Off Leash Mayhem
There was another thread about off leash dogs but it was closed for replies. I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.
When my Mac became an adult dog, I would let him run free in the park across the street very early in the morning. He was friendly to people and other small dogs so I didn't see the harm of letting him run around if no one was around. But inevitably, someone shows up with their dog and of course Mac wants to greet them. When he would do that and my recall of him didn't work, I would apologize and think nothing much of it.
However, eventually, I learned that it's not just about your own dog, Keeping every dog leashed in public makes sure that everyone and every dog is on as equal ground as possible so that everyone can enjoy the outdoors without wondering whether or not they will be attacked. It doesn't matter if the dog is on the owner's front lawn when it's unleashed. In most places, that's still against the law. But more than that, it unfairly limits other dog owners from confidently enjoying the outdoors since they don't know whether or not their dog is safe. When I'm in such a situation, I'll take a very long route to avoid the situation. I'm certainly not going to trust my dog's safety to someone else who simply thinks his dog will behave.
I speak from experience about this too. My dog has been seriously attacked three time by larger dogs. Two were from a German Shepard while walking and one from targe dog in the large dog area of the dog park (before I knew better). My dog had already been attacked once so he's weary of larger dogs. Once I discovered it isn't fair to others to allow my dog to run freely, he no longer gets to do that unless he's in the backyard or at the small dog area of the dog park.
The first time he was attacked by a German Shepard, I was walking Mac in the park. He was leashed. The owner of the German Shepard had no control of her dog. He was jumping all over the place and finally got loose from the collar. He came running toward me and mac as the owner followed. She couldn't catch up but she yelled to me "Don't worry. He's very friendly." I don't care how friendly her dog is. In fact, it's not even all that relevant. My dog is leashed and weary of large dogs. A loose German Shepard dog running toward us is bad news. When the owner caught up, she didn't leash her dog right away. By this time, her loose dog was inspecting my leashed Corgi. Mac wasn't liking it so he would snap a little. But eventually, the German Shepard decided not to take it anymore. Of course, my dog escalated the situation. And soon enough, a fight started with my dog being grabbed by the back and eventually pinned.
The other dog owner was in panic and didn't know what to do other than to yell at her dog. I was able to grab Mac and restrain him. That's when the other dog calmed down a little and the owner finally leashed him. She constantly tried to assure me, "I don't understand why he did that. He's never done that before." Thankfully, after I inspected my dog from head to toe at least three times, he turned out to be fine.
In that case, she did not have any control over her dog even though she had a leash. But the point is, I don't think dog owners can really know how their dog will act when around other dogs. Maybe their dog is the friendliest dog in the world in their eyes but that still doesn't mean that they know what will happen with dogs of varying personality.
Months later, that brought her dog to the park again. And let him loose. I figure she did this because for her using a leash is just futile. She doesn't have any control with our without a leash so I guess that's why she didn't bother with it this time. Unfortunately, my house is across the street. I drove home from taking Mac out with me. I didn't see that this lady had just taken out her loose German Shepard from her car. And even worse, I had a flare up an arthritic condition called gout that prevented me from walking fast. So when I took Mac out of the car, it didn't take long for them to see each other.
The German Shepard ran toward us, crossing the street. When that happened, I grabbed Mac as he barked angrily and tried to claw his way out of my hands. I had a hell of a time moving due to the gouty arthritis in my foot. The German Shepard snapped at Mac as I tried to dodge him. The owner was useless. I had to plead with her to get control of her dog. In the end, all she did was try chasing him away. However, the dog just kept comping back toward me. I had to shut the gate in his fate while Mac tried desperately to protect me.
Everyone who keeps their dog unleashed always believes their dog is the friendliest dog in the world. It's the same story over and over again. They didn't realize their dog would act up because they've never done so in the past. Well, my dog is always on the short end of that type of encounter.
So what's the answer? Does that mean I have to trust that the dog owner that keeps his dog off-leash knows what he's doing? Forget that, I'm not here to prove a point at the expense of my dog's safety. Does that mean I should keep my dog sheltered constantly? Well that hardly seems fair especially when my dog is properly leashed.
I suppose I struck a balance of sorts. I don't walk my dog in areas where there is a good chance where there may be a loose dog. I'll take him to the dog park or a larger regional park where that behavior isn't tolerated. But sometimes I just want to walk my dog in my neighborhood. To be safe, I carry a 3 or 4 battery Maglite flashlight for light (of course) and for some measure of protection. I won't hesitate in protecting my dog if an unwelcomed dog comes up to us and can't be controlled.
