Rules #1

Just to keep the record straight, I'm going to add a couple administrative, house-keeping notes in here about dog walking in general. The number 1 rule is obviously to keep your dog in check and under your command so you don't pose any sort of threat or concern to other walkers. B.B. is a wonderfully sweet girl who loves to walk up to complete strangers and greet (read: lick) them, but (a) not everybody likes that sort of attention and (b) not everybody is comfortable with a 70 lb. dog approaching them in the first place. So if you pass me and I keep her in a gentle-yet-firm "heel" position on my right side, it's not because I'm rude. I'm just working under the assumption that if you wanted a healthy dose of slobber on you, you'd ask. And I generally appreciate it if other dog walkers do the same. If I'm approaching another dog walker who has stopped and is making eye contact, that's usually a good sign that he/she would like to let our two dogs meet each other. Even then I usually ask if it's okay. I think that's only polite.

The second most important rule (ironically named rule #2 here) is to pick up after your dog. Nobody wants to step in anything left behind. If you know what I mean. (Seriously, I hope I don't need to spell it out.) We pass by countless deposits from other dogs (on the side of trails, on sidewalks, in people's yards, etc.) and every time I just hope nobody thinks that's me.

Now, on the 300+ walks B.B. and I have been on in the past 2 years, I will confess to not picking up maybe 3 of her piles (once because she was sick and it was so runny that I wasn't sure I could pick anything up, and twice because I ran out of bags), and first of all I don't think 1% is a bad ratio. Second none of those were anywhere near a yard or even where someone might walk. I always bring bags with me (at least 2) and if I'm going to walk somewhere that doesn't have easy access to trashcans I will often do a pre-walk down to the trail through our neighborhood (which has a trash can on either end) just to get the poop out of her before we go. Even then, I will usually take some "just in case" bags with me, you know, just in case. Seriously, I never knew how much my life would begin to revolve around my dog's bowel movements or how much happier we'd both be if she was regular. But here we are.

I'm sure there are more rules that I'll think of later, but these two, as important as they are, I thought I'd put in up front to get them out of the way.