Should all dogs be walked on leads?

Celli

catkins wrote: »

I would like to know which roads are classed as "designated highways". I live in a built up part of Essex and according to my local council and dog warden is perfectly ok and legal to walk dogs along the roads with no leads. A lot of the roads, obviously are very busy. Cars, buses, lorries etc run along a lot of them.

My particular road is pretty busy - in fact local parents are campaigning for a crossing as they say the road is so busy when they walk children to and from school it is dangerous to try and get across the road. Yet the council say it is ok to walk a dog offlead along it when the owner cannot possibly be totally sure that their dog would not run into the road and cause an accident!

I am all for dogs having a lovely run offlead in appropriate places - parks, beaches, woods etc as long as they are friendly and have good recall. I would hate all public places to bring in a ban for offlead dogs. I don't think though that dogs should be walked along roads offlead even if their owners think their dog is ok.

Most of the owners that walk their dogs offlead along pavements near me (and there are lots of them) seem to have no control over their dogs. I ended up having to muzzle my previous dog as he hated dogs running up to him when he was on lead and jumping and sniffing (he had been attacked while on lead) as I was scared he may bite them. This is why I have been on to the council and dog warden on several occasions

Thats the thing, what is a " designated highway " ?,you'd assume, if it's an A or B road it would be one, but who knows.
Perhaps if you gave the roads dept a call and gave them the specific road, they would be able to tell you ?
Just for general interest, I asked around, and as the law is an ACT, it's not up to the council if they implement it or not.

This is the,only legal definition I could find

(2)In this section “designated road” means a length of road specified by an order in that behalf of the local authority in whose area the length of road is situated.

what the hell that means, I don't know.
I wonder if a designated road, is one that has a number ?, as in, A91 ?, that would make sense.

catkins

Celli wrote: »

Thats the thing, what is a " designated highway " ?,you'd assume, if it's an A or B road it would be one, but who knows.
Perhaps if you gave the roads dept a call and gave them the specific road, they would be able to tell you ?
Just for general interest, I asked around, and as the law is an ACT, it's not up to the council if they implement it or not.

I just don't understand it. People keep telling me that it is the law that dogs must be on lead BUT my council insist it is not. They tell me it is up to each council. They would only be interested if an offlead dog could be classed as dangerous. I have said that a dog running into the road and causing an accident could be called dangerous but they don't agree.

The police were not interested when I spoke to them and agreed that it was up to each council.

Celli

catkins wrote: »

I just don't understand it. People keep telling me that it is the law that dogs must be on lead BUT my council insist it is not. They tell me it is up to each council. They would only be interested if an offlead dog could be classed as dangerous. I have said that a dog running into the road and causing an accident could be called dangerous but they don't agree.

The police were not interested when I spoke to them and agreed that it was up to each council.

Sounds like your being fobbed off I'm afraid
I suppose it would open a whole can of worms if they started going after everyone who's dog was off- lead on a designated road, there would be no end to them.

GBNI

Two of my dogs are on a lead when walked, but allowed off in 'safe' areas eg not near a road! Although if a dog approaches that is on a lead, I automatically put them back on.

The other is rarely on a lead, but she is a gundog and doesn't react to other dogs etc and is mostly walked across fields.

fannyadams

GirlDog wears a Yellow Dog ribbon on her lead as she can't cope with black labs and she is mostly walked on the lead as is BoyDog - they are both sighthounds (ex-racing Greys) and as previously stated their preydrive absolutely overrides ANY recall training they might be good at (they can do recall in back garden and in larger enclosed field near me but if rabbit/hare/cat is visible I have NO CHANCE of them hearing me or coming back no matter what treats I have).

pipkin71

I think dogs should always be on leads when out walking. We have two and they remain on lead [the female is blind so needs to stay on anyway].

For the male dog to burn off energy, he has a 50' lead, alongside his regular lead, which enables him to chase his ball but also remain under control of whoever is out with him.

catkins

I've just looked at The Kennel Club pages and some dog forums and this is what I found:


Section 27 Road Traffic Act 1988 - level 1 fine - summary offence

It is an offence for a person to cause or permit a dog to be on a designated (by an order of the local authority) road without the dog being held on a lead except :-

* dogs proved to be kept for driving or tending sheep or cattle in the course of a trade or business,
* dogs proved to have been in use under proper control for sporting purposes.



The requirement to have dogs on a lead is in the Road Traffic Act but only on designated roads, which have to be designated by the Local Authority and many aren't (or weren't until they started to use the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 to implement Dog Control Orders). Urban areas have always had tighter controls for dogs but even these were often local authority byelaws which have since been replaced by dog control orders.


So it seems it is down to the local council and, unfortunately, mine don't see offlead dogs as a problem even if they are not under control

lee111s

Dogs love to explore. Nothing pleases me more seeing my dog blasting through bushes sniffing/swimming in the river and having the time of his life. He's a springer and coulnd't think of a worse breed of dog to keep on a lead. Even at 5 months we can be out for an hour (rarely) and he's still full of energy when we get home. I dread to think what he'd be like if he was lead walked only.

I for one think it's cruel to always have a dog on a lead. They just love to play and run around to their hearts content!

Person_one

lee111s wrote: »

Dogs love to explore. Nothing pleases me more seeing my dog blasting through bushes sniffing/swimming in the river and having the time of his life. He's a springer and coulnd't think of a worse breed of dog to keep on a lead. Even at 5 months we can be out for an hour (rarely) and he's still full of energy when we get home. I dread to think what he'd be like if he was lead walked only.

I for one think it's cruel to always have a dog on a lead. They just love to play and run around to their hearts content!

While I understand that some dogs need to be on leads for their own and/or everybody else's safety, I otherwise feel the same as you. The joy that my dogs get from running free, exploring, meeting and playing with other dogs etc etc. is just a delight to behold.

If the law changed that I could never legally let them do that, I'm not sure I'd ever get another dog, knowing it would spend its life without ever running at full stretch across an empty field. Awful thought.

krlyr

pipkin71 wrote: »

I think dogs should always be on leads when out walking. We have two and they remain on lead [the female is blind so needs to stay on anyway].

For the male dog to burn off energy, he has a 50' lead, alongside his regular lead, which enables him to chase his ball but also remain under control of whoever is out with him.

I know of quite a few people who would struggle with a dog racing around on 50' lead though - I've got a few injuries from 30' ones as it is (rope burn mostly, but the odd nasty jolt when I've not been paying enough attention), and I'd say I'm a bit more experienced with them than most since both of my dogs have issues making off-lead time difficult.

I manage it, because I have to, but I'd hate for it to become compulsory. It would certainly make me think twice about adopting a larger breed, and I'm not really a little dog kind of person.