Letting dog off leash

[Anonymous]

It's illegal to walk your dog off leash on trails.

It's also incredibly, incredibly selfish of an owner to do so. If any strange animal approaches me, I will not hesitate to pepper spray or hit/kick it right away, and am not going to wait until a lazy owner comes along saying their dog is "friendly."

There was a case locally a few years ago, where a man shot someone's off leash dog, and he was cleared, because he had a right to protect himself and his family without waiting for the lazy owner to make some excuse.

[Anonymous]

An off leash dog attacked a beaver in Rock Creek Park recently. They had to put the beaver down. This plus your concerns about your dog getting injured is why I haven't ever let him off leash. And he has pretty good recall. I would feel terrible if he attacked an animal!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal to walk your dog off leash on trails.

It's also incredibly, incredibly selfish of an owner to do so. If any strange animal approaches me, I will not hesitate to pepper spray or hit/kick it right away, and am not going to wait until a lazy owner comes along saying their dog is "friendly."

There was a case locally a few years ago, where a man shot someone's off leash dog, and he was cleared, because he had a right to protect himself and his family without waiting for the lazy owner to make some excuse.

Would you attack a dog that is walking along minding its own business?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dogs on leashes can act very defensive when confronted by other dogs off leash, and if that ever happens by definition it’s the unleashed dog owner’s fault.

Our large dog (no, not a pit) literally killed a small dog with one bite when it ran up to and jumped at our dog unleashed on a city street. It was awful. But even the unleashed dog’s owner knew where the fault belonged.

See this is proof that other dogs can be killers! What happened?

[Anonymous]

Do not do this. Your husband is a jerk for letting the dog off leash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal to walk your dog off leash on trails.

It's also incredibly, incredibly selfish of an owner to do so. If any strange animal approaches me, I will not hesitate to pepper spray or hit/kick it right away, and am not going to wait until a lazy owner comes along saying their dog is "friendly."

There was a case locally a few years ago, where a man shot someone's off leash dog, and he was cleared, because he had a right to protect himself and his family without waiting for the lazy owner to make some excuse.

Would you attack a dog that is walking along minding its own business?

Of course not. A dog running up to or towards other people is not "minding its own business" though.

[Anonymous]

Your dog might also tangle with other animals, which risks injury to the dog and the other animal. Likewise, if he runs onto someone else's property, there's a chance he gets shot by the owner or has a bad encounter with another human (biting, for example). Cars are a risk. Oh, and we once had a dog escape our yard (in the winter; he climbed over the fence via snowdrift) and ran off with a coyote in heat. Fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal to walk your dog off leash on trails.

It's also incredibly, incredibly selfish of an owner to do so. If any strange animal approaches me, I will not hesitate to pepper spray or hit/kick it right away, and am not going to wait until a lazy owner comes along saying their dog is "friendly."

There was a case locally a few years ago, where a man shot someone's off leash dog, and he was cleared, because he had a right to protect himself and his family without waiting for the lazy owner to make some excuse.

Would you attack a dog that is walking along minding its own business?

Of course not. A dog running up to or towards other people is not "minding its own business" though.

This. You might think your dog is just friendly and exuberant, but he might well be perceived as a threat by a stranger if he runs up at them (or their kids or their leashed dog). Not to mention that every dog "would never bite" right up until they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Work your recall, OP! Off leash walks/runs/hikes can be incredibly valuable and enriching for dogs, but you need to be able to do it safely. My rule of thumb is you shouldn't let your dog off leash until you are willing to bet $100 he will come back when you call him.

You need to work up slowly to off leash on the beach/in the woods. Can you play check in games in the fenced in yard when he's off leash? As soon as he gets distracted sniffing something, walk away and call him--does he come? Reward with treats or play! If that's too hard, play it in the house. If you are successful at least 90% of the time, move to a friend's yard with novel smells, a fenced in tennis court or baseball field, an open field on a long line that you can step on if he chooses to run.