But really, people should just keep their dogs leashed while out in public. It's the only fair thing to do so that all dogs and their dog owners can enjoy the outdoors without worrying constantly whether someone else's dog will start something or even whether their own dog will start something with a loose dog that's just coming over to say hi.
When my Mac became an adult dog, I would let him run free in the park across the street very early in the morning. He was friendly to people and other small dogs so I didn't see the harm of letting him run around if no one was around. But inevitably, someone shows up with their dog and of course Mac wants to greet them. When he would do that and my recall of him didn't work, I would apologize and think nothing much of it.
However, eventually, I learned that it's not just about your own dog, Keeping every dog leashed in public makes sure that everyone and every dog is on as equal ground as possible so that everyone can enjoy the outdoors without wondering whether or not they will be attacked. It doesn't matter if the dog is on the owner's front lawn when it's unleashed. In most places, that's still against the law. But more than that, it unfairly limits other dog owners from confidently enjoying the outdoors since they don't know whether or not their dog is safe. When I'm in such a situation, I'll take a very long route to avoid the situation. I'm certainly not going to trust my dog's safety to someone else who simply thinks his dog will behave.
I speak from experience about this too. My dog has been seriously attacked three time by larger dogs. Two were from a German Shepard while walking and one from targe dog in the large dog area of the dog park (before I knew better). My dog had already been attacked once so he's weary of larger dogs. Once I discovered it isn't fair to others to allow my dog to run freely, he no longer gets to do that unless he's in the backyard or at the small dog area of the dog park.
The first time he was attacked by a German Shepard, I was walking Mac in the park. He was leashed. The owner of the German Shepard had no control of her dog. He was jumping all over the place and finally got loose from the collar. He came running toward me and mac as the owner followed. She couldn't catch up but she yelled to me "Don't worry. He's very friendly." I don't care how friendly her dog is. In fact, it's not even all that relevant. My dog is leashed and weary of large dogs. A loose German Shepard dog running toward us is bad news. When the owner caught up, she didn't leash her dog right away. By this time, her loose dog was inspecting my leashed Corgi. Mac wasn't liking it so he would snap a little. But eventually, the German Shepard decided not to take it anymore. Of course, my dog escalated the situation. And soon enough, a fight started with my dog being grabbed by the back and eventually pinned.
The other dog owner was in panic and didn't know what to do other than to yell at her dog. I was able to grab Mac and restrain him. That's when the other dog calmed down a little and the owner finally leashed him. She constantly tried to assure me, "I don't understand why he did that. He's never done that before." Thankfully, after I inspected my dog from head to toe at least three times, he turned out to be fine.
In that case, she did not have any control over her dog even though she had a leash. But the point is, I don't think dog owners can really know how their dog will act when around other dogs. Maybe their dog is the friendliest dog in the world in their eyes but that still doesn't mean that they know what will happen with dogs of varying personality.
Months later, that brought her dog to the park again. And let him loose. I figure she did this because for her using a leash is just futile. She doesn't have any control with our without a leash so I guess that's why she didn't bother with it this time. Unfortunately, my house is across the street. I drove home from taking Mac out with me. I didn't see that this lady had just taken out her loose German Shepard from her car. And even worse, I had a flare up an arthritic condition called gout that prevented me from walking fast. So when I took Mac out of the car, it didn't take long for them to see each other.
The German Shepard ran toward us, crossing the street. When that happened, I grabbed Mac as he barked angrily and tried to claw his way out of my hands. I had a hell of a time moving due to the gouty arthritis in my foot. The German Shepard snapped at Mac as I tried to dodge him. The owner was useless. I had to plead with her to get control of her dog. In the end, all she did was try chasing him away. However, the dog just kept comping back toward me. I had to shut the gate in his fate while Mac tried desperately to protect me.
Everyone who keeps their dog unleashed always believes their dog is the friendliest dog in the world. It's the same story over and over again. They didn't realize their dog would act up because they've never done so in the past. Well, my dog is always on the short end of that type of encounter.
So what's the answer? Does that mean I have to trust that the dog owner that keeps his dog off-leash knows what he's doing? Forget that, I'm not here to prove a point at the expense of my dog's safety. Does that mean I should keep my dog sheltered constantly? Well that hardly seems fair especially when my dog is properly leashed.
I suppose I struck a balance of sorts. I don't walk my dog in areas where there is a good chance where there may be a loose dog. I'll take him to the dog park or a larger regional park where that behavior isn't tolerated. But sometimes I just want to walk my dog in my neighborhood. To be safe, I carry a 3 or 4 battery Maglite flashlight for light (of course) and for some measure of protection. I won't hesitate in protecting my dog if an unwelcomed dog comes up to us and can't be controlled.
