Off leash dogs running around

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mbroyda said:
stupid question, but do any of you talk to your neighbours? have anyone tried telling your neighbours that they should have their dog on a leash? a lot of people tend to be very reasonable if you have the right approach.
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I tried. The neighbour's little yapper did its vocals every time they let it out and I when I got a chance I gently spoke to the hubby telling him I would like to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet in my back yard. His wife comes over and tells me it's my fault for being in my yard. The term for female dog can also be used for the owner.

Such a mixed bag of occurrences.

I had an off leash spaniel take a run at me when on the wing. Fortunately we both hit the brakes.

A very good friend has a son-in-law that will never be right again because a driver swerved to avoid a loose dog and swerved into his SIL's lane hitting him head on.

I saw a little girl, trying to walk down the sidewalk, frozen and traumatized by a neighbours dog snaring, barking and growling at her. The same dog came up our driveway and did the same to my wife but took off before I could get a shovel. The dog's owner was a cop so if I made contact with it with a shovel the self centred owner would probably have me charged.

On the other hand we were out on a rather remote trail with our daughters shepherd collie mix and let the pup off her leash. She roamed around never going more than 50 feet from us as we walked. No leash tugs etc. Any time another party approached we would call her back and snap on the leash. A pleasant outing.

On our street I saw a guy walking his dog, off leash but leash in hand, and it was heeling perfectly. It was nice to see.

The basic problem is too many people are either too lazy or incompetent to learn about dog behavior. They see a little puppy and they're all so cute. They ignore the facts. They grow up and leave large dumps. They develop their inherited traits.

Dogs need to be licensed.

Owners need to be licensed.

Common sense could replace most laws.
 
nobbie48 said:
I tried. The neighbour's little yapper did its vocals every time they let it out and I when I got a chance I gently spoke to the hubby telling him I would like to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet in my back yard. His wife comes over and tells me it's my fault for being in my yard. The term for female dog can also be used for the owner.
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Yeah I guess I should have put a disclaimer, talking doesn't always work if the owners IQ is lower than the dog's
 
GreyGhost said:
In my experience dog parks attract the ********* owners whose dogs are violent and out of control. They can't safely walk their beasts so they bring them to the park to attack dogs there and then drive away at high speed after an attack. I have personally seen this 3 times and heard of it happening many more times.
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We don't take our dogs to dog parks for this reason. We used to when they were younger but saw too many idiots turning up with violent dogs.
 
I walk mine off leash all the time.

stop, go, left, right, here and move... are enough. Mine won't approach others, will ignore people and won't go near a child.. unless allowed.
I always have them but rarely use a leash... If I do, it's for other people's piece of mind. Truth is... mine would snap their leash like there nothing if wanted to.
We encounter the same people most mornings.. most could care less... there is one husky owner that is uncomfortable with it so we go far around or put the leashes if we have to pass close. The husky is cool... the owner... probably shouldn't own a dog.
 
Blackfin said:
Was out for a run today when I came upon a large mix -- guessing it had some bull terrier in it but not positive -- off-leash. Thing came right at me. Deep, menacing barking, running circles around me and bumping my legs with its muzzle as it went by. Very ****ing intimidating; I've not felt the fight or flight adrenaline rush like that in ages. I didn't actually know what to do; should I preemptively kick it in the head and run? Stand still and wait for it to go for me? Or hope it runs off?

No owner visible at first. Dog's circling and barking; I get the feeling it was testing me with the muzzle hit-n-runs. Waiting to become a story on the 6pm news when the owner appears. Low-class middle aged woman, fat smoker judging by the voice. Ineffectively calls the dog. I'm asking her WTF is this thing doing off a leash? Get it away from me. She says "...the dog's an *******. he don't listen to no one..." as the dog finally runs off, maybe distracted by a squirrel. I don't know. I give her the gears and tell her I'm this close to calling animal control for a loose dog, especially one as large and physically menacing as this, with zero obedience training. She lumbers off in the other direction going to get the dog...

