OP here. THank you for the comments. Sounds like maybe I should leave a note on their door instead of contacting the HOA. I'd rather not go straight to animal control if I can help it. They definitely do not have an invisible fence. These are townhouses with tiny yards, and the dog roams way beyond the homeowner's yard. In fact, I've never seen the dog in his yard - I've only ever seen him on the community lawns, on the walking path, etc.

Sounds like they need a fence, not a leash.

FYI, we do have an invisible fence. Our dog generally respects the fence, but does need retraining every once in a while.

Anonymous wrote:HOAs are traditionally useless when there are dog problems. Go straight to animal control.

Totally agree. For some reason, most HOA officers are also dog owners.

Have you asked the neighbors about it? Are you sure they do not have invisible fence?

HOAs are traditionally useless when there are dog problems. Go straight to animal control.

if you know who the owners are, I would leave an anon note on their door "Please leash your dog."

That may get them to do the right thing.

After that, if it keeps happening I would call animal control.

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how your fearful scenario would be mitigated by the presence of a leash.

I think you are making too much of this.

If you can't see how a leash would mitigate this scenario, then you clearly don't need to own a dog. Idiot!!!

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Totally reasonable. What community do you live in? If it is mine (FG) then I will help out.

I don't live in FG (not even sure what that stands for)

P.S. to the above -- also, a leash might prevent a bite in the first place, if the dog had gotten excited and fearful -- the owner could use the leash to keep the dog in check.
(I thought this kind of thing was pretty obvious?!)

OP here. Thanks for the comments. I suppose my fearful scenario would be mitigated by the presence of a leash in the sense that I would be able to see a person ahead on the path beyond the shrubbery, whereas I would not be able to see a (much shorter) dog -- so I would keep my DD in check instead of letting her run ahead of me, around the corner. Also, god forbid if a dog bit my DD: if it were on a leash, the dog owner to pull his dog off and away.

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how your fearful scenario would be mitigated by the presence of a leash.

I think you are making too much of this.

Huh? A leash would help but if you prefer, I will carry a weapon instead to protect myself against the dog.

Yes. Totally reasonable. What community do you live in? If it is mine (FG) then I will help out.

I don't see how your fearful scenario would be mitigated by the presence of a leash.

I think you are making too much of this.

I would call animal rescue and report them. It is not only unacceptable to invidiauls in the community, but the poor dog could be hit by a car or god knows what else.

I would report them the next time you see the dog out. I do not think your HOA will do much...ours did NOTHING when this happened and our dog was attacked.

Goodluck!

In our neighborhood (a VA suburb), there is a home where the occupants routinely allow their dog to go outside unleashed and unaccompanied. The dog wanders around for a while, does his business (I assume), and returns to the house. The home is located right off of a walking path in our community, and also close by a neighborhood playground, so my little kids and I encounter the dog semi-frequently. He seems like a nice dog, and has never acted aggressively toward us thus far, but I am nervous that one of these days one of my kids is going to be running down the path and round the corner to find the dog there, and startle him, and then the dog might react badly out of fear. It makes me really nervous -- I've always been afraid of dogs biting kids, especially since my little cousin was bitten in the face by a dog as a toddler and still bears the scar. (Also, our county has a leash law and a pooper scooper law, and letting the dog out alone like this is in clear violation of both).

Anyway, I was thinking of alerting the HOA to see if a letter can be sent to the homeowners. Does this seem reasonable?