Call him when he's already looking at you so you are reinforcing what he wants to do. Don't wait until a squirrel is in his sights--you will not win. You need a really solid history in the easy situations before you add distractions.

--Trainer

Are you seriously presenting yourself as an expert, while suggesting people take their unleashed dogs to tennis courts and ball fields?


This is why people hate dog owners. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don’t. Just don’t. Every dog owner thinks they have the most amazing, friendliest, best trained dog… and then they’re all up in our faces.

This. God, I hate the selfish off-leash dog owners. We don't like your dogs. We don't want them running up to us. My kids are scared of dogs and one is allergic. Why can't you guys just follow the freaking rules?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal to walk your dog off leash on trails.

It's also incredibly, incredibly selfish of an owner to do so. If any strange animal approaches me, I will not hesitate to pepper spray or hit/kick it right away, and am not going to wait until a lazy owner comes along saying their dog is "friendly."

There was a case locally a few years ago, where a man shot someone's off leash dog, and he was cleared, because he had a right to protect himself and his family without waiting for the lazy owner to make some excuse.

Would you attack a dog that is walking along minding its own business?

Of course not. A dog running up to or towards other people is not "minding its own business" though.

This. You might think your dog is just friendly and exuberant, but he might well be perceived as a threat by a stranger if he runs up at them (or their kids or their leashed dog). Not to mention that every dog "would never bite" right up until they do.

This x1000.

Am I going up to dogs attacking them? No, absolutely not.

But if your dog is running towards me or approaching me? You bet yourself I'm going to do what it takes to protect myself. I'm not waiting until your dog bites or jumps on me. Do your part as an owner and be responsible for your animal. It is NO ONE's responsibility to wait because of your negligence.

[Anonymous]

I had one dog (out of four) with amazing recall and a great sense of direction. I let her off leash in very limited circumstances (isolated locations where she'd been a million times on a long lead)

I would never do what your husband is suggesting

[Anonymous]

No one else has mentioned it so I will - if you let your dog run off leash in a rural area and the dog harasses wildlife, like chasing a deer, it is the law in many jurisdictions that the dog can legally be shot dead by any landowner or hunter or hiker who sees your dog engaged in that activity.

After decades of dog ownership I’ve seen very few dog owners who ever achieve a recall so good that they can call their dog off following the prey instinct into chasing wildlife, cats, etc. It takes an extraordinary amount of work to build a recall that good, it has nothing to do with how much you are bonded to your dog. The prey drive is powerful and in some dogs it overrides all reason.

You might want to suggest a long lead to your husband instead of letting your elderly dog run the risk of a horrible end by being unprotected off leash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one else has mentioned it so I will - if you let your dog run off leash in a rural area and the dog harasses wildlife, like chasing a deer, it is the law in many jurisdictions that the dog can legally be shot dead by any landowner or hunter or hiker who sees your dog engaged in that activity.

After decades of dog ownership I’ve seen very few dog owners who ever achieve a recall so good that they can call their dog off following the prey instinct into chasing wildlife, cats, etc. It takes an extraordinary amount of work to build a recall that good, it has nothing to do with how much you are bonded to your dog. The prey drive is powerful and in some dogs it overrides all reason.

You might want to suggest a long lead to your husband instead of letting your elderly dog run the risk of a horrible end by being unprotected off leash.

My apologies, I misread your post as to the age of the dog. At 16 months it is just as imperative that you don’t let the dog run loose - it’s basically idiot teenager stage of dog development and without having any recall training a dog that age with an inclination to pull toward squirrels etc. on leash is likely to take off and not come back if you let if have freedom in a rural, wildlife filled setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal to walk your dog off leash on trails.

It's also incredibly, incredibly selfish of an owner to do so. If any strange animal approaches me, I will not hesitate to pepper spray or hit/kick it right away, and am not going to wait until a lazy owner comes along saying their dog is "friendly."

There was a case locally a few years ago, where a man shot someone's off leash dog, and he was cleared, because he had a right to protect himself and his family without waiting for the lazy owner to make some excuse.

+1

Mclean?