We live in a great neighborhood and to many of us, dogs are an important part of our lives.

Yet, there is absolutely no reason why the few irresponsible and/or clueless dog owners in our area should be allowing their dogs to defecate and urinate on neighbors' yards. Last fall, I spent a small fortune in landscaping and new sod and today my front yard is pockmarked with brown spots from those who obliviously allow their dogs to do this. Many of my neighbors are in the same boat and feel the same way.

So this isn't addressed to the majority of responsible dog owners. But here's a primer for those of you who aren't:

1. Just because you carry around a plastic bag doesn't mean I want your dog to defecate on my yard. It is against the city of San Jose code enforcement laws. Your dog should use your own yard for his primary bathroom. Carrying a plastic bag is a great policy, but only for accidents or unexpected situations. If the main purpose of your daily walk is for your dog to defecate, train him to do it in the street or curb and then pick it up and take it away with you.

2. Dogs can easily be trained to walk on sidewalks and stay out of people's yards. Unless your dogs are well trained, keep them on short leashes and encourage them to walk on the sidewalk. Long, retractable leashes give you no control over an untrained dog. As a matter of fact, I have had to use bolt cutters to separate two dogs who became entangled in one owner's retractable leash and both of them nearly choked to death until I was able to free them. The retractable leashes are most appropriate for parks or other areas where control isn't as important.

3. When you allow your dog to urinate in a neighbor's yard, he or she probably isn't really interested in emptying his or her bladder. The dog is simply marking its territory. And every other dog that passes this yard will do the same to claim that territory as his own. Let your dog mark fire hydrants, tree trunks and telephone poles on the parkstrips, but not private yards or shrubs. The content of dog urine impacts most vegetation. It is most deadly to lawns and certain types of shrubs.

4. Just like people, dogs react to positive reinforcement. Praise and reward them when they perform the way you want them to.

And as the old saying goes, there are really no bad dogs ... just bad dog owners.

Dan Cochran,

San Jose

Voters rejected
ball team, twice

I just read the article "Ballpark environmental report highlights traffic and noise" by Monica Heger in the March 2 issue of the Rose Garden Resident. This will be another waste of my money.

I think it is outrageous that San Jose continues to pursue the ballpark after we citizens have voted NO three times, if my memory is right, to proposals by San Jose and Santa Clara to bring a ball team here. Why are they ignoring the people they are working for?

Daryl Adams

San Jose