Why are people letting their dogs go out in public with no leash?

[Anonymous]

Even if your dog is very nice there is never a 100% guarantee they don't react badly to something or someone. There is also no guarantee that whomever or whatever animal they approach will also be nice. When your dog is on a lease you are protecting them from getting hurt, hit or even taken.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how or why this thread became a debate over murder but that's... not the issue. For the record I am anti-murder.

Just leash your dog. There are good places to let your dog off leash. These include: your yard and dog parks that permit dogs off leash. Other private homes where people know your dog and allow you to let your dog roam. I am a dog lover who has enjoyed many a backyard barbecue with dogs underfoot.

But on sidewalks and trails and other public areas your dog needs to be leashed for their benefit and that of everyone else. Leashes enable dogs to interact with each other in a controlled way that ensures their well being. Leashes provide assurance to kids and others who have reasonable fear of dogs that the dog will be controlled (I always told my scared-of-dogs kid to look for the leash to help reassure them that a dog was not going to come jump on them and it helped a lot to acclimate her to dogs-- this doesn't work when people don't leash their dogs!).

As others have mentioned even the very best dog can be spooked or startled. And any dog over about 40 lbs can pose a threat even if they never become aggressive. A dog zagging across someone's path can knock them down. A lot of kids are smaller than dogs and can be knocked over by a dog who is merely enthusiastic. Off leash dogs sometimes steel food (normal dog behavior!) or pester other dogs. An excited dog can run into the street and be hit by a dog or bike (super dangerous for the bike rider as well). None of this is aggressive behavior -- it's usually playful or exuberant. But it can pose a danger to people who are just minding their own business.

Leash your dog! Just leash your dog! Don't get a dog if you aren't prepared to leash your dog! Literally everyone knows that dogs are supposed to be leashed! They post signs! Put a freaking leash on your dog!

I don't know how else to put this so that people understand.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:This thread is why we are going to pass gun control legislation to reduce the number of lunatics walking around with guns who are obviously just anticipating with glee to have the smallest excuse to kill a person. Getting punched in the face is not a reason to kill a human being. WTF

You are the sort of stupid that makes people concealed carry, do you realize that? What the hell makes you think you get to get in a punch for free?!

There's a lot of people out there starting conflicts thinking nobody's going to fight back, and that's foolish. Don't start none, won't be none. Nobody is "looking for a reason" but there are an awful lot of stupid people giving us reasons.

As most of us learned in preschool, keep your parts to yourself. Keep your dog to yourself. Keep your hands to yourself.

Expecting me to respect your boundaries after you flagrantly disrespect mine is the most entitled, nonsensical fscksh!te. Get yourself in order, grow up, leash your damned dog and mind your own business and you'll be just fine.

For “free”? You kicked my dog! You can punch back if you want to settle things without homicide. Otherwise why wouldn’t I just shoot you dead instead of punching you? How would you like that? Kick my dog and I will shoot you before you even see me.

Or, and really try to grasp this concept: YOU COULD JUST KEEP YOUR DOG UNDER YOUR CONTROL.

See? See how easy it would be to avoid this whole hypothetical mess?

No because IN REAL LIFE SHIT HAPPENS and that doesn’t mean people should die for it. You are just a fearful person. I have been in a few fistfights in my past and nobody ever thought about killing anyone jesus christ where did you grow up? Chill out a bit and life can be pleasant rather than scary.

I'm not nearly as bent as you think, PP, and I'm not "fearful" of you or your mutt.

Mind your own business and keep your dog to yourself and life can be pleasant rather than unfortunate for you.

Threatening violence for a situation that can be resolved without violence is exactly what fearful people do. I know your type and you are unhinged with fear.

Ah yes, the "resolved without violence" of just taking someone else's violence, their aggressive, boundary-raping behavior, without protest or retaliation.

I know your type and you're a bully who can't stand to spend time being self-aware because, if you did, you'd immediately realize how much you suck and how many people you've hurt with your nonsense. YOU are the root of this "violence", and without you and your actions, there's no problem.

But keep projecting it onto me, sweetie. Just hope we don't meet up in "real life".

