IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC LEASHING!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Saw this article on FB and it is very near and dear to my heart.  It makes me absolutely crazy to meet another dog in public that is not on a leash.  There is no good that can come from it.  Please read this article for a better understanding of why this is so important.  

One thing that it doesn't really address in this article is that when your dogs are on leash and are approached by a dog that is not on a leash, the leashed dogs immediately realize their disadvantage. 

http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/leash-your-dog-its-law-for-number-...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you so much for posting this, Sheri. It's such an important article for every dog owner to read and understand. 

And for those who seem to have trouble opening and reading links on their smartphones or whatever, here is the part that I found most important:

"This may be breaking news to some, but not all dogs want to say hi to every dog they see every day. Do you – as a verbal human – always want to say hi and hug everyone you see? I didn’t think so.

Also, here are just a few things that can happen to your roving un-leashed Rover:

• He can be hit by a car.
• He can jump on an elderly person and knock them over.
• He can harass wildlife.
• He can mow down children.
• He can get in the face of every other dog out that day, some of whom will respond with aggression.
• He can get in a dog fight that will frighten both dogs and will likely result in an expensive vet bill.
• After you pay that vet bill, you may now be the owner of one of those dogs who cannot stand to have off-leash dogs in his face.
• He can be shot, even in a city park (it’s happening in Colorado and other places).
• He can eat something that may kill him."

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

JD has been attacked and bitten by a dog running off-leash in our neighborhood, and had close calls with many, many others. I will no longer allow them to get close to him, which means that one of these days I may get bitten, because I now confront the dog before it can get to JD. And if I do get bitten, the consequences for the other dog's owner will not be a big vet bill, but a lawsuit. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As many DKers know, I've worked with Murphy on his extreme dog reactiveness for years.  Here's my favorite part of this post....."read the sad consequences caused by a dog being off-leash every single day on trainer forums. Many responsible owners are walking their dog-aggressive (reactive) dog on leash precisely to keep their dog from having to come face to face with YOUR off-leash dog. You can set such a dog’s training right back to square one if you let your dog greet their dog while off-leash."

"This may be breaking news to some, but not all dogs want to say hi to every dog they see every day. Do you – as a verbal human – always want to say hi and hug everyone you see? I didn’t think so." 

I've encountered people with their off-leash dogs who yelled to me...."don't worry he's friendly".  As I'm preparing to make a very quick reverse in direction, I yell back "that's great, but mine isn't".  When that off-leash dog runs toward Murph with the owner yelling an untrained recall, I have my own special words.  This is unfair to me, and more importantly to Murphy who is fear reactive.  This is illegal for a reason. 

Thanks so much Sheri....this is such an important message to share.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I apparently have a "look" that gets the attention of others on occasion.  At a T-ball game a couple months ago we had AnnaBelle and Lucy with us.  AnnaBelle is in that phase where surprises are not particularly welcomed.  She loves other dogs and loves to play, but the surprise is not good.  It causes a lot of barking and you would think someone is dying.  This then gets Lucy started and well you get the picture.  At this particular game this man with a Schnauzer comes walking towards us.  Fortunately I saw him coming but unfortunately so did AnnaBelle.  I looked straight at him with his big smile on his face and his Schnauzer 10 feet ahead of him on a retractable leash headed right for us, and gave him the "look" and shook my head NO at about the same time AnnaBelle started barking.  Now AnnaBelle might be cute and fuzzy and furry and ok, adorable looking, but she has a bark that will make a grown man pee his pants.  This man saw my look and turned faster than you can even imagine.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Oh I love the visual of this....way to go AnnaBelle!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

:)

[Rebecca, Kandy & Murphy]

I have a dog-reactive doodle too.  And I hate it when I see an unleashed dog coming at us.  Or a leashed dog with an owner who thinks his/her dog should come up to mine.  Yep, they always say "He's friendly", right about the time I am trying to say "Mine isn't, get back" AND control Murphy so that no one gets hurt as he is dancing at the end of his leash.

Unfortunately, I recently had the experience of being the owner of an unleashed dog, but I sure didn't mean to.  We were at the dog park, at 6 AM so that we were the only ones there.  On the sidewalk, on the other side of a 6 ft. fence, walks a dog (unleashed) and owner.  Murphy went up and over that fence before I could get anywhere close to him.  Naturally it was at the opposite side of the pen from the gate, so I had to do the same to get to him ASAP.  (For the visual, I am short and round, middle-aged and not at all athletic or coordinated.)  I think Murphy just wanted to play but seems aggressive to the other owner.  I took a huge risk to reach out and grab him.  I still feel badly about what happened and we've stopped going to the dog park, even at dawn when I thought it was safe.  But I think he wouldn't have reacted so strongly if the other dog's owner had been able to pull her dog away from the fence, rather than letting him jump, bark and bite at the fence.  Bad all the way around.

[Adina P]

If I'm in a secluded area hiking, and an off leash dog comes barreling over I let my dog off leash so nobody is at a disadvantage. Mine ARE friendly, so the off leash dog won't freak them out... Only freaks me out. I've seen others also leash up their dogs on similar hikes when they see mine on leash.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I used to let JD off leash when a strange unleashed dog approached, too. But he's ten and a half with a ruptured lumbar disc, and he was no match for the dog who attacked and bit him even a couple of years back. Now I get in front of him. 

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I've had to do this too, I hate it though because Loki is a marshmallow at heart but he's much bigger than most dogs that I've run into on this particular trail we walk on so people get anxious and rude when they are the ones at fault. What kills me though is there is this one pit/boxer mix that is always off leash and at least 30lbs smaller than Loki and if Loki is leashed it's all fun and games for her (Loki gets very freaked out though) but as soon as I take Loki off of his leash so he doesn't get reactive the pit/boxer owner freaks out that my dog is bigger than her and wil hurt hers. I always have a spew of choice words for her- I mean seriously?!? I get so angry because her dog is absolutely out of control so she is worried that her dog will get hurt because her dog won't listen- then put a leash on it! This is not a hard concept... This is touchy for me especially now because we had this same issue this morning and I swear some people were not meant to have pets. I will be printing this article and giving it to her though. :)

[Stella]

I have two doodles, each at opposite ends of the spectrum. My big F1LD (Hartley) loves everyone and everything! Chase can be very dog reactive, and pretty much does a canine version of the exorcist upon having an off-leash dog running at us. I live in a rural area, on a dead end road, where most of my neighbours let their dogs run loose unaccompanied -even though it is against the law (one of those people is a cop with a malinois that runs loose!). It makes walking them extremely difficult, I have had dogs charge at us from their driveway onto the road, run after us own the road, and come running head-on at us. As you have all noted, if there is an owner in sight they have an ineffective recall and just shout "he's friendly" to which I am responding "mine isn't". I always wonder who would be liable, and who would get charged in the event of a fight - them for letting their dog roam, or me for having an 'aggressive' dog??

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

My "pet peeve" and why is it NO ONE seems to care or obey the law.  I am  in CA and we DO have a leash law but when I walk Libby I would say thrity percent of the people have their dogs off leash.