Boys don’t bother cleaning up after their dogs

DEAR AMY >> I have some neighbors who live up my street and have two dogs. Their young teen sons occasionally walk them. Whenever they do, they let the dogs do their business in the street or in other neighbors’ yards.

They don’t bother cleaning up after their dogs. I’ve seen them do this in front of our house. When I came outside to talk to one of these boys, he ran up the street with his dog.

I’m a college student, so I’m not always able to catch these boys when they’re out walking the dogs. My mom would like to talk to the boys the next time she sees them walking the dogs. However, they seem to be elusive. My sister thinks that she should walk to the neighbors’ house and politely address the problem.

How should I address this? — Angry

DEAR ANGRY >> You could post a small sign at the edge of your yard reminding neighbors to please clean up after their dogs.

Otherwise, definitely nab these boys if you catch them in the act. If they run away, or retaliate, an adult should call the home or reach out over private Facebook message to say, “Hi, we live just down the street from you. I’m concerned because when your boys walk the dogs, they don’t clean up after them. Could you remind them to do this? We’d really appreciate it.”

DEAR AMY >> I have to admit, I was surprised at your reasonable answer to the question posed by “Gramma,” who witnessed an incident between her two 6-year-old grandchildren, engaged in what we used to call “playing doctor.”

I assumed that you would jump on the bandwagon of some of Gramma’s relatives, who were basically accusing the male cousin of some sort of assault.

Thank you for pointing out that this sort of play is common among young children, and that branding one child an aggressor and the other a “victim” is damaging for both children. — Common Sense