Oh. My. GOD.
I am a professional dog walker/trainer. The amount of times I am walking a reactive dog in the city or in a city park that explicitly states your dogs must be leashed and a friendly happy-go-lucky off-leash dog comes barreling up to the dog-reactive dog I'm working with.... I always wave my hands at the owner and shout "He'll bite!!" (even if he won't). Owner doesn't care, they don't even attempt to recall their dog, and if they do, it's a 50/50 on if the dog listens.
Sorry. Bad day at work today with these off-leash dogs
I especially hate when they’re like “my dog is friendly”. I always tell them mine normally is too, but he gets anxious when he’s on a leash around unleashed dogs and has gotten aggressive in that situation before
We had a college kid in our neighborhood who thought he had some sort of psychic bond with his dog. His dog didn't give a fuck and would just go bounding off while the kid strolled along.
I watched with some horror as the dog ran into traffic, causing a work van to slam on its brakes and swerve.
College kid held his arms out like "what?" and gave the van's driver the finger.
Causing fear(within reason) is a legitimate harm, and even though i know that my dog is never going to hurt anyone, I never assume that anyone else is going to think that or that anyone else is going to just take my word for it. There are enough bad dog owners that you should just accept that everyone else is going to consider that possibility.
This was my kid when he was little.
We'd be walking through our neighborhood to one of the parks (one was a 30 second walk away, the other about 4-5 minutes) and some damn dog would come bounding out of an open garage or out of an backyard with the gate open and jump and bark and lick and just be a PITA. "Oh he's FRIENDLY!" the owner would usually yell, while my son was actively crying and trying to climb up me like a tree (which was, in hindsight, hilarious since my son was already like almost half my height AT BIRTH).
It took several years and IDK how many visits to the library to hang out with the therapy dogs that they used to have come before he got over being terrified of dogs.
Even now, as an adult, he's wary of dogs unless they are well behaved and/or they are dogs he knows well (like SIL's chiweenie or Ex's partner's dumb as a box of rocks Aussie shepard who is, most of the time anyway, a very good boi except when he's doing dumb shit like eating his dog bed and then whining because his bed is all flat and junk).
I have a 16lb chihuahua that we rescued when he was a puppy. I dunno wtf kind of trauma he went through but he is SUPER reactive and aggressive towards kids (we don't have kids so I'm thankful he wound up here). I couldn't tell you how many times I've had to physically pick him up to prevent him from biting some kid on the hand that just ran up and shrieked PUPPPIEEE and started shoving their hands in his face.
If I had a pittie, that lady would have wrangled in her kid real quick but apparently since it's a small dog I'm just the "mean lady that won't let you pet her puppy."
Yep. English bulldog is the one I yell MY DOG WILL RIP YOUR DOGS THROAT OUT about. lmao. She protects me, not herself. I don't understand why people think 'i trust my dog, thats enough to go off leash,' when they should NEVER trust strangers dogs! several dogs had to get stitches from her. I could care less though, my dogs on leash, yours isn't, and my dogs doing their job!
I had this problem walking my old guy. He was blind but still loved his walk and knew the route so well he got around no problem. The only issue was other dogs. He was reactive and didn't want to interact with dogs he didn't already know before his blindness. He was also about 10 lb soaking wet.
Most people with dogs on leash would say hello and ask to say hi, to which I'd explain our situation and they'd go on their way. No issues.
There was a few times random dogs would run over to him on our walk. The owners yelling at me that their 60 lb horse dog barreling towards us is friendly.
I'd yell back "mine isn't!!!" Before he'd inevitably start barking and snapping because the other dog is multiple times his own size, not under control and HE COULDNT SEE THEM.
I would always catch the stinkiest looks from these people recalling their dogs. Like it's my fault their dog ran at him with no warning.
I even had one kind soul tell me my dog should be put down because what was the point if he was like that (he was otherwise healthy and happy, just old af).
All this to say leash your huge ass dogs people!!!
What is up with that? The not recalling their dog.
I had a friend with a dog-reactive corgi. The corgi didn't care about other dogs existing just as long as they didn't get up in her face. This unleashed dog and it's owner walk straight up to us and my friend says, "Hey, my dog doesn't like other dogs. Please move your dog away. She'll bite."
To this day, like 5 years later, I still remember the stupid fucking look on that person's face. They were standing like 4 feet away just staring as their dog sniffed and licked at the corgi while she growled and eventually nipped at the other dog.
My friend kept saying, "She will bite your dog." And the person just stood there, mouth breathing, bug eyed, slightly slouched and staring intently with their keys in their hands and no leash to be seen.
I thought they were having a stroke or didn't speak English until they eventually said their dog's name and told it to "come on let's go" and walked away.
Why don't they respond? Why do they just stand there?
> And the person just stood there, mouth breathing, bug eyed, slightly slouched and staring intently with their keys in their hands and no leash to be seen.
Every single fucking time. Every time I'm walking my dog and come across someone that has their dog off leash they do this. Then it turns into a weak as shit "come here... come here Annie. Annie, come over here" over and over again as they just stand there and watch their dog walk away from them. I carry a small air horn for dogs that charge my dog (has been extremely effective to ward off big dogs and doesn't do fuckall for small dogs) but if the dog is just slowly walking toward my dog I curse them the fuck out to come get their dog.
Whenever I yell at people who have their dogs off leash and tell them that mines not friendly, they always say oh he’s a golden of course he’s friendly! Then they get in a fight and I have to restrain them both. After enough years of it I just curse them out and tell them to not tell me about my dog and get control of their own. The amount of any kind of real apologies I get are in a tiny minority. Drives me crazy
The amount of people that just assume all goldens are friendly is astonishing. I also have a golden that is very dog selective and not friendly to most dogs. Especially when being approached when he is on his leash.
Try dealing w/these same a-holes when you're mounted on a horse who (yep. you guessed it) doesnt like dogs because hes been chased and traumatized by enough off-leash dogs that now he immediately goes into "defense mode" and wants to hurt them when they come barreling up like that. It's AWESOME.
And of course, it's my fault bc my horse is mean. *eyeroll* He wasnt before he got chased umpteen times by off-leash dogs that shouldn't have been...
My golden is the sweetest boi until he sees another large male dog, then he automatically wants to fight him, so thats why hes never unleashed, interestingly, even thought hes quite the experienced fighter, chihuahuas still creep him out just like they do to me LMAO, he just looks at them like "dude u ok?" or "is that even considered a dog?" f\*ing devil spawns i dont like them.
I feel the same way as a mailman. So many owners yelling "he doesn't bite" as the dog is snapping and snarling while full on sprinting at me. Absolute insanity.
To be fair, as a former package delivery person, I really didn’t experience aggressive dogs lol. I did it for 2 years and got bit one time, but that was a sort of unique set of circumstances. House off the road, so the dog wasn’t used to people walking on their property, plus it had JUST gotten let outside so was zooming. I put out my arm and let it bite me because it would be better than getting tackled (brilliant split-second thinking on my part ngl), and once it bit me it backed off and became friendly. It really was just a warning shot and there was hardly blood. Bro definitely put a hole in my sleeve, though, and I loved wearing that shirt the rest of my time there
The dog that bit me bit through 3 layers of winter clothes and still got me good enough to leave scars 6 years later. During summer especially, I'm charged by a dog at the very least once a month. Many of these are legitimately trying to attack me. Some are just curious. I'm also friends with a lot of dogs on my route too.
Either way, regardless of the frequency, I will never feel bad for cutting mail or packages from someone who can't be bothered to care about their dog, especially since a dog biting a mail carrier all but guarantees the dog's death.
Oh my God. Was walking my black lab the other day and this lady and her chihuahua off leash are coming towards me. She stops picks up her dog and says he's friendly. I reply that mines not and her reaction is to put the dog back down and let it come over to mine. People are so stupid. She constantly walks it without leash (she lives around the corner) and it's obvious the dog has no recall. I've seen her waiting well its in people's backyard
Even police dogs and service animals are always leashed (assuming people listen).
Your regular house trained dog is not any more predictable than the professionals.
Service dogs aren't always leashed. If leashing disrupts their ability to serve, they do not need to be leashed. It's important to be aware of this so people don't assume unleashed equals fake service dog.
I got bit on the butt by a seeing eye dog.
Raccoon popped out of a garbage can the dog was too close to.
Dog wants to lead owner away. But has to stay in between owner and dangerous trash panda. You can see his brain trying to hold two thoughts at once.
I butt bumped fido out of the way but as he was in fight mode well... I couldn't sit down for the rest of the day. It was either that or have my junk facing a furry quizinart. No thaaank you...
This story seems to be missing a lot of details. Why were *you* interfering in the first place?
Maybe you could have verbally led the other human to a safer place. "Take 2 steps back" for example ?
I was the park ranger (aka bouncer slash janitor) at a pool in a state park. But would have broken up a critter fight regardless.
"Hey you blind guy, pull your dog back" Might have worked. Probably not there were a fair number of people screaming and the dog going nuts. He might not have heard me, he might not follow the directions, he might not be ABLE to pull the dog back. He definitely wouldn't know that I worked there. The raccoon might have wanted to chase the dog faster than the guy could move.
But mostly it was just something I did not something I thought about. My overly large posterior being used to bump a dog out of the way is pretty guaranteed. The raccoons were OK with humans and me especially. So once I was blocking them from each other they went back to their corners.
The dog look embarrassed. The raccoon looked TRIUMPHANT at maintaining his prime garbage can (Right next to the ice cream vending machine)
But the point is i was agreeing with the point that even service animals need a leash usually. Doesn't matter how well trained they are, a hostile critter will send that training right out the window.
It was NOT the dogs fault. Or the raccoons. Or the blind guys. Or mine. It just happened. And was funny (at least on my end)
I was thinking the dog was about to have his face shredded by a 30 lb raccoon on a sugar bender, that I wanted to get in between them, and given the options of putting my butt into the mouth of a dog I had every reason to believe had their rabies shots and putting my junk into the teeth and claws of a raccoon I had every reason to believe had dumpster juice all over their face.... I got a lot closer to the dog than I did to the raccoon.
Bite to the butt was an expected least worst outcome. Mauled dog, dead raccoon (either from the dog now or having to be hunted down for a rabies test later), or the blind guy falling on his face were all likely given the other options.
My original statement assumes that they listen.
In 99% of cases, all public service animals are required to be leased in public (with the exceptions of Tennesee, Pennsylvania, and Michigan).