So I'm then on my way, really wishing I had my phone with me. My route takes me about 15 minutes around and I find myself back in the area. The dog is still loose and comes after me again, same way. Really getting ****** now. Wish I had a baseball bat with me. The ghoulish woman comes out again, this time with a leash in her hand and starts yelling at me. "he's an *******, it's not easy to get him..." I can't believe what I'm hearing. I give her an earful again and remind her that little kids play and women with strollers frequent this road and that she better get her **** together before someone is hurt. I once again go on my way.
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Try giving it a basic command... tell it to "sit" in a stern, loud voice.
Stand firm, but don't challenge it by kicking at it.
As scary as it was... the dog more likely was looking for action, wanted to run with or play with you. Probably get little to no exercise, full of energy... and was just excited.
I'd be more concerned with a dog charging at me silently.
 
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I remember I was on a hiking trail & a dog came charging at me because I had a hiking stick
 
Rick CH said:
This really is the problem in almost all of these cases, isn't it?
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I think breed selection is also part of the problem and people not understanding dog behaviours... especially their own's.

In that case... the guy got stuck with is son's dog.. and is genuinely afraid of dogs. He is a good owner in that he tries, does walk it and work with it... But he you can see the nervousness as soon as he sees another dog.
 
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raginduck said:
I walk mine off leash all the time.

stop, go, left, right, here and move... are enough. Mine won't approach others, will ignore people and won't go near a child.. unless allowed.
I always have them but rarely use a leash... If I do, it's for other people's piece of mind. Truth is... mine would snap their leash like there nothing if wanted to.
We encounter the same people most mornings.. most could care less... there is one husky owner that is uncomfortable with it so we go far around or put the leashes if we have to pass close. The husky is cool... the owner... probably shouldn't own a dog.
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You are the kind of owner I wish all were that let their dogs off lead. It comes down to obedience, if they cannot follow given commands then they should always be on lead. My husky for example will listen most of the time, but if there is something more appealing than treats, or just feels like being a stubborn bastard, he does as he wants....and that's why he's on a lead at all times.

Your not in the north end of Barrie I hope :?
 
raginduck said:
I think breed selection is also part of the problem and people not understanding dog behaviours... especially their own's.

In that case... the guy got stuck with is son's dog.. and is genuinely afraid of dogs. He is a good owner in that he tries, does walk it and work with it... But he you can see the nervousness as soon as he sees another dog.
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Very much this, a lot of people do not understand dog behaviors or even the subtle cues as they get close to another person or animal.
 
esphoto said:
You are the kind of owner I wish all were that let their dogs off lead. It comes down to obedience, if they cannot follow given commands then they should always be on lead. My husky for example will listen most of the time, but if there is something more appealing than treats, or just feels like being a stubborn bastard, he does as he wants....and that's why he's on a lead at all times.

Your not in the north end of Barrie I hope :?
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Nope.. Brampton.

Took years to be able to do it... Far from perfectly behaved... I just know the behaviours, the signs to watch for, etc... the key is to interrupt them before they do what they don't know they're about to do yet. Mine isn't even that friendly... there are certain breeds that mine can not interact with at all... It will not go well. Same with puppies... hates them. Mine will attack either, given the chance... and won't stop. So, I make sure there's no chance and pay extra attention when around either...
I can freeze em on command.. will stay still, looking at me.. until I tell em to go again or I walk over and put a leash on.. no matter what's going around em. Works ever time.

I wouldn't own a husky again.. I like them and all, just not what I'm looking for in a dog.
 
I live downtown, have 3 dog parks within walking distant from my place and still prefer to walk him offleash on the street just cause it's safer. He's been attacked at all 3 dog parks usually by owners who say their dog is harmless and sweet heart. Saying that my dog is safe on the street is still a misnomer, the last time he got attacked was on the street, the dog ran across 4 lanes of traffic to come at my dog. I saw it all happening and was able to put myself between the attacking dog and my dog. Fortunately, I was able to grab the attacking dog by the collar while giving commands to my dog to stay away and keep calm which he did. Mind you, I do put him on leash or cross the street when I see a dog eyeing him, if I can't do that then will ask the owner if they are ok with my dog being offleash around theirs.

As what @raginduck said, Wether on leash or offleash, he is always under my control - having such control on my dog took alot of training. He always by my side, only approaches people or dog when I give permission even if a person is beckoning him or the dog is going apeshit at him, knows how to cross streets as soon as we get to intersection he will sit down waiting for me to give him the command to go. We walk offleash on restricted hospital grounds all the time even infront of security, security love him, they actually look out for him to give him treats. The docs will even ask me to bring them over to meet the patients when they go for their daily walk.
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