RANT: Leashes!!!!

[tulip]

...As he approached the road, he jumped the small ditch between the yard/road... only to land with both front feet on his ears. At the speed he was traveling, this resulted in a massive face-plant into the landing side of the ditch. He made a loud THUMP... I have no idea if he kept chasing, because at that point I was laughing so hard that I almost fell over.

If I'd been drinking my tea, I would have spewed all over my computer!

As for chasing-dogs, I find that squirting them in the eyes with a well-aimed shot of gatorade usually does the trick long enough for me to get away.

[Eden]

Many people *think* they have their dog under control and they DON'T. I commute to work and a lot of people walk their dogs off leash on a section of multi-use trail that I travel. It's just stupid and dangerous to let the dogs run where there are cyclists. Your dog doesn't have to be nasty, viscious or bite to knock me down - and don't compound your stupidness by throwing a ball for the dog around a blind corner on the wrong side of the trail puleeeeezee... I complained to the local Animal Control and they actually went down and ticketed one day! On that same morning (they called me to follow up that they had been to the area - good customer service!) I had a dog charge me out of the bushes (there are trails on the hill about the path too) - owner wailing its name - guess they thought they had voice control NOT!

[mimitabby]

I have been alerted by people screaming at their out of control dogs.... "GET BACK HERE! HEY!!" and then i hear the dog running towards me......

If you don't have a electric collar on your dog, no matter how well trained he is, it's naive to think you are always in control. Your dog, after all, has its own brain.

[Brandi]

I lost the best cat ever from dogs not being on their leashes! I love dogs too but.....I lost a good friend because of it!

[rij73]

When you don't have your dogs on leash, it's like a big "screw you" to the people you come across who might be afraid of dogs. You might know your dog is an angel and perfectly trained, but some people are truly afraid of dogs with or without reason, and I think it's only fair to take them into consideration. I walk my dog on a 4-foot leash in the city, and even then he has scared the daylights out of people on occasion. He is a sweetie pie, but he likes to make eye contact with people and walk up to strangers out of curiosity. I've trained him to stay practically surgically attached to my knee now, but when I first got him, there were people who really flinched as he went towards them.

[emily_in_nc]

I can't tell you how many small dogs I had to pay vet bills for because their owners had them off leash and they ran at us! Multiple times, my dog picked up theirs, shook them, and then tossed them in the bushes. And yet I was the one responsible for the vet bills because MY dog hurt theirs. Nice.

This happened to me, but we were the small-dog owners. Our neighbor's golden retriever picked up our Boston Terrier Pepper (the BT we had before our current pup Paisley) and shook her. I know that Pepper instigated the "attack" because she didn't like other dogs at all, unfortunately. BUT...there were mitigating circumstances: this happened on OUR property (neighbors dogs ran onto it when they saw our dog), and our dog was on leash, our neighbor's dog was not. So, I didn't feel guilty taking the payment he offered for our vet bill. Pepper was pretty seriously hurt...scary.

We never, ever let any dog of ours off leash off our property. Since I fractured my pelvis in my road-cycling accident three years ago due to loose dogs running out at me, I'm absolutely adamant about this.

Emily

[Brandi]

When you don't have your dogs on leash, it's like a big "screw you" to the people you come across who might be afraid of dogs. You might know your dog is an angel and perfectly trained, but some people are truly afraid of dogs with or without reason, and I think it's only fair to take them into consideration. I walk my dog on a 4-foot leash in the city, and even then he has scared the daylights out of people on occasion. He is a sweetie pie, but he likes to make eye contact with people and walk up to strangers out of curiosity. I've trained him to stay practically surgically attached to my knee now, but when I first got him, there were people who really flinched as he went towards them.

And he looks like a sweet boy too!

[Trek420]

I have been alerted by people screaming at their out of control dogs.... "GET BACK HERE! HEY!!" and then i hear the dog running towards me......

"GET BACK HERE! HEY!!" is not a verbal command. Most dogs (unless their Mall's mutts super smart seeing eye pups) do not understand sentences. My mutt has a pretty reasonable "Mae come" response once I discovered it's not the words but a particular tone.

