Why do you walk your dog off leash?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH does this. He thinks it's cute. Drives me nuts. To be fair, the dog weighs 4lbs. and is as old as Methuselah, so not a danger to anyone but himself.

To be fair, and not an idiot..., there is not a weight limit to leash laws. It doesn't drive you nuts if you allow him to keep breaking the law.

Allow him? He's 57 years old, you jackass. What should I do? Send him to time out?

NP here. Maybe report your DH to animal control? It's better than allowing him to be an un-neighborly jerk.

Animal control would laugh.

No, they wouldn't. Animal Control doesn't like unleashed dogs, any more than the rest of us.

Not true. Call them on an 11 yo , 4 lb dog and they will tell you to stop wafting their time. There are enough pit bulls to deal with. Also getting a dog put down is near impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Just wondering. I don't think the leash will help though. I find my dog on a leash scares the crap out of people even if we are a football field away.

Some people are just afraid of dogs and a leash really does not help with that.

Have you ever heard the phrase you can only control your own reaction to a situation, you can't control others. You may want to work on your own fears, you won't change others.

Except hopefully by having your dog on a leash I know there's at least a chance that your dog can't get to me since you'll hold him back. Even a dog that the owner swears is under voice control can ignore their owner whenever they feel like it and take off if not leashed.

Still does not stop you from being scared. You get the initial gut reaction of "Crap!" when the dog barks and pulls on the leash. The thing is off the leash trained dogs (which use to be legal) are often trained to just sit when they see people, on the leash dogs are never really trained and do that crazy barking pulling thing.

You may want to just learn to be less scared of dogs.

I'm not scared of dogs - I own one. I am scared of unleashed dogs that I don't know. Your off-leash dog may be wonderfully trained, but it only takes once for him to ignore your commands.

Having a dog run off the leash has never been legal in DC or the suburbs in any dog's lifetime. Keep your damn dog on its leash.

It was legal in moco 10 years ago.

Well then get yourself a time machine, dummy. Otherwise, leash your dog.

You said never and actually people could get their dogs off the leash certified, which meant they were actually trained. Now there is no incentive.

[Anonymous]

In 2004, in Bethesda, you could let your dogs run around on the sidewalks off-leash? I am skeptical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering. I don't think the leash will help though. I find my dog on a leash scares the crap out of people even if we are a football field away.

Some people are just afraid of dogs and a leash really does not help with that.

Have you ever heard the phrase you can only control your own reaction to a situation, you can't control others. You may want to work on your own fears, you won't change others.

Except hopefully by having your dog on a leash I know there's at least a chance that your dog can't get to me since you'll hold him back. Even a dog that the owner swears is under voice control can ignore their owner whenever they feel like it and take off if not leashed.

Still does not stop you from being scared. You get the initial gut reaction of "Crap!" when the dog barks and pulls on the leash. The thing is off the leash trained dogs (which use to be legal) are often trained to just sit when they see people, on the leash dogs are never really trained and do that crazy barking pulling thing.

You may want to just learn to be less scared of dogs.

I'm not scared of dogs - I own one. I am scared of unleashed dogs that I don't know. Your off-leash dog may be wonderfully trained, but it only takes once for him to ignore your commands.

Having a dog run off the leash has never been legal in DC or the suburbs in any dog's lifetime. Keep your damn dog on its leash.

It was legal in moco 10 years ago.

Well then get yourself a time machine, dummy. Otherwise, leash your dog.

You said never and actually people could get their dogs off the leash certified, which meant they were actually trained. Now there is no incentive.

Nope. I didn't say "never" -- I'm the PP who called you a dummy, but there I'm not the one(s) who were talking upthread. I guess a lot of people think you're dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH does this. He thinks it's cute. Drives me nuts. To be fair, the dog weighs 4lbs. and is as old as Methuselah, so not a danger to anyone but himself.

To be fair, and not an idiot..., there is not a weight limit to leash laws. It doesn't drive you nuts if you allow him to keep breaking the law.

Allow him? He's 57 years old, you jackass. What should I do? Send him to time out?

