In a recent email sharing a funny, to me, mock letter from an ACO, the topic of leashes came up. As folks become even more enamored of their "rights" to do as they damn well please, more clashes are in the offing. On todays walk I had the usual three dogs running up to mine. I am never thrilled, I don't pretend to be. I suppose all those years of not being able to walk my dog agressive dog, leashed in my own neighborhood are boiling out.He had a Companion Dog Title, so even tho he hated other dogs, he was safe to take to events and even do some shows at schools. I never let him off leash in the back country, he was under complete voice command, but if he was out of range it could get ugly. I am only assuming that; as owners who loved him we kept him safe from misdirected instincts. Hence my chronic chagrin at people who let their dog come charging up to mine. We had a Queensland down grade that always flew out of the garage and up Oreo's leg . One time stitches and an emergency vet bill totaling $560.00 got the owners attention for about three weeks. Nobody thinks your loose dog charging their leashed dog is cute....nobody ! But as the animal rightest push for more and more anarchy those of us who follow the law are sure to suffer.The owner of the labs came racing out of his garage today, amazed that one more time, his dogs left the yard..Why is this moron so shocked; they have been running out for three years. His neighbors in the cul de sac are tired of putting their dogs in the car in the garage to avoid the "greeter" how does one resolve these issues short of small claims court when the leashed dog trips the owner. Anyone on the blog have a sucess story to share ? I volunteer for AC so I know one way to handle it, but since we are on " education mode" here..... I have made a time to talk to the owners over the week end, say a little prayer. If they don't keep the dogs up, AC time. What a bummer. If you want to let your dogs run, go to the dog park, not where people are connected to the other end of the dog leash. Sure am tempted to post that letter, it was great !!
Oreo sitting coyly, hoping a ride is coming. Listening for the sound of car keys.....
10 comments:
I've seen it, please post it for others to enjoy.
That's an interesting debate, does a person have a right to walk a dog agressive dog, even on a leash. Isn't that a liability issue if you know your dog is agressive ? Not being critical, butI would like to know more. We do let Mate walk off leash in a semi-heel position. From time to time he will go up to say hello to a dog on leash, and the owners are not very friendly. A couple have been downright rude. Aussies are friendly dogs and get on well with others, it would be understandable if I had a German Shepherd, or Rotteweiler, but an Aussie. Come on now ! Why would you take a dog aggressive dog out where other dogs are ?
We just returned from our outting, this isn't the time to ask about that. I don't know the legal end of it, but up here we have a leash law, so I am thinking the dog off leash is always the villain.
At least to the person walking the dog ON leash. We got past the incredible lunging labs, they barked through their back fence, always a good sign. Two blocks up the street, we get a Maltese. It's somewhere under Miss Priss sniffing her, she would like to sniff it back but she can't find the little sucker.... It's somewhere, like a tick in all that fur. Owner is a very sweet woman and the dog doesn't slip out often ( see not chronic ) so we get the little guy out from under Priss and it gets a scolding for charging out. Appropriate owner response. I want to give Colan the benefit of the doubt, but if you ahve leash laws that could explain the attitude you are getting. When we have lived in small towns or rural areas where everyone let the dogs amble along that was accepted community standards. But if you have an area where the dogs are on leash, there is usually a law in place. To answer the loose dog issue while walking our not friendly male; we used a wire basket muzzle, the same as I had when handling police dogs. Shame to have to do that in your neighborhood because some folks let theirs loose.
We are both right according to what I read online. It's to long to detail here, but the bottom line is there are unincorprated areas where I live, which permit off leash, with voice control. So I am not breaking the law, but there is nothing about the disposition of any dog as long as it is leashed. We are respnsible for keeping our dogs apart and I guess I need to exercise my voice control and not let Mate visit other dogs without permission. I maintain my position that dogs that would harm another animal don't belong in public. But if they are on a leash, why not. I need to think about this.
Colan, I'm out of the business,but in court the dog on the leash is generally considered the one under control. If you and your neighbors are mutally agreeable and everyone has voice control, no harm is being done in a legal sense if your address falls into the unincorporated region. As a suggestion, consider you are setting precedent for another who may not have a dog as well mannered as yours, and may follow your example. If everyone else is leashed up, why not be a good neighbor ?
We always take our dogs for walks and swimming in areas by the Truckee River. If they are not swimming or at a dog park, I feel they are safer leashed. Leashs are required in all park areas not marked "off leash" and as someone already remarked it's not fair to the person doing it right to let your loose dog approach theirs.
BTW has anybody been to Rancho lately, is it open or closed ? I started to stay out when cars began disgorging several dogs at once. Me and the boys miss the hard long distance run and the visiting with other dog people. We stopped when a woman with 6 dogs was reading their names from a list, I kid you not. She gave me a card, which I won't share and declared herself in the dog nanny business. I haven't been back since. I did call the park ranger and tell him the 3 per owner limit was exceeded and the person didn't own the dogs.
Even Lassie needs a leash. I used to take my rescues out 2 at a time for a run in the woods behind my house. They killed a coyote, it was ugly, undeserved, and I learned from it. Let your dog run on your on property, that avoids many heartaches.
Devils Advocate here. I could see where there might be a couple of slip ups in the training process. But the only way to teach your dog to respond off leash; is to have it off leash. How else will it learn ? I don't think a dog should ever be allowed to approach another dog on leash, that is an accident waiting to happen.
An update, after the talk..
Went "dogless " to the lab man's door. I had practiced my "we care smile" and worked hard on seeing things from his perspective.
When he saw me at the door his face dropped as he tried to regroup his defensive line. First line of defense was " nobody cares but you" correct answer is. "I'm ehough" He went from defensive to offensive in a heartbeat. He felt that so long as he stopped his dogs before the fight erupted he was in " control" of his hounds.
I wanted to scream, so many people have quit walking on that street because of his dogs charging out. I talked with him far longer than he was entitled to and the final decision was " Go ahead and call AC!!" So I will do that. But I can tell everybody the first thing out of any enforcement agency's mouth is " did you talk to the person" so we are way ahead of the game. In the spirit of leaving him some space, I will give it a few days to see if he keeps them up.
In our jurisdiction, off leash is legal with voice response. If all the dogs are off leash and socialized from being brought up that way you seldom see a skirmish. The new dog in town gets a onceover and if it is not antagonistic the routine continues. That said, the dog on leash is always at the disadvanage in these meet ups. Err on the side of caution and control your dog when approaching a leashed dog. Respect would do wonders for good relations among dog walkers. I ahve noticed the leash dogs are better poop citizens.
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