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-...

[Stella]

At a seminar on dog aggression one suggestion was if you were walking your leashed dog and being approached by an unleashed dog, shorten your dogs leash a little and hold lower (near your dog). Hold the rest of the leash about halfway down and swing it around in front of you (like a vertical helicopter blade). Apparently the noise and visual of it whipping around in front of you can be a pretty good deterrent to the oncoming dog.

Doesn't work for me because I have a dog in each hand - my reactive dog will go after my other dog if he can't get to the oncoming dog, so I have to walk with one of them on each side of me, leaving no free hands!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Interesting concept.  I've not heard of this before, but there are a lot of things I haven't heard so that isn't surprising.  What does surprise me though is that I would think that my shortening my dogs lead, in essence tightening it, I would send a signal that there is something to worry about.  Not sure.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

What about those flexi-leashes? I was walking Rip the other day when we encountered a man and his dog. I was in process of asking whether it was ok if they greet, while controlling Rip on his 6' leash, when the dog came barreling over unexpectedly (flexi-leash!) to both of us. The man didn't have control until after his dog bounded away from him, then he uselessly pressed the stop button. It took me by surprise but thankfully both had a friendly greeting and all was well. I was left wondering what could have been (!) It seems the flexi leads are almost like no leads at times!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would support a law against retractable leashes; the dangers are multiple and well-documented. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Amen Karen.  There is no way to control a dog that is out in front of you on a retractable leash.  You cannot effectively hold a dog in training close to you the way you can with a traditional leash.  And if you lock it when a dog starts to charge, you can really hurt the dog.  I agree that they should be taken off the market. If you want to do a sniff walk, use a longer leash or sometimes, I use a long line.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Amen and Amen! Those retractable leashes drive me CRAZY! I nearly ran over a little yappy dog while on my bike (on a bike path, not a standard sidewalk) one time. The owner tried very unsuccessfully to "reel it in." It's even worse when they try to walk 2 dogs on retractable leashes-crisscrossing all over the place... 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

If you asked me what the one dog item that I hate more than anything is, it would be the flexi leash.  There are a couple of reasons.  First, a flexi leash just about killed our Sophie, and it also gave her an injury that she lived with the remainder of her life.  We always used them to take them out to potty, to give them a little privacy and extra space.  DH went out the back door with her and before he even realized what happened she bolted after a rabbit.  She hit the end of the leash and it knocked her off all 4 feet an she couldn't get up.  We carried her into the Vet.  She was just badly jarred with nothing broken or anything, but you could tell that her back bothered her some as she would never again put her feet up on the patient beds on therapy visits.  She would just do it for a few seconds and then want right back down.  So, first I think they are dangerous.  Second, the majority of people that use them don't pay attention to their dogs.  Constantly at the vet with all the little yappy dogs on flexi leashes the people are paying and just let the little dog wander around the room regardless of what is happening in the room.  Dogs can pee and they never know it.  They do the same thing in public.  These things do have a lock on them.  If you aren't paying attention, pull them up short and hit the lock button.  I personally just think they should be taken off the market.

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

Amen to this!  Thankfully I haven't encountered many unleashed dogs (yet) when walking my girls - but when we have, it's made the non-dog-reactive Eloise become a bit dog-reactive.  These dogs have been in their own yards, but from no where they come charging out at us when we walk past their house.  And Sheri, to your point, Eloise instantly knows she's the one on the leash and a different side of her comes out.  I redirect her attention to me and we just keep walking, and luckily none have left their yards and gotten to us.  But it stays with her and she's "on guard," ready to go on the offense with the next few dogs she sees - then I have to work to get her out of that mindset, all because some fool owners allow their dogs to charge at people from their yards.  You can bet I avoid those streets after we discover said fools, too.  So maddening! 

[Marie + Marshall]

I see so many people posting on FB and Instagram how they have trained (and are proud) their dogs to be off leash. And I realize that the dogs must be trained well to do that- I guess. But there are so many reasons not to do. As you have all pointed out!! I just always think what if it's that one time they don't listen and tragedy strikes. Good info here!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I actually had two fosters who were 100% reliable off leash. Both had been released from Police K9 programs for health reasons. Talk about well trained, lol. 

When somebody in my neighborhood gets a dog like that, they can walk him off leash with my blessings. :)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Off leash dogs make my blood boil. I am so sick of these owners yelling, "don't worry, my dog is friendly." I have ceased trying to handle this nicely. There is absolutely no excuse for not having your dog under control and putting my dogs and me at risk. 

[Jess & Stewart]

The only thing I think when I see these dogs are "sorry dog for your idiot owner". A guy said to me once while I was walking Stew "nice job having your dog only experience life right next to you". I asked him where his was & he said "aw crap, I told him to STAY" then proceeded to run back to the park when his dog ran to (which I happened to see from across the street while he was giving me a backhanded comment.)