I see no reason why all dogs are NOT compelled to be on leads in all public spaces.
That's OK if there are some places where dogs can be off lead. Most people don't have enough private space to give a moderate sized dog adequate exercise. And before you say 'just don't have a dog then' if we don't, then what happens to them? All our dogs have been adults adopted from rescue centres - we played no part in the 'market' that puppies are bred to serve. I won't argue about people buying puppies for ridiculous amounts of money, puppy farms, people wanting dogs because they match the curtains, or because the kids insisted or any of the other casually cruel things some people do that means far more dogs are born than can ever be cared for. There are thousands of dogs put to sleep every week in the UK because they don't have homes. To condemn thousands more to death because a few people can't make a common sense judgement about where and when it's appropriate to let a dog have a run is, IMO, cruel and unnecessary.Ā
We have greyhounds. They are bred to serve the gambling industry and make money for billionaires. If no one with less than 2 acres of land could keep one as a pet, it wouldn't stop the breeding of them. It would simply mean many thousands more would be killed
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
āIt's still magic even if you know how it's done.āĀ
I love dogs, and have kept them for most of my life.Ā I do not believe that any dog can be said to be totally under control if unleashed ... even trained dogs like police dogs and sheepdogs misbehave ... you have only to watch One Man and his Dog to see (rare) occasions when a dog gets over-excited and doesn't do as it is told.Ā Ā If a dog is off its owner's own property or in specific areas where dogs are allowed to be exercised off lead then it should be on a leash.
Also I loathe those extendable leads ... I see dogs go past here some 20+ft ahead or behind the person on the other end ... they wander onto our garden or out into the road in front of traffic, causing chaos and sometimes accidents especially with cyclists, and the person holding the other end has no way of stopping them.Ā They're useless.Ā Even when not extended they do not give you proper control over your dog ... I know, my late parents had one for their dog ... it wandered around n front of them tripping them up ... my dogs had a proper lead and walked properly beside me. ...Ā
Gardening in Central NorfolkĀ on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've spoken to a few breeders and trainers of sheep dogs who've said that they don't like working with dogs that are too obedient. Attitude and independent thought are desirable traits in the breed and you need the dog to be bolshy enough to stand up to much larger animals without backing down. Having been bitten by a collie as a child, straight through a pair of fairly tough jeans and into my leg, I'm not convinced bopping dogs on the nose will be an option in an attack.
I've just seen that the dog that recently killed a 10 year old boy locally has been identified as not being a banned breed. It took them nearly a month to work out it wasn't a banned breed because presumably it looked identical to a banned breed but isn't banned because the temperament isn't assumed to be as bad. I'm not sure the child's family would agree. This dog was an American Bulldog rather than the banned American Pitbull Terrier.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Sorry raisingirl but control of dogs is one area where I do get annoyed.Ā The owner of a dog cannot expect a total stranger to know that a dog running at them barking is friendly.Ā There are plenty of extending leads which will permit dogs a level of freedom but also retain control.Ā Let a dog off the lead when nobody else is around by all means, but put it back on the lead when anybody else comes into sight.
I have personal knowledge of a situation where a Labrador ran after another dog and chased it into the house of the 'other dog'.Ā The Lab did only want to play but the owners of the other, small, dog had no way of knowing that.Ā When the owner of the Lab got to the house, the owner of the other dog had the Lab pinned to the floor by its neck. That owner could understandably, and justifiably, have throttled the Lab.
We often have a relativeās dog to stay. She isnāt at all comfortable with other dogs, having been attacked several times, although after training, she will now walk past other dogs on their leads without growling at them. We only take her out on her lead and to places where other dogs are supposed to be on their leads. Unfortunately, on several occasions, owners have let their unleashed dogs approach her, she assumes she is being threatened and goes straight into defence mode. No good the owners calling out, itās all right, my dog is friendly. Ours doesnāt understand that.Ā I think all dogs should be on leads in public, unless in a designated area where everyone understands the rules.
