How to walk your dog without alienating your neighbors

We’ve lived in a suburban NoVA neighborhood for well over 20 years, but we’re still amazed at how fraught an enterprise walking one’s dog can be. Between clueless owners and out-of-control dogs, this simple activity can quickly turn into an unwelcome event for pooches, pedestrians and homeowners. To forestall such problems, we offer a few commonsense tips:

• Leash your dog. Yes, you’d love for your dog to be able to run off leash, but not everyone else in the immediate area shares your enthusiasm. And no matter how sure you are that your dog is under your complete control, just one errant squirrel could make a mockery of such certainty—and cause your dog to run into the street and straight into the path of an oncoming car. Plus, most jurisdictions require that dogs be leashed when in public. (Click on the link to see the provision for Fairfax County).
• Know your dog. Not every dog is thrilled to meet other dogs—or for that matter, even meet other people. If your dog fits either description, don’t force the issue. Cross the street or turn around and walk the other way if you have reason to think your dog might react badly to a pedestrian and/or dog that you see. The same suggestion applies if your dog gets too rambunctious when meeting other people. 
• Use the median strip. Your neighbor’s lawn is not your dog’s personal potty, so don’t let him do his business  there. Instead, walk him on the sidewalk between yourself and the median strip, and have him drop his drawers on the median strip itself.
• Keep it clean. Of course, no matter where your dog performs his solid off-loads, be sure to pick up the resulting poop and put it in the trash–as required by law (click on the links to see the pooper-scooper provisions in Arlington County and Fairfax County).
• Don't be a freeloader.  No matter how much you hate holding on to the filled poop bag, resist the temptation to put the filled bag in someone else's trash can or dumpster. Bring the poop to your own trash bin, use a public receptacle, or flush the poop down your toilet. Your neighbors will thank you, and so will the local watershed.