[Tyga11]

What is the point of this?

There is a guy in my neighborhood who 'walks' his dog off leash whenever I see him. The dog is very well behaved and has never approached either of my two dogs but I don't understand why he would not use a leash and risk the dog getting excited and being hit by a car, whatever. Dogs can be unpredictable.

I always wave hello and thought about asking however I don't want to be rude

[kscarrol]

The dog is well behaved because it has been trained and will listen to the owner’s commands. We do this as well as it’s a quiet neighborhood.

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

The is well behaved because it has been trained and will listen to the owner’s commands. We do this as well as it’s a quiet neighborhood.

So you're not worried about your dog getting excited or spooked by something and running into the street? What if everyone did what you did and had dogs off leash? How do you think that would work?

[kscarrol]

I didn’t say that but being well trained she doesn’t just run off after cars, other dogs, squirrels etc. She will stand and stare at other dogs but only I say it’s okay will she approach. If we’re going somewhere new, outside our quiet neighborhood, she will be on a leash.

And everyone won’t do it because very few people properly train/work with their dog to be able to do it. And some dogs just don’t take training well and those dogs along with the dogs not trained for it should remain on a leash.

[BWBike]

I wouldn’t trust my dogs off leash while walking on the street. They are too precious to think a car zooming through the neighborhood could spook and hit them.

[Mech Spec]

Just the other week I drove past a dead Doberman in the street. Owner (understandably) losing her mind 20 ft away. Dump truck parked while the driver waited for the cops to arrive. I was fortunate not to have witnessed the incident since it had clearly just happened.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

…What if everyone did what you did and had dogs off leash? How do you think that would work?

Not all dogs are the same…? Not all situations are the same…?

[Donut Lord]

I find that everyone who walks their dogs without a leash are super entitled.

99% of the time, they walk near another dog, person, kid and the owner yells for them to stop, and they don't.

If you are reading this and saying, that's not our dog, IT IS YOUR DOG, you are the problem.

[peaceindriving]

If my beagle wasn’t on his leash, his nose would lead him into troubling situations.

[Gemini562]

Dogs should always be on a leash when out in public, no exceptions. I don’t care how well trained someone thinks their dog is, animals can still be unpredictable. All it takes is one squirrel, a loud noise, or another dog to trigger an instinct. I’ve seen too many close calls to ever trust that "training" alone is enough to keep a dog safe around traffic or strangers.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Because it's typical entitled people who think they don't have to follow the rules because they are special.

[megf]

We have 2 huskies who I would never in a million years dream of walking off leash. Their breed has a serious prey drive and one bunny or cat and they would take off- trained or not.
It drives me crazy when we are walking our dogs and someone who doesn't have their dog leashed is screaming their head off trying to get their dog to come back and stay away from us. I've had "trained" dogs run across busy streets as we are walking by nearly getting hit. It just takes that 0.01% chance where a trained dog is triggered, where they could be seriously hurt. I could never live with myself if something like that happened to someone else dog in front of me, let alone my own dog. I just don't get it.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Because it's typical entitled people who think they don't have to follow the rules because they are special.

^This.

[bucketfoot]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Because it's typical entitled people who think they don't have to follow the rules because they are special.

Entitlement, plain and simple.

[NSXR]

The love and trust of the animal overrides their knowledge and respect for the public, if they ever had it.

[Esteban]

It’s an animal and you can’t 100% trust an animal.

[werke215]

I'm not saying that there's not other "silly" reasons people do it, but I grew up with hunting dogs and it's always about discipline, pure and simple. They're not willing to run at another person or dog because they're more focused on you and your family. Currently, I have two dogs, not hunters, in the city, and I can be outside without leashes. Doesn't mean I do though, I just trained them to have that ability and location based commands.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by megf

We have 2 huskies who I would never in a million years dream of walking off leash.

I hear you. Huskies have a mind of their own. Talii is very disciplined, but her instincts are far stronger. I live in the county on four hectares of land surrounded by Crown Land. Two acres are open around the house with a large, fenced area and she can roam at will.

When we go running or biking, she's tethered to my waist or attached to the springer on the MTB.

[3.0L]

Our city has a fenced dog park where owners are allowed to let their dogs
run off leash. Other than that, all dogs are required to be on a leash. Still,
I occasionally see unleashed dogs here and there. In any case, the dog
owner is still legally responsible for their dog, regardless of what they might
believe.

Unfortunately, there will always be a few folks who don’t feel the law applies
to them, and this attitude goes well beyond the leash laws.

From my own experience, a new neighbors unleashed dog chased my cat
into our garage. The dog ended up standing on the hood of my truck while
our cat stood on the cab top. The dog scratched up the paint beyond repair.
I talked to the neighbor and he said he didn’t care about any leash law, nor
did he feel any responsibilty for the resulting damage to my truck. They
ended up being the worst neighbors I ever had, and it went well beyond
their mutt. They violated every ordinance in our home owners association
including storing gas cans and work equipment in the front yard. I think
our lame home owners association were afraid of these people as nothing
ever changed. We moved a miserable year later.

And it gets worse. Five minutes of news will cover brazen law breakers,
and like my former neighbor, get away with it most of the time.

Lead by example, huh…

[Donut Lord]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Our city has a fenced dog park where owners are allowed to let their dogs
run off leash. Other than that, all dogs are required to be on a leash. Still,
I occasionally see unleashed dogs here and there. In any case, the dog
owner is still legally responsible for their dog, regardless of what they might
believe.

Unfortunately, there will always be a few folks who don’t feel the law applies
to them, and this attitude goes well beyond the leash laws.

From my own experience, a new neighbors unleashed dog chased my cat
into our garage. The dog ended up standing on the hood of my truck while
our cat stood on the cab top. The dog scratched up the paint beyond repair.
I talked to the neighbor and he said he didn’t care about any leash law, nor
did he feel any responsibilty for the resulting damage to my truck. They
ended up being the worst neighbors I ever had, and it went well beyond
their mutt. They violated every ordinance in our home owners association
including storing gas cans and work equipment in the front yard. I think
our lame home owners association were afraid of these people as nothing
ever changed. We moved a miserable year later.

And it gets worse. Five minutes of news will cover brazen law breakers,
and like my former neighbor, get away with it most of the time.

Lead by example, huh…

The gist I got from your statement is, if you are a crap dog owner that doens't leash their dog, you are likely a crap human in other areas as well as I would agree with

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Donut Lord

The gist I got from your statement is, if you are a crap dog owner that doens't leash their dog, you are likely a crap human in other areas as well as I would agree with

To clarify, Its not my intent to define all unleashed dog owners by my past
unruly neighbors. I’m merely attempting to point out that SOMETIMES there
is pattern of “I-don’t-care” law breaking that has the potential put other
folks (and pets) at risk. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure.

[BlkGS]

It's a mix of entitlement and often times small dog bias. You never see Rotties running around off leash on a walk. It's always small dogs. It's the same crap where small dogs can bark and be aggressive and people act like it's cute, but if a big dog looks at someone wrong they get labeled aggressive and dangerous.