One of the delights of urban living is seeing more and more people out and about with their dogs. Big dogs. Little dogs. Cute and so-ugly-they're-cute dogs. Even city managers are enjoying the Frenchness of it all. They're designating more land for dog parks, and allowing restaurants to serve patrons and their dogs on designated patios. Pooch parades like those held in Long Beach and Dallas are becoming annual spring events. And dog adoptions across the nation are way up.

We're humanizing our pets and treating them as members of the family, says Pet Product News. We spend so much money on them that the pet industry believes its vertical is virtually recession-proof. The industry is expected to grow 6 percent compared to half of that for the general economy, so I guess they're right.

But one thing we aren't doing is teaching ourselves to be good members of our dog's family. According to some poor research that I failed to verify, 40 percent of Americans don't pick up after their dogs.

And that's bad, because between four and seven U.S. households owns at least one dog, and 45 percent of those are large dogs, 40 pounds or heavier. I don't know who did this survey and lived to tell about it, but 12,000 dogs generate 5,000 pounds of foul-smelling, disease-spreading dooky.

With approximately 54.6 million dogs, not counting strays, that's a lot of crap.

Women, says one unfounded report, tend to be better about picking up doggie do than men. Who would have guessed that?

But it could also be that more and more dog owners simply don't know that picking up is a good idea. Contrary to popular belief, doggie doo isn't good for the grass. It spreads disease to our water systems, as well as tracks into our living rooms on our shoes.

But try telling that to some dog owners.

They don't want to hear the reasons why they should pick up after their dogs. They prefer their excuses.

In an unscientific survey, I've come up with the top 10 reasons why people don't pick up after their dogs.

1. Stool is not cool.

2. It's too big.

3. It's too small.

4. The rain will wash it away.

5. Nobody's watching.

6. Everybody does it.

7. It's fertilizer. Didn't you read Shogun?

8. My dog has diarrhea. I can't pick that up.

9. It's too cold, hot, rainy, windy, late, early, etc.

10. I forgot to bring a bag. Every day, I forget.

11. I can't let that hot chick/guy see me picking up doo-doo.

So to fight back, I've also come up with the top 10 reasons why dog owners should pick up after their dogs.

1. It stinks.

2. It looks nasty.

3. It can get on your shoes.

4. It doesn't go away for weeks.

5. It spreads e-coli.

6. It spreads salmonella.

7. It spreads giardia.

8. Its high nitrogen content kills many native grasses.

9. It costs communities a lot of money to encourage dumb dog-owners with extra trashcans, reminder signs and doggie bags to do the right thing.

10. That hot chick/guy just might be impressed with your eco-sensitivity if you pick up after your dog.

Published: April 15, 2008

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.