It is to dream, my dear.
Add another to the group asking, so, did the other dog come towards yours? I can imagine the old, infirm, and frightened not wanting an unleashed dog where it might startle them, but if I and my dog are at a distance from you and my dog is paying yours no attention, then it certainly isn’t my dog’s fault that yours is poorly behaved.
Of course, leash laws are among the laws I disobey most regularly …
Just so you know, the rest of us dog owners pay attention to which dogs in the neighborhood are owned by people like you. We tend to ignore the poop n scoop laws (but just on your lawn). Isn’t it fun to pick and choose which laws to obey?
“It’s okay, his poop isn’t that smelly!”
Can we also ban babies and cars? That would be awesome.
Yes, she did. Ran right past. More to the point, dipshit wasn’t watching his dog, and didn’t feel it was necessary to start watching just because someone asked him to leash her up, or because a large and potentially volatile dog was also in the park, potentially putting his dog in danger.
You must not care much for your dog’s safety if you ignore leash laws. Why don’t you take your dog to the humane society if you aren’t going to be responsible with it?
On edit: do you also fail to pick up your dog’s poop? Do you allow your dog to chew up other people’s property? To you let your dog yap all night long keeping your neighbors awake? If so, you are doing an extreme disservice to your dog and all responsible dog owners everywhere.
Missed my edit window.
Just want to add that when I worked in a vet clinic, not a single week would go by where some jackass wouldn’t come in with a busted up dog and a variation of “He just (insert dog behaviour here). He’s never done that before!” And the absolute worst people for it were the ones who think just because a dog is well trained, it means they’ll NEVER do anything unpredictable.
We’ve gone over this many a time around here, and I’m fully aware that a number of folk think my golden strolling along untethered at my side is committing a horrendous crime against society. And I’ve heard and read many an opinion that my dogs are in constant imminent danger of throwing themselves beneath the wheels of a passing car. Hasn’t happened over the past 30 years or so of multiple daily walks. Not even close. I can imagine it happening if a clueless owner isn’t paying attention. Same way a clueless owner be hanging onto a leash, yet their dog bites someone.
I wish even half of the leashed dogs I encounter were nearly as well behaved as mine is off leash. But you never know when you might run into some moron who is tugging along some feral malamute or something. Not sure if it is that type of dog, or its owner, who should be put down.
You gotta admit, at that age he’s lucky to be walking at all.
Nope, gotta admit I was conservatively calculating based on multiple dogs owned over many years.
I have a friend who really likes driving. He has a nice car, and a nice motorcycle that he often rides for pleasure. He believes himself to be an excellent driver, and has never had so much as a speeding ticket in over thirty years of driving. Because of that, he contends that traffic laws, especially those that restrict how fast one can drive, do not apply to him. What are your thoughts on that?
And I really hope it never does. I do. Because a dog shouldn’t have to suffer because of their owner’s irresponsibility. It’s the very worst thing in the world to see an animal in pain, or have to be put down for something that is so easily avoidable. Honestly, I hope you (and more importantly, your dog) never have to actually learn this lesson first hand. If you want to talk to a bunch of dog owners who did have to learn it, let me know.
Honest question: if your dog is so good at walking with you (by which I assume she heels, stops when you do, turns on command and doesn’t dart away for interesting smells), then why NOT leash her to follow the law and keep other people from being afraid? If she’s a good walker, the leash should never even be taut - just loop it around your wrist and go on about your walk. No difference to you, but a great relief to other people.
The unleashed dog in the OP should’ve been leashed, but if your dog is so out of control that it lunges at anything that runs by, it’s probably your problem. I live in a big city where a lot of people have dogs. You simply can’t own a dog that freaks out when people or dogs happen to run in front of them.
Sounds like he’s a quick learner, which doesn’t surprise me; Mals tend to be very clever.
Only thing is, when he’s back with nephew, who it doesn’t sound like works with him in this fashion, he’s going to “forget” everything he’s learned.
Edited to add:
You’re not the only one, Zoggie, just the latest, who seems to have missed this - it’s not the OP’s dog, just one he temporarily had care of.
I’m aware it’s his dog and I know he wasn’t aware of the dog’s temperament till he got it, but it doesn’t seem fair to blame his dog’s (in the sense that he’s responsible for it) actions on another dog.
There is a guy in my neighborhood (and I am not making this up) who regularly walks FIVE dogs at a time off leash. The pack consists of four little dogs, about cocker spaniel size, and one GREAT BIG ROTTWEILER. I will admit that they are all admirably trained; they do not leave their owners side and they will not cross a street without his express permission. In fact, he lets them play in his unfenced yard and they will not leave their area or at least they haven’t yet. BUT: if another little dog attempts to sniff noses with one of his smaller dogs, the Rottweiler interprets it as an attack and comes to the rescue. But it’s okay because he will not bite, or so tis said; he only snarls and the hair on his neck stands up and his posture tells you he will kill the next thing that moves. Other than that, he is a delightful dog IF you stay the hell away from him. As admirably trained as those dogs are, potty training hasn’t been attempted; they defecate as copiously as only five dogs can and they often defecate on the very sidewalk on which we walk, sometimes as the light is failing. The guy has been talked to; he has been yelled at and he (and his dogs) have been threatened, though not by me (he is much younger and much bigger). Cops say they can’t do anything; animal control cruises by around noon in spite of being told the precise morning and evening hours at which the guy walks his pack. It’s only a matter of time, I believe, until his rottweiler forgets to play by the rules. I’m licensed to carry a concealed weapon; do I have arm myself because the guy in question refuses to obey a local ordinance? I don’t propose to allow my dog to be eaten by a damned Rottweiler.
Like I said, it’s been hashed out many a time here, and I’m not inclined to go into it now. And a whole lotta folks are inconsiderate and irresponsible about various aspects of their pets. I readily acknowledge that what I do is illegal and pisses some people off.
Louis, do the neighbour kids know about using potato cannons as shit lobbing mortars? If they don’t, someone should teach them.
Off-leash dogs are one of my biggest pet peeves. As a pet sitter, I walk a lot of different dogs in a lot of different places. I keep all of my clients’ dogs on a fairly short leash, loop around my wrist, doing my best to avoid other people and their dogs, because dogs are unpredictable and I prefer to play it safe. On average of every other week I have to practically pick up a dog I’m walking because some moron with their dog off leash either can’t or won’t control their dog and it comes charging up, and nine times out of ten they act like I’m being the rude or idiotic one, just because I ask them to keep their dog away from me and the dog I’m walking. I swear, if I didn’t have to take care of a dog and get it safely home, I would have long since pounded someone like a tent peg.
I would like to repeat what someone said in the other thread and which I’ve had cause to quote to others: if it’s not on a leash, how is that “walking your dog?” That’s just “you and your dog happening to have left the house at the same time.”