Let’s Talk About Dog Poopin’…
On my noon White Dog walk I was heading home, W. on 2nd St. from Los Angeles St. to Main St., passing by the old cathedral/mission as I usually do to avoid the mass of dogs on the “CalTrans” or north side of 2nd St. At the light, a group of ladies that had been following me caught up and one said “It’s obvious you live down here- where does your dog go to the bathroom?”
I was kind of taken back by the question, thinking “Is this a trick to get me to pick up dog poop somewhere?” and then I wanted to come up with a smart line (along the lines of “does a bear sh*t in the woods?”), but under pressure I simply pointed over at City Hall and said “Isis likes to go over in the grass at City Hall”. And then she looked at me puzzled, like “your dog defiles City Hall property?”- the light changed though and I walked away from the flummoxed lady. Meanwhile, I’m also thinking about how much human DNA her group just walked through on that grimy corridor on the south side of 2nd St.
Then when I was walking Isis later today, I’m realizing how my dog walks are tailored to where my dog will poop, and how I change my dog walk depending on whether my dog has pooped or not.
Isis has her favorite place to “get busy”- the grass on the south side of City Hall South- she owns the grass on 1st St. from Los Angeles St. to Main St., and it’s pretty much a sure thing she will take care of business there. And then we can head out to other neighborhoods with a slim chance she will embarrass me in front of an outdoor cafe, etc. (Of course I always bring 2, if not 3, “doggie-doo bags” to pick up anything she leaves behind while we walk).
If she doesn’t go on the strip along 1st St, she probably will on a loop around City Hall- I circle it clockwise so the grass (and Isis) is always on my right, as my dog trainer decrees. There is plenty of grass along this route, but Isis will usually stop to take a dump near the very busy bus stop at 200 N. Spring, which is always interesting to hear what comments people make (I understand that it’s busy with people there, but it’s also one of few places with grass- I feel bad for poeple that lay out in the grass there- what are they thinking?- it is a favorite doggie playground).
I also have another “sure-fire poop route” that takes me through the back alleys of Little Tokyo. There is a little dirt road that wonders behind a Japanese garden, and into the parking lot of a Japanese senior housing project. But this walk must be timed right as it is a few blocks from my place and if Isis decides the sidewalk on the way looks like dumping ground, then there’s not much I can do. Once there, it is a nice, quiet place, except for the feral cats that taunt my little girl. The parking lot takes us out on 3rd St., which is also “dog poop friendly” as it has the “tree boxes” every 20 feet or so, filled with dirt for every dogs pleasure.
So those are my 2 favorite ways to start my dog walks, to make sure White Dog gets busy right away, so that then we can head to more populated places and (hopefully) she will not need to go again.
I think I’m going to do a custom Google Map with dog-walks mapped out, with emphasis on keeping grass on the right side for proper leash behavior, and “strike zones” for good places to encourage your dog to “get busy”. Maybe I can enlist some of you other downtown folk to tell me where the small, teeny-tiny patches of grass or dirt are in your neighborhood, where your dog likes to GO.
Once I had stopped at a tree where Ruby was in the process of doing her business. A woman from the other side of the street shouted out that I’d better clean up that mess. She kept shouting at me until I had the poop in the plastic bag. Then I jaywalked to the bus stop and confronted her. I told her that I did not appreciate being yelled at for something I planned to do but hadn’t had a chance to do yet.
All of a sudden she was speechless. Her face was bright red and she wouldn’t look me in the eye. I told her she needed to apologize to me and she finally blurted out “sorry” before she vaulted into the bus. grrrrrrrr……..
Ruby prefers the trees for her duty. Her favorites are the ones with metal grillwork around the bottom. I like those best too because they are easiest to clean up.
My gym has a big roll of plastic bags for wet garments. These are the Cadillac of dog poop bags. I can stick my arm in one and it goes up to my elbow. Then I grab a handful of the poop and pull the back inside out over my clenched hand. After that I knot it up twice (now this shows how considerate I am; I do it to cut down the smell!) and properly dispose of it.
About half the time I am able to pull the bag out, stretch it over my arm and position my hand under Ruby’s behind before the poop comes out and hits the ground. This is something I quite proud of. It takes speed, dexterity and timing and I have such a proud look on my face whenever I pull this stunt off.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:04 pmJoe- you are the maestro of poop-scooping! And good for you telling that lady to apologize… I don’t think I’d have had the guts to.
LAAC doesn’t provide any cool bags like Gold’s, so I have to BUY them, and I don’t always tie them (surprise! for the bums digging through trash).
Like your rant on not enough public bathrooms while dog walking, Little Tokyo has NO public trash cans! I walk around there with a little “present” in my hands and it drives me crazy- it’s just about impossible to try to act “cool” when trying to flirt with someone while holding a bag of dog poop
May 7th, 2008 at 5:36 pmWe too tailor our walks to the ‘green space’ in downtown Los Angeles. There isn’t much of it of course so it can be a little tough at times.
We recently found a nice strip of ‘grass’ (the grass is trying to grow, but it is 50% dirt I think) between Flower and Hope on 9th Street - directly across the street from Ralph’s.
Around the corner on Flower just past 9th there is a small patch that we frequent if Carter doesn’t do his thing by that time.
We could all use a little more grass down here huh?
May 8th, 2008 at 2:17 amHa ha- yes, “grass” is a generic term I use when describing areas that are not concrete. It really doesn’t have to be green, as 50% of the area around City Hall will never need to be mowed, but Isis still loves getting off the pavement.
But I must say, she never needs her nails clipped with all the pavement-pounding she does…
May 8th, 2008 at 12:57 pmeric, i think that’s a great idea to put together a map of dog-friendly spaces, for playing and taking care of business.
the good news is that we may be getting bag-dispensing dog kiosks in the neighborhood soon.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:22 pmHi Celia- doesn’t Spring St. already have a “dog poo bag” dispensor? I thought I had read about it somewhere. Anyway, I just would be happy w/ trash cans- as I will have my own bags (not as “cool” as Joe’s Golds bags). You know the bags will not be where you need them
May 8th, 2008 at 10:54 pmeric,
I think you read about the doggy poo bag dispensers here!!
May 9th, 2008 at 8:24 pmYes alexis- you are right! Now get Captain Chaos back on the keyboard and have him tell us what he’s been up to
May 9th, 2008 at 9:10 pmI believe you said that your trainer says you should keep your dog on right when you walk together. I was trained, with my dog, to keep her on the left. Only seeing eye dogs are kept on the right. Please correct me if I am wrong. Just in case, I have assumed the position.
Don
May 10th, 2008 at 5:38 pmHey Don- I’m sure my trainer told me to walk dog on my right side- in any event, it’s too late to try to change her, as she is very trained to staying on right side.
Maybe I was taught wrong, but it’s impossible to undo now…
May 12th, 2008 at 4:33 pm