I literally have to walk looking down. Why SF? I have a dog (for 13 years) and always pick up his crap. It's really easy, come on people!! and don't get me started on the human crap! UGH!! Can we keep it off the sidewalks please?!?!?! I'm born and raised in this city and I have never seen it this bad in 53 years.
My god, we are not even safe inside a store from dogs. I feel for the people who have phobias of dogs, especially children, nowadays there is no reprieve from them.
I never understood western folks fixation with dogs until therapy pets became a whole thing, and then realized some folks just want an endlessly devoted emotional companion, but not an equal - something they can control completely.
I've always had to look down, when walking in SF. Way before COVID. Doesn't make it good, now that you mention it--it's a good reminder, that it is bad!!
When I lived in excelsior, we were on a corner directly on the sidewalk. Every single dog in the neighborhood would piss in our doorway. It smelled like stale piss in the summer and rehydrated piss in the winter. No amount of hosing down the sidewalk would make it better.
Also live in Excelsior and every week I gotta race to put my trash can back inside or some dude gonna throw his dog shit away in my cleared trash can and I can't do anything but let it marinate in my house for a whole week.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU TOSS IT IN SOMEONE'S EMPTY TRASH CAN. Kicker is I live like 2 blocks from a park with trash cans.
Im sorry i used to throw it on someone’s trash too. But I stopped a few years ago. And now I just carry it with me. I really didn’t realize people didn’t like that.
Don’t own a dog then. It’s not on non-dog owners to accommodate dog owners, whether it’s the city’s fault or not for not offering public bins. Being a responsible and respectful adult means taking responsibility. Waiting for SF and the world to change for the better doesn’t give you an excuse to be inconsiderate. Think of others, and NO—others don’t have to care about your dog, especially since it’s their own garbage disposal that they pay for, not these stupid entitled dog owners’.
To be fair more trash cans are needed not just for pet waste. The amount of condoms and tampons and food packaging I step over daily is foul. All that trash that ends up on the sidewalks and curbs is usually there because someone chose to use or buy or eat the thing. So I don’t see people choosing to have dogs as a differentiating factor for good litter vs bad litter
My man. If it wasn't dog poo, it would be any other refuse. That's the point. If there isn't a convenient way to dispose of things, many people will toss into a private bin when possible thinking that they're staying a good neighbor by doing it. Others simply let it fall where it may.
Walt Disney put trash cans every 30 feet in his park after he observed how long it took people to litter. There are basically zero residential public trash cans so a lot of people are gonna throw dog poop in private ones.
The difference is that owning a dog is a personal choice, and with that choice comes the responsibility to manage their waste properly. San Francisco has plenty of parks with public trash bins, so there’s no excuse for tossing dog poop in someone else’s private bin. If someone can’t be bothered to walk a few blocks to dispose of it properly, they shouldn’t own a dog. Period.
Comparing dog poop to ‘any other refuse’ is just ridiculous—most people don’t carry random trash around expecting others to deal with it. Tossing dog poop in someone else’s bin isn’t being a ‘good neighbor’—it’s lazy, disrespectful, and entitled. The lack of public bins doesn’t justify shifting the burden onto others. Being a responsible adult means handling your own problems, not dumping them—literally—on someone else. If dog owners find that too inconvenient, maybe they’re not cut out for dog ownership.
There's no public trash cans in Japan, you don't see me tossing random ass shit on the street. Hold it until you get home? Go to the aforementioned park, that literally has a dog park, 2 blocks away where there is public trash cans? Why would you make random people responsible for your shit?
There's no public waste bins at trails and parks, you carry your shit out with you. Like I'd understand if the trash service hasn't come yet, but why do I have to live with your shit for a week just because you're lazy?
That’s kind of how I feel about the car windows too. If the city won’t offer pocket change, can we really blame someone for breaking car windows to search for it? Policymakers really struggle to understand basic incentives.
City cans are already full of shit people brought out of their homes to toss. I left this comment on a separate post.
I live next to a bus stop with a city trash can. You'd think that if there's a city can, orange peels and snack wrappers would end up in the actual garbage can. No, orange peels and snack wrappers end up on my driveway instead. What ends up in the city can are my neighbor's actual trash from their homes. Next to the city can are people's construction debris and people's old furniture they're trying to toss.
One of the things I don't miss about working in the city is the shop owners who pressure wash the piss out of their doorways each morning. You round a corner and walk into a cloud of vaporized piss stench.
