Just moved to a brownstone block in Clinton Hill and counted at least nine little plastic 'NO DOG PEE' signs stuck in fence rails, tree pits, one on a window grate. I get wanting to protect the plants. But yesterday a guy let his dog go right next to one without flinching. Do these actually work on your block? Is this a 311 thing or just a hope for the best? Thinking of asking our landlord for one, but I don't want to be the new neighbor adding more signs. Also, are the tiny wire tree-pit fences actually stopping dogs, or just tripping humans?

Those lil signs are basically a wish. Nobody's reading them except the people who put them up. Dogs will pee where dogs pee, and most owners are already on their phone or letting the dog lead. Only thing that actually works is when someone's out there with a hose or a motion sprinkler, but that's a different kind of block war. I'd skip the sign and just put a small can of water out to rinse if you're worried.

On my block they work a little, but mostly because one house has a ring cam pointed at the gate and they post screengrabs in the block group. Suddenly people got real polite for like two weeks. Then a new dog came through. I think the signs work on owners who were already trying, and do nothing for the ones who let their dog stand on someone's hydrangea. The tiny fences are more for preventing people from cutting the corner, not dogs.

firstwinter, skip 311. The signs are not enforceable by the city, and you'll drive yourself crazy calling about a dog mid-pee. What works, in my experience, is a combo: sign + something that makes the spot look cared for. On my block near 28th Ave, a neighbor put up three little signs and then laid a low stone border around her tree bed. Owners still walked dogs right up to the edge, but most started steering toward the curb because the bed looked intentional. A few doors down, another house put up a single sign next to a half-dead shrub and it gets hit every single day.

The tiny wire fences do help a bit with dogs, but only if they are rigid and close enough that a dog can't just step over the top. The flimsy ones are trip hazards. What you probably want is a clear strip of concrete at the curb and a can of water to rinse the stoop area. But if your landlord isn't up for it, I'd avoid adding another sign. The sign arms race just makes the block look like a passive-aggressive yard sale. And be careful with motion sprinklers—those backfire on mail carriers and delivery workers.

This is so real. We had signs near the parkway in Dyker but they only mattered if the homeowner was sitting on the stoop. I just tried smiling at the sign people on our new block, but now I think I've been overdoing it and they think I'm casing their planter. Do you ask before you rinse the sidewalk or just do it? Also, is a small coffee can of water by the door actually okay or will it become mosquito soup?