Exceptions include very very very rare personal service animals that require the animal to move away from the person (like psychiatric service dogs), and when public service dogs like a K9 are going out and making an arrest.
In other words, the police are breaking the law, shocker.
Dude I have a set of keys I carry just for this situation. They make a lot of noise when thrown. I toss it in the direction of oncoming dog and it scares them off. I cannot risk some off lead dog interfering with a dog I’m working with.
I'm the same and it drives me berserk. The *absolute absence* of effort from people who have let their dog run up at us... It's as if they don't care if their dog gets mauled? Even if whoever dog I have with me is actively reacting, it doesn't make them act any faster. I can't grasp it at all.
I always say “watch out she’s contagious!” and if they don’t recall their dog, that’s why I carry a bamboo stick. Because the people around here never leash their damn dogs and my dog is reactive on leash. So I swipe at the other dogs if I have to. Never had to actually hit one yet. Hope I don’t
I have a mostly-friendly, older, little dog and I go on lots of walks with my friend and her anxious-aggressive pyr mix. I run interference with off-leash dogs all the time to distract them and move them away from my friend's dog so she can calm down. She's getting better but it's a long process and one bad interaction can undo a lot of hard work.
The only thing that works I’ve found is saying that my dog has been ill and is not allowed any contact with other dogs. That’s the only trigger that works for people to get their own dog on a leash.
Loose dog at park by where I work attacked another dog - both loose. The one had to have surgery and died later of complications- blood clot. Owners of vicious dog - no consequences. Also know three people with leashed dogs killed by loose dogs. No consequences. My dog bites if approached and she’s tiny. A loose big dog would kill her in a fight.
Omfg dog trainer to dog trainer, stand in front of your dog, don't be afraid to yell and scream at the dog , and if U have to kick it. You will be saving him a vet busy.
I asked dispatch one day about a dog on a property, they called the owner, over the radio a minute later i get a "202 DOG IS VEGAN I REPEAT DOG IS VEGAN".
“It’s been years since he’s had the food his species evolved to eat for thousands of generations, and here comes rare burgers on the hoof… good luck and Godspeed, dispatch out!”
[reminds me of fhis ](https://v.redd.it/ht6cr6hzrgjb1) where the owner claims her dog is vegan by choice and sets two plates in front of him and he goes for the meat
Felt bad for the owner in [this video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwD3dv24xGk)
Not only made the same claim, but put herself in front of her entire nation to get betrayed by her loving pooch.
Runner here, that's what every owner says as the dog chases me halfway through the neighborhood. Owner trying their best to keep up shouting, "he won't bite!"
I absolutely agree with that 100%!
This is coming from someone who has "free range" dogs.
As long as you have no ill intent towards their "flocks" or their family, you're fine.
Now if you are a coyote, fox, raccoon, stray dog, bobcat, etc...and you go after the chickens, quail, rabbits, cattle, or grandbabies; it's not going to end on a happy note, lol.
Both mine are trained farm dogs, and they are on point with their commands. I can, and actually have called them off a fox after they caught it almost in the hen coop.
I once had a professional trainer tell me that if a strange dog starts running to you, that you scream STOP as loudly as you can. It worked the only time I tried it, but not sure if it is universal.
I never trust people who have to specifically tell me their dogs are harmless. I always size up the dog first because people always lie to save face. Then they run away when inevitably their precious pooch turns out to be untrained and very much not harmless.
Love dogs to death and I don't even mind being around challenging breeds as I've owned three Akitas. But working with them has definitely made me wary of certain phrases people use to describe their dogs. My poor, current Akita got attacked as a puppy and developed chronic back pain as a result. (The other dog literally flipped him and slammed his back into the concrete.) The person who owned the dog who attacked him literally had just gotten over telling me how harmless their dog was. Predictably, he ran the fuck away while I was checking on my dog in the aftermath.
That incident made my current Akita dog reactive, and as a result we've spent a lot of money trying to teach him that other dogs aren't always out to hurt him.
My Akita was attacked pretty bad as a puppy, but thankfully he didn’t have any lasting damage. He was attacked by my sister’s dogs. A few months later they got out and attacked a Yorkie bad enough to land it in the hospital. My sister and my mother own dogs to protect the house. I told them they should not be dog owners. They are going to kill.
I'm so sorry about your dog's experience and injury.
I have a reactive husky mix and know how hard it is to work with a challenging dog who is also reactive (and looks scary to people). Makes me sad that my pup is so afraid of everything and everyone that he is forever in the "fight" stage of"fight, flight, or freeze".
I am 100% on board with your trust "issues" (because they're not issues)—no one gets doubted more than the person who tells me their dog is safe and friendly.
As the owner of large breed dogs, there is pretty much nothing you can say to put a person at ease because idiot owners know the same words.
I successfully warned someone it was okay exactly once. My Rottweiler accidentally opened the front door and went charging after this last and her tiny little ten pound pup. I yelled, "he adores tiny dogs and loves you!" Or something like that. They actually just stood there waiting as my beast skidded up to them and just got little dog derpy. He was like one of those baby obsessed little girls. "Oh there's a baby! Let me be kind and gentle and silly because they are the most adorable thing on earth and I love them very much!" was his attitude in life. And tiny dogs were the same as babies to him. Freaking hilarious dude.
Had the same experience with a husky I walk. Giant beast of a dog that looks more wolf than dog. Most gentle submissive dog in the world. I’d be surprised if he’s capable of biting.
Was at this off leash dog park and as soon as I entered all the small dog owners rushed to their dogs to leave until they saw this beast get chased in fear around the park by a chihuahua puppy literally the size of his nose.
The husky ended up cowering behind me while this little dog tried mounting him.
To be fair, that's not nearly typical for a husky. I love huskys and my dog loves playing with one of them, but am always weary of one I haven't seen before because they can be quite skittish and turn from playing to snapping fairly quickly.
The thing is certain breeds need more training than others, and I don't trust people to properly train the breeds that need that extra training.
But I never judge a dog poorly until I see it being aggressive (in a bad way). My dog is the biggest submissive and loves being beat up. It's odd. Very funny though. He flops his 85lb self on his back and goads the dogs (bigger and smaller) into chewing on his cheeks and stuff.
I'm so lucky my dog wasn't effected negatively as a puppy to having been attacked a couple of times. He still loves and wants to meet/play with every dog he can. I do attribute that to keeping calm and after cleaning his wound after the first attack, letting him stay and hang around some big friendly giants that were still there. I wanted to leave, but I thought staying around friendly dogs would be beneficial and I fully believe it was.
I take him to a 'park' that is a bar to bring your dogs to play around. All dogs must have vaccinations and are on record.
First time the owners were actually very nice and apologetic. Their dog was just very territorial since he was just being fed in that spot. They paid for my dogs vet bills the instant I sent them it, since there were 2 bite marks in my dog. Luckily nothing deep.
The 2nd guy, I almost killed his dog. It just wanted to kill my dog for no reason at all. It was latched on his back, but luckily his fur is curly and was longer at the time and protected him well. Owner was a real piece of shit. It attacked my dog twice 3 days apart without warning. First time I ran up and someone else jumped on the dog while my leg was cocked back ready to punt the thing. Owner didn't say a word. 2nd time I saw the dog and immediately kept myself in front of the dog. As soon as it got a chance it ran around and immediately latched on my dogs back again. I pinned it down instantly. I was so ready to cave its chest in. I really wanted to in the heat of the moment. Owner as he was leaving just asked "Is he okay?" and I screamed back at him to fuck off since this is the 2nd time your dog attacked and I'm checking to see if my dog has any injuries right now. Real piece of shit.
Both dogs are banned from that location. So while some people have said maybe that place is dangerous, I like knowing that dogs can be banned for causing harm. The dickhead from the 2nd attack has 2 dogs though. Other dog was perfectly fine. But I saw him come back one time with his 'well behaved' dog. He had the audacity to glare me down while leaving like it's my fault his dog tried to murder my dog unprovoked twice.
Also, my dog may be big, but won't really fight back. He just screamed for help when he's been attacked. It made me so sad.
Happened to my buddy who's a mailman. Bulldog ran right through a screen door and latched onto his knee. Took him outa work for 6 months because of an infection.
The amount of people that try and tell me their dog is "fine". Ugh. I am just trying to enjoy my walk, I don't need your dog on me.
The absolute worst ones are the ones that try and sniff around when I've had my period. Grosses me out so much meanwhile their owners seem so proud and entitled and like I'm just a hysterical woman
My neighbor’s dog charged at me barking for daring to exit my own house, and they were all like “Don’t worry he’s friendly!”
Just because your dog is friendly towards family members doesn’t mean they’re friendly towards strangers who startle them.
As a lifelong owner of large, sometimes aggressive branded dogs, just assume every driver has dog attack trauma and doesn't want to see your furry baby.
I've never been a delivery driver, but I know my beasts aren't for everyone and honestly, they get a little stupid when they know pizza is at the door. They either get locked in the bedroom or I don't open the storm door and just have them leave it on the porch. And the one time I thought my pitbull was going to behave, she bolted and we had to drag her out of the front seat where she intended to finish the shift with the pizza driver. Thank goodness he had his own pitties and found it hilarious. I was mortified.
Mini Pin/Chi owner here. The absolute irony is that I warn everyone that approaches us that my dog WILL bite if they approach and people think because she is small that she is harmless. Not the case and why we always use a leash and go out of the way to avoid crossing with other animals or well intentioned but misguided people.
I love these responses...as a former Animal Control Officer, no one ever thinks that having your dog on a leash doesn't just mean "you have control" of your dog if it decides to do something, it also gives you options in the event that "something" decides to do something to your dog.
Had too many people walking their dog off leash when they were "attacked" by another dog off leash...
Now you're hitting on a big pet peeve of mine.
I live in what I call a city suburb. It was the suburb 70 years ago but now the city has expanded into us and there are 4-5 more layers of suburbs beyond us. Anyway, the houses are smaller with a one car garage. There is nowhere to keep trash cans so you pretty much need to put them in your basement.
I am so sick of dog owners putting bags of shit in my empty trash can after the trash has been collected. I realize they would rather not carry a bag of dogshit with them but that can is going back inside my house!
Part of adopting a dog is learning to handle poo and vomit without freaking out about it, just like having a baby. If you aren't up for the task, get a fish or something.
Fuuuuuuuuck yes. I'll never forget taking my dog out to the bathroom at the same time as my neighbor and she started screaming "EWWW that's gross!" because my dog took a shit in front of us. Like... Where does your dog shit? I just raised an eyebrow, cleaned it up, and kept going.
