Please leash your dog

[3 fingers Jack]

Anyone got a good recipe for hot dogs?

[Hawk]

Unleashed dogs here and everywhere are at the top of my pet peeve list. One unleashed dog ran my 5 year old grandchild down at School House Park(RMA). Having been an experienced paperboy in my youth I resorted to the same foot remedy as you. Several people observing the incident looked at my as if I was Michael Vick in disguise. My grandchild is still terrified of dogs. What is it with some dog lovers. I will not walk around Chesbro Lake any more because the canine fecal matter assaults my olfactory senses. I get angry and that is not what walking is all about. I was at the Pacific Coast with my grandchildren for a week and there were unleashed dogs running everywhere. In front of the Ranger Station was a "Dogs must be on leash sign". As we walked past his/her home a dog ran down the driveway and sniped at my feet. This situation upsets me because my grandchild is in a panic, plus we must dodge canine fecal matter when walking on the beach and do a ground survey when we put the beach blanket down. If my kid had not of yelled at me just in time, while playing with the kids, I would rolled in a pile of it. People say , "Oh, do not worry, my dog is friendly". Friendly dogs still ....... everywhere!! I told my kid at the beach that I think some dog owners like canine fecal matter less than I do or they would clean it up.

[BethB]

I agree with you I wish people would lease their dogs. While I may not be out there walking or encountering them, I understand it is a problem.

A friend who lives on the South on Nueva by the park, had their dog attacked while he was on a leash by a neighborhood dog that somehow got out. He was told the dog is normally a docile dog. Their dog needed to go to the Vet and it was around a $300 vet bill.

This man now carries a baseball bat while out walking his dog and another friend of his carries a golf club.

So the moral to this story is, if your unleashed dog attacks another dog that is on a leash or a person for that matter, they have the right to defend themselves and you have only yourself to blame for your dogs injuries!

[LisaT]

I don't have a problem with unleashed dogs -- I have a problem with untrained (and unsocialized) dogs and owners that don't have a clue about what their dog is capable of doing, and owners that don't have a clue how to handle their dogs either.

I've worked hard to train my dog to be dependable off-leash, and I know her limits. I also know that our other dog isn't dependable at all (lack of self-control, no aggression issues) and he isn't allowed that freedom.

Both of ours have been aggressively approached by off-leash dogs -- twice dogs have gone after the GSD by coming out of their yard (a pitt pull and also a lab). Our mixed breed, I think it's about three times at various parks, etc. (lab, dalmation, and I can't remember the other one) -- twice the owner assured me that her dogs were "friendly" (one such dog left a scar on her muzzle). Luckily, since our mixed breed used to be our demonstration dog at training, she knows dog language and dealt with the situation well. (In most cases, if I am approached by a loose dog, I drop my leash, as my dogs can speak dog much better than I can. However, I do try to always shield my dogs from unkown dogs that approach, since they should know they can depend on their human.)

I may be biased, since I come from a dog training point of view, but (putting the law aside), I think an owner can earn the right for their dog to be off-leash, but it doesn't come for free. However, if an owner cares about their dog, they are not going to give it the opportunity for a bite, etc. -- since it's always the dog that pays in the end.

As for the owners that carry the big sticks....they have to be careful for a couple of reasons. They may teach or transfer their fear of other dogs to their dog and make it more leash aggressive -- VERY common -- and other dogs then become more aggressive to the leashed dog in response (this situation very often escalates). The other problem is that if you have to use that weapon, there is a very good chance you will hit your own dog

[feistylady]

I'm glad this subject has come up again. This has always been a pet peeve of mine as well. I did have a dog who has since gone to doggy heaven, and while walking him one day with a leash, a dog ran out of its owners driveway, and when I yelled for the owner to call him back, I was told that he was a friendly dog. I said, "thats nice, but mine isn't". The very large dog ran up to my small dog, and my dog proceeded to bit the dog on the nose!
I know a gal out here that was walking her dog on a leash, and a loose dog started to attack her little dog, and when she tried to fend the dog off, the attacking dog started to attack her, knocked her down, and she was hurt. The owners of this dog, ended up somehow blaming my friend and got really nasty about the whole ordeal. I'm afraid there is a mind set out there with people and their dogs, that all of the laws don't pertain to them.
We have "neighbors" with three dogs that continuously, let at least one of their dogs pee and poop on other peoples lawns, and have never picked it up. When I called RMA about it, I was told, that at the minimun they would send out a letter if I would give them the name and address of this couple. Since I didn't know their name, I just gave them the street number. I still see a neighbor picking up poop on their lawn, and they don't have a dog, so, I have to assume that either RMA didn't send out a letter, or these people didn't give a darn.

[LisaT]

And this is where responsible pet ownership comes in....leash laws probably do save quite a few canine (and of course human) lives, but they don't educate and train the humans -- that's the biggest problem.

One might also wonder about the pet waste on others' lawns -- could that be a sign of the times -- I see so much incivility, rudeness, self-centeredness (pick your favorite word I guess) in every day life recently.....

[feistylady]

Lisa T, how about laziness also, it is too far to bend down, and pick up that smelly poop!!!

[LisaT]

Didn't think of that one. How sad that someone would be that lazy -- it seems that's one of those things someone could do just to be a good neighbor. Even if they didn't pick it up anywhere else, at least keep good terms on the block? Eerghh, people.......

[3 fingers Jack]

How 'bout those Giants ?

[LisaT]

I think that regardless of the leash law, owners need to earn the right to run their dog off leash -- even in a dog park, owners can't delegate their responsibilities for responsilble dog ownership.


I didn't say that trained dogs don't need to obey the leash law...that's a discussion that i didn't want to touch, and still don't want to go near.

edit: btw, this goes beyond the standard leash law argument....dogs that are not leashed on their own property are not disobeying the law. However, it's when they rush out and attack or instigate that is the problem (and the owner is responsible for).....a dog/owner has to earn the right to be allowed in the front yard off-leash also. I wonder how many of these K9 incidents that we see reported are from dogs rushing out of garages and yards? I know that was once a problem on our block.