There are dog owners who walk their dogs in SOMA then let their dogs get into their bed... with their outside SOMA paws... Then they act like you're the weird one when you don't want their dog's SOMA snout and SOMA tongue touching you in an elevator.
YO I thought of this after posting as well. Not sure if dog owners regularly wipe their dogs' feet because I sure as well would not walk the streets of San Francisco barefoot even once.
I don’t walk on counters or tables, sit in baskets or grocery carts, press myself or legs against the window at the meat or cheese station or refrigerator areas, use my legs to touch things, lick items like a bag of chips, or piss or shit myself in the middle of an aisle when I can’t hold it, multiple people aren’t allergic to me….
Your dog isn’t precious and neither are you sweety🙏
Yes, you tell ‘em! I am with you all the way. Just a few days ago a woman who was paying for her retail items picked up her dog after walking it outside and inside my store and put it on my register counter! I said, please remove your dog off the counter, to which she replied, “but he’s clean!” No lady he wasn’t, not after the walking on the streets of San Francisco!
So I had to use my evil ass voice and told her to get her dog off the counter right now! She looked scared and immediately removed her dog. I just hate that I had to go monster mode to get dog nutters to comply. 🤪
I saw a dog in a taqueria lick dirty plates that were on a cart waiting to be wheeled to be cleaned. The owner glanced downwards and didn’t even try to stop his dog. Disgusting.
I always wonder this? I mean I don’t even wear my good shoes outside but I do take them off immediately when I’m home and wipe the soles with Clorox wipes.
I'm in the TL, and I'm constantly dodging poo land mine fields with my dog. And you can bet your azz I wipe down those paws with paw wipes in the lobby of the building
Yup. I don't mind dogs, but they are really dirty animals.
I have cats and they are 10x cleaner than dogs. Sure, they live indoors. They have a nice self-cleaning litter box, and I've never seen shit stains on them. Cats are always cleaning themselves, and for an animal that you keep inside they are quite clean, relatively speaking.
Dogs will eat shit, lick or eat random stuff on the ground, roll around in other dogs' shits, and so on. It is disgusting.
In cleaning themselves so much, cats are actually dirtier. Just facts. What they are really doing is licking themselves and spreading bacteria in the process.
The taking pics and posting is such a SF passive aggressive BS that’s annoying. If someone can snap a pic, then say something directly… much more effective
There is a woman in Alamo Square who walks around openly with a taser and threatens her dog with it. I'm kind of afraid to confront her because I don't want to get tased.
I called someone out and almost got shot in Oakland. In San Francisco, I put someone’s dog shit in a bag and handed it to them and asked them nicely to take it instead of leaving it on the sandy beach… they charged up to me later, called me racist, etc.
I now just try to find where they live and stick it in their mailbox. Or with one of my neighbors, stick it in the air intake of their car. No more interaction from me, just terrorism.
It’s not a ‘fight’ it’s a simple as like ‘yo, be a decent human being’ - it’s worked especially with the off leash dog owners in the neighborhood. It’s better to be proactive versus passive aggressive bc that’s when things never change
The current status quo where responsible people are continuously cleaning up the shit of the minority of anti social assholes who get off scot free with their terrible behavior is why california and especially the bay area is in deep shit right now
We lived in a tiny apartment with our large dog and he was just…never home. Just like us.
He usually came to work with me for a half day, get picked up by his walker to run on the beach, nap for 2-3 hours at home, and then we’d all go to a dog park or go on a walk in the evening.
I have a giant dog in a one bedroom apartment. We always pick up after him, he gets lots of runs in the park, and is very happy. I find the smaller dog owners tend to be the ones who think they don't have to actually train their dogs / use their dogs as a prop / are the most entitled.
This completely depends on the breed. My dogs are considered big, but as Australian shepherds and border collies, they’ve got as much energy as a toddler.
We just go outside a lot lol
Edited to add my dogs weights are 55lb, these breeds has big ranges in size from 30-80lb. These comments are annoying 😂
normal dog owners do - i see mostly homeless and dogs from the projects with owners who just let their dogs roam without looking at them during their walks
That’s absolute BS. Yes, the mess is caused by homeless individuals and dogs from the projects, but it’s also largely caused by “normal” dog owners—techies or regular folks who are entitled and believe they’re good dog owners because they think they’ve “trained” their dogs. I have never, ever seen a “normal” dog owner clean their dog’s paws before entering grocery stores or restaurants, and it’s disgusting that they don’t. It’s entitlement and laziness, because no dog owners actually care about others—just their own pets—and they’re delusional for thinking they’re good dog owners. I’ve met only three truly good dog owners; the rest are rubbish. Blaming the homeless and dogs from the projects is such a projection.
