People who walk dogs without a leash

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are irritating me. One guy in this neighborhood has 2 small dogs, I think they are Italian Greyhounds, but they may be some small, slender Greyhound-like breed. He always has one on a leash and lets the other one roam free as they walk around the neighborhood. The lady that lives across the street from him once asked him why he was walking his dog without a leash and he just said, "Oh, they're okay...." He apparently didn't get the hint. He walks his dogs around 6:00 p.m. when many other people are also walking their dogs. Today I finally got mad when I was petting a neighbor's cat on the porch, and his loose dog came running up and scared the cat away. I chased the dog a couple houses down the street and around a few dogs and finally the dog whimpered and ran back to his owner, who said nothing to me but just kept walking. The city of San Diego does have a leash law that requires dogs to be on leashes on public property except in designated dog parks.

[seemunkee]

1. Dangerous with sight hounds

If he locks onto something he could bolt into traffic. We rarely take our iggies off leash unless we know they can't run far off or into any traffic.

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3. I would think the owner of these dogs might consider that danger.

Our neighborhood has a lot of curving streets and you can't always see a car coming until it's very close.

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29. All it takes is that one time one locks on a blowing piece of paper. It happens a lot

especially if they have experienced the joy of lure-cousing.

[Kali]

2. less the lack of leash than the lack of control

I've had two or three dogs that were so well behaved I could call them off a rabbit that jumped out from between their front legs. On the other hand I've had some that I wouldn't take in public in a crate inside a vehicle. :rofl:

[mix]

25. i had this problem when i lived in Chicago

I brought a ranch dog with me who did not need a leash. She was obedient around strangers and other dogs and handled the city stuff well, but it did not matter to the CPD who ticketed me for not having a leash many times. You only get one dog like that once in your lifetime, at least that what I was always told.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

4. This bothers me greatly as well

I always walk my dog on a leash. She cannot be trusted since she is a ferocious hunter and WILL take off at the slightest scent, squirrel, bird, etc. She is also very unfriendly with other dogs so when a large, unleashed dog approaches us, I get very upset.

Unfortunately, Germans take exceptional zeal in training their dogs and have a false sense of confidence that they can control their animals by voice command alone so many walk off leash. I'm ever vigilant looking out for unleashed hounds. I've seen several dogs run into traffic to get to another dog across the street and the owners were SHOCKED!

I don't think there is a leash law here so it's tough cookies for me.

[RebelOne]

5. When I walk my Rottweiler she is on a leash, but I don't hold onto it.

She just follows along behind me. I keep the leash on her in case someone gets freaked out when they see her and I can grab it. Now, my Chihuahua is a different story. She must be on a tight leash because she is the mean one. She will attack strangers. I am always having to warn children away from her because she will bite. I didn't make her that way. She was a sweet little puppy. Then when she was 5 months old I sent her to Man's Best Friend's puppy boot camp for 2 weeks because she was a wild child. Well, when I got her back, she was an attack Chihuahua. I don't think she ever forgave me for sending her to boot camp.

[Pool Hall Ace]

6. I always have my dog on a leash outdoors, but up the street

there is a neighbor who frequently has her dog unleashed. Once when I was walking by her house, her dog dashed out in the street and tried to take on my dog. She and her kids were actually laughing as they came running to fetch their pup. I didn't see anything funny in it all.

I calmly said to her, "you really need to keep your dog on a leash." To my surprise, she got really testy, and replied, "You can't tell me what to do!" This is with her kids right there, mind you. I said, "It's not me telling you what to do, it's the law. She told me to get out of here because it's her house. As I walked away, I called back "You don't own the street!"

When my dog and I came back from our walk, her kids were outside with the pup on a leash. Oh, and to top that, she had placed one of those plastic "kids at play" safety signs on the curb. It may have well have said "Caution: lazy parent on premises."

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7. I would report her.

