Dogs on lead, dogs off lead - rant

bagginslover

Person_one wrote: »

Wrong. They are required to be under control, this doesn't have to involve a lead.

Wrong.
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/1052

The Road Traffic Act 1988

It is an offence to have a dog on a designated road without it being held on a lead.

Greyhorse

I have a GSD and a GSD x border collie. Both are off lead most of the time but have excellent recall and I will quite happily allow them to play with other dogs if the owner asks first.

It does annoy me though when people allow their dogs to leap all over mine without asking (usually staffies!) and then just shout "SHE'S OKAY" from a mile away. My larger dog, who weighs 55kg, could easily kill most of the dogs that annoy him if he wanted too and I think it is foolish of people to just assume my dogs are friendly. He will attack a dog coming at him aggressively as he is defensive after being attacked so many times before and I have no sympathy for people whos dogs run up to mine and get bitten, it should be on a lead if you cant recall. Strangely enough if I tell him the dog is 'safe' he will play happily with it.

On the other hand what also annoys me is people who point blank refuse to socialise their dogs and wonder why they are aggressive/nervous. As a vet nurse I see plenty during the day that have clearly never met another dog never mind played with it, only yesterday I had a woman with a 14week rottie who she declared as 'aggressive' and was dragged from every dog in the waiting room, poor thing dosent stand a chance!

Person_one

bagginslover wrote: »

Wrong.
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/1052

But not on the pavement

Person_one

Greyhorse wrote: »

On the other hand what also annoys me is people who point blank refuse to socialise their dogs and wonder why they are aggressive/nervous. As a vet nurse I see plenty during the day that have clearly never met another dog never mind played with it, only yesterday I had a woman with a 14week rottie who she declared as 'aggressive' and was dragged from every dog in the waiting room, poor thing dosent stand a chance!

This. So much. Of course your dog isn't friendly and doesn't know how to interact with other dogs if you never give them the chance to! Socialisation is so important. I know its harder in rescue dogs but people often project their own emotions onto their rescue dogs. Their minds don't work like ours, they don't remember their experiences for very long and the behaviours that arise from them are really habits, learned behaviours, often reinforced by owners, that can be broken or unlearned.

Caroline_a

My dogs are only let off the lead in 'safe' areas with no cars etc. The older one has pretty good recall and the little one just stays glued to the big one's side or to me.

I would say that a lot is talked about dogs who cannot be controlled; teenagers who can't be controlled less so...;)

Roystonb_2

I have two sighthounds. One I let off lead when I am sure it is safe. This means that I can see there are no aggresive or unknown dogs around and I also keep him on a lead if there are young children, cyclists or horse riders about. The other dog has poor recall, so I keep him on a lead in public. I, too, get fed up when people ask me to put my dog on a lead because their dog is aggressive. The law clearly states that a dog owner is responsible for their dog, and should have it under control when in public. If a dog is aggressive it should be walked away from other dogs, never be let off lead and wear a muzzle when out. As has been said before, the main problems seem to be that people don't socialise puppies (not always possible when you get an older rescue dog) and a failure of so many dog owners to realise that an out of control dog is a lethal weapon. Dog owners who get upset when they are criticised for having an out of control dog, whether it is aggressive or "over-friendly" by jumping up and frightening non-dog owners, are as much a nuisance as those who don't clean up after their dogs. Eventually those owners who are responsible will end up paying the price, when we can no longer exercise our dogs anywhere.

Sorry, rant over.

pinkpig08

I used to have a black labrador. He was very strong on the lead and would pull. He didn't like other dogs and was never let off the lead unless I was in a wide open space with no other dogs - he was fine with people. What used to annoy me is that if I saw another dog coming, I would stop, make him sit down and I would hold onto his harness. Some owners would have their dog off the lead and when they saw I had stopped would say 'it's ok, he/she's friendly', to which I would say 'well mine isn't!'. They seemed to think that just because their dog was fine with other dogs that everyone elses was too!

Tropez

I have four sighthounds.

The sad truth is, I decided long ago that it wasn't worth trusting other dog owners to ensure their dogs are well socialised and behaved. Therefore, my dogs have two walking areas - a private, member's only park where all dogs have to be on a lead, and a private field owned by a friend of mine (the joys of living near the countryside) where I can let them run off lead. They can also charge around my back garden which is around 2,500 sq feet.

I do, occasionally, take them to sighthound sports club events, such as lure coursing where they can interact with other dogs a bit more freely as well and all dogs have to be behaviour vetted for them to take part.

I'm not about to trust the wellbeing of my dogs to a complete stranger I meet on a walk because sadly the nearest city (I live right on the border between the city and the countryside) is chav-central where every miscreant and his mother owns a badly behaved, poorly trained Staffy.

lazer

Person_one wrote: »

You can't seriously be suggesting that one slightly under par owner means that all dogs should be on leads all the time in all public places? I've never suggested that the dog was ok to jump up, just that the response massively disproportionate.

I thought this was a sensible discussion.

Plenty of humans behave poorly, plenty of cats are a complete nuisance. Should humans and cats be banned from roaming freely in public?

So you think allow a dog to jump on someone makes them a slightly underpar owner - I think it makes them a seriously underpar owner as they do not have control of their animal.

Humans are people so if they behave poorly, they themselves are responsible (or their parents if children).
I don't know of anyone who actively takes their cat to a park or somewhere for a walk - do you?

The response was not massively disproportionate - it is not acceptable for dogs to jump on people at all, whereas you seem to think that it is only a slight nuisance.

I have previously stated that their should be parks (or allocated times in current parks etc) where dogs can roam free and those who are afraid/allergic to or simply do not like dogs know to avoid these.

It is the attitude of the majority of dog owners that annoys me in general, quite simply if you have your dog out in public without a lead, keep it away from people, and if you can't do this without putting a lead on it, then put a lead on it,

I do not want to be out for a walk and have a dog sniffing around at my feet, just to be told by the owner, that don't worry, it won't actually touch you - I don't care that it won't touch me, I want to be able to go for a walk without being annoyed by it!

I know of at least 3 people, who refuse to go for a walk in my local forest park due to the number of dogs around as they are afraid of them.
I would like to see the park divided into different areas so both dog owners and those afraid of dogs can enjoy them!

I am not afraid of dogs - I am indifferent to dogs, maybe even like some, but i do not like dogs jumping on me or coming anywhere near me, unless it as a dog i know and trust!

dibuzz

We have a rescue Staffie. She doesn't like other dogs, no idea of her history as she was about 3 when she was found as a stray.
We never let her off the lead and get fed up of other dogs running up to her then their owners complaining she's growling at them.
A few people have shouted "it's ok he's friendly" then tried to get their dog to go back to them and it's ignored them.
I also see a lot of people walking along texting completely oblivious to where their dog is and what it is doing (usually it's business which they don't clean up)
We have tried to socialise our dog but after almost a year of training when she was happy to let another dog come up to her one attacked her, the owner was a good way away and I couldn't get it off her. He just muttered "sorry" and walked off leaving me and my dog bleeding from his dog's bites so I am inclined to agree with dogs on leads on the streets
Fields and parks are fine, I expect dogs to run free there just not on the streets.
We are making a bit of progress again and our dog will walk past another on the other side of the street but any closer and she's growling and snarling, a shame really as she's such a loving dog with people, even little kids who pull her around and before anyone says it, no I wouldn't leave her alone with them just in case.