#2 doesn’t really make sense. The word “curb” has no definition that means to pick up after something, although it can indirectly imply cleaning up after the misbehavior of your own dog. (i.e., Since dogs cannot control themselves, you need to control the aftermath for them.) It’s too vague. You should just say, “Pick up after your dog.”
What is confusing is the word “curb” itself. It can mean “control” or “edge of street” which are two completely different definitions, and I would assume that they came from completely unrelated etymological roots. The expression is so vague and confusing that it is ineffective.
When you Google “What does curb your dog mean?”, you find three different answers.
This is my theory of how the expression was originally introduced and evolved to include all three definitions. What do you think?
#3 is problematic for two reasons. Firstly, “curb” in this context should be used as a noun. I seriously doubt that “take your dog to the curb” was what was meant when the signs first started appearing in public. If you are the first person ever to create this sign, and if you meant to say, “take your dog to the curb”, then you would not write “Curb your dog.” You could not expect other people to understand what you meant by that, as there was no such use of the word “curb” in a verb form. You would have written: “Take your dog to the curb.” My second problem with #3 is that it implies it’s fine to leave the poo as long as you take the dog to the curb.
Chicago dog owners probably see some sort of “Curb Your Dog” sign almost everyday. But what does it mean? Our friends at the South Poop blog have the answer:The phrase ‘Curb Your Dog’ originated in the 1930?s in New York City. Citing (from
What does pick up after your dog mean?
IT’S COMMON COURTESY TO PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG When you take your dog for a walk away from your home, you are entering public property. Because you own your dog, what waste your dog makes is your responsibility to pick up. It is even the law to clean up after your pet in some urban and suburban areas.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: How’s Oscar?
Curbing your dog means picking up his poop, preventing him from peeing on your neighbor’s gladiolas, and just generally being conscientious about all matters of pup’s excretion. Sure, ideally our dogs would deposit only in designated doggie dumpers — and then they’d wipe and wash up.