a big thing in Spain. There are some but not in every neighborhood. Also most people being lazy, a lot will never reach for them anyway.

Also, Spain is that country where 15y ago people used to throw away any food leftover on the ground in the restaurants/bars as well as the cigarettes butts. In fact it used to be the case that it was like a seal of approval, you would look for the dirtiest places to find the best restaurants. It changed a lot in recent years through lots of campaigns because they realized it gave a bad image for tourism but there are still a few small places like that but they are very few and nowadays thoses are cheap places limited to a particular public like students.

Also I quickly found out that most spanish (at least men) don't wash their hands in the bathroom so don't expect them to handle their dogs in a clean manner, they spread their own urine and feces on everything they touch anyway, including yourself. Yes because on top of that they are very tactile!

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Originally Posted by sk_tle

Also I quickly found out that most spanish (at least men) don't wash their hands in the bathroom so don't expect them to handle their dogs in a clean manner, they spread their own urine and feces on everything they touch anyway, including yourself. Yes because on top of that they are very tactile!

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I was in Cartagena about 20 years ago and saw the restaurants you describe. It's kind of unnerving to walk through a restaurant and step on something soft and squishy. For bathrooms, I had my weirdest experience, mostly because I'm a murican, when I was using a urinal while a woman cleaned the wall and all the other urinals around me. I washed my hands but I remember there being no way to dry them. Despite dogshit and food on the floor, Spain is still one of my favorite destinations, I'll just carry hand sanitizer.

We are going there.....

Trainspotting and the worst toilet in Scotland! and that's saying something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RoMaS1pzOE

Common question on dog training/hunting sites, "Which is makes a better retriever, male or female?"

All my hunting dogs have been and will be female. Ever picked up your blind bag and shotgun after putting out decoys to learn that your buddy's dog pissed all over both of them?

My son brings his male dog over to our house often, has to run around and pee on everything in our back yard. I make my son "douse" everything that isn't fence or plant. Before this post I'd never even heard of such a thing. Just hate the smell of dog urine.

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Originally Posted by Too Tall

Hey now denigrate NO2 at the risk of defaming my Alma Mater who had the worst football team in all of college sports and we have the Sports Illustrated interview to prove it. One of our more infamous cheers "Nitrous Oxide Inert Gases All OUR players go to classes".

Back to your regular program.

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This was a legend in the area. I remember it.

Anyway, when I quit my career and join the ranks of pet owners, I’m getting cats. Furthermore, we don’t own them, they tolerate us if we feed them and make us think they love us but secretly conspire to eat us, apex predators that they are. Their cuteness is a ruse.

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Originally Posted by j44ke

Careful there Elroy. You may be a happily married man with a cute puppy who likes nice people. Dog parks and dog walking society are full of wolves in sheep's clothing. There's a blog somewhere done by someone documenting the social goings-on at the dog park on 80th and Central Park West at the Natural History Museum. Read it and beware.

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This sounds hilarious. I searched for it, no luck. It sounds like quite an inspiring dog park: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dog...ert/1100297199

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Originally Posted by defspace

This sounds hilarious. I searched for it, no luck. It sounds like quite an inspiring dog park: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dog...ert/1100297199

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I couldn't find it either. I heard someone talk about it on WNYC around the same time The Nanny Diaries came out - perhaps even because of The Nanny Diaries. So that was a while ago. All the makings of a screenplay-in-waiting.

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Originally Posted by Saab2000

This was a legend in the area. I remember it.

Anyway, when I quit my career and join the ranks of pet owners, I’m getting cats. Furthermore, we don’t own them, they tolerate us if we feed them and make us think they love us but secretly conspire to eat us, apex predators that they are. Their cuteness is a ruse.

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https://youtu.be/IiYUzYozsAQ

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Originally Posted by holliscx

I had an urban forestry teacher in college who gave this lecture about dog pee killing trees. I didn't believe her, so I conducted an experiment: I was living in a basement converted garage that I rented from a retired professor. Every day when I got home from class I went outside and pissed in the same green spot. I don't remember if it was a plant, shrub, or tree but I rendered it as dead as a doornail in a few weeks.

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I went to a boarding school I loathed. The grass on the quad below my window did not green up come springtime.

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Originally Posted by j44ke

Careful there Elroy. You may be a happily married man with a cute puppy who likes nice people. Dog parks and dog walking society are full of wolves in sheep's clothing. There's a blog somewhere done by someone documenting the social goings-on at the dog park on 80th and Central Park West at the Natural History Museum. Read it and beware.

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I'm going to hang onto the radical notion that we're adults who enjoy each other's company and are just rolling with our chance meeting. Our thread is that she's an alum of the American school where my wife teaches and our kids attend. We're meeting Tuesday for another playdate. The actress and her partner are bringing chai plus a treat for Drake.

Aren't bleach and vinegar corrosive too?

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Originally Posted by holliscx

I'm going to hang onto the radical notion that we're adults who enjoy each other's company and are just rolling with our chance meeting. Our thread is that she's an alum of the American school where my wife teaches and our kids attend. We're meeting Tuesday for another playdate. The actress and her partner are bringing chai plus a treat for Drake.

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You are a good man Hollis.

Shoes off inside? No shit…!?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...bacteria-shoes

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Originally Posted by BBB

Shoes off inside? No shit…!?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...bacteria-shoes

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A lot to be said about the Japanese custom.

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Originally Posted by vertical_doug

A lot to be said about the Japanese custom.

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Which japanese custom?

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Originally Posted by sk_tle

Which japanese custom?

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I believe he means, like in Quebec, shoes off just inside the entryway to the house. Although the causation for the reasoning for it is different, the result is the same.

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Originally Posted by htwoopup

I believe he means, like in Quebec, shoes off just inside the entryway to the house. Although the causation for the reasoning for it is different, the result is the same.

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I've never seen that as a japan only custom. I believe at least most of europe does that too, north of africa and most of asia/middle east too.

The difference might be when we have guests. I've always removed shoes at home but if I have a worker or a visit at home I tell them to not remove their shoes because I don't have guest sleepers. In Japan and some other countries guest are expected to remove their shoes too, while we just wipe the floor after the visits.

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Originally Posted by sk_tle

I've never seen that as a japan only custom. I believe at least most of europe does that too, north of africa and most of asia/middle east too.

The difference might be when we have guests. I've always removed shoes at home but if I have a worker or a visit at home I tell them to not remove their shoes because I don't have guest sleepers. In Japan and some other countries guest are expected to remove their shoes too, while we just wipe the floor after the visits.

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Though commonly practiced in Japan, Japan isn’t the only place where it’s commonly practiced.

As for contractors who show up, we provide slip-on overshoes. They don’t have to remove boots upon entering, and we reduce the amount of muck brought in. Usage of overshoes is quite common at real estate showings.

Where things get tricky is when moving in/out of a residence, though good movers would usually unroll carpets for walking.

And back on topic, one should have a designated spot for one’s bikes, especially say a bike that loops around areas such as Central Park, which has a 1-km long section known as manure (v)alley.