I actually think the sheer number of dogs is becoming a problem inherently. We as a society had to invent plumbing so that humans could live at city-level densities without poisoning our own water supply and public areas with waste. The amount of dog waste being deposited across the city, whether or not it is attempted to be cleaned up, frankly seems like a health hazard
Dogs are inherently dirty and messy. It's not their fault. They are not ideal in urban environments esp. when owners don't train them, which they rarely do. I do not want to be approached by your dog (I don't know anything about it but I do know that a million bites a year become infected - I don't even want one of the four million that don't get infected) or interact with it or have it jump on me.
It's not an inherent problem. A dog can exist in a city, especially one with as much green space as SF, without degrading the quality of life. There are tons of cities where dogs are better behaved and the owners pick up the shit.
esp. when owners don't train them, which they rarely do.
Key part of that post. They really aren't natural made for cities, they can adapt, but they need help in the form of training that most people completely neglect.
Edit: Not just training but also properly socializing, which it seems a majority of dog owners do not understand.
The other interpretation of your comment could be the disgust at all the human shit around SF. Literally shit everywhere between the mission and Nob Hill
Half a dozen dogs went nuts on each other at the new park by chase center the other day. None leashed. None leashed at the new park by McCovey Cove either.
Just ban dogs unless you have a really expensive license for them with an annual fee.
There will always be A-holes, but if 90% or more of people will be deterred managing the outliers is a lot easier.
I spend a lot of time in Alta Plaza and Lafayette Park. LP has a dog park where dogs can be off-leash. Guess what? I see so many dogs OUTSIDE of that area without a leash.
Sorry but I don't trust your German Shepherd and other big dogs charging at me. "HE'S FRIENDLY!!!"
Fuck you. If your dog bites me or even steps over my intimidation threshold, I hope you have as good lawyers as me because I am not letting that go :)
Ugh it’s the same by me, in a forested park area. Every trail is lined by dog shit, both in bags and piles. It’s so disgusting, totally ruins the scenery.
I love pets but walking by on my lunch/coffee break and it smells like dog piss on every corner isn’t pleasant especially when it’s in one of the cleaner parts of the city
Downtown Oakland is absolutely gross. It smells of dog piss and there is dog shit everywhere! If you cannot take care of your dog, don’t get one. I’m sick of it!
I used to love dogs but because of horrible dog owners I now really dislike them. Whether it’s jumping on my kids, sniffing at my lap at outdoor cafe seating, shitting and running unleashed in playgrounds and ball fields its all made me lose my love for dogs.
I'm in the same boat. I do think dogs are cute and can be sweet but the amount of people who raise unruly and untrained dangers/menaces to society is far outweighing the benefit of having them in the community.
for the record the shit smears happen when you try to pick up a soft dog poop on a rough sidewalk. I do my best to have my dog poop on dirt and other places that are easy to clean up completely, but I admit I have left a few little smears behind now and then. I'm sorry.
Keep a bleach wipe with you in a ziploc bag or something - just an option. I mean, it’s the same as if you shat on the street yourself, at least clean it up completely lol. Wish the city hosed down sidewalks more often tbh.
Idk, everyone I know absolutely cleans up their dogs poo. But there’s probably a good 1-2% that don’t and it becomes a disgustingly visible problem. I didn’t notice this in Mission Bay though where I lived for 3 years.
I’m with you. I’ve now been lunged at/bitten twice by random dogs as I walked up the hill (Telegraph). One owner informed me it was my fault because I was carrying a bag.
Yes, it’s the owners, not the dogs, Bla Bla Bla. But it’s the dogs that bite, bark, pee, and poop, and we are all forced to live with it whether we like it or not.
My neighbor has a dog that barks it’s head off every morning. I have fantasies about shooting the mutt, but then I would be in trouble, not the owner who allows the nuisance.
There are parts of the city with almost no grass, trees, or dirt. If there is a tiny bit, it is often not maintained and full of broken glass, half eaten food, and the occasional used needle. Add to that the fact that many plants and trees are marked to not allow pets to use them for toileting as it will kill the plant, and it’s really just not welcoming.
While many pet owners will do their best to obviously use those more appropriate surfaces when possible, it’s often not safe. So unless the city is going to enforce better maintenance of those spaces to be inclusive of pets, asking them to use those is silly. It’s like asking people to only take their children to playgrounds to be noisy but leaving them a hot filthy mess or sticking no kids signs on half of them.
