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What Does “Curb Your Dog” Mean?

By: Author Paris Permenter

curb-your-dog

This past week we were in New York City for a few days. (More on that trip in the next post!) During that visit, while walking back from a restaurant to our hotel in the Fashion District, we spotted this sign.

Mounted at knee level, the sign seemed to almost be aimed at dogs’ eye level, not humans.

This was a new one on us! Granted, we live in a very rural setting, half a nation away from New York City, but, with 20 years as travel writers under our belts, this was one sign we hadn’t noticed in the past.

Our curiosity piqued, we then started to look for other “curb your dog” signs and found them in different forms, all with the same verbiage. But just what did this mean?

  • curb your dog’s behavior?
  • restrain him from using the wall as a urinal?
  • take your dog to the curb for his business?

A little research and the answer seemed to be “yes”…to all the possibilities. According to Reference.com, one use of the word “curb” as a verb is:

to cause to keep near the curb: Curb your dog.

The signage does not appear to be a recent trend; in fact, according to BarryPopik.com, the move began in the 1930s in New York City as a way to keep sidewalks clean. It’s a little disheartening that, 80+ years later, the city–and the world in general–is still trying to convince some pet parents that, yes, they have to pick up after their dogs!

Does your city use “Curb Your Dog” signs?

Paris Permenter
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This post originally appeared on DogTipper.com and is the sole property of DogTipper.com.