My dog has never been “violent” to anyone by sniffing them. People are not “violent” by accidentally bumping into you on the metro. Accidents and personal slights happen every day and we can choose to escalate or diffuse the situation.

Call the cops like a normal, non-violent person would. See that post above where the person called the cops rather than physically assaulting an animal or person? That’s how rational adults behave.

"rational adults" break the rules and then get irate when other people suggest they may join in the lawlessness? You're a trip, PP. It's not an "accident" that you left your dog off-leash, it's a choice, and a stupid, illegal one.

Leash your dog like a normal, reasonably-intelligent person would. See how that makes the whole problem disappear? You're welcome!

Physical assault is not on par with a code violation. That’s why you can’t assault the driver of another vehicle for cutting you off in traffic. It’s not your job to police the actions of strangers. We have actual police to do that and they won’t resort to assault to handle the situation either.

Why can't you just obey the leash laws and let the cops do their job elsewhere? Why are you so special that people have to call the police to have you informed of your responsibilities? Why are you still arguing this nonsensical "point" when the actual point is so clear: if your dog was on a leash, there'd be no problem.

You are looking for a problem. One day, you'll find one. Best of luck with that.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I began carrying pepper spray on my walks with my dog. If your dog is off leash, not being recalled, and running towards my reactive dog, I am pepper spraying it to heck.

You're as likely to get yourself/your dog with this approach as you are to make a point to a stupid owner w/ an off-leash dog. Try pet corrector spray, if you want to carry something: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0124G47TW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Or kick them. That's what I do. If your dog is close enough to my boot to get kicked, there's your problem.

If you kicked my dog who is not posing a threat to you then I would punch you in the face. You can make up a bunch of rationalizations to justify your actions but that wouldn’t stop me.

If you want a dog to ignore you then you need to ignore the dog.

It's not my job to determine whether or not the dog you're not controlling correctly is gonna be a problem. The moment you let your dog in my space, it's a threat. If you keep your dog in your space, we won't have this problem. It's your job to keep your dog safe from my boot. My dog is (usually) friendly, but I'm (usually) not.

And if you touch me, I'll probably unalive you. FAFO.

You are pre-planning to kick a harmless dog. In the real world accidents happen and we don’t get to murder or assault people or animals that are not actual threats. Then you threaten to murder me for defending my dog? You are sick. Get help.

No, I'll get YOU some help understanding why we have leash laws. Your dog running into my space isn't presumed to be harmless. If you run up into my space, I'm not going to assume you're harmless either. Being in my space without my consent IS A THREAT.

"Defend your dog" by keeping it leashed, under your control, out of my space.

No actually that’s just your own twisted rationalization about your tendency towards violence. Dogs run up to people all the time in the real world and the vast majority are harmless. Accidents happen and dogs get loose sometimes. Most of the time kind, well balanced people are able to navigate the situation without violence. I have done so plenty of times myself. Annoying, sure. Rude dog owners, you’re right. Planning to kick a dog just because it’s near you and not trying to bite you is antisocial and dangerous behavior in and of itself. Once you initiate violence in response to a peaceful situation then you are the psychopath.

People like you are far more of a threat to society than an annoying and friendly dog on a hiking trail. Seriously get help to control your violent tendencies.

BTW you don’t get to kill a person just because you feel threatened. You will still go to prison. Can you imagine if every fistfight between two men ended up in homicide? You actually want to live in that kind of world?

People wanting to be left the hell alone to mind their business don't have a tendency toward violence.

People who flagrantly disregard the rights and boundaries of others, along with laws and regulations, do.

You started the "violence" the moment you intruded into my day and restricted my peaceable enjoyment of the space immediately surrounding my person in a place I had a legal right to be. You are the violent one. You are the boundary violator.

Quit projecting.

That’s just more rationalization that you have invented in your own mind. In the real world human beings have the ability to choose tolerance rather than violence. People do this every day so why can’t you? I mean this thread is full of (rightfully) annoyed people who have had dogs run up to them and yet nobody ever had to kick the dog or murder the human as a result.