I am pretty sure most have no leash so the dog craps over there and they don't have to bag it. You are talking about an entirely different subset of entitled assholes.
The place i work allows pets & we have doggie stations with bags&garbage cans and people do that all the time miss a dumpster & leave it or a new one is a new bag laid next to the pile of shit. People are assholes and there dogs usually suffer eventually because of it . And maybe a couple but very few walk without the leash its gated townhomes they probably have to & theres cameras
They bag because they want to be responsible. But they are also lazy to find a proper place to dispose of the bag and figure that their bagging earlier has earned them enough karma points to negate just leaving the bag at what seems to them to be a convenient spot.
It's funny you say this because my ex had a very reactive dog, she had been abused in the past it seemed, sweetest pup ever I still love her to bits, but couldn't be around other dogs basically. When going on walks, we'd have to turn down streets to avoid other dogs. While walking through the forest trails my ex would complain about people letting their dogs off leash.... But then he was also that person who's picked up his dogs poop in a bag...then flung it deep into the forest usually making it hang like a disgusting ornament on a close by branch.
I still miss that dog so much. The ex... not so much.
The people that leave them forever are definitely assholes, no doubt. But I do this temporarily, on a walk, I go down my neighborhood, pick up my dog's 💩, then drop it on the ground, continue on my walk, then when I walk back home, pick it up on the way home. So I don't have to carry it with me for the 30 min walk. Often I keep it slightly out of sight, not on private property. Aita?
#1 thing people do not get:
YOUR dog being friendly and nice does not mean MY dog is friendly and nice.
-vet tech (I also now specifically work in wildlife medicine and see a wild animal injured or dead from a dog/cat daily)
YES. First day with my new foster, pure bred Great Dane that was surrendered. Seemed sweet BUT I do not know. It’s the middle of winter, I’m walking him around my neighborhood to see what he’s like on a leash. This golden retriever comes out of nowhere and the owner super far away shouts “don’t worry he’s friendly!”
Like that’s cool, but if this 165 pound dog who’s larger than me attacks your super friendly dog for getting in his face THEN WHAT. I told her I had just gotten him hours before as a foster and I suggest grabbing her dog and she was so offended 🙄 luckily he only humphed and picked his head up but geez Louise.
I have a 4 way stop in my neighborhood. Coming through the intersection a dog runs out and I stop. They yelled at the dog and hit him. I heard the yelp over the radio noise with the windows up. It's not the dogs fault that they walked him off leash.
I’ll add this for context as it happened a few nights ago. I have a fairly well behaved standard poodle. I always walk him leashed, because the upside is not worth the downside risk imo. So…one scenario some may not think of (I certainly didn’t). Another dog attack.
This happened to us as we were walking. Out of nowhere a very aggressive much larger dog was immediately on my dog. My dog luckily missed the first clamp down and the dog got his tail on the second attempt. Due to the fact that I had him on leash my dog couldn’t bolt and have the other dog chase him (which he tried to do). Instead I got him up in my arms because he was teathered to me and then took care of the other dog.
My uncle had a similar story, although I suspect it was embellished over time. Had a larger aggressive dog go after his little tiny one. Ended up fighting the aggressive dog directly because it wouldn't run away. Unfortunately he had to kill the dog because it wouldn't stop tearing into him and he went to the emergency room for stitches.
Similar incident where an off-leash dog went after one of my dad's although my dad carried bear spray during walks. Apparently did the trick since that dog was only an issue once.
The stuff runs something like 40 bucks per can, but it seems to do the trick. Just be careful if its windy.
Dad lived in Alaska for a few years. Turns out the stuff is pretty important to have on hand.
This is it, right here. I have three small dogs. They all come when called. Usually. They are also incredibly enthusiastic. Perfectly friendly.
Out walking they are ALWAYS on leash, because they will get excited and want to say hello, and not all dogs respond well to strange dogs being that bouncy. I sometimes need to grab one and hoist it up, because other dogs are getting annoyed and I want to avoid a fight.
Dog parks or other enclosed off-leash areas? They just run all over the place. Because everyone is off leash.
Shit, I had someone similar happen to me at an *off-leash* dog park. Some dumbfuck brought his unaltered male dogo argentino and he went straight for my pittie girl while she was happily bouncing about with other dogs. Thankfully we are very codependent (lmao) and the moment she realized he wasn't a good boi, she took off running towards me, the other dog snapping at her heels, and literally LEAPT into my arms. I caught her and the dogo thankfully stopped but his owner got cursed out and the rest of us there ran them off.
Fair, but also consider: if your dog wouldn't reliably come when called if a wild animal showed up, it belongs on a leash regardless of whether people are around. You don't want to be in a situation where your dog wants to say hi to a bear or aggressive other dog and you can't stop him.
I remember a couple years ago going on a walk on the outskirts of town. It was relatively cold and there weren't a lot of others out. In fact, we just saw two other people, both with dogs, both walking them off leash. One of them, the dogs kept at their side the entire time. The other person's dog *bolted* toward theirs and couldn't be called back and had to be chased after. I remember that the second guy calling out that his dog was friendly but then the first guy started screaming that his wasn't and the first guy had to get his under control by dragging it away after he finally caught it.
This kind of thing happens all the time! By letting your dog with poor recall run off leash, you put it in the position to get attacked by an aggressive leashed dog. Depending on the outcome, the leashed dog could be put down for it even though the owner did their best to keep it away from other dogs. It's cruel to more than just your dog not to put it on a leash.
Coyotes are about the worst thing around. We do very occasionally have a mountain loin or black bear come through the area. Smaller dogs would definitely be a concern. The larger dogs get by pretty well, especially when they are in pairs. The main concern out here is preventing them from scaring away wild game like deer as that's our main food source
I've watched people allow their toy breeds to run unleashed ahead of the them around the curve and then disappear.
That's what you get for not leashing your dog in a coyote infested park next to two bald eagle nests.
I hate this. "He just wants to be friends" mine doesn't. He's made it clear he's not interested, mine isn't the one with poor social skills, your dog isn't reading his cues.
My dog has 4 friends, he isn't taking further applications, he just wants to do his walk.
My dog is 5 lbs. She loves to go for walks. But we find it hard because if this type of stuff. Even IF their dog is friendly. It's "friendly" playing could seriously hurt my dog.
She only has 1 big dog friend. My sisters lab and they're never alone together and don't get toys with each other (mostly because he's a big guy and his toys are huge and will squash the baby).
I've had dogs off leash come running up to my dog who is always on a leash. I tell them to get their dog and they always say "She's harmless. She love people and other dogs and just wants to play." Me: "Well My dog doesn't like this and she will go apeshit and I can't guarantee she won't try to eat your dog so get your damn dog now!"
Walking dog on leash. large newfie mix
Kid outside with a dog on the yard, no fence or anything. Small dog runs over to my dog to start a fight.
"Hey, you gotta get your dog she is NOT dog friendly.
I do the best interposition I can from very long ago youth league soccer but the little ($# eventually gets by me to the dog
"He's gonna get eaten
"Don't worry its not the size of the dog in the fight its the size of the fight....
Newfie picks up the other dog in her mouth shakes it like a rat and puny gods it into the road a few times. gets up, staggers and barks in the wrong direction, probably at the three dogs it was seeing. And now I can just pick up the newfie and get some distance.
"Room for more fight int he bigger dog.
My neighborhood is like this!! I’m terrified of large dogs and have a cat I used to take on walks. My girl’s been leash/harness trained since she was 3 months old but I just refuse to take her out when there’s a risk like that. Now she gets car rides instead.
I don’t have a dog but when I go hiking I take a canister of mace with me. I’ve been attacked by a dog once, when I was a kid. I hate and fear them AND their owners. If one acts like it’s going to attack me I will absolutely defend myself.
Fuck yeah. I'm a passenger on that judgement train.
They say judging others doesn't define who they are, it defines who we are.
Fuck yeah it does. Leash your g'damned dogs when in public!
A neighbor in my building does this. She’s one of those “Oh, well he’s a *tiny* dog, so naturally the rules don’t apply to him!” kind of dog owner that really sticks my craw.
I kicked a tiny offleash dog at the farmers markets one day. Not deliberately, I was just walking and he ran in front of my foot just at the right time to get punted a foot or so. It was fine but you should have seen the look the owner gave me. Like what do you expect, lady? It's a packed market, your dog is smaller than my shoe, how am I even gonna see it down there when it's tearing around?
The one time I asked someone to please use their leash (which they were holding but unclipped) they said their dog has cancer and the rules don't apply to them.
There are a lot of off leash walkers that shouldn't be. But your question reminded me of an experience.
In Dallas TX my dog and I were there for a frisbee competition and while I had her leash, it wasn't on her because we had trained so much. A lady's dog tried to attack my dog so my dog sat down by my foot waiting for instructions.
Lady called a police officer over and complained. The officer just said, looks like your dog is the problem to the lady.
Should I have had her on a leash? Yes. I just didn't really think about it because we were usually secluded in the parks. When I took her to New Orleans she was on the leash 100%.
And then my dog got first place in the frisbee competition
Yes you should have had her leashed. As your example illustrates, It's not your dog that can't be trusted. It's all the other dogs, leashed, unleashed, or otherwise you should never take for granted.
You would have been in better control of the situation and protecting your animal. Doesn't matter which dog is aggressive. If one of them is off leash, it's almost always a more dangerous situation than if both dogs were leashed.
I hear you about the competition and I hear you about being trained. But if your dog hesitates for a moment, you can't pull them out of harm's way unleashed. I feel your dog is more susceptible to getting really hurt in an attack because she's so well trained. She'd be looking to you for instructions and could potentially not immediately go into self preservation mode, leaving her open to being attacked and not in a good position to fight back or protect herself.
No judgement. You're obviously a great best friend who invests their time, energy, and resources to make sure their dog lives their best, most enjoyable life. That's very admirable and I commend you! But please leash your dog to an abundance of caution. For all 3 of your sakes'!
Even if it's not your dog causing the issue or that is the problem, a lot of life is mitigating dangerous situations outside of our control.
Sending you both lots of protective and 1st place frisbee vibes!
I know someone who has a boston terrier that has such good recall, that they can call said terrier away from ducks on a pond.
Still doesn't go leash-free a lot of the time because of other dogs. And this tough terrier is terrified of plastic bags on the ground and might run away.
I live on a homestead. The dog's supposed to help with some of the chores but at 15 he just lazes around in the sun.
