Should all dogs be walked on leads?

Better_Off_1983

I believe they should, especially if they are on the road and in a public place.

I was walking my dog today and another dog shown signs of aggression towards mine. It barked at my dog. I shouted at the owner "Is your dog on a lead." He didn't answer, he just held the dog's collar. The dog continued to bark at mine and stood on its back legs. :mad:

Idiots with dogs really annoy me. They should put their mutts on leads or rehome them! I am so annoyed to the point I may change the time I walk my dog where there are no irresponsible people about.

A staffie went for my dog once and there were no owners about, I think it was a stray and a Poodle always tends to yap at my dog when we walk past the house or if the dog it in its owners mobility cart as we walk past it.

I always walk mine on the lead because he has to know that he is being controlled by me and he has to get used to the fact he is on a lead. I posted on a site about this and some said "Well my dog is as good as gold and he is never on the lead and I refuse to put him on a lead stick your dog and your lead up your a***" Having said that, it was on Facebook!!!

I am just so annoyed and I know it will be a problem that there will be no solution too. Is there a law to have a dog on a lead?

calicocat

Barking isn't illegal and it's how dogs talk at times. I also fail to see how re-homing as you suggest would be a cure for this problem? Maybe walking your dog at a different time when no-one is about would be a start.

Also far better that you and your dog have a mutual appreciation rather than you being in control.......that way you will be able to let yours off the lead at some point!

Lieja

My dog always barks at other dogs and stands on his back legs.

He isn't aggressive in the slightest, and is always on a lead. In fact, when he's on his long lead and an actually reach other dogs, he doesn't bark or rear up and just has a good sniff and a play. With him it's purely excitement, and he doesn't like being held back.

I do agree that it's really annoying when other owners don't realise that your dog might be on a lead for a reason and let their dog approach because 'he's fine'. We used to have an American bulldog who was always on a lead, because she was not 'fine'! Silly owners, and their dogs, would soon realise how appealing the opposite direction was when the snarling and lunging started, although usually I'd had my shoulder dislocated by this point!

Celli

It certainly is illegal to have a dog off leash on a public road, and I agree, in certain areas dogs should be on leash. If a dog is aggressive, it should certainly be kept on a leash if in an area where there are likely to be other dogs.
But to have all dogs leashed at all times would be a sad situation I feel, and the irresponsible owners who allow their dogs to be out of control and cause problems, would still carry on as normal.
So whilst I can appreciate your frustration,and I've certainly shared it a few times myself, I wouldn't like to see dogs leashed at all times.

love_lifer

No, dogs need to run. And they bark and sniff each others bottoms, such is life. Don't have a dog if these things trouble you.

Humans cause more damage than dogs ever could. Live and let live

lee111s

My dog has been let off the lead from the first time we went out when he was 12 weeks, how are they to learn how to go on with other dogs if they don't get any experiance at how dogs react to their actions? I keep him on the lead when walking as he's only a puppy and we've just started to learn heel work but once he's competent I aim to never need him on the lead no matter where we are. It's all about how the dog is brought up and how much you make him want to obey you by being the centre of their universe, if you make yourself the most exciting thing the workd for that dog then they're always going to want to listen to you.

catkins

Celli wrote: »

It certainly is illegal to have a dog off leash on a public road, and I agree, in certain areas dogs should be on leash. If a dog is aggressive, it should certainly be kept on a leash if in an area where there are likely to be other dogs.
But to have all dogs leashed at all times would be a sad situation I feel, and the irresponsible owners who allow their dogs to be out of control and cause problems, would still carry on as normal.
So whilst I can appreciate your frustration,and I've certainly shared it a few times myself, I wouldn't like to see dogs leashed at all times.

It's not illegal to have a dog offlead on a public road. It is up to each Council to decide whether it is allowed or not. My Council allow it.

My previous dog had been attacked whilst on lead which made him dislike other dogs coming up to him if he were on lead. Unfortunately where I live quite a lot of people walk their dogs offlead along the pavements even though most of them have practically no control over them. They run up to other dogs, run all over people's gardens etc.

I crossed the road one day to avoid a particular lab which would always jump around my dog and ignore the owner's command to leave my dog alone. His dog ran across the road to jump and annoy my dog and it was a busy road that buses run along.

I have been on to the Council and dog warden at least 3 times about dogs that are a nuisance offlead and they say unless a dog is dangerous they are not interested

lee111s wrote: »

My dog has been let off the lead from the first time we went out when he was 12 weeks, how are they to learn how to go on with other dogs if they don't get any experiance at how dogs react to their actions? I keep him on the lead when walking as he's only a puppy and we've just started to learn heel work but once he's competent I aim to never need him on the lead no matter where we are. It's all about how the dog is brought up and how much you make him want to obey you by being the centre of their universe, if you make yourself the most exciting thing the workd for that dog then they're always going to want to listen to you.

I think ideally a dog should be allowed time offlead BUT in a park, field, woods etc. Somewhere they can have a good run, maybe play with other dogs but, importantly, somewhere safe. I would never ever walk a dog along a road without a lead even if he always walked nicely by my side. No dog can be trusted 100% and if they saw a squirrel or something on the other side of the road or something spooked them they could run into the road and cause an accident

krlyr

Celli wrote: »

It certainly is illegal to have a dog off leash on a public road, and I agree, in certain areas dogs should be on leash.

