Strictly Saying Idiot

[ponder85]

TS, dude sounds like he was a jerk.

Some people have dogs that show absolutely no interest in other dogs - all they want to do is chase their ball or toy. Why should these guys be encompassed in compulsary DOGS MUST BE ON LEADS? Rugby imposed a by-law a few years ago that dogs must be on leads in ALL public places including every park. Virtually every dog walker protested in writing including myself (at the time I didn't have a Husky, but my opinion is still the same now), and I'm glad to say this by-law was withdrawn due to the pressure that came to bear. I'm a huge believer in socialising my dogs, and I have virtually no trouble with dogs I meet on or off the lead. I do spend a lot of time (maybe too much time) walking my dogs, and it's nomally the same group of people and dogs that I come across, which helps. If they were all on leads, I think most of my time would be spent untangling leads. Just my opinion.

I usually walk my GSD off lead, and will occasionally let Troy off lead, but usually only if we are deep in the woods somewhere where no one is around.

As with a lot of things, a few people (like the one TS is talking about) kinda ruin it for everyone. If the owner has it under control, I'm fine with others walking their dogs off lead. It's the poorly behaved dogs that irk the hell out of me.

TBH, one of the reasons I walk Bail off lead (in addition to reducing the number of leads) is so she can handle this type of nonsense. Unfortunately, she's had to do it a few times.

[Zuz]

For me, it isn't about my dog or how my dog might react. It's about ME. I do not want dogs approaching me! I am scared of strange dogs, and I know that I am not the only one. A dog off its lead makes me absolutely panicked. I don't want my dog to make other people uncomfortable, and I would hope that others are considerate enough of my feelings too. 

When not in the woods (normally too early to see anyone but dog walkers there) I'll keep her on her lead. I walk her right by my leg and always keep her away from passers by out of respect. There is a mosque up my road and I know most of the people coming in and out are either scared of dogs or want to be clean when entering the mosque and having a hairy Husky brush past their leg is a no no. I will give way, keep her close and reassure people by showing them I am aware of them and in control of my dog.

I do care about others and respect them but I guess I do find it hard to understand that not all people who are scared of dogs are people who don't know dogs.. I would see you with a dog and assume you were a dog lover and not scared of mine but I can assure you the second I knew you were uncomfortable I would do something about it. The thing is, the most effective thing for me to do will provably be to not say a word, stay calm and walk off, you might confuse this with me not caring and doing nothing. If I knew what I know now, I'd find a way for you to meet safely and then she would never be a stranger  

[Chula]

Well I live in the city, where there are plenty of irresponsible dog owners and people who think it's cute when their dog runs around like mad and jumps up on people. People who get dogs because puppies are sweet, but pay no attention to their grown and underexercised, unsocialized, untrained adult dog. It is impossible to know if someone is a responsible dog owner just by looking at them - which is why I get scared.

 

People approach Chula when she is on lead all the time and I warn them that she jumps and to please not give her attention when she does. We work on the not jumping all the time, but she still jumps, and I can't promise that her feet won't get you dirty or her little nails won't scratch, or that her little excited puppy mouth won't accidentally scrape your hand when you pet her. Even though I consider myself a responsible dog owner, my dog is still an animal, so I still have to do my best to try to prevent her from inadvertently hurting or bothering others, and also save her from doing something that gets her put down or quarantined because someone else reacts poorly to her normal puppy behavior.

 

Then again, I also don't like when people bring babies into movie theaters. Maybe the baby won't cry - but it is a baby, and it just very well might.

[Applebear]

I've never had someone get in my face, but I run into loose dogs ALL the time. It's a pain when they start chasing you on the trike. I simply stop and allow Ro to face them. 99% of the time, they stop in their tracks...it's a whole different story when they aren't given the chase and advantage. Usually by then the owner is retrieving them or they just leave because I took away their sole purpose of chasing off another dog. 

 

I have to tell you though, if some guy got on me for not allowing my dog loose, I'd give it to him and I'm not usually a person who speaks up when people are doing their normal every day moronic chores. There's a leash law...use it.

 

If you can't tell, I'm sick of having to interrupt our ride to take care of other peoples dogs.

[Keanu]

I would sincerely like to believe that every single dog running free is well trained, will not jump on my dogs or my children, will not chase me when I am cycling, has excellent recall and his owners has pet insurance with third part liability included in case the dog seriously injures someone else. But because it is impossible to believe that, I opt for the same law for everybody. At the same time I believe there should be places just for dogs to run free and socialise.

[simhauu]

I've stopped trying to explain the situation to irresponsible owners. Last time two teenage girls let their dog off lead it came to us, once Ghost sniffed it was male he went berserk. Each time they collected their dog only after I shouted. Third time I asked if they aren't missing their dog, one replied No we don't, so I was like Ok and loosed Ghost's 25 m lead for a few seconds. You should have seen them running and shouting at their dog to come to them. Poor dog though, he only wanted to play but the girls were irresponsible...

So now I usually just hold Ghost on short and ask wheter theirs' is a male or female. Nothing else.

[Ripleysmomma]

We have a law here where you can not have your dog off a lead in public.... They have even restricted certain breeds are not allowed in public places like farmers markets for example... I quite honestly hate small dog owners who think they are king or queen of the world and think they don't have to follow the rules like everyone else does. We have a dog park here which you can let your dog off the lead but they do have up signs that tells you that you are responsible for your dog and it's actions. So basically it's saying if your dog attacks another dog you are responsible. I haven't taken Ripley to the dog park or out in public since we have a huge fenced in yard and he can be off the lead and I do not have to worry about any other dogs. He's got his own doggy park to play in lol