NP here. Maybe report your DH to animal control? It's better than allowing him to be an un-neighborly jerk.

Animal control would laugh.

No, they wouldn't. Animal Control doesn't like unleashed dogs, any more than the rest of us.

Not true. Call them on an 11 yo , 4 lb dog and they will tell you to stop wafting their time. There are enough pit bulls to deal with. Also getting a dog put down is near impossible.

Actually, in MoCo at least animal control is part of the police department, so if you call 911 they will respond every time. And they issue citations. I call every time I see an off leash dog at our local park when there are kids around. It used to be a problem, isn't as much anymore.

[Anonymous]

To annoy you. Seems to be working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Have you ever heard the phrase you can only control your own reaction to a situation, you can't control others. You may want to work on your own fears, you won't change others.

You may want to work on your anger, it will eat you alive.

I am hoping this poster is parodying passive aggressive pseudo-Zen smugness, but I fear not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH does this. He thinks it's cute. Drives me nuts. To be fair, the dog weighs 4lbs. and is as old as Methuselah, so not a danger to anyone but himself.

To be fair, and not an idiot..., there is not a weight limit to leash laws. It doesn't drive you nuts if you allow him to keep breaking the law.

Allow him? He's 57 years old, you jackass. What should I do? Send him to time out?

NP here. Maybe report your DH to animal control? It's better than allowing him to be an un-neighborly jerk.

Animal control would laugh.

No, they wouldn't. Animal Control doesn't like unleashed dogs, any more than the rest of us.

Not true. Call them on an 11 yo , 4 lb dog and they will tell you to stop wafting their time. There are enough pit bulls to deal with. Also getting a dog put down is near impossible.

Actually, in MoCo at least animal control is part of the police department, so if you call 911 they will respond every time. And they issue citations. I call every time I see an off leash dog at our local park when there are kids around. It used to be a problem, isn't as much anymore.

I should start doing this, but on the non-emergency line. It's getting out of hand in Alexandria. There are multiple designated dog parks, and there are still so many selfish, entitled jackasses that walk their dog off leash in close-by regular parks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH does this. He thinks it's cute. Drives me nuts. To be fair, the dog weighs 4lbs. and is as old as Methuselah, so not a danger to anyone but himself.

To be fair, and not an idiot..., there is not a weight limit to leash laws. It doesn't drive you nuts if you allow him to keep breaking the law.

Allow him? He's 57 years old, you jackass. What should I do? Send him to time out?

NP. What would you do if he were breaking another law? say, driving drunk?

OMG, or maybe even jaywalking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH does this. He thinks it's cute. Drives me nuts. To be fair, the dog weighs 4lbs. and is as old as Methuselah, so not a danger to anyone but himself.

To be fair, and not an idiot..., there is not a weight limit to leash laws. It doesn't drive you nuts if you allow him to keep breaking the law.

Allow him? He's 57 years old, you jackass. What should I do? Send him to time out?

NP. What would you do if he were breaking another law? say, driving drunk?

OMG, or maybe even jaywalking.

Not pp, the the fact that you're making light of this and comparing an off leash dog to jaywalking, is indicative of the kind of special-snowflake entitlement that people are talking about. I don't hate dogs, but I hate dog owners like you who think they and their animal are above the law. I don't care how small, big, young, or old your animal is - your animal is your responsibility. It isn't a toy.

[Anonymous]

"I should start doing this, but on the non-emergency line. It's getting out of hand in Alexandria. There are multiple designated dog parks, and there are still so many selfish, entitled jackasses that walk their dog off leash in close-by regular parks."

Come to Dunn Loring, where the old guy with the prissy little Coton de Tulear consistently walks the thing off the leash, no matter how many times he is told.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a fear of dogs?

I've had dogs lunge and aggressively jump on me, so yes, I view all strange animals as the unpredictable creatures they are. I know not all dogs are aggressive, but it's not up to me to decipher that - it's the dog owner/caretaker's responsibility to be in control of their animal at all times.