The law is that dogs must be on-lead on designated highways, but not every road is a designated highway.


I certainly wouldn't like to see the UK go down the same route as the US with strict leash laws. And I say that as owner of reactive dogs (so we appreciate our space!). I would appreciate owners taking more responsibility and realising that the law states dogs must be in control in public, but this does not mean on-lead (I believe there have been cases where dogs have been deemed out of control whilst on lead) - especially if you consider something like a Flexi-lead to be a lead, a dog can still be 20 feet away from its owner and attack or pester another dog, with the owner struggling to 'reel' the dog back in due to the nature of the leads.

As said, I have two reactive dogs now (one was very severe, and would kick off spotting a dog half a mile away, though after a few years he can now pass a dog on the other side of the road with minimal fuss - the other developed reactivity last year as a result of a health condition causing anxiety) and I will happily share our large-ish "dog park" (it's not officially as such, but with no children's play equipment, football goals, etc. it's not used for much else than by the local dog walkers) with dogs on-lead and off, as long as the owner keeps them under control, i.e. not running up to us. Fortunately most local owners seem to clock me with my two on short leads and give us that space - those that don't get asked to call their dogs back, or me and the dogs make a sharp exit (I like this park as it has an exit in almost every corner).

I think education is the key - people need to realise why it is so important that their dog doesn't run over to strange dogs, or that even the most well-behaved dog might suddenly dart across a road even if they've never done it a day before in their lives. I would welcome more serious consequences legally for a dog-on-dog attack (which is currently a civil matter, not criminal, i.e. you'd have to take the dog's owner to court), for owners to realise they would be liable if their dog caused a car accident, and so on.

Emphasis needs to be placed on controlling dogs, not keeping them on-lead - do you think that the dog in your situation would not have barked had it been on a lead rather than held by the collar? Infact, many dogs actually behave worse in terms of towards other dogs when they're restrained on a lead, vs. off-lead where the option of "fight or flight" tends to leave most dogs much more relaxed and less likely to kick off. Sometimes it's not aggressive barking, either, but frustration at being restrained and not being allowed to greet the oncoming dog. Not that it's always suitable to have a dog off-lead everywhere, but just to say the issue in your examples (dog being held by collar, dog in front garden, dog sat in mobility cart) are not really an example, IMO, of where a lead-law would help.

A lead law would hugely benefit me with my two dogs right now. But it would hamper the lives of so many other dogs. I hope to own a dog next time around that is sociable with other dogs and safe to be off-lead (one of mine is fine with other dogs but too high a prey drive to be off-lead most places safely) so I certainly wouldn't vote for a compulsory lead-law. I will, however, do the responsible thing and make sure said dog has an excellent recall, that it is taught not to run over to strange dogs without my say so (and then I can ask the owner if it's OK first), and to hopefully prevent it from any dog-reactivity or barrier frustration, so I'm not that person holding back their barking dog (who, I can assure you, most likely doesn't want their dog barking its head off either, it's not particularly a choice I made for my dogs!) or stressing out another owner by letting my dog approach their fearful/elderly/injured/sick dog without permission.

seton100

dogs need to run and have free exercise, however this should be in a safe environment. I am very protective over my dog and nothing frustrates me more to see off lead dogs making a nuisance of themselves and worst still, seeing them off-lead walking along pavements but ONLY because I'm worried they will see something more interesting across the road and then there will be an accident

We don't want a society with dogs on leads - this would cause more problems, could you imagine all the high energy dogs who couldn't run it off?

OP, just do as I do, avoid any dogs you're not sure of and change your route if you have to. This is what I do. I have no problem just turning around or walking down another path. Your dog will be happier for it to as he wont be encounting negative energy all the time.

I only allow my dog to meet dogs I know are friendly and if street walking, just cross the road if I'm not sure.

aileth

We have a very good extendi-lead that we take ours out on, purely because, (a) I used to be very nervous around dogs and if one ran up to me, no matter how friendly, I would have a full on panic and anxiety attack, and having felt that I wouldn't wish it on anyone, (b) you have some control if someone with an unleashed dog-aggressive dog runs up to yours, and (c) because if he saw a pigeon he'd be long gone!

I can definitely understand and expect dogs to be offleads in parks etc, but the number of times I see people walking down our road (fairly busy with cars) with dogs off lead, dogs don't listen to owner, car drivers have to emergency stop, cue tonnes of swearing, is horrific.

spacey2012

Compulsory third party insurance for dogs would solve many issues.
Those with dog types that pose most risk would pay the highest premium.
Dogs should be insured against.

The Cost of veterinary treatment caused to another animal by attack risk.
The cost of damage caused in the event of a road collision.
Risk of attacking member of public and subsequent medical costs and compensation.
Combine this with compulsory dog chipping.
Non pedigree dogs must be categorised at chipping stage in to sub breeds, fighting dog, working dog, hunting dog, domestic pet, toy dog.

Those who insist on walking round with fighting breed dogs pay the insurance premium.
At the moment if one of these muscle dogs attacks yours, the responsible owner has to pay all the vet bills, thats if your dog survives.
In any society, that is not right or just.