I could yell "beige HUM" or "cage YUM" with the same inflection and tone, she'd come.

But how well do you know your dog? If she saw a squirrel or another dog or a delicious bit of ewwwww to roll in would she run to you? I'm not sure so that's another reason Mae stays on leash.

[tulip]

My mutt has a pretty reasonable "Mae come" response once I discovered it's not the words but a particular tone.

I could yell "beige HUM" or "cage YUM" with the same inflection and tone, she'd come.

My mom had a dog named Honey Lamb. She had to give her away, and the lady who took her just couldn't stand the way-too-sweet name, so changed it to Cunningham. The dog never knew the difference.

[rij73]

And he looks like a sweet boy too!

Yes, he is the sweetest. Wouldn't hurt a fly. He's just always looking to make new friends!

[GLC1968]

This happened to me, but we were the small-dog owners. Our neighbor's golden retriever picked up our Boston Terrier Pepper (the BT we had before our current pup Paisley) and shook her. I know that Pepper instigated the "attack" because she didn't like other dogs at all, unfortunately. BUT...there were mitigating circumstances: this happened on OUR property (neighbors dogs ran onto it when they saw our dog), and our dog was on leash, our neighbor's dog was not. So, I didn't feel guilty taking the payment he offered for our vet bill. Pepper was pretty seriously hurt...scary.

We never, ever let any dog of ours off leash off our property. Since I fractured my pelvis in my road-cycling accident three years ago due to loose dogs running out at me, I'm absolutely adamant about this.

Emily

Emily - In that case, yes, they should pay the bill! My parents had to do that once because their big golden yanked the leash out of their hands and chased a dog into a bush where they couldn't reach her. Luckily, the small dog didn't fight back after the initial 'attack' so injuries were light.

In my case, my dog WAS on a leash...theirs wasn't. I only had to pay because I had the bigger dog who did the most damage. It's so NOT fair since I was the responsible one. But what can you do when it's your neighbors? Luckily, the bills were financially manageable.

[jobob]

Back when we lived in Richmond our dear departed Bozo Kitty was sitting on our front steps, and probably thumbed his kitty nose at a passing pit bull being walked on the sidewalk in front of our house. Wise, he was not.

Said pit bull broke free of his leash and proceeded to make mincemeat of Bozo. The pit bull got a few good scratches for his effort though, Bozo was quite the fighter himself.

After Lee tried to pull them apart with no success (meanwhile the piece-of-sh!t owner screaming at Lee not to hurt her dog!! ), Lee ran into the house to grab a lead pipe with the full intent to bash the pit bull's brains in, but by the time he got back out the piece-of-sh!t owner and her vermin had run down the street and jumped into a car & sped off.

Needless to say, Lee was devastated, he and Boze were good buds. As was I, but I didn't have to live through the experience of watching our beloved pet being mauled on our front steps, and then have to load him up and speed him to the vet. Bozo's injuries were way too severe to keep him alive and suffering, so he had to be put to sleep. Even the vet was choked up - Bozo was a very beloved kitty.

So, I have zero tollerance for dog owners who can't, or are too lazy, to control their dogs.

And I used to loathe pit bulls on sight, until I met a friend's, which is one of the sweetest dogs imaginable.

[snapdragen]

And I used to loathe pit bulls on sight, until I met a friend's, which is one of the sweetest dogs imaginable.

Would that be mr simon?

[jobob]

Indeed it would.

[BadgerGirl]

I enjoy allowing my dog to run without a leash, but not to anyone's expense. I have even gone as far as getting a waistband leash for running. I agree, most people don't have the slightest training for their "wonderful" dog. My dog has been to ALOT of training classes and I still don't trust him completely. When he is off-leash, in an unpopulated area, he has an e-collar on.

I also have been attacked by dogs who are off leash. I get in front of my 75lb German Shepherd and actually kick at the other dogs and say "no" really loud. I know he can eat most dogs, but it is my job to be the pack leader and engage in fights.

I hope you are feeling better MP and enjoy the wine.