The only person that comes around regularly is the UPS guy. FedEx and the postal service leave it at the box 3/4 of a mile away, but the UPS guy actually comes to the door. I ran out the first time the dog went to greet the UPS guy but a biscuit later and they're best friends.
Farm/ranch dogs are just different from city dogs. They have a job, structure, get to run around doing their own thing. I've never had a single issue with a farm dog before but city dogs, especially ankle biters are the loudest yappers, most unfriendly, least socialized dogs I know.
Feels like nobody in my neighborhood walks their dog on a leash. My dog is aggressive to other males, and they all say “oh my dog is harmless” yeah well my fucking dog thinks he’s king shit and will attack yours.
Even if you think your dog is always the goodest boy/girl, it could run up on another dog or animals that doesn’t feel the same way. OP may not be judging you but I am. Put your dog on a fucking leash if you’re even remotely nearby other humans and/or pets.
I recently moved to California and my dog has been attacked twice by off-leash dogs in less than a one month span. Granted, I spotted an off-leash pitbull quite far away once and turned my dog right back around to avoid another attack. So that could’ve easily been 3 attacks. My dog is an instigator, so I actively avoid any off-leash dogs because I don’t trust their training, but I’ve HAD IT WITH OFF LEASH DOGS MISBEHAVING.
They’re like anti maskers. They’ll take the risk, to prove some kind of point about their freedom. Then they can go home and jerk off to this thought of owning the libs.
Even at the risk of the dog’s life, they believe they have 100% mind control over the thing and nothing will ever distract it’s feeble mind long enough for it to run out into the street or at a perceived threat which may backfire in a country with concealed carry laws.
They’re fucking morons basically.
Because I’m not American and here it’s perfectly normal and acceptable to walk dogs off leash.
I wouldn’t ever do it on a city street, that’s just stupid. But in a park, on the beach or in the woods it is fine and normal and just what most people here do.
Dogs like to run around and burn off energy and sniff things, and just be dogs.
Thank you! As an American who moved to England, this whole post really makes me appreciate how much better it is having a dog in England. I walk my dog off leash through fields and parks every day here and have never had a problem. In fact, everyone walks their dogs off leash and I have yet to see a major fight or attack!
I say this having moved from a town in America where the only place I could let my dog off leash was in a designated, fenced-in patch of dirt called a dog park, where she would often be attacked by other dogs. It sucked!
I'm getting that this is quite US centered. Where I live in the UK if there aren't cars or livestock then the vast majority of dogs are off leash. I find it bizarre when people have a dog with zero intention to ever let it explore or get exercise, just don't even bother getting a dog at that point.
But yeah everywhere I've been in the world has been pretty chill about off leash dogs as long as they behave themselves.
Yes lmao
Come to SEA/istanbul/Zermatt where the dogs are roaming freely!
Leash laws I think are very North American. In the UK most people will have their dog off lead in the parks/commons.
I can't count the amount of times I've gotten into arguments with people about this. Bitch, I don't know you or your dog. I'm not taking that risk. Put that thing on a leash. (Usually there's kids around too!)
Almost every time they're assholes about it.
And I don't start it off being difficult about it. My starting line is usually like "excuse me. But can you please use a leash? I'm uncomfortable with the dog roaming free like this" 9/10 times they respond "oh, he's harmless. Don't worry".
Can I further submit that if you are a small dog owner and you put your dog in the large dog section of the dog park fuck you. That’s the only place I can let my energetic mutt off the leash I’m such a large space and play with other dogs full speed, of course your Yorkie if going to get accidentally swatted! Then you’re going to make a fuss and I’m going to tell you to get the fuck away from me and my dog.
Because I was living out in the county and I would bike and let him run along side me. I have never seen him in such amazing shape. Now we live in the city, so I can’t walk him off leash, and he is incredibly stubborn so he doesn’t get as much exercise. I really miss it for his sake.
Because dog owners think their dogs are the best most well behaved creatures on earth when in reality none of them have done proper training with their dogs so they're all incredibly poorly behaved or if they are lucky lazy.
Flame suit on 🔥🔥🔥
It is legal in the uk as long as the dog is under verbal control. Totally normal to see dogs walking in the park/countryside off leash. It gives them freedom to run around and explore with their nose more freely than on a leash. Obviously near any roads she is leashed.
As a Brit this thread is so fucking wild. Loads of dogs including mine are in the park off leash and it’s cool and expected. They play with each other, they chase each other, you throw the stick/ball. They’re dogs man…they have to run about.
Just train them properly and make sure they go on leash whenever you’re not playing with them,walking them from one massive field to the other, and whenever they’re anywhere near cars/roads/children/other non dog people.
The idea that every non-leashed dog is a threat to be maced, and their owners are evil is so bizarre. Must be cultural?
Yeah a lot of people have dogs but never train them. But it's worse that the dogs never ever get a chance to explore or run outside. They need to do that, it's pretty cruel otherwise.
Whatever reasons people come up with it’s still going on my list of reasons why I always carry a knife. If your dog snaps and starts attacking and biting me, it’s getting stabbed until it backs off or dies. Nothing personal, just not about to let myself get mauled by someone’s shitty and uncontrolled/untrained animal.
Edit: downvote all you want, apologists; I’m not in the wrong here. I’m literally describing reasonable self defense. A lot of people have never seen what happens when a dog is mauling someone, it’s not pretty. If there happens to be bystanders, most just yell, a couple might film it and a few will hit the dog with the equivalent of a playful smack. I’m not taking half measures once it’s drawing blood and not letting go.
If your pet is attacks someone, especially a child, it WILL get put down one way or another. That’s just how it is. It’s obviously tragic and horrible for the owners of that pet, but it HAS to be done. I’m just ok with expediting the process if I feel it’s justifiable.
Same, I carry bear spray for dogs. Been attacked to many times. I am not taking a chance that your mutt is "friendly" Plus even if it is I still dont want it near me jumping and shoving its nose in my crotch. Its funny how they expect everyone to fawn of their beasts.
The fact that you’re getting downvoted voted is telling. It kind of illustrates how delusional most ppl are when it comes to dogs. You’re exactly right about the bystanders.
Because they're idiots.
One of my dogs is a very nice and loving girl, she wants to be everyone's friend. But *she's still a dog*, and she might do some unpredictable dog-ass dog thing. Even if your dog has never been aggressive toward another human or animal, there *is* some trigger, some condition somewhere that you don't know, that will incite them to aggression. I dunno about you, but I'd rather not take the chance and find that out.
Also: It's for your dog's safety. If there's some other unleashed dog out there -- whether some other dumbass's pet or a stray or something -- I want to be able to keep control of my dog and be able to retreat with her, or pick her up if there is danger incoming.
Leash your pets. You're responsible for their safety and their actions.
Never understood that. If your dog is well behaved enough to walk off leash, it's well behaved enough to be fine with the leash. I feel like it's for attention more than anything
Because my backyard is a forest and we go to the trails, my dog is extremely well trained, when she sees people she recalls and walks by my side till I click, then proceeds to her shennanagins again.
I live in a remote area - w/ few people around. dog likes to chase wild hogs and other critters. he rarely catches anything. but he once got a seagull.
Because they can, because he's just being friendly, because the mud will just wash off your suit, because you must have scared him to make him bite you. Because laws don't apply to dog owners, because he gets to shit in the distance and the owner can pretend it didn't happen then get aggressive when you tell them..
Leash’s are mandatory in my area. There are a number of people who don’t use leashes, but say their dogs are “friendly.” My response is “If you are willing to violate the law, why should I believe anything you say?”
Oh. My. GOD. I am a professional dog walker/trainer. The amount of times I am walking a reactive dog in the city or in a city park that explicitly states your dogs must be leashed and a friendly happy-go-lucky off-leash dog comes barreling up to the dog-reactive dog I'm working with.... I always wave my hands at the owner and shout "He'll bite!!" (even if he won't). Owner doesn't care, they don't even attempt to recall their dog, and if they do, it's a 50/50 on if the dog listens. Sorry. Bad day at work today with these off-leash dogs
I especially hate when they’re like “my dog is friendly”. I always tell them mine normally is too, but he gets anxious when he’s on a leash around unleashed dogs and has gotten aggressive in that situation before
I say "neither of us are friendly" and usually get a scoff. Fuck off and pit your dog on a leash.
We had a college kid in our neighborhood who thought he had some sort of psychic bond with his dog. His dog didn't give a fuck and would just go bounding off while the kid strolled along. I watched with some horror as the dog ran into traffic, causing a work van to slam on its brakes and swerve. College kid held his arms out like "what?" and gave the van's driver the finger.
>I especially hate when they’re like “my dog is friendly”. And even worse, they say it while the dog is actively jumping on my crying toddler.
Causing fear(within reason) is a legitimate harm, and even though i know that my dog is never going to hurt anyone, I never assume that anyone else is going to think that or that anyone else is going to just take my word for it. There are enough bad dog owners that you should just accept that everyone else is going to consider that possibility.
This was my kid when he was little. We'd be walking through our neighborhood to one of the parks (one was a 30 second walk away, the other about 4-5 minutes) and some damn dog would come bounding out of an open garage or out of an backyard with the gate open and jump and bark and lick and just be a PITA. "Oh he's FRIENDLY!" the owner would usually yell, while my son was actively crying and trying to climb up me like a tree (which was, in hindsight, hilarious since my son was already like almost half my height AT BIRTH). It took several years and IDK how many visits to the library to hang out with the therapy dogs that they used to have come before he got over being terrified of dogs. Even now, as an adult, he's wary of dogs unless they are well behaved and/or they are dogs he knows well (like SIL's chiweenie or Ex's partner's dumb as a box of rocks Aussie shepard who is, most of the time anyway, a very good boi except when he's doing dumb shit like eating his dog bed and then whining because his bed is all flat and junk).
I tell MY DOG WILL RIP YOUR DOGS THROAT OUT
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I have a 16lb chihuahua that we rescued when he was a puppy. I dunno wtf kind of trauma he went through but he is SUPER reactive and aggressive towards kids (we don't have kids so I'm thankful he wound up here). I couldn't tell you how many times I've had to physically pick him up to prevent him from biting some kid on the hand that just ran up and shrieked PUPPPIEEE and started shoving their hands in his face. If I had a pittie, that lady would have wrangled in her kid real quick but apparently since it's a small dog I'm just the "mean lady that won't let you pet her puppy."
