Bloody dogs offlead!!!

adouglasmhor

catkins wrote: »

Well I have rung them numerous times, speaking to different people and have been told every time that it is perfectly ok to walk a dog offlead along a pavement.


I have also written and emailed and received email replies and letters and they all say the same.


The dog warden also says the same.


My dog trainer was adamant that it is an offence (she doesn't live in my area) and contacted my council only to tell me that it's not offence where I live

They are skiving jobsworths then.

=wikiIn British English, "highway" is primarily a legal term. Everyday use normally implies roads, while the legal use covers any route or path with a public right of access, including footpaths etc. The term has led to several related derived terms, including highway system, highway code, and highway patrol.

catkins

adouglasmhor wrote: »

They are skiving jobsworths then.

They can't all be wrong. A local councillor also confirmed it is not an offence.

adouglasmhor

catkins wrote: »

They can't all be wrong. A local councillor also confirmed it is not an offence.

local councilors are informed by the council officers, they are not legaly qualified in general.

catkins

adouglasmhor wrote: »

local councilors are informed by the council officers, they are not legaly qualified in general.

If you look at the quote on your original post (I cannot get it to copy) it says "it is an offence to cause or permit a dog to be on a road WHICH HAS BEEN DESIGNATED BY A LOCAL AUTHORITY as a road to which the Act relates"

I really do not want to argue but I have been over this countless times with people on forums (including this one), neighbours, friends etc. I am assured by my local council that where I live it is not an offence to walk dogs offlead on the pavement as long as the dog is under control.


Most of the dogs are not under control but the council are not interested

neveranymoney

Because of previous experiences, I am petrified of other dogs off lead bounding up to shadow pup when she is on lead. We have let her off when no other dogs are about and currently take her to the beach, fields etc on a long line.

It never fails to astonish me just how bloody silly/unconcerned they are when their off lead dogs are out of control around a on lead dog. Even with scampers muzzled, people still allowed their dogs to approach him and he was squealing in fear, going nuts and we were trying to body block.

We had a very recent near miss with the pup. A terrier mix was right up her face and NOT friendly and the owner was warning saying her own dog 'just wanted to play'. Um, if you can't tell that your dog is plainly petrifying an on lead pup and said pups owners are trying to intervene and walk peacefully by, I'm not at all sure you know dogs.

How horrible catkins, it all makes what is meant to be a pleasant experience very stressful. I have no qualms about dogs being off lead. We have met many who are great but the difference is they were under control.

neveranymoney

Damn iPhone. If the above makes little sense, blame the blooming autocorrect do dah!

Person_one

neveranymoney wrote: »

Because of previous experiences, I am petrified of other dogs off lead bounding up to shadow pup when she is on lead. We have let her off when no other dogs are about and currently take her to the beach, fields etc on a long line.

It never fails to astonish me just how bloody silly/unconcerned they are when their off lead dogs are out of control around a on lead dog. Even with scampers muzzled, people still allowed their dogs to approach him and he was squealing in fear, going nuts and we were trying to body block.

We had a very recent near miss with the pup. A terrier mix was right up her face and NOT friendly and the owner was warning saying her own dog 'just wanted to play'. Um, if you can't tell that your dog is plainly petrifying an on lead pup and said pups owners are trying to intervene and walk peacefully by, I'm not at all sure you know dogs.

How horrible catkins, it all makes what is meant to be a pleasant experience very stressful. I have no qualms about dogs being off lead. We have met many who are great but the difference is they were under control.

Please please please don't let your experiences with Scampers stop you from socialising Shadow fully and letting her experience the delights of playing with other dogs.

While the owner shouldn't have let their off lead dog approach yours on lead, is it possible that it was you misreading the terrier's body language rather than its owner?

You really don't want her to grow up fearful.

neveranymoney

Wee shadow pup meets at least two new dogs every day, I admit I am as nervous as hell but I do it because of what scampers was like.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of times shadow has to be removed from some pleasant dog who has let the little madam bounce on their poor heads and plenty of dogs that want to play with her but this genuinely wasn't nice at all and you could tell by shadows body language that she was extremely unsure and was trying to get herself out of the equation.

My view is, if your dog is off lead, make sure that the on lead party are happy with the meet and greet - I know that is a generalisation but I have found the dog world to be very like parenthood, 'oh my little such and such would never do....' Just a moments thoughtfulness and a quick 'is it ok for fido to come over?' Would make such a difference.

Person_one

Ok, I'm glad to hear she's getting to meet doggy friends! I know how hard you tried with Scampers and that you're not shy of putting the effort in, but I wouldn't blame you at all for being a bit gun-shy after everything that happened!

There is a sort of 'unwritten rule' that its ok to let off lead dogs approach each other and say hello, but that if a dog is on lead then to give it its space. I sometimes think this needs to be a written rule as not enough people seem to know it these days!

I'd love it if the Dogs Trust or the RSPCA or somebody produced a little leaflet with basic dog etiquette in it that could be handed over with all new puppies and rescue dogs.

lostinrates

Person_one wrote: »

There is a sort of 'unwritten rule' that its ok to let off lead dogs approach each other and say hello, but that if a dog is on lead then to give it its space. I sometimes think this needs to be a written rule as not enough people seem to know it these days!
.

And its a good one.

I also have to say, if some one can tell me how to stop sight hounds bouncing I'll do it for social acceptability, but mine bounce. They bounce alone playing, they bounce in public. Their gait and demeanour is different to say, a labrador's , and people often are often accusing them of 'aggression' when actually my grey isn't even showing any interest in them, she's just skipping along. Or bouncing at birds. .


I absolutely agree there are lots of dog walkers with off lead dogs whose dogs (and the walkers ) have appalling manners. But I also think non dog people would do well for their own safety to know some basic rules of thumb, like countryside rules should be known when you are walking there). Things like not petting dogs without asking. Certainly not letting children approach dogs. Not raising voices if possible when their is dispute (if you genuinely think a dog is aggressive raising a voice might provoke the dog to feel defensive....)

I think we could all do to have some manners and sympathy towards each other tbh.