The animal control officers did come and talk to my neighbor after her neighbors reported her for allowing her dog to get out and roam free (and one time attacked a cat). They warned her that if it is documented that her dog was on the loose again, they are empowered to confiscate the dog and never let her have it back. That must have scared her because I have not seen the dog loose since. I'm considering doing the same with this dope I described in my original post.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. People who walk dogs without a leash are amoral shitstains who should be shot in the knee.

Unless the person is walking the dog on their own land, put that thing on a leash, you criminal fuckwipes.

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10. OK if I print that out and drop it in his mailbox?

[Arkansas Granny]

9. I've had dogs that probably could have been walked without a leash, but

I always used one anyway, even if it was just a formality. The dog knew it was there and even if it was completely slack, it meant that I was in control. I always worried about the dog getting out into traffic for one reason or another, or an encounter with an unleashed dog. Not to mention, where I live, it's the law that your dog be leashed or in confined area at all times.

[Blue Diadem]

11. I don't like that either. I was scratched up once

while in a park with my kids. A small disheveled kitten, obviously lost or dumped off, had wandered over to us and I picked it up. Suddenly some dog came running up and you can imagine the rest. I was so ticked I yelled at the owner to get his dog. Instead, he stood a distance away, carrying the leash in his hand but never even so much as called his dog. He thought it was funny. The kitten did get away but not before the dog had it cornered for a second. My keyholder contained a small cannister of mace at the time, so I told the owner if he didn't get his dog I was going to mace it. The owner yelled at me I shouldn't bring my cat to the park and yes he finally called his dog.

I've had dogs run up to our leashed dogs during our walks and bite or jump on their face. One of our dogs was recovering from a major surgery and had just begun taking walks again and the owner of the dog jumping on him just stood there. Most recently, my dh has been walking our dog and dealing with a smaller dog that runs up to ours and jumps and bites at him. The other day, he told me the owner came and got the dog and said "Oh, he doesn't want to play with you." DUH.

I've often wondered why some think they're immune from leash laws.

[gbate]

12. I'm sure my leashed German Shepherd would think those little pooches are great prey.

I do let my dog out the backyard (without a leash) to pee, but she comes right back up when she is done. When out in the neighborhood; however, she is always leashed. Had one too many frightening incidents with other dogs.
Unleashed dogs are almost as bad as dogs in a yard with an electric fence.

[rcrush]

13. This is what happens when you let your dog off the leash.

[Demoiselle]

14. We've got leash laws in Philly.

..But entirely too many people ignore them. I have two Great Pyrenees who are utterly harmless, gentle giants. I would never dream of letting them off their leashes except in our fenced back yard..mostly for their own safety. But I am constantly running into people who let their dogs run. Some are beautifully behaved, some are awful. (That goes for the people, too.) I took our two lovelies to a local park that is popular with dog owners a few days ago. Everybody else's dogs were running loose, mine were perfectly happy to be there on their leads, meeting and greeting. Then to my surprise, a woman with a loose dog, perfectly nice person I'm sure, starts to encourage me to unleash my dogs. I said, well, no. They're harmless but they might well wander off...the nickname for Pyrenees among their breeders and owners is DISAPPEARANEEZ.....They were bred to patrol big swathes of territory protecting livestock and they can cover a lot of territory pretty quickly. Even after I explained to her, she continued to nag me to let them off the lead.
Kinda dumb.

[Arugula Latte]

15. I hate that.

I've had a large Rottweiler charge up to me in a park. "Oh, he's friendly!" the owners call out. Yeah, well, I don't really want to take that chance, thanks.

[MineralMan]

16. My answer to that is, 'I'm not."

[Arugula Latte]

17. Good one!

I'll have to remember that.

[MineralMan]

18. I've had very good success with writing letters to

people who do that. I don't use my return address, and they're anonymous. I cut and paste the city ordinance about dogs on leash, then add a couple of polite, but firm paragraphs explaining that he will be reported if he continues to exercise his dog without a leash. So far, it has worked every time.