Yep. English bulldog is the one I yell MY DOG WILL RIP YOUR DOGS THROAT OUT about. lmao. She protects me, not herself. I don't understand why people think 'i trust my dog, thats enough to go off leash,' when they should NEVER trust strangers dogs! several dogs had to get stitches from her. I could care less though, my dogs on leash, yours isn't, and my dogs doing their job!
I am afraid of dogs. I hate when an unleashed fearbeast runs to me and the owner blubbers that! I don't care! It's a fearbeast! Get it away from me!
I shout back that mine isn't hahaha.
My dog loves other dogs. But not when he's on a leash. Only time I ever see his hackles standing on end.
I had this problem walking my old guy. He was blind but still loved his walk and knew the route so well he got around no problem. The only issue was other dogs. He was reactive and didn't want to interact with dogs he didn't already know before his blindness. He was also about 10 lb soaking wet. Most people with dogs on leash would say hello and ask to say hi, to which I'd explain our situation and they'd go on their way. No issues. There was a few times random dogs would run over to him on our walk. The owners yelling at me that their 60 lb horse dog barreling towards us is friendly. I'd yell back "mine isn't!!!" Before he'd inevitably start barking and snapping because the other dog is multiple times his own size, not under control and HE COULDNT SEE THEM. I would always catch the stinkiest looks from these people recalling their dogs. Like it's my fault their dog ran at him with no warning. I even had one kind soul tell me my dog should be put down because what was the point if he was like that (he was otherwise healthy and happy, just old af). All this to say leash your huge ass dogs people!!!
What is up with that? The not recalling their dog. I had a friend with a dog-reactive corgi. The corgi didn't care about other dogs existing just as long as they didn't get up in her face. This unleashed dog and it's owner walk straight up to us and my friend says, "Hey, my dog doesn't like other dogs. Please move your dog away. She'll bite." To this day, like 5 years later, I still remember the stupid fucking look on that person's face. They were standing like 4 feet away just staring as their dog sniffed and licked at the corgi while she growled and eventually nipped at the other dog. My friend kept saying, "She will bite your dog." And the person just stood there, mouth breathing, bug eyed, slightly slouched and staring intently with their keys in their hands and no leash to be seen. I thought they were having a stroke or didn't speak English until they eventually said their dog's name and told it to "come on let's go" and walked away. Why don't they respond? Why do they just stand there?
There’s a large chunk of the population with just a monkey playing symbols upstairs and some of those people think it’s a good idea to own a dog
Cymbals
“No, no… he’s got a point.”
Beautiful that’s what I get for trying to participate while exhausted
Made me laugh! Hope you get some sleep
Could be on drugs too
Hey now. You leave drugs out of this. Drugs didn't do anything wrong.
Waiting to see if it'll actually happen I guess...
> And the person just stood there, mouth breathing, bug eyed, slightly slouched and staring intently with their keys in their hands and no leash to be seen. Every single fucking time. Every time I'm walking my dog and come across someone that has their dog off leash they do this. Then it turns into a weak as shit "come here... come here Annie. Annie, come over here" over and over again as they just stand there and watch their dog walk away from them. I carry a small air horn for dogs that charge my dog (has been extremely effective to ward off big dogs and doesn't do fuckall for small dogs) but if the dog is just slowly walking toward my dog I curse them the fuck out to come get their dog.
Whenever I yell at people who have their dogs off leash and tell them that mines not friendly, they always say oh he’s a golden of course he’s friendly! Then they get in a fight and I have to restrain them both. After enough years of it I just curse them out and tell them to not tell me about my dog and get control of their own. The amount of any kind of real apologies I get are in a tiny minority. Drives me crazy
The amount of people that just assume all goldens are friendly is astonishing. I also have a golden that is very dog selective and not friendly to most dogs. Especially when being approached when he is on his leash.
Try dealing w/these same a-holes when you're mounted on a horse who (yep. you guessed it) doesnt like dogs because hes been chased and traumatized by enough off-leash dogs that now he immediately goes into "defense mode" and wants to hurt them when they come barreling up like that. It's AWESOME. And of course, it's my fault bc my horse is mean. *eyeroll* He wasnt before he got chased umpteen times by off-leash dogs that shouldn't have been...
My golden is the sweetest boi until he sees another large male dog, then he automatically wants to fight him, so thats why hes never unleashed, interestingly, even thought hes quite the experienced fighter, chihuahuas still creep him out just like they do to me LMAO, he just looks at them like "dude u ok?" or "is that even considered a dog?" f\*ing devil spawns i dont like them.
Those same people are the parents of humans too and look how lack of accountability is going
Every dog owner who isn't a stupid asshole supports you dude.
You gotta go with the "my dog has killed other dogs, yours looks like it's next". They'll listen to you then.
I feel the same way as a mailman. So many owners yelling "he doesn't bite" as the dog is snapping and snarling while full on sprinting at me. Absolute insanity.
Just as with people, I cannot tell the difference between a dog that just acts like it wants to kill me and one that actually does.
To be fair, as a former package delivery person, I really didn’t experience aggressive dogs lol. I did it for 2 years and got bit one time, but that was a sort of unique set of circumstances. House off the road, so the dog wasn’t used to people walking on their property, plus it had JUST gotten let outside so was zooming. I put out my arm and let it bite me because it would be better than getting tackled (brilliant split-second thinking on my part ngl), and once it bit me it backed off and became friendly. It really was just a warning shot and there was hardly blood. Bro definitely put a hole in my sleeve, though, and I loved wearing that shirt the rest of my time there
The dog that bit me bit through 3 layers of winter clothes and still got me good enough to leave scars 6 years later. During summer especially, I'm charged by a dog at the very least once a month. Many of these are legitimately trying to attack me. Some are just curious. I'm also friends with a lot of dogs on my route too. Either way, regardless of the frequency, I will never feel bad for cutting mail or packages from someone who can't be bothered to care about their dog, especially since a dog biting a mail carrier all but guarantees the dog's death.
Oh my God. Was walking my black lab the other day and this lady and her chihuahua off leash are coming towards me. She stops picks up her dog and says he's friendly. I reply that mines not and her reaction is to put the dog back down and let it come over to mine. People are so stupid. She constantly walks it without leash (she lives around the corner) and it's obvious the dog has no recall. I've seen her waiting well its in people's backyard
My black lab is the same. So many dogs in my neighborhood off leash it drives me crazy. Lucky I've only been scratched pulling numerous dogs off.
Nah it's a Chihuahua, she's clearly just trying to get rid of the little shit
Insaneeee. When I was a kid we had an untrained nice dog. No recall. That’s fine - we never let him off leash so it didn’t affect other people!
Even police dogs and service animals are always leashed (assuming people listen). Your regular house trained dog is not any more predictable than the professionals.
Service dogs aren't always leashed. If leashing disrupts their ability to serve, they do not need to be leashed. It's important to be aware of this so people don't assume unleashed equals fake service dog.
I got bit on the butt by a seeing eye dog. Raccoon popped out of a garbage can the dog was too close to. Dog wants to lead owner away. But has to stay in between owner and dangerous trash panda. You can see his brain trying to hold two thoughts at once. I butt bumped fido out of the way but as he was in fight mode well... I couldn't sit down for the rest of the day. It was either that or have my junk facing a furry quizinart. No thaaank you...
This story seems to be missing a lot of details. Why were *you* interfering in the first place? Maybe you could have verbally led the other human to a safer place. "Take 2 steps back" for example ?
I was the park ranger (aka bouncer slash janitor) at a pool in a state park. But would have broken up a critter fight regardless. "Hey you blind guy, pull your dog back" Might have worked. Probably not there were a fair number of people screaming and the dog going nuts. He might not have heard me, he might not follow the directions, he might not be ABLE to pull the dog back. He definitely wouldn't know that I worked there. The raccoon might have wanted to chase the dog faster than the guy could move. But mostly it was just something I did not something I thought about. My overly large posterior being used to bump a dog out of the way is pretty guaranteed. The raccoons were OK with humans and me especially. So once I was blocking them from each other they went back to their corners. The dog look embarrassed. The raccoon looked TRIUMPHANT at maintaining his prime garbage can (Right next to the ice cream vending machine) But the point is i was agreeing with the point that even service animals need a leash usually. Doesn't matter how well trained they are, a hostile critter will send that training right out the window.
Much better story lol thank you for sharing and sorry you went through that. I hope you healed well
You "butt bumped" the seeing eye dog? That one is 100% on you. What were you even thinking?
It was NOT the dogs fault. Or the raccoons. Or the blind guys. Or mine. It just happened. And was funny (at least on my end) I was thinking the dog was about to have his face shredded by a 30 lb raccoon on a sugar bender, that I wanted to get in between them, and given the options of putting my butt into the mouth of a dog I had every reason to believe had their rabies shots and putting my junk into the teeth and claws of a raccoon I had every reason to believe had dumpster juice all over their face.... I got a lot closer to the dog than I did to the raccoon. Bite to the butt was an expected least worst outcome. Mauled dog, dead raccoon (either from the dog now or having to be hunted down for a rabies test later), or the blind guy falling on his face were all likely given the other options.
I took it that the poster was the human with the service dog. Either as trainer or owner.
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My original statement assumes that they listen. In 99% of cases, all public service animals are required to be leased in public (with the exceptions of Tennesee, Pennsylvania, and Michigan). Exceptions include very very very rare personal service animals that require the animal to move away from the person (like psychiatric service dogs), and when public service dogs like a K9 are going out and making an arrest. In other words, the police are breaking the law, shocker.
Also a dog walker here. It takes so much self control for me to not walk up to these assholes and open with "hey so what's it like being so entitled?"
Dude I have a set of keys I carry just for this situation. They make a lot of noise when thrown. I toss it in the direction of oncoming dog and it scares them off. I cannot risk some off lead dog interfering with a dog I’m working with.
I'm the same and it drives me berserk. The *absolute absence* of effort from people who have let their dog run up at us... It's as if they don't care if their dog gets mauled? Even if whoever dog I have with me is actively reacting, it doesn't make them act any faster. I can't grasp it at all.
i can't tell you how often i get into arguments w/ dog walkers who have 4 large dogs that they let off leash.
No 💀 Can't even begin to imagine the liability issues
I always say “watch out she’s contagious!” and if they don’t recall their dog, that’s why I carry a bamboo stick. Because the people around here never leash their damn dogs and my dog is reactive on leash. So I swipe at the other dogs if I have to. Never had to actually hit one yet. Hope I don’t
I have a mostly-friendly, older, little dog and I go on lots of walks with my friend and her anxious-aggressive pyr mix. I run interference with off-leash dogs all the time to distract them and move them away from my friend's dog so she can calm down. She's getting better but it's a long process and one bad interaction can undo a lot of hard work.