Sorry raisingirl but control of dogs is one area where I do get annoyed.Ā Ā
Sorry KT, but we're in agreement on all that you said. Except I don't let mine off when no one is in sight either - who knows when a jogger or a cyclist is about to come round the corner?Ā
@Dovefromabove extending leads and a greyhound - not an option. A 30kg dog that can hit 30mph before it's got to the end of the extender is way beyond the breaking strain of the handle so either the handle goes flying or you try to grab the cord and get your hand cheese-wired. Neither option stops the greyhound. Mine have 'proper' leads looped around my wrist so even if they take off before I see the rabbit/hare/deer/cat/squirrel, they don't get away from me. I do occasionally end up flat on my face in the mud. My dog, my responsibilityĀ
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
āIt's still magic even if you know how it's done.āĀ
@raisingirl says "There are thousands of dogs put to sleep every week in the UK because they don't have homes.Ā " And yet folk still import "rescue dogs" from abroad?Ā Total madness
Absolutely right @raisingirl ā¦ even a Lhasa Apso can be out of control on one of those extending leads šĀ And itās not being kind to the dog to let it wander uncontrolled ā¦ it doesnāt know where itās sāposed to be or what itās sāposed to be doing. Dogs are āpack animalsā and need to be under the control of the āpack leaderā.Ā
Gardening in Central NorfolkĀ on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
can I add horse riders who trot along the road holding the reins of another horse to the " not in control " list ?
Yes.Ā I once had the very uncomfortable experience of facing what looked like a cavalry charge in a lane near stables.Ā Fortunately I wasn't driving fast when I rounded a bend and came face to face with about half a dozen riders trotting and 'controlling' another horse by its reins.Ā If I had been travelling anywhere near the speed limit on that lane I dread to think what the result might have been.
Posts
We have greyhounds. They are bred to serve the gambling industry and make money for billionaires. If no one with less than 2 acres of land could keep one as a pet, it wouldn't stop the breeding of them. It would simply mean many thousands more would be killed
āIt's still magic even if you know how it's done.āĀ
Also I loathe those extendable leads ... I see dogs go past here some 20+ft ahead or behind the person on the other end ... they wander onto our garden or out into the road in front of traffic, causing chaos and sometimes accidents especially with cyclists, and the person holding the other end has no way of stopping them.Ā They're useless.Ā Even when not extended they do not give you proper control over your dog ... I know, my late parents had one for their dog ... it wandered around n front of them tripping them up ... my dogs had a proper lead and walked properly beside me. ...Ā
Gardening in Central NorfolkĀ on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think all dogs should be on leads in public, unless in a designated area where everyone understands the rules.
@Dovefromabove extending leads and a greyhound - not an option. A 30kg dog that can hit 30mph before it's got to the end of the extender is way beyond the breaking strain of the handle so either the handle goes flying or you try to grab the cord and get your hand cheese-wired. Neither option stops the greyhound. Mine have 'proper' leads looped around my wrist so even if they take off before I see the rabbit/hare/deer/cat/squirrel, they don't get away from me. I do occasionally end up flat on my face in the mud. My dog, my responsibilityĀ
āIt's still magic even if you know how it's done.āĀ
And yet folk still import "rescue dogs" from abroad?Ā
Total madness
And itās not being kind to the dog to let it wander uncontrolled ā¦ it doesnāt know where itās sāposed to be or what itās sāposed to be doing. Dogs are āpack animalsā and need to be under the control of the āpack leaderā.Ā
Gardening in Central NorfolkĀ on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yes.Ā I once had the very uncomfortable experience of facing what looked like a cavalry charge in a lane near stables.Ā Fortunately I wasn't driving fast when I rounded a bend and came face to face with about half a dozen riders trotting and 'controlling' another horse by its reins.Ā If I had been travelling anywhere near the speed limit on that lane I dread to think what the result might have been.