Just wondering. I don't think the leash will help though. I find my dog on a leash scares the crap out of people even if we are a football field away.

Some people are just afraid of dogs and a leash really does not help with that.

Have you ever heard the phrase you can only control your own reaction to a situation, you can't control others. You may want to work on your own fears, you won't change others.

That's where pepper spray comes in hand. If your dog comes up to me, I will pepper spray it. I'm not going to wait for it to jump or lunge. Many owners will be irresponsible and not keep their animal by their side. I can't control bad dog owners, but I can be proactive about it and pepper spray it if it comes close.

Still does not help with your fear. You are afraid even when the dog does not jump or lunge. It is ruining your ability to enjoy places where dogs are allowed. You imagine these unleashed dogs will run and jump and lunge. You actually hope they do so you can spray them, but it never happens. Yet you still have this deep anxiety over it.

Actually it does help with my fear, because it allows me to take responsibility into my own hands. I still enjoy places where there are dogs around - I don't mind well behaved, leashed dogs with alert owners. I'm not terrified of dogs, but I am healthily cautious of them. I will continue to jog, walk, run, hike in parks with a sense of safety knowing I have some measure of safety in my own hands.

And I will pepper spray your dog if it comes up to me. I'll enjoy the park, but do what I have to, to enjoy my time outdoors.

You know, it's always fun when the people who hate dogs start talking about how they are going to kick and pepper spray other people's dogs, just willy nilly. You're a peach, lady. A rotten, fetid peach.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax county animal control is VERY responsive. I called them about an off leash dog at a playground and a police car pulled up at the playground about 10 minutes later and gave the guy a ticket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH does this. He thinks it's cute. Drives me nuts. To be fair, the dog weighs 4lbs. and is as old as Methuselah, so not a danger to anyone but himself.

To be fair, and not an idiot..., there is not a weight limit to leash laws. It doesn't drive you nuts if you allow him to keep breaking the law.

Allow him? He's 57 years old, you jackass. What should I do? Send him to time out?

NP. What would you do if he were breaking another law? say, driving drunk?

I regularly turn my husband into the police for jaywalking. That'll show him!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a fear of dogs?

I've had dogs lunge and aggressively jump on me, so yes, I view all strange animals as the unpredictable creatures they are. I know not all dogs are aggressive, but it's not up to me to decipher that - it's the dog owner/caretaker's responsibility to be in control of their animal at all times.

Just wondering. I don't think the leash will help though. I find my dog on a leash scares the crap out of people even if we are a football field away.

Some people are just afraid of dogs and a leash really does not help with that.

Have you ever heard the phrase you can only control your own reaction to a situation, you can't control others. You may want to work on your own fears, you won't change others.

That's where pepper spray comes in hand. If your dog comes up to me, I will pepper spray it. I'm not going to wait for it to jump or lunge. Many owners will be irresponsible and not keep their animal by their side. I can't control bad dog owners, but I can be proactive about it and pepper spray it if it comes close.

Still does not help with your fear. You are afraid even when the dog does not jump or lunge. It is ruining your ability to enjoy places where dogs are allowed. You imagine these unleashed dogs will run and jump and lunge. You actually hope they do so you can spray them, but it never happens. Yet you still have this deep anxiety over it.

Actually it does help with my fear, because it allows me to take responsibility into my own hands. I still enjoy places where there are dogs around - I don't mind well behaved, leashed dogs with alert owners. I'm not terrified of dogs, but I am healthily cautious of them. I will continue to jog, walk, run, hike in parks with a sense of safety knowing I have some measure of safety in my own hands.

And I will pepper spray your dog if it comes up to me. I'll enjoy the park, but do what I have to, to enjoy my time outdoors.

You know, it's always fun when the people who hate dogs start talking about how they are going to kick and pepper spray other people's dogs, just willy nilly. You're a peach, lady. A rotten, fetid peach.

If you care about dogs so much, why do you think it's ok for people to be irresponsible animal owners? The only person responsible is an owner/caretaker - if someone pepper sprays your dog because you're lazy and selfish, that's on you.