I hope that’s not the conclusion you’re really taking away from this thread. People just responded with the fairly obvious solution to your stated problem.
The point (well, my point) is - I don’t think you can adequately control the risks by just doing more of what you are doing. You probably have to do something different, and that different thing might be something you don’t really like.
I hate to play the emotional guilt card, but what if one day he *doesn’t *end up under a car? What if the car swerves to avoid him, and hits a person instead?
My friend lives in Merida and has three former street dogs. They’re always leashed when they go out. He says that because they have that street dog in them, no matter how well he trains them, the street dog is always there and he’s afraid they’ll run off either into traffic or after someone or something.
That part of your argument doesn’t really hold water. Living in Mexico doesn’t mean you have less responsibility to other people or animals.
With all these scolding people about their awful dogs running around without leashes, I think it’s worth mentioning that your story is why cat owners need to keep their cats indoors.
You need to train “leave it” and soon. That command is vital to your dogs health and safety in any situation you don’t fully control.
I’m afraid I need to join in with the others on the leash issue though. If strutting is what he likes get him a sparkly leash or coordinate them with your outfits but a leash is the only real answer to your problem.
What does the size of the town have to do with whether or not you use a leash on your dog? Unless you live in the country miles away from your nearest neighbor, it really isn’t safe to let your dog off a leash in a town of any size.
To echo cochrane, the size of the town has nothing to do with it. Your dog still took off after a cat. The street dog part makes it even MORE likely he’ll misbehave in the future.