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Unless your dog is 100% under your voice control, it should not be off leash in a public place. I don't care how "friendly" your dog is, I do not want it approaching me, my dogs, or my children without my express permission.
I do not understand why this is so difficult for people to understand?
Exactly. Heck, I don't even know of PEOPLE who are 100% predictable, all the time. OK ... maybe a couple of people. But that's a pretty small proportion!
I've grown up around dogs of all different breeds and temperaments. And quite frankly, I know of NO dog that is always 100% predictable. Not a single one. I've seen a sweet-tempered, obedient dog suddenly break away and dash into four lanes of traffic because something alarmed her. We had taken her out of the car and was about to leash her when this happened. And no command could bring her back. She was OK, but it was a harrowing, firghtening experience seeing that! We thought we lost her. She never did it again, by the way.
An animal who is cornered, an animal "spooked" by a vivacious child, a person terrified of dogs, another creature (human or non-human) that your pooch doesn't like (whether the other creature did anything wrong or not), or even a strange sound that is unpleasant to the animal... anything could make the animal behave unpredictably. If you are around people or walking the dog in a neighborhood or park, leash your dog and KEEP him on the leash. If you are near ANY situation where the dog could be in danger if it dashes off, leash your dog.
Yup. That is pretty simple. At the very least, you could save yourself a potential lawsuit if Fido freaks out and bites someone. At the most, you could save your dog if he suddenly encounters a more aggressive creature or if he dashes off somewhere you don't want him to go.
I got attacked by a dog that was a friendly family dog off its leash. I will never hesitate to kick a strange dog in the face if ever confronted with that situation again. I will never expect their owner to have control. You don't like it, LeASH YOUR DOG!!!!!
I have seen people unleash their dogs and encourage them to chase after ducks in a park. This was during nesting season. I have also grown up around birds, and I can also attest that disturbing a nesting mother is NOT a good idea. It is bad for both the mother (very bad) and even the dog, if the mother is aggressive enough.
When my daughter asked them to leash the dog, they simply laughed it off. Oh, what good fun to see Fido terrify innocent creatures!
Oh, and there were humans in the vicinity. Yeah, great idea.
It's super common for dogs to be off their leash in that area. It's one of those areas that is great for exercising dogs that need some off leash time where they can explore. We do the same and nobody that walks/runs out there seems to mind at all.
Some may not mind. Others are too polite to tell you to stop.
And this isn't just about protecting others from your dogs. It's also about protecting your dogs from others. I'll give two examples.
A buddy of mine was hiking with his dog in Umstead off-leash. His dog went up ahead a bit to check out something he saw on the trail. What he saw was a copperhead and he got bit right on the nose. The dog died before my friend had a chance to get him to a vet. Had he been on a leash the entire situation could have been avoided. My friend has felt guilty about it ever since.
Another friend of mine used to practice law in New Orleans. One day she was sitting in on a civil courtroom when this case came up. A woman had been walking her lab off-leash around her neighborhood. Another woman was walking her small dog on-leash down the same street. The lab came bounding up to the small dog to say hello. As it turned out, the small dog was very dog aggressive and attacked the lab. It managed to bite the lab in the neck in just the right spot to severe the jugular and killed the lab instantly. The owner of the lab was suing the owner of the small dog for damages. The judge ruled that because the lab was not on a leash, the lab's death was due to negligence on the part of the owner and there was nothing the owner of the small dog could have done to change the outcome of the situation.
Some may not mind. Others are too polite to tell you to stop.
To be honest, there aren't enough people out on those trails for it to really matter to me. That probably sounds rude, but I put in a fair amount of due diligence to make sure that I am at less populated locations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evaofnc
And this isn't just about protecting others from your dogs. It's also about protecting your dogs from others. I'll give two examples.
A buddy of mine was hiking with his dog in Umstead off-leash. His dog went up ahead a bit to check out something he saw on the trail. What he saw was a copperhead and he got bit right on the nose. The dog died before my friend had a chance to get him to a vet. Had he been on a leash the entire situation could have been avoided. My friend has felt guilty about it ever since.
Another friend of mine used to practice law in New Orleans. One day she was sitting in on a civil courtroom when this case came up. A woman had been walking her lab off-leash around her neighborhood. Another woman was walking her small dog on-leash down the same street. The lab came bounding up to the small dog to say hello. As it turned out, the small dog was very dog aggressive and attacked the lab. It managed to bite the lab in the neck in just the right spot to severe the jugular and killed the lab instantly. The owner of the lab was suing the owner of the small dog for damages. The judge ruled that because the lab was not on a leash, the lab's death was due to negligence on the part of the owner and there was nothing the owner of the small dog could have done to change the outcome of the situation.
Honestly, you're talking about situations that are very low probability. I'm not discounting the potential for snake bites, but for the number of people that are out and about hiking, it's a very low percentage that come across them. To be honest, you could say the same thing (about the snakes) with the dog playing in the back yard too. That doesn't mean he is not going to play out there.
The only way to keep my dog 100% safe is for him to be in an locked room, with zero way for insects to get in, inside of an indestructible crate, etc... right?
Essentially it sounds like what your saying is, "I'm not concerned about public safety, the safety of wildlife, or the safety of my animals because there are not as many people on the hiking trail as other parts of the county." I really, truly hope for everyone's sake that you never find yourself in a situation where your dogs end up injured or injuring others due to them being off-leash. I also hope a park ranger doesn't decide to give you a citation since park rules stipulate that dogs be on a leash no longer than six feet at all times.
An animal who is cornered, an animal "spooked" by a vivacious child, a person terrified of dogs, another creature (human or non-human) that your pooch doesn't like (whether the other creature did anything wrong or not), or even a strange sound that is unpleasant to the animal... anything could make the animal behave unpredictably.
What to a human is "doing nothing wrong" may not be the same to a dog. For example, someone hugging a dog where their head is on top of the dog's is seemingly innocent. In the dog world, that can be a dominant act (being higher/on top of the other dog) and the dog may react.
I am not condoning the dog's actions, but the OP may have unknowingly done something perceived by the dog as aggressive and it reacted. Either way, it is the owner's responsibility to control their pet.
To be honest, there aren't enough people out on those trails for it to really matter to me. That probably sounds rude, but I put in a fair amount of due diligence to make sure that I am at less populated locations.
Hi! I'm a special snowflake that doesn't have to follow the rules. I just do my own thing and don't care about anyone but myself.
Leash your dog or keep it at home in your own yard. You have zero ability to predict how your dog will react in a given situation.
OP, I haven't had contact with the person you've mentioned, but next time (and hopefully there is no next time), I'd encourage you to call the authorities right then and there. If she was in public, she should of had her dogs leashed, plain and simple. That's just irresponsible pet ownership right there. Sorry this happened to you, I'll have to keep my eyes open for her, or similar pet owners.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 03-27-2012 at 06:25 PM..
Reason: Edited out reference to deleted post
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