You have some sort of chip on your shoulder and are looking to act out your frustration with violence. It makes you feel in control. But you can never be in full control of people let alone animals when you are outside in public. It’s not really that scary though. It’s normal. Maybe try to deal with your fear in a productive way?

You know these is not the real issue. Why this post has to go off rails to extremes...

We know animals get off leash from time to time. We all also know those people at parks or in the neighborhood who scoff at leash laws. There is a difference.

I hate dogs off leash but one of my favorite memories was a humorous chase by a dog in my neighborhood who got loose and was living his best life running down our neighborhood street. He was a character and no one was going to kick or harm this dog. Know that most of us understand the difference.

That is very different when, for example, you're walking in a large park in Alexandria and no other humans are around you and you are walking with twin 3 year old when 2 dobermans approach with no owner. You think I'm unnecessarily fearful in that situation? How about when I'm riding on a trail near my neighborhood on bikes with those kids who are now 7 and a pitt bull comes out of nowhere trying to grab one of my kids off of their bike? I actually started reading about what weapons to carry to keep us safe because of these incidents.

I don't want my kid getting bit by a yippie little chihuahua, either. There is no "safe" breed of dog that isn't a dog somehow. All dogs can bite. The best way to protect others is to keep your dog under your control at all times. That's why that's the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if your dog is very nice there is never a 100% guarantee they don't react badly to something or someone. There is also no guarantee that whomever or whatever animal they approach will also be nice. When your dog is on a lease you are protecting them from getting hurt, hit or even taken.

Exactly. It's an act of love for your dog. It's protecting your dog, and yourself from liability.

And yet, if you point out that the dog might get hurt, these same no-leash posters go crazy about "kill your aggressive dog" and "I'll fight you if you kick my unrestrained dog out of your space".

The entitlement is so obvious. They expect everyone else to cater to them, with zero reciprocity or even regard for the other people using shared space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how or why this thread became a debate over murder but that's... not the issue. For the record I am anti-murder.

Just leash your dog. There are good places to let your dog off leash. These include: your yard and dog parks that permit dogs off leash. Other private homes where people know your dog and allow you to let your dog roam. I am a dog lover who has enjoyed many a backyard barbecue with dogs underfoot.

But on sidewalks and trails and other public areas your dog needs to be leashed for their benefit and that of everyone else. Leashes enable dogs to interact with each other in a controlled way that ensures their well being. Leashes provide assurance to kids and others who have reasonable fear of dogs that the dog will be controlled (I always told my scared-of-dogs kid to look for the leash to help reassure them that a dog was not going to come jump on them and it helped a lot to acclimate her to dogs-- this doesn't work when people don't leash their dogs!).

As others have mentioned even the very best dog can be spooked or startled. And any dog over about 40 lbs can pose a threat even if they never become aggressive. A dog zagging across someone's path can knock them down. A lot of kids are smaller than dogs and can be knocked over by a dog who is merely enthusiastic. Off leash dogs sometimes steel food (normal dog behavior!) or pester other dogs. An excited dog can run into the street and be hit by a dog or bike (super dangerous for the bike rider as well). None of this is aggressive behavior -- it's usually playful or exuberant. But it can pose a danger to people who are just minding their own business.

Leash your dog! Just leash your dog! Don't get a dog if you aren't prepared to leash your dog! Literally everyone knows that dogs are supposed to be leashed! They post signs! Put a freaking leash on your dog!

I don't know how else to put this so that people understand.

They understand. They enjoy making other people upset.

[Anonymous]

Anytime I’ve called out on my many walks through county parks and trails and told the irresponsible person to leash the dog, I’ve gotten nothing but hostility and arguments back.

I now carry pepper spray and a walking stick but it shouldn’t be this way.

[Anonymous]

Showing off. I can’t stand it.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you but to me, a much bigger and less talked about problem is a dog in an unsecured yard. My leashed dog and I have been attacked 3 times in 2 years by dogs escaping their yards. This is in silver spring. So much focus placed on supervised (but unleashed) dogs and no one talks about dogs getting out, running across the street and lunging at people and dogs. Secure your dogs, people!