Monday, March 5, 2012

What does "Curb Your Dog" mean?

Chicago dog owners probably see some sort of "Curb Your Dog" sign almost everyday.  But what does it mean?  Our friends at the South Poop blog have the answer:

The phrase ‘Curb Your Dog’ originated in the 1930′s in New York City.  Citing (from barrypopik.com) the Chicago Daily Tribune, 4 December 1938, “Mostly About Dogs” by Bob Becker, pg. F10: “Curb Your Dog” Good Advice:
“In New York, truly a doggy city, an ordinance has been passed to make for a cleaner city and at the same time compel the indifferent dog owner to consider public welfare. The ordinance demands that dogs be curbed. There are signs everywhere with the request, “Curb your dog.” It means that owners cannot allow their pets to soil buildings, nor can a dog make a nuisance of himself on the grass of the parkway or on the sidewalk. As a result there are practically no complaints about the dogs soiling sidewalks or grassy places which the public uses.”
That is, ‘Please Curb your Dog’ meant ‘Don’t let your dog do its business on the sidewalk. Let your dog do it in the road’.
Urban Dictionary offers this definition:

How does this translate to you?  It basically means, let your dog do his business in the "gutters" of the street and not in the middle of the sidewalk and clean up after your pet.  Moral of the story?  Don't be the disrespectful dog neighbor that let's your dog run wild and doesn't clean up after them.
You've also probably noticed that the Chicago Park District Doggie has gotten a face lift.  He's lost his heavy chain leash in favor of a chic-er look.  See the before (left) and current (right) signs posted around dog parks, parks, and public spaces.  
For a more in depth analysis on what exactly "curb your dog" means, make sure to check out South Poop.

4 comments:

  1. I always see those signs and wondered what they meant. Thanks for doing the research for me!

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  2. I recently moved to suburbia and I have to tell you: I think the dog owners in this high-end enclave are amazingly inconsiderate and disrespectful of others. I have dedicated flower beds all along the perimeter of my property: two of which are "Memory Gardens" (with signs indicating that they are special)...every day there are people walking their dogs and allowing them to urinate (and poop) in those very same beds!!! I am ready to get a bb gun and use it on the owners who are soooo stupid and careless...a few bb's in the butt might get their attention!
    Gardening is expensive and I continually have to replace killed plants because of the dog problem.
    What on earth is a person to do? I repeatedly ask the dog owners to CURB THE DOGS and they just LAUGH or totally ignore me...I may start peeing on THEIR gardens.

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  3. We had a young girl in the neighborhood years ago who would bring her gigantic dogs to our dead-end street so they could pee and poo on everyone's lawn without cleaning it up. One day after speaking to her, my wife saw her doing it again and followed her home. After walking our big dog and picking up lots of poo, my wife deposited it right in front of her door with a note advising her to stop emptying her dogs on our lawn or she would find more poo in worse places. She never returned!

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  4. Everyone will be happy if we clean up after our dogs, although it seems so many don't even try to pick up after their dogs.

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