Why do you walk your dog off leash?

[Anonymous]

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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.

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.

So you just but into conversation and wonder why you are lost.

[Anonymous]

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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.

I do leash my dogs. And as an animal advocate, I am 100% concerned about responsible pet ownership.

I also think that people who have these horrid fantasies about hurting people's animals - which this person said she does; she said she hopes that a dog will approach her (not hurt her, just approach her) so she has the excuse to pepper spray the dog - is a horrible, horrible person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I do leash my dogs. And as an animal advocate, I am 100% concerned about responsible pet ownership.

I also think that people who have these horrid fantasies about hurting people's animals - which this person said she does; she said she hopes that a dog will approach her (not hurt her, just approach her) so she has the excuse to pepper spray the dog - is a horrible, horrible person.

I have no fantasies about hurting any animals. I don't want a dog to put their jaw on my leg again. I'm not going to wait for that to happen next time - if your dog comes right up to me, I will pepper spray it. My safety comes before your dog, always. If you don't care about your dog, if you don't care about others, if you think your laziness and incompetence comes above your own dog or other people, you are a horrible, horrible person.

[Anonymous]

I have no fantasies about hurting any animals. I don't want a dog to put their jaw on my leg again. I'm not going to wait for that to happen next time - if your dog comes right up to me, I will pepper spray it. My safety comes before your dog, always. If you don't care about your dog, if you don't care about others, if you think your laziness and incompetence comes above your own dog or other people, you are a horrible, horrible person.

Well, you know what you narcissistic psycho - it's an assault if you attack my dog unprovoked. And "coming up to you" without more is not a sufficient provocation. So you and your little gaggle of prissy rotten peaches can tut and clutch your pearls all you like about the four pound dog being walked unleashed, but guess who is actually going to get the cops called on them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I have no fantasies about hurting any animals. I don't want a dog to put their jaw on my leg again. I'm not going to wait for that to happen next time - if your dog comes right up to me, I will pepper spray it. My safety comes before your dog, always. If you don't care about your dog, if you don't care about others, if you think your laziness and incompetence comes above your own dog or other people, you are a horrible, horrible person.

Well, you know what you narcissistic psycho - it's an assault if you attack my dog unprovoked. And "coming up to you" without more is not a sufficient provocation. So you and your little gaggle of prissy rotten peaches can tut and clutch your pearls all you like about the four pound dog being walked unleashed, but guess who is actually going to get the cops called on them?

No, it's not an assault if I pepper spray your off-leash dog. I have no way of predicting your animal - your legal responsibility is to be in control of your animal at all times. If you're not in control of your animal, good luck trying to explain that to any police officer or animal control officer. Both have explicitly told me that I am well within my rights to pepper spray an unleashed or unrestrained dog if it comes up to me.

Good luck explaining your illegal behavior to the cops - I would love, love to see you try.

[Anonymous]

^ But the dog couldn't come up to this poster if you had it responsibly leashed. I will kick any unleashed dog who approaches me. The onus is on the owner for not keeping it leashed and away from others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ But the dog couldn't come up to this poster if you had it responsibly leashed. I will kick any unleashed dog who approaches me. The onus is on the owner for not keeping it leashed and away from others.

No, you morons. It's not. You don't get to just go around kicking and pepper spraying dogs because they are unleashed. THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS. You have to have reasonable fear. And the dog existing does not make your fear reasonable.

For the love of society, go talk to your lawyers before leaving the house next. I'm afraid you are going to be characters on season 3 of Orange is the New Black otherwise, you idiots.

[Anonymous]

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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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ But the dog couldn't come up to this poster if you had it responsibly leashed. I will kick any unleashed dog who approaches me. The onus is on the owner for not keeping it leashed and away from others.

No, you morons. It's not. You don't get to just go around kicking and pepper spraying dogs because they are unleashed. THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS. You have to have reasonable fear. And the dog existing does not make your fear reasonable.