But really, people should just keep their dogs leashed while out in public. It's the only fair thing to do so that all dogs and their dog owners can enjoy the outdoors without worrying constantly whether someone else's dog will start something or even whether their own dog will start something with a loose dog that's just coming over to say hi.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael on
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I don't know the law in that area obviously. I'm not sure if "Dog-training Area" means "off-leash permitted". Perhaps it does. But again, what does a separate area that allows for unleashed dogs have to do with allowing off leashed dogs in an area where it is not tolerated or permitted. Just because it's allowed there (and I'm assuming it is) doesn't give people the right to have their dog unleashed in areas where there are leash laws.
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Permalink Reply by christy fry on
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I just received my copy of whole dog journal and inside there is a article about training non-reactive dogs to walk by people without paying attention to anyone/thing except the handler. But in the bottom corner of the page the trainer puts out an idea of colored bandanas that dogs could wear and the colors (4 different ones) would send messages to approaching handlers to your dogs temperment and send you messages about theirs. It's an interesting idea for sure and might illicet more appropreate leashing. I do get nervous while walking my dogs through my neighbor hood if approached by a unleashed animal running out of a yard or down a drive way at me. Jordan does not like that at all and will automatically get pissy with the dog I usally have my hands full with leashes and doo-doo filled bags (i carry doggy mace and a air horn in my pocket) So it's annoying when Jordans reacting badly and I have to play the "You go home game" with a random dog. This doesn't happen very often but it doesn't matter if the dog is nice/well-trained/socialized or whatever the annoyance levels the same. I'm like everyone else just trying to enjoy a outing with my pack and have no intentions off letting them play/ say-Hi or anything else some days just walking peacefully is the goal.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Boy can I relate! I am often walking two corgis and a doberman! The dobe is not good with other dogs when leashed. I think she feels too vulnerable but I am working on her. Sparty is great he will ignore other dogs unless they get snarky first (I trained him) Izzy is still working on overcoming her desire to have everyone and their dog love her. The amazing thing to me is how often I encounter people with their dog on leash who let their dog run right up to 3 dogs leashed! So far I have managed not to get pissy with them but it is a pain trying to get untangled while keeping the dobe from attacking the intruder. My son used to take her to Doggy Daycare and she is good at a dog park but leashed she is a pain. I am going to take her to classes this winter to work on it in a controlled environment.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I must say my husband is one who will let the dogs barge up to people uninvited and I have talked to him about it several times. He'll be ok for awhile then start again. Some people are fine with the leash tangles and others don't want to be bothered and I can't blame them. When I walk the two by myself I don't go up to other dogs, as I am not confident I could control two at once if something were to go wrong. Also there are people who just don't like dogs or are afraid of them, and shouldn't have mine barging up to say hi, leash or no! And there are, surprisingly (or maybe not) people who are afraid of dogs in general but still own a dog. They can overcome their fears for their own dog they got for their kids or whatever, but not with other people's. So I always ask if it's ok before I will take my dogs over to other people. My husband is getting better at it, but still has his lapses!
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I just wanted to clarify that our dogs are always leashed on walks in the neighborhood, and 99% of the time in the nearby park. The park is quite big, around 200 acres. We always leash them when walking through the main areas. And yes, we have been charged by a leashed dog that was being held by a tiny kid half the size of the dog.
There are a couple wooded trails where we will let them off, only if no one is around. If there are other people walking, we leash them. My dogs stay close when walking. Honestly I don't know what the leash laws are there, as the playground areas are clearly marked with signs but the trails are not. There is also stream access where people take their dogs swimming.
And then there is some weird little field at one end of the park that is hardly used. On rare occasion someone will be playing frisbee, or someone will be on a picnic. This is where people let their dogs play. We always leash if there are people around, but maybe once a week or so we'll either run into someone with their dogs that we know, or take a ball or frisbee over for our dogs, and let them play for 10 minutes or so. Were it not for the dog people, this section of the park would be unused the huge majority of the time. Why they don't just make it a dog park is beyond me. As it stands it's a defacto one without a fence. The only dog park in the whole region is at the other end of town.
Part of the issue is that communities have far too few places where dogs are allowed off-leash, and that I think is what makes people push the edges of the leash laws. In my neighborhood, no one walks their dogs off-leash in the city. Lots of people don't clean up, though. Blech. I've stepped in dog crap more times than I can count.
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