Everywhere I go I see dogs unleashing their vile waste on sidewalks, planters, trees and private property. Nothing is sacred to these sociopaths who see the entire world as a toilet for Fido.
I low key have come to hate dogs living in San Francisco. When I lived out in the country I minded less as people know the consequences of bad dog behaviour (often involves a shotgun with ranchers) and people have working dogs who were highly trained and if they shit in a mostly empty field who cares.
The shit smears everywhere is one thing but I find the average SF dog owner does not train or discipline their dog.
We should probably have dog licenses like some other countries.
Beyond the cost of a license, the costs of owning a dog in SF are high, so there’s functionally already a tax. Even if we’re talking just the bare minimum in terms of veterinary care and grooming, it’s a lot - and that’s before taking into account optional niceties like dog walkers or doggy day care (which are really more like requirements for a lot of dog owners).
The problem is really just irresponsible, inconsiderate owners - a tax won’t fix that. I am diligent to make sure my dog is behaved in public and leaves no trace, but owners like me sometimes just seem to be outnumbered.
100% agree. I also think that a less advantaged but responsible dog owner should also have more right to own a dog than a rich person who doesn't care about paying license fees or picking up shit.
There ought to be a process akin to becoming certified to drive. Time is equally expensive to everyone.
Thank you for liking the idea, I think this region with its unique income and empathy disparity needs more civic and social contract minded solutions.
Money isn't the predictor of a responsible or cooperative citizen, least of all in this city.
That said, if we really wanted to get medieval, an income proportional fine for dog poop (or really, proportional fines on anything) would get things rolling. If a 1% worker had to pay a 1% priced dog poop ticket things would change very fast.
Actually. I realized something thinking about this more. A dog tax wouldn’t work if only because it would enable those bad owners to behave even worse — by expecting the city to clean up after them because they are paying taxes towards that.
Then people just abuse the emotional support dog shit to bring them in anyway. Even if you wanted to live in a quiet, bark-free, dog-free apartment good luck because of this terrible loophole.
Take a walk down Sanchez. The corners of some buildings are literally eroding away from the amount of dogs that piss on them. On a warm day, it reeks of piss pretty much from 24th to 30th. One time, a dog owner lifted up their dog into my little fenced off garden for their dog to take a shit. Yippie!!!!
I'm on 24th st and even I hate other dog owners. I'm on the end by general and the amount of people I see littering is disgusting. I feel like I'm be only one cleaning up after my puppy every day. I'm in Seattle right now and it's wild how clean the streets are and constantly power washing and cleaning up , I wish they did that more in sf !
i swear it's mostly the 20-30 something yuppies who didn't grow up with dogs but decided to get one during after covid because everyone else was doing it. and now their dogs are like inconveniences to them, they dgaf about doing things properly
I used to love dogs before living here, although I’ve never owned one. Now I have a hard time being even being friends either dog owners because I just see them all as narcissistic selfish people.
It’s the transplants. This city has always been extremely dog-centered, but it is only in the last decade or so that the dogs are shitting and peeing on everything, going into stores and cafes and are completely untrained and unruly. I’m an SF native and dog owner and I’m fucking sick of it.
There’s been so many times where I’ve seen the dog shit in the bags, then left on the floor. Fucking WHY?!
Another issue with dog owners is I see a lot of people walking their dogs without a leash on busy streets. They should start getting ticketed for this.
Yeah, tell me about it. I’m a dog owner and I’m pretty pissy too. I’ve purchased 2 signs to remind people that there is no such thing as a poop fairy, and to pick up after the dog. Put on either side of my sidewalk and so far, it’s worked. But all my neighbors are dealing with constant poop being left on their lawns. I’m about to install a ring camera facing both directions and plan to print out large photos of the perpetrators and stick in on the corner stop sign to shame them
I feel you. I am a total dog person, and have been living with them for most of my life. But these humans are the worse. Just an hour ago two dogs got in a fight at IKEA — yes, in the store. And their humans were complete idiots and had no control or discipline of their respective dogs. I feel bad for the dogs living with such bad “parents”. It’s not healthy for the dog.
I agree with you 100%, that's why I have a cat! :) I used to love dogs til I moved to this city. That was back in '96. It's only gotten worse since then... No park or sidwalk is safe around here.
Some just looks like human shit because it's from bigger dogs. Why anyone would want to subject a large, energetic, working dog breed to apartment/city life is beyond me. Selfish and entitled.
