Why don't people keep dogs on leads?

[Greedybilly]

Why? Just why? Sick of being jumped up at - sick of seeing them wandering round the park/our allotment/every decent walk. Is it seen as cruel to not let them off? Is it a bit like putting reins on a toddler? Genuinely I don't know because I don't have a dog. Please educate me - I just know there's been a massive cultural shift and leads seem a bit out of fashion.

I never get any dogs running up to me and bothering me, even when I go and sit in the park with my lunch.

I love dogs but I can't currently own one; where can I go to get this experience?

Because some people have areas to walk them that no one else goes to. Live in a seaside town, was able to walk my dogs on the beach about 9pm the other eve, there was no one on it. All of the dogs off the leads running sniffing etc. Yesterday different story, beach was busy we walked away from the crowds but still kept them on leads as there were a few people around. Cul de sac in front of me, for some strange reason all my dogs love pottering there. Its not a walk really it involves me standing there while they sniff every single tree trunk or blade of grass. Yes i do clean up after them aswell ( before anyone jumps onto me). We know roughly when it gets quiet - Sunday evening for example around 6pm is like everyone just leaves here. Dogs are trained to come back to me. You know the regulars and most dogs they don't pay attention to nor do other dogs come near us. I find its more the day trippers or holiday makers with their little yappy bichon friese etc, whos dogs come running up and are not trainied. They say he or she is ok and friendly but am like mine ( which are on the leads ) might not be

Ok thanks. I've genuinely learnt stuff about dogs on here just now. Also that dogs are the new Brexit. Who knew? I appreciate people's comments and it seems the defensive owners seem to be the crap ones.(see also children :)) anyway I'm off and hoping no fecker comes lurching towards us today.

The owner who hadn't noticed that when they stopped to chat, their dog had continued home running out into a road causing cars to swerve/emergency brake was a bad owner. They were completely oblivious to the carnage nearly created. (Its an enclosed footpath which meets an A road just outside a village, with traffic lights for pedestrians to cross... the only reason the dog wasn't hit was because the drivers that day were obeying the speed limit!)

The owner who let their dog run across the campsite, into the sheeps field, where the farmer stopped it, was a bad owner. The owner came looking for it several minutes later.

The person who key my neighbours dog out of their garden, whereupon they ran off and jumped at my DD riding her bike, knocking her off, was an irresponsible twit. The owner had taken precautions, was not responsible... but the incident is a big reason why DD is scared of unknown dogs.

The owner who had to be told several times not to bring their dog onto the school playground, then not to tie it up unattended outside the gate, was a bad owner.

The good owners aren't as visible.
More enclosed fields for dogs would help... there's one near me, its really popular.

I am often jumped on by dogs and their owners rarely apologise.

People who are saying this does not happen to you, do you think it might be because:

You are with a dog/ smell of your dog - dogs are less likely to jump on a person they see as another dog's pack?

You are bigger than me/ not afraid of dogs and dogs are therefore afraid to jump up at you. Perhaps the jumpy dogs sense my fear and that is why they jump?

Dogs prefer the smell of certain people/ there's something about my natural smell that makes me interesting to dogs - like the way some dogs can smell cancer. I don't think I have cancer btw...but just because dogs don't jump on you, don't assume it's not a thing.

@OnToTheNextOneOntoTheNextOne my DD whose nervous definitely seems to attract them. They completely ignore her sister who likes dogs!!

@Whereisthesun2023 some breeds do like Dalmatian's, husky's, labradors, jack Russell's.
Part of the reason why so many end up in rescue centres because their owners are exercising them enough and they become unmanageable because of the lack of stimulation and excess energy.

It’s a way of showing off ,like when men drive fast ,small penis syndrome

@WantingToEducate

Your kids are nervous of them because you're projecting your paranoia onto them.
Never have I ever once seen a loose dog running and barking at a child. And I'm willing to bet my house that this has only happened once for you.
I was attacked by my neighbours dog over the fence when I was child and was scared for a couple of years but my mum worked with me to relieve my fears and made sure I continued to have contact with dogs.
That's a parents job, not to make their fears worse but to find a way to alleviate them.
You're making your children scared of life.

Going to take the dogs for a walk and a run, see how many people and kids I can count. Also see how many missed behaved dogs there are too.

Showing off? Really? Do you stop your children from exercising too:

I am surprised by the people who have never had a dog jump up at them. It happens all the time to me and my children. Not daily but at least once a month.

You notice the ones who are running about crazy with their owners nowhere in sight more than you notice the many more who are under control or on a lead that don’t jump up on you or whatever. It’s like everything else in shared areas - you notice the bad drivers, the idiot cyclists, the runners who charge up behind you precisely because they are not the norm.

Hilarious. It’s an out and out lie that 20 dogs every day run towards that poster barking to the point that she has to pick up her child.

It’s simply not true.

My dog is on lead when I walk local not because she'd go round terrorising people/dogs but because there are quite a few cyclists. There are a lot of tree lined bendy paths and 90% of the cyclists come speeding around them from behind not using bells and I'm afraid she will get hit.

She stays on a flexi but knows to come and walk close to my legs if she sees bikes, runners, prams and mobility scooters approaching.

If I take her to a country park where it's open fields with off lead dog areas then she's off lead.