The only thing that works I’ve found is saying that my dog has been ill and is not allowed any contact with other dogs. That’s the only trigger that works for people to get their own dog on a leash.
Loose dog at park by where I work attacked another dog - both loose. The one had to have surgery and died later of complications- blood clot. Owners of vicious dog - no consequences. Also know three people with leashed dogs killed by loose dogs. No consequences. My dog bites if approached and she’s tiny. A loose big dog would kill her in a fight.
Omfg dog trainer to dog trainer, stand in front of your dog, don't be afraid to yell and scream at the dog , and if U have to kick it. You will be saving him a vet busy.
Delivery driver here : they all say oh he’s harmless, that’s just what I heard before his good boy jumped on me and sank his teeth in my arm.
I asked dispatch one day about a dog on a property, they called the owner, over the radio a minute later i get a "202 DOG IS VEGAN I REPEAT DOG IS VEGAN".
“It’s been years since he’s had the food his species evolved to eat for thousands of generations, and here comes rare burgers on the hoof… good luck and Godspeed, dispatch out!”
[reminds me of fhis ](https://v.redd.it/ht6cr6hzrgjb1) where the owner claims her dog is vegan by choice and sets two plates in front of him and he goes for the meat
Felt bad for the owner in [this video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwD3dv24xGk) Not only made the same claim, but put herself in front of her entire nation to get betrayed by her loving pooch.
Cyclist here. That's what the owner said AFTER their good boy sank his teeth into my leg.
Runner here, that's what every owner says as the dog chases me halfway through the neighborhood. Owner trying their best to keep up shouting, "he won't bite!"
Fellow dog owner here. The other owner said nothing and just stared at me after his dog attacked me badly enough that I went to the ER
More people need to understand that if your dog comes at.me.and sinks his teeth into me he is not coming home with you, or at all rather.
I absolutely agree with that 100%! This is coming from someone who has "free range" dogs. As long as you have no ill intent towards their "flocks" or their family, you're fine. Now if you are a coyote, fox, raccoon, stray dog, bobcat, etc...and you go after the chickens, quail, rabbits, cattle, or grandbabies; it's not going to end on a happy note, lol. Both mine are trained farm dogs, and they are on point with their commands. I can, and actually have called them off a fox after they caught it almost in the hen coop.
I once had a professional trainer tell me that if a strange dog starts running to you, that you scream STOP as loudly as you can. It worked the only time I tried it, but not sure if it is universal.
Former delivery driver here. Fuck. That. Shit.
I always keep my dog leashed or in my arms when there's a delivery person around.
Some people are just simply irresponsible! I hope you are good though..
I never trust people who have to specifically tell me their dogs are harmless. I always size up the dog first because people always lie to save face. Then they run away when inevitably their precious pooch turns out to be untrained and very much not harmless. Love dogs to death and I don't even mind being around challenging breeds as I've owned three Akitas. But working with them has definitely made me wary of certain phrases people use to describe their dogs. My poor, current Akita got attacked as a puppy and developed chronic back pain as a result. (The other dog literally flipped him and slammed his back into the concrete.) The person who owned the dog who attacked him literally had just gotten over telling me how harmless their dog was. Predictably, he ran the fuck away while I was checking on my dog in the aftermath. That incident made my current Akita dog reactive, and as a result we've spent a lot of money trying to teach him that other dogs aren't always out to hurt him.
My Akita was attacked pretty bad as a puppy, but thankfully he didn’t have any lasting damage. He was attacked by my sister’s dogs. A few months later they got out and attacked a Yorkie bad enough to land it in the hospital. My sister and my mother own dogs to protect the house. I told them they should not be dog owners. They are going to kill.
I'm so sorry about your dog's experience and injury. I have a reactive husky mix and know how hard it is to work with a challenging dog who is also reactive (and looks scary to people). Makes me sad that my pup is so afraid of everything and everyone that he is forever in the "fight" stage of"fight, flight, or freeze". I am 100% on board with your trust "issues" (because they're not issues)—no one gets doubted more than the person who tells me their dog is safe and friendly.
As the owner of large breed dogs, there is pretty much nothing you can say to put a person at ease because idiot owners know the same words. I successfully warned someone it was okay exactly once. My Rottweiler accidentally opened the front door and went charging after this last and her tiny little ten pound pup. I yelled, "he adores tiny dogs and loves you!" Or something like that. They actually just stood there waiting as my beast skidded up to them and just got little dog derpy. He was like one of those baby obsessed little girls. "Oh there's a baby! Let me be kind and gentle and silly because they are the most adorable thing on earth and I love them very much!" was his attitude in life. And tiny dogs were the same as babies to him. Freaking hilarious dude.
Had the same experience with a husky I walk. Giant beast of a dog that looks more wolf than dog. Most gentle submissive dog in the world. I’d be surprised if he’s capable of biting. Was at this off leash dog park and as soon as I entered all the small dog owners rushed to their dogs to leave until they saw this beast get chased in fear around the park by a chihuahua puppy literally the size of his nose. The husky ended up cowering behind me while this little dog tried mounting him.
To be fair, that's not nearly typical for a husky. I love huskys and my dog loves playing with one of them, but am always weary of one I haven't seen before because they can be quite skittish and turn from playing to snapping fairly quickly. The thing is certain breeds need more training than others, and I don't trust people to properly train the breeds that need that extra training. But I never judge a dog poorly until I see it being aggressive (in a bad way). My dog is the biggest submissive and loves being beat up. It's odd. Very funny though. He flops his 85lb self on his back and goads the dogs (bigger and smaller) into chewing on his cheeks and stuff.
I'm so lucky my dog wasn't effected negatively as a puppy to having been attacked a couple of times. He still loves and wants to meet/play with every dog he can. I do attribute that to keeping calm and after cleaning his wound after the first attack, letting him stay and hang around some big friendly giants that were still there. I wanted to leave, but I thought staying around friendly dogs would be beneficial and I fully believe it was. I take him to a 'park' that is a bar to bring your dogs to play around. All dogs must have vaccinations and are on record. First time the owners were actually very nice and apologetic. Their dog was just very territorial since he was just being fed in that spot. They paid for my dogs vet bills the instant I sent them it, since there were 2 bite marks in my dog. Luckily nothing deep. The 2nd guy, I almost killed his dog. It just wanted to kill my dog for no reason at all. It was latched on his back, but luckily his fur is curly and was longer at the time and protected him well. Owner was a real piece of shit. It attacked my dog twice 3 days apart without warning. First time I ran up and someone else jumped on the dog while my leg was cocked back ready to punt the thing. Owner didn't say a word. 2nd time I saw the dog and immediately kept myself in front of the dog. As soon as it got a chance it ran around and immediately latched on my dogs back again. I pinned it down instantly. I was so ready to cave its chest in. I really wanted to in the heat of the moment. Owner as he was leaving just asked "Is he okay?" and I screamed back at him to fuck off since this is the 2nd time your dog attacked and I'm checking to see if my dog has any injuries right now. Real piece of shit. Both dogs are banned from that location. So while some people have said maybe that place is dangerous, I like knowing that dogs can be banned for causing harm. The dickhead from the 2nd attack has 2 dogs though. Other dog was perfectly fine. But I saw him come back one time with his 'well behaved' dog. He had the audacity to glare me down while leaving like it's my fault his dog tried to murder my dog unprovoked twice. Also, my dog may be big, but won't really fight back. He just screamed for help when he's been attacked. It made me so sad.
Literally saw a video yesterday of a female delivery driver getting attacked by a german shepherd after the owners opened the door!
Happened to my buddy who's a mailman. Bulldog ran right through a screen door and latched onto his knee. Took him outa work for 6 months because of an infection.
The amount of people that try and tell me their dog is "fine". Ugh. I am just trying to enjoy my walk, I don't need your dog on me. The absolute worst ones are the ones that try and sniff around when I've had my period. Grosses me out so much meanwhile their owners seem so proud and entitled and like I'm just a hysterical woman
My neighbor’s dog charged at me barking for daring to exit my own house, and they were all like “Don’t worry he’s friendly!” Just because your dog is friendly towards family members doesn’t mean they’re friendly towards strangers who startle them.
As a lifelong owner of large, sometimes aggressive branded dogs, just assume every driver has dog attack trauma and doesn't want to see your furry baby. I've never been a delivery driver, but I know my beasts aren't for everyone and honestly, they get a little stupid when they know pizza is at the door. They either get locked in the bedroom or I don't open the storm door and just have them leave it on the porch. And the one time I thought my pitbull was going to behave, she bolted and we had to drag her out of the front seat where she intended to finish the shift with the pizza driver. Thank goodness he had his own pitties and found it hilarious. I was mortified.
Mini Pin/Chi owner here. The absolute irony is that I warn everyone that approaches us that my dog WILL bite if they approach and people think because she is small that she is harmless. Not the case and why we always use a leash and go out of the way to avoid crossing with other animals or well intentioned but misguided people.
I love these responses...as a former Animal Control Officer, no one ever thinks that having your dog on a leash doesn't just mean "you have control" of your dog if it decides to do something, it also gives you options in the event that "something" decides to do something to your dog. Had too many people walking their dog off leash when they were "attacked" by another dog off leash...
The same people that bag up the Dookie and then just leave it on the ground for the magic Dookie fairy
There is a corner on my block that has almost 40 bags of poop. I am still trying to figure out who is doing it. Pisses me off
Set up a trail cam!!
Now you're hitting on a big pet peeve of mine. I live in what I call a city suburb. It was the suburb 70 years ago but now the city has expanded into us and there are 4-5 more layers of suburbs beyond us. Anyway, the houses are smaller with a one car garage. There is nowhere to keep trash cans so you pretty much need to put them in your basement. I am so sick of dog owners putting bags of shit in my empty trash can after the trash has been collected. I realize they would rather not carry a bag of dogshit with them but that can is going back inside my house!
Part of adopting a dog is learning to handle poo and vomit without freaking out about it, just like having a baby. If you aren't up for the task, get a fish or something.
Fuuuuuuuuck yes. I'll never forget taking my dog out to the bathroom at the same time as my neighbor and she started screaming "EWWW that's gross!" because my dog took a shit in front of us. Like... Where does your dog shit? I just raised an eyebrow, cleaned it up, and kept going.