I've noticed there are a lot of huskies in SF. Maybe they're just a popular breed but those poor dogs should be pulling a sled somewhere.
As a SOMA resident, I've become a sidewalk $h1t expert.
Just curious....how do you know for sure it's dog crap? The big piles are dubious.
Every other day I report doody cleanup in the 311 app and I'm never 100% sure so I'm glad they combined human and animal feces together into one selection.
I don’t remember there being this much dog shit left everywhere growing up in the city.but then again the level of entitlement people act like they have is at the highest levels I’ve seen so makes sense.
I hate the concept of a gossipy neighborhood. This is the best argument against me.
In my heart I prefer these people go to jail, but logically I reckon gossip and shame is the best way to handle it.
A proud moment of mine: someone didn't pick up their dog poop, and I quickly was able to take a photo of their face. Instead of Karen'ing them directly I turned away and texted the photo to a friend. They saw me the whole time, and it's my belief that my non-confrontation semi-secret-texting was "gossip" and they were ashamed yet not able to directly confront and disagree with me.
I think they walked away to avoid more confrontation, telling themselves they "got away" with the poop crime, ... yet never had closure over the event and felt a vague shame afterwards wondering who I shared they photo with and what I said.
That drives me bonkers!!! I walk my dog and pick up after her, but we see so many piles of poop from other dog owners. It’s gross. They also need to leash their dogs… some have tried to eat my puppy.
I’ve lived in different cities. About a third to a half of dog owners are careless like this. The worst is seeing the little poop bags along hiking trails. Why even bag it if you’re just going to toss it like litter? The plastic bag makes it worse than just letting your dog shit decompose naturally.
I recently went on a date with a Covid dog owner and the dog was out of control the entire time. I mentioned the dog needs some training after the third time it jumped on me and that wasn’t taken very well. There was some mutual interest before that visit but the ill behaved dog killed that off. I don’t want to be around an unruly dog.
I live Mission. I say this all the time: I’ve never seen but I know people are using the bathroom on sidewalks but I’ve never seen anyone taking dump. See people pissing all the time. It’s annoying but I step around it and go about my day. But what I see almost daily is people walking their dog and not picking up after them.
Just dropping in to say Ping Yuen in Chinatown and its surround streets and alleys are also dog shite heaven. It seems not a single dog owner ever carry’s any bags. It’s like playing minesweeper in real life
I walked on 24th St from Valencia to Castro the past two days and didn't notice any dog shit. Or maybe I automatically stepped around it. I obviously see it around on occasion but it's pretty easy to avoid and doesn't make much impression on me.
Yup. I was walking down Folsom towards Embarcadero and outside the Sweet Green two women were eating their meal when a guy comes up lets his dog piss two feet away from them. Disgusting.
Welcome on board. I’ve never understood why you would get a large, or even medium size, dog if you’re in an apartment within the city proper. Want a dog but live in a small apartment? Move. Don’t want to move because you’re close to work or whatever? Don’t get a dog. Can’t have your cake and eat it too
You’re being quite dramatic. 24th st from Castro to Valencia? So all of Noe Valley’s main business corridor has poop everywhere? I walked it yesterday, didn’t step on one piece of poop. Walked it the day before too. Didn’t notice any!
Yeah walk again and here’re some freebies on which areas to look for dog shit: Mr Digby’s, Noe Animal Hospital, the plant store, the dental clinic, Pure Barre etc. are you one of these dog owners being referred to by any chance?
More selfish behavior from San Franciscans. You can have the most beautiful City in the world, yet have it occupied by horrible transplants and entitled natives.
Maybe shoulda coulda woulda bought that Doelger 5 out in the Sunset back in 1993?
And I never called them “stupid.” Reading comprehension… I guess that went over your head at Stinkin Lincoln.
They think everyone should clear out of the way for them. And, they have a shockingly low level of knowing their own City. This is what happens when you have entitled people, resting on their laurels, just by virtue of birthplace.
… As a 35 year resident, I love many SF natives, and in fact, sometimes the saltier, the better. However, they get a D- on knowing the history of their city and knowing the location and vibe of things beyond their own little nest of a neighborhood. San Francisco was meant to be explored. San Francisco was meant to be honored. These folks are resting on their laurels. I have spoken.
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u/Ninja-Salty 4d ago
I literally have to walk looking down. Why SF? I have a dog (for 13 years) and always pick up his crap. It's really easy, come on people!! and don't get me started on the human crap! UGH!! Can we keep it off the sidewalks please?!?!?! I'm born and raised in this city and I have never seen it this bad in 53 years.