For the love of society, go talk to your lawyers before leaving the house next. I'm afraid you are going to be characters on season 3 of Orange is the New Black otherwise, you idiots.

No, that's not how it works. Ask cops. Ask animal control. Unrestrained and uncontrolled dogs are a danger and menace. NOBODY KNOWS YOUR DOG. How do you not understand this? It's not up to total strangers to give your unrestrained animal the benefit of the doubt. The onus is on dog owners, always.

Train your dog. Leash your dog. Be a better dog owner. Or take it to a dog park. In public, the public (that is, people - human beings) come first. If you're breaking the law with a unleashed animal, I have the right to protect myself BEFORE your dog attacks. Your dog should not be going up to people, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ But the dog couldn't come up to this poster if you had it responsibly leashed. I will kick any unleashed dog who approaches me. The onus is on the owner for not keeping it leashed and away from others.

No, you morons. It's not. You don't get to just go around kicking and pepper spraying dogs because they are unleashed. THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS. You have to have reasonable fear. And the dog existing does not make your fear reasonable.

For the love of society, go talk to your lawyers before leaving the house next. I'm afraid you are going to be characters on season 3 of Orange is the New Black otherwise, you idiots.

Actually, you are the one who's a moron.

If your dog is not on a leash, it is a danger. If you want your dog unleashed, go to the dog park. You are not supposed to be walking your dog around the neighborhood unleashed.

[Anonymous]

I hate this, too. It is unfair to my dog when she is leashed and cannot get away when a strange dog comes charging up at her, friendly or not. You are much more likely to get a defensive/aggressive greeting when one dog is leashed and one is not, than two leashed dogs or two off-leash dogs.

People think they are above the law, or that their dog is good enough to be only under voice command. Perhaps their dog is well-behaved, but I can make no guarantees that my dog won't act aggressively when your dog comes charging up to us (my dog is a friendly Golden Retriever, FWIW) unimpeded.

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

Animal control would laugh.

Umm, not quite. Animal control doesn't like having dogs off leash either. (at least in MoCo)

[Anonymous]

I am a dog owner and I hate when people do this. Their dogs run up on mine and scare her. Or, she looks at them having fun and wants to run, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ But the dog couldn't come up to this poster if you had it responsibly leashed. I will kick any unleashed dog who approaches me. The onus is on the owner for not keeping it leashed and away from others.

No, you morons. It's not. You don't get to just go around kicking and pepper spraying dogs because they are unleashed. THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS. You have to have reasonable fear. And the dog existing does not make your fear reasonable.

For the love of society, go talk to your lawyers before leaving the house next. I'm afraid you are going to be characters on season 3 of Orange is the New Black otherwise, you idiots.

Actually, you are the one who's a moron.

If your dog is not on a leash, it is a danger. If you want your dog unleashed, go to the dog park. You are not supposed to be walking your dog around the neighborhood unleashed.

Yes, it's true that I'm not supposed to walk my dog unleashed. (And I don't. I walk my dog on a leash, except in dog parks.)

But let's say that I am walking my dog off-leash. That does not entitle you to take whatever action you want. You understand? You can't go hit my dog with a car on purpose, because you see him walking around off-leash. You can't shoot him with a gun, just because he's off leash. And you're a goddamn idiot if you kick my dog, just because you see him off-leash. You understand? Just like you can't kick me if you see me jaywalking, you can't kick my dog because you see him off leash.

Perhaps the word "approach" hasn't been defined closely enough here, for us to be having an actual conversation. You said you'd kick a dog who "approached" you. Someone else was planning to pepper spray any dog who "approached" her. If by approach you mean is lunging at you, teeth bared, then yes, of course, defend yourself. If you mean that the dog is simply walking around, unleashed, and comes within two feet of you - then no, you are not legally entitled to kick a dog.

[Anonymous]

My dog was recently attacked by an off-leash dog who wouldn't come when its owner called. We need to start taking a golf club with us on our walks.