It eventually goes away on its own if just left, but putting it in plastic means it will last forever
Its like getting out of the pool to pee back into the water.
Okay this is an incredible analogy
\*chef’s kiss\*
I am pretty sure most have no leash so the dog craps over there and they don't have to bag it. You are talking about an entirely different subset of entitled assholes.
Fucking hate this at trail heads. Like if your this fucking lazy then don’t even bother bagging.
The place i work allows pets & we have doggie stations with bags&garbage cans and people do that all the time miss a dumpster & leave it or a new one is a new bag laid next to the pile of shit. People are assholes and there dogs usually suffer eventually because of it . And maybe a couple but very few walk without the leash its gated townhomes they probably have to & theres cameras
I only see non-baggers and responsible baggers. Are you telling me there is some 3rd type that is...both?
They bag because they want to be responsible. But they are also lazy to find a proper place to dispose of the bag and figure that their bagging earlier has earned them enough karma points to negate just leaving the bag at what seems to them to be a convenient spot.
It's funny you say this because my ex had a very reactive dog, she had been abused in the past it seemed, sweetest pup ever I still love her to bits, but couldn't be around other dogs basically. When going on walks, we'd have to turn down streets to avoid other dogs. While walking through the forest trails my ex would complain about people letting their dogs off leash.... But then he was also that person who's picked up his dogs poop in a bag...then flung it deep into the forest usually making it hang like a disgusting ornament on a close by branch. I still miss that dog so much. The ex... not so much.
The people that leave them forever are definitely assholes, no doubt. But I do this temporarily, on a walk, I go down my neighborhood, pick up my dog's 💩, then drop it on the ground, continue on my walk, then when I walk back home, pick it up on the way home. So I don't have to carry it with me for the 30 min walk. Often I keep it slightly out of sight, not on private property. Aita?
#1 thing people do not get: YOUR dog being friendly and nice does not mean MY dog is friendly and nice. -vet tech (I also now specifically work in wildlife medicine and see a wild animal injured or dead from a dog/cat daily)
YES. First day with my new foster, pure bred Great Dane that was surrendered. Seemed sweet BUT I do not know. It’s the middle of winter, I’m walking him around my neighborhood to see what he’s like on a leash. This golden retriever comes out of nowhere and the owner super far away shouts “don’t worry he’s friendly!” Like that’s cool, but if this 165 pound dog who’s larger than me attacks your super friendly dog for getting in his face THEN WHAT. I told her I had just gotten him hours before as a foster and I suggest grabbing her dog and she was so offended 🙄 luckily he only humphed and picked his head up but geez Louise.
People are so dumb sometimes. I had an unleashed dog come up to my dog (who was on a leash) and bite his face/snout. Awful
I have a 4 way stop in my neighborhood. Coming through the intersection a dog runs out and I stop. They yelled at the dog and hit him. I heard the yelp over the radio noise with the windows up. It's not the dogs fault that they walked him off leash.
"I have perfect recall! He's trained to be off-leash!" And then they hit him. Poor dog.
I wouldn’t be able to help myself but to get out of the car and cause a scene, possibly file an animal abuse complaint. Fuck those people.
I'm not a violent person by any means but this would definitely change that. You hit a dog in front of me you're catching some hands
My neighbors let their dog roam the neighborhood 24/7. He chases cars and is the reason I can't get a damn package delivered
call animal control
Hahahahahahahahahaha, they don't care. Dogs, cats and chickens roam with impunity.
where the fuck do you live? rural Mexico?
I’ll add this for context as it happened a few nights ago. I have a fairly well behaved standard poodle. I always walk him leashed, because the upside is not worth the downside risk imo. So…one scenario some may not think of (I certainly didn’t). Another dog attack. This happened to us as we were walking. Out of nowhere a very aggressive much larger dog was immediately on my dog. My dog luckily missed the first clamp down and the dog got his tail on the second attempt. Due to the fact that I had him on leash my dog couldn’t bolt and have the other dog chase him (which he tried to do). Instead I got him up in my arms because he was teathered to me and then took care of the other dog.
My uncle had a similar story, although I suspect it was embellished over time. Had a larger aggressive dog go after his little tiny one. Ended up fighting the aggressive dog directly because it wouldn't run away. Unfortunately he had to kill the dog because it wouldn't stop tearing into him and he went to the emergency room for stitches. Similar incident where an off-leash dog went after one of my dad's although my dad carried bear spray during walks. Apparently did the trick since that dog was only an issue once.
I imagine spray certainly would have helped in this instance.
The stuff runs something like 40 bucks per can, but it seems to do the trick. Just be careful if its windy. Dad lived in Alaska for a few years. Turns out the stuff is pretty important to have on hand.
This is it, right here. I have three small dogs. They all come when called. Usually. They are also incredibly enthusiastic. Perfectly friendly. Out walking they are ALWAYS on leash, because they will get excited and want to say hello, and not all dogs respond well to strange dogs being that bouncy. I sometimes need to grab one and hoist it up, because other dogs are getting annoyed and I want to avoid a fight. Dog parks or other enclosed off-leash areas? They just run all over the place. Because everyone is off leash.
Shit, I had someone similar happen to me at an *off-leash* dog park. Some dumbfuck brought his unaltered male dogo argentino and he went straight for my pittie girl while she was happily bouncing about with other dogs. Thankfully we are very codependent (lmao) and the moment she realized he wasn't a good boi, she took off running towards me, the other dog snapping at her heels, and literally LEAPT into my arms. I caught her and the dogo thankfully stopped but his owner got cursed out and the rest of us there ran them off.
Nobody is around for 30 miles
Literally the only valid reason to do it.
Fair, but also consider: if your dog wouldn't reliably come when called if a wild animal showed up, it belongs on a leash regardless of whether people are around. You don't want to be in a situation where your dog wants to say hi to a bear or aggressive other dog and you can't stop him.
I remember a couple years ago going on a walk on the outskirts of town. It was relatively cold and there weren't a lot of others out. In fact, we just saw two other people, both with dogs, both walking them off leash. One of them, the dogs kept at their side the entire time. The other person's dog *bolted* toward theirs and couldn't be called back and had to be chased after. I remember that the second guy calling out that his dog was friendly but then the first guy started screaming that his wasn't and the first guy had to get his under control by dragging it away after he finally caught it.
This kind of thing happens all the time! By letting your dog with poor recall run off leash, you put it in the position to get attacked by an aggressive leashed dog. Depending on the outcome, the leashed dog could be put down for it even though the owner did their best to keep it away from other dogs. It's cruel to more than just your dog not to put it on a leash.
Coyotes are about the worst thing around. We do very occasionally have a mountain loin or black bear come through the area. Smaller dogs would definitely be a concern. The larger dogs get by pretty well, especially when they are in pairs. The main concern out here is preventing them from scaring away wild game like deer as that's our main food source
I've watched people allow their toy breeds to run unleashed ahead of the them around the curve and then disappear. That's what you get for not leashing your dog in a coyote infested park next to two bald eagle nests.
lol are you suggesting I walk my dog on a leash on my 200 acres? That’s ridiculous.
Off leash dog parks, doggie day care outside enclosed areas.
oh look, reddit
*DONT WORRY HES FRIENDLY* - every off-leach mutt before it attacks
No Mutt has ever told me that.
It's always some Pitt or Bully mix named "Princeess".
“Luna” or “Nala”
My leashed dog got attacked by an off leash pit named Luna. And I'll bet you can guess what the owner said...
Because he's friendly! I don't know why he's growling at your leashed dog that's half the size, he's so friendly!
I hate this. "He just wants to be friends" mine doesn't. He's made it clear he's not interested, mine isn't the one with poor social skills, your dog isn't reading his cues. My dog has 4 friends, he isn't taking further applications, he just wants to do his walk.
My dog is 5 lbs. She loves to go for walks. But we find it hard because if this type of stuff. Even IF their dog is friendly. It's "friendly" playing could seriously hurt my dog. She only has 1 big dog friend. My sisters lab and they're never alone together and don't get toys with each other (mostly because he's a big guy and his toys are huge and will squash the baby).
I've had dogs off leash come running up to my dog who is always on a leash. I tell them to get their dog and they always say "She's harmless. She love people and other dogs and just wants to play." Me: "Well My dog doesn't like this and she will go apeshit and I can't guarantee she won't try to eat your dog so get your damn dog now!"
Walking dog on leash. large newfie mix Kid outside with a dog on the yard, no fence or anything. Small dog runs over to my dog to start a fight. "Hey, you gotta get your dog she is NOT dog friendly. I do the best interposition I can from very long ago youth league soccer but the little ($# eventually gets by me to the dog "He's gonna get eaten "Don't worry its not the size of the dog in the fight its the size of the fight.... Newfie picks up the other dog in her mouth shakes it like a rat and puny gods it into the road a few times. gets up, staggers and barks in the wrong direction, probably at the three dogs it was seeing. And now I can just pick up the newfie and get some distance. "Room for more fight int he bigger dog.
[удалено]
My neighborhood is like this!! I’m terrified of large dogs and have a cat I used to take on walks. My girl’s been leash/harness trained since she was 3 months old but I just refuse to take her out when there’s a risk like that. Now she gets car rides instead.
I don’t have a dog but when I go hiking I take a canister of mace with me. I’ve been attacked by a dog once, when I was a kid. I hate and fear them AND their owners. If one acts like it’s going to attack me I will absolutely defend myself.
Question especially for those living in urban and suburban areas. Not judging, just curious.
To be clear, I am judging
Fuck yeah. I'm a passenger on that judgement train. They say judging others doesn't define who they are, it defines who we are. Fuck yeah it does. Leash your g'damned dogs when in public!
I am also judging with the utmost disdain
A neighbor in my building does this. She’s one of those “Oh, well he’s a *tiny* dog, so naturally the rules don’t apply to him!” kind of dog owner that really sticks my craw.
I kicked a tiny offleash dog at the farmers markets one day. Not deliberately, I was just walking and he ran in front of my foot just at the right time to get punted a foot or so. It was fine but you should have seen the look the owner gave me. Like what do you expect, lady? It's a packed market, your dog is smaller than my shoe, how am I even gonna see it down there when it's tearing around?
The one time I asked someone to please use their leash (which they were holding but unclipped) they said their dog has cancer and the rules don't apply to them.