A lot of off lead dogs and their owners around my area get on my nerves to be honest. Owners never seem to pay attention to their dogs, most of them are on their phones the dog will be terrorising my on lead dog, jumping up at my treat pouch or taking a shit and the owner is miles in front non the wiser. A lot of the dogs don't seem to have any manners because the owners leave them to their own devices because it requires no effort

My dog has been taught from her very first walk to stay close to me when she sees certain people/objects and when it's ok to say hello. She's 13 months old.

Not again 😩

It’s only happened to me intentionally when I have done the hip pat to ask a dog to stand up so I can stroke them easier. I have never been chased, jumped etc otherwise and I walk our dog in a fairly busy doggy area.

I am not belittling people's experiences, I would just like people to be truthful about their experiences. there is no way you encounter 20 dogs a day running at your children, barking

This.

To be perfectly honest, irresponsible dog owners aside - as a parent of small dc, if this WAS true and you actually get a number of dogs running at and barking at your dc every day in this park - as a responsible parent you should really stop trailing your dc through it twice a day.

If I took my 6 year old somewhere where there were a large number of out of control barking dogs running at us on every visit, I'd walk a different way.

We have a ginormous dog, but she is fairly well-behaved off lead now and certainly does not jump up at people (fortunately). Quite often children and adults ask if they can stroke her and she genuinely does not bother anybody, except for occasionally dropping her ball for passers-by to throw. However, we do come across a few other dogs off-lead that are pests. Dogs need to run around off lead to get sufficient exercise and socialise with other dogs and people. It took us months of persistent training before we felt confident letting her off-lead in parks. I suspect that dogs that are pests have not been trained to understand what is and isn't acceptable, which is more the owners fault than the dogs.

I am a dog owner. Yes, dogs need off lead time, but its my responsibility that they get that without annoying other people or using public areas like parks, which are often also the only safe places for kids to ride a bike or chase a ball etc.

I agree with all posters above saying that its not fair for a dog to be always on a lead, to not be allowed to wander free, to sniff, to approach other dogs etc. But it's up to me as an owner to find somewhere appropriate for that to happen, and I don't believe public parks are that place. If there nowhere near me for that to happen, then I need to source somewhere and find a solution. That's on me as a dog owner. And needs to be factored in before I get a dog.

There are places where dogs are allowed and permitted off lead, and it really annoys me to see dogs off lead in areas where there are signs and notices for dogs to be on them. Only to be met with "oh but they need to run free, oh buts it not fair for them to be tied up all the time." - all true, but its on you as a dog owner to sort that, even if it costs you more in time, money and inconvenience! And if you can't do that, you shouldn't have a dog.

I live right beside a massive park. It would certainly be easier for me to let my dog off there for exercise, but its clearly sign posted dogs to be on a lead. So my dog is on a lead in that park. I travel to a further walk area for off lead time, or pay to use open dog parks.

People who dislike dogs, or are afraid of dogs, should be able to go to places that have signs saying all dogs on leads and for that to be respected. If you want your dog off lead, go to places without those signs, even if it inconveniences you.

At the same time, if you want to avoid dogs, you can't expect dogs to be on lead everywhere you go - if you are somewhere without these restrictions, you can't dictate that there are no dogs off lead because that isn't fair either.

I let my dog off lead because I live in a rural area with lots of suitable spaces to do so. He is not remotely interested in approaching people, never mind jumping up at them. His recall is good, and he would walk off-lead through a field of sheep and pay them no attention whatsoever (I still put him on a lead for that though, for appearances' sake). He walked along a path full of pheasants the other day and ignored them. I live in a massively doggy area and have been jumped at maybe once or twice in 10 years.

No idea....dirty, smelly and slobbery beasts.

Our (gentle, well mannered) dog has never been off his lead in a public place, only when we go to the enclosed field we regularly hire for him to exercise in. Ultimately we'd keep him on a lead regardless for his own safety, I don't want to lose him or him run off and get injured. Though he is very calm and gentle and I've never seen aggressive or guarding behaviour from him outside of the house or in the slightest I am not going to risk him by allowing him off lead into unpredictable situations - it is just far easier to not leave margin for error and I won't put him in that position.

I cannot recall the last time a dog "jumped up" at me in public though. What I do get endlessly though are the general public coming up to my dog wanting to "say hello" to him, let their children stroke him, have their dogs "wanting to play" or "say hello" without permission. We were out with the dog the other day and I turned round to see a woman carrying her toddler over to us at our table and by the time I'd fully turned the toddler had grabbed our dog with hands all over his face and moved in for a "hug". It just feels so irresponsible and I was really unhappy about it. Ddog loved it and was very gentle but it is just so entirely beside the point. When I told her I thought as much she got in a huff and did the usual " she just wanted to say hello, no need to be so mean" nonsense.

Some dog owners are irresponsible, some aren't, some parents/people in general are irresponsible and some aren't. It works every which way.

Why is a toddler allowed to run up to my on lead dog and bite his ears. Shouldn’t the toddler be on a lead. Of course it was mine and my dogs fault. My nasty dog gave a very gentle growl and scared the living daylights out of toddler and parent allegedly.

People here don't want to hear about well mannered dogs or decent owners. They like to name call and make up or, at least, embellish scenarios so they can get dig in. You'll be roundly ignored if you post something reasonable.