Normally, I would not write anonymously, but I do in this particular situation. The recipient does not know which of the houses along his normal route generated the letter, and worries that someone is calling the animal control or police.

It works.

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20. I'll do that, however,

I think the guy will put 2 and 2 together, after the incident yesterday, and assume it's me sending the letter. He doesn't know who I am or where I live, but he sees me frequently. I'm hoping that the encounter yesterday will be enough of a lesson to him - that if he doesn't keep his dog on a leash, anything could happen to the dog. But since he seemed to learn nothing from his neighbor asking him about it either. So I don't know how much a letter will help with him, since he seems to be pretty dense.

[teachableseconds]

19. It pisses me off, too! People do it here all the time...It's funny:

I just moved from a workingclass neighborhood, where through negligence, indifference, or just plain ignorance, there were loose dogs. Most were by themselves; so somehow they got loose or the owner just didn't give a damn. One time the dog had an extension cord tied around its neck!:scared: It had obviously been tied up like that. Ugh! And people there LOVED pitbulls! I don't hate particular breeds, but dogs frighten me (unless they are very mellow) and pitbulls, German shepards and Rottweilers scare the crap out of me!

So I move to this upscale 'hood (I am not of their ilk) and they do the same thing, sans the pitbulls! And they apparently never think that perhaps another dog may be with its owner and their dog will go bonkers. WTF, man? If you've got a dog, buy a clue!:rant:

[Quantess]

21. I walk my dog without a leash most of the time.

Actually, I carry his leash when he's walking with me. I've trained him to wait at the curb until I say "let's go". I'm proud of him.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

22. I'm glad you're proud of him (or your training)

and think you have him under strict voice command but what about the possibility of him running after another dog, into traffic and being hit or killed?

[Quantess]

23. Yes, I do keep him on a leash near busy streets.

But he goes leashless in parks and on trails, and on most side streets with a sidewalk. I keep an eye on him.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

24. I keep an eye on him.

Pretty much sums it up. You can't keep an eye on him when he is off his leash, off sniffing and approaching dogs that are on a leash for a reason. My dog is aggressive and she is small. She is on a leash and when she is approached by other dogs she becomes aggressive. Your eye on your dog isn't going to prevent a dog fight from wherever you are at the time, is it?

[Quantess]

26. This may sound incredible to you, but

my dog doesn't fight. The worst that would happen is that he moves away or runs away to avoid an aggressive dog.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

28. Do other dog owners know that when your dog approaches theirs?

[Quantess]

30. No, but I admit I get sort of irritated at hypervigilant dog owners who can't relax

and let their dogs sniff each other.

It's not a major source of irritation for me. I just think "whatever", call my dog away, and keep walking. A lot of dog owners want to micromanage their dogs' social lives. I think that it's generally better to let the dogs decide for themselves how they want to socialize, and to only intervene when there is trouble.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

31. My dog will bite your dog's balls off

I'm not micromanaging my dogs sniffing/social life. I'm trying to keep her in one piece with the larger dogs. Your "whatever" says it all.

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27. I hope you don't have a sighthound. n/t

[Bucky]

32. I'm proud of you Loungers for not letting this degenerate into a Michael Vick thread

:thumbsup:

[carpetbagger]

33. "Oh, he's social", like he's the only dog.

I had an old dog, mostly blind, mostly deaf, took it for walks. Half the time, he thought he was still in the house. Really nice when someone lets their dog off the leash, leaving my dog (mind you, a beagle-collie mix, not the most vicious thing that ever ruled the world) thinking he's being attacked by something in his house.

I gave a few people a piece of my mind. Nicely, since I think this scenario never occurred to them, but they seem to have gotten the point.

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34. I just don't get how he can say that the dog is "okay" when obviously the dog chases after cats.

Every time I think about it my blood boils and I want to do something violent - to the owner, not the dogs of course.