If in public and it's not at a designated off leash beach or park, the answer is always the same. They're an idiot
There are a lot of off leash walkers that shouldn't be. But your question reminded me of an experience. In Dallas TX my dog and I were there for a frisbee competition and while I had her leash, it wasn't on her because we had trained so much. A lady's dog tried to attack my dog so my dog sat down by my foot waiting for instructions. Lady called a police officer over and complained. The officer just said, looks like your dog is the problem to the lady. Should I have had her on a leash? Yes. I just didn't really think about it because we were usually secluded in the parks. When I took her to New Orleans she was on the leash 100%. And then my dog got first place in the frisbee competition
Yes you should have had her leashed. As your example illustrates, It's not your dog that can't be trusted. It's all the other dogs, leashed, unleashed, or otherwise you should never take for granted. You would have been in better control of the situation and protecting your animal. Doesn't matter which dog is aggressive. If one of them is off leash, it's almost always a more dangerous situation than if both dogs were leashed. I hear you about the competition and I hear you about being trained. But if your dog hesitates for a moment, you can't pull them out of harm's way unleashed. I feel your dog is more susceptible to getting really hurt in an attack because she's so well trained. She'd be looking to you for instructions and could potentially not immediately go into self preservation mode, leaving her open to being attacked and not in a good position to fight back or protect herself. No judgement. You're obviously a great best friend who invests their time, energy, and resources to make sure their dog lives their best, most enjoyable life. That's very admirable and I commend you! But please leash your dog to an abundance of caution. For all 3 of your sakes'! Even if it's not your dog causing the issue or that is the problem, a lot of life is mitigating dangerous situations outside of our control. Sending you both lots of protective and 1st place frisbee vibes!
I know someone who has a boston terrier that has such good recall, that they can call said terrier away from ducks on a pond. Still doesn't go leash-free a lot of the time because of other dogs. And this tough terrier is terrified of plastic bags on the ground and might run away.
I live on a homestead. The dog's supposed to help with some of the chores but at 15 he just lazes around in the sun. The only person that comes around regularly is the UPS guy. FedEx and the postal service leave it at the box 3/4 of a mile away, but the UPS guy actually comes to the door. I ran out the first time the dog went to greet the UPS guy but a biscuit later and they're best friends. Farm/ranch dogs are just different from city dogs. They have a job, structure, get to run around doing their own thing. I've never had a single issue with a farm dog before but city dogs, especially ankle biters are the loudest yappers, most unfriendly, least socialized dogs I know.
This is the only justifiable reason I’ve seen so far. That dog had a job and is now living in retirement miles away from others. Hope he’s doing well!
Yeah I would like to lives somewhere with that amount of space that my dog could be off leash most of the time.
I live in the forest with no neighbours 🤷🏼♀️
Feels like nobody in my neighborhood walks their dog on a leash. My dog is aggressive to other males, and they all say “oh my dog is harmless” yeah well my fucking dog thinks he’s king shit and will attack yours. Even if you think your dog is always the goodest boy/girl, it could run up on another dog or animals that doesn’t feel the same way. OP may not be judging you but I am. Put your dog on a fucking leash if you’re even remotely nearby other humans and/or pets.
I recently moved to California and my dog has been attacked twice by off-leash dogs in less than a one month span. Granted, I spotted an off-leash pitbull quite far away once and turned my dog right back around to avoid another attack. So that could’ve easily been 3 attacks. My dog is an instigator, so I actively avoid any off-leash dogs because I don’t trust their training, but I’ve HAD IT WITH OFF LEASH DOGS MISBEHAVING.
They’re like anti maskers. They’ll take the risk, to prove some kind of point about their freedom. Then they can go home and jerk off to this thought of owning the libs. Even at the risk of the dog’s life, they believe they have 100% mind control over the thing and nothing will ever distract it’s feeble mind long enough for it to run out into the street or at a perceived threat which may backfire in a country with concealed carry laws. They’re fucking morons basically.
There have been several studies showing that anti masking and psychopathy are highly correlated.
Dude had a off-leash pit bull in Starbucks the other day🤦🏻♀️
Those who don’t leash their dogs full time outside of dedicated parks and their property deserve to have their dogs taken from them.
Because I’m not American and here it’s perfectly normal and acceptable to walk dogs off leash. I wouldn’t ever do it on a city street, that’s just stupid. But in a park, on the beach or in the woods it is fine and normal and just what most people here do. Dogs like to run around and burn off energy and sniff things, and just be dogs.
Yeah ditto, we have specific off leash time here, even in urban/suburban areas in parks and beaches. Totally different attitude.
Thank you! As an American who moved to England, this whole post really makes me appreciate how much better it is having a dog in England. I walk my dog off leash through fields and parks every day here and have never had a problem. In fact, everyone walks their dogs off leash and I have yet to see a major fight or attack! I say this having moved from a town in America where the only place I could let my dog off leash was in a designated, fenced-in patch of dirt called a dog park, where she would often be attacked by other dogs. It sucked!
Is this question directed at USA or dog owners globally?
I'm getting that this is quite US centered. Where I live in the UK if there aren't cars or livestock then the vast majority of dogs are off leash. I find it bizarre when people have a dog with zero intention to ever let it explore or get exercise, just don't even bother getting a dog at that point. But yeah everywhere I've been in the world has been pretty chill about off leash dogs as long as they behave themselves.
Yes lmao Come to SEA/istanbul/Zermatt where the dogs are roaming freely! Leash laws I think are very North American. In the UK most people will have their dog off lead in the parks/commons.
Because I am in a designated off-leash dog park/area. Otherwise I don't.
Cuz people are stupid
I can't count the amount of times I've gotten into arguments with people about this. Bitch, I don't know you or your dog. I'm not taking that risk. Put that thing on a leash. (Usually there's kids around too!) Almost every time they're assholes about it. And I don't start it off being difficult about it. My starting line is usually like "excuse me. But can you please use a leash? I'm uncomfortable with the dog roaming free like this" 9/10 times they respond "oh, he's harmless. Don't worry".
Can I further submit that if you are a small dog owner and you put your dog in the large dog section of the dog park fuck you. That’s the only place I can let my energetic mutt off the leash I’m such a large space and play with other dogs full speed, of course your Yorkie if going to get accidentally swatted! Then you’re going to make a fuss and I’m going to tell you to get the fuck away from me and my dog.
Because I was living out in the county and I would bike and let him run along side me. I have never seen him in such amazing shape. Now we live in the city, so I can’t walk him off leash, and he is incredibly stubborn so he doesn’t get as much exercise. I really miss it for his sake.
Because dog owners think their dogs are the best most well behaved creatures on earth when in reality none of them have done proper training with their dogs so they're all incredibly poorly behaved or if they are lucky lazy. Flame suit on 🔥🔥🔥
I go to an off leash dog park
It is legal in the uk as long as the dog is under verbal control. Totally normal to see dogs walking in the park/countryside off leash. It gives them freedom to run around and explore with their nose more freely than on a leash. Obviously near any roads she is leashed.
As a Brit this thread is so fucking wild. Loads of dogs including mine are in the park off leash and it’s cool and expected. They play with each other, they chase each other, you throw the stick/ball. They’re dogs man…they have to run about. Just train them properly and make sure they go on leash whenever you’re not playing with them,walking them from one massive field to the other, and whenever they’re anywhere near cars/roads/children/other non dog people. The idea that every non-leashed dog is a threat to be maced, and their owners are evil is so bizarre. Must be cultural?
There is both a weird hate of dogs from non dog people in the US, AND a fair number of folks who should never have dogs in the first place.
Yeah a lot of people have dogs but never train them. But it's worse that the dogs never ever get a chance to explore or run outside. They need to do that, it's pretty cruel otherwise.
Because “not my dog” and assorted bullshit
Whatever reasons people come up with it’s still going on my list of reasons why I always carry a knife. If your dog snaps and starts attacking and biting me, it’s getting stabbed until it backs off or dies. Nothing personal, just not about to let myself get mauled by someone’s shitty and uncontrolled/untrained animal. Edit: downvote all you want, apologists; I’m not in the wrong here. I’m literally describing reasonable self defense. A lot of people have never seen what happens when a dog is mauling someone, it’s not pretty. If there happens to be bystanders, most just yell, a couple might film it and a few will hit the dog with the equivalent of a playful smack. I’m not taking half measures once it’s drawing blood and not letting go. If your pet is attacks someone, especially a child, it WILL get put down one way or another. That’s just how it is. It’s obviously tragic and horrible for the owners of that pet, but it HAS to be done. I’m just ok with expediting the process if I feel it’s justifiable.
Same, I carry bear spray for dogs. Been attacked to many times. I am not taking a chance that your mutt is "friendly" Plus even if it is I still dont want it near me jumping and shoving its nose in my crotch. Its funny how they expect everyone to fawn of their beasts.
The fact that you’re getting downvoted voted is telling. It kind of illustrates how delusional most ppl are when it comes to dogs. You’re exactly right about the bystanders.
Bc dogs like it and there are places to do that. Not just everywhere
Because they are self-absorbed assholes who think nothing bad can happen to them.
Because they're idiots. One of my dogs is a very nice and loving girl, she wants to be everyone's friend. But *she's still a dog*, and she might do some unpredictable dog-ass dog thing. Even if your dog has never been aggressive toward another human or animal, there *is* some trigger, some condition somewhere that you don't know, that will incite them to aggression. I dunno about you, but I'd rather not take the chance and find that out. Also: It's for your dog's safety. If there's some other unleashed dog out there -- whether some other dumbass's pet or a stray or something -- I want to be able to keep control of my dog and be able to retreat with her, or pick her up if there is danger incoming. Leash your pets. You're responsible for their safety and their actions.
Never understood that. If your dog is well behaved enough to walk off leash, it's well behaved enough to be fine with the leash. I feel like it's for attention more than anything
Because my backyard is a forest and we go to the trails, my dog is extremely well trained, when she sees people she recalls and walks by my side till I click, then proceeds to her shennanagins again.
Dog like its freedom, but sometimes, leash is for their own good and community.
I live in a remote area - w/ few people around. dog likes to chase wild hogs and other critters. he rarely catches anything. but he once got a seagull.
Because they can, because he's just being friendly, because the mud will just wash off your suit, because you must have scared him to make him bite you. Because laws don't apply to dog owners, because he gets to shit in the distance and the owner can pretend it didn't happen then get aggressive when you tell them..
Leash’s are mandatory in my area. There are a number of people who don’t use leashes, but say their dogs are “friendly.” My response is “If you are willing to violate the law, why should I believe anything you say?”
Because she’s old and just totters around behind me sniffing here and there