Dogs on leads, yay or nay

[Aibutousethisname]

Genuinely interested in people's opinions on this. Should dogs be on leads in public places?
Yes =yanbu
No= yabu

This

Of course they should

mine are trained to within an inch of their lives - working gun dogs - labs and always are on a lead in a park, the woods etc

Dogs should be on short leads in public places. Stretchy leads do not mean dogs are under control and I'd love to ban them!

It all happened within seconds and when 3 large barking dogs ran straight at us having a play with them was the last thing on my mind.

I should say that of course I know being on a lead isn't a failsafe but the point is my son feels able to walk around a park or whatever if he knows they have to be..there's a stately home near us that has herds of deer so we go there because noone does let their dogs off and they have wardens around to enforce. It's not logical, as I said, most phobias aren't. Id Love to seek professional help but it's not free sadly.

Extending leads are perfectly safe if used correctly. Again it's down to owners to learn how to. But for some people you can't teach common sense.

https://news.sky.com/story/woman-in-her-70s-dead-after-dog-attack-in-west-midlands-as-two-people-arrested-12895530
Another fatal dog attack
A woman in her 70s has died after being attacked by a dog, Warwickshire Police have said.
Officers were called to Kathleen Avenue in Bedworth at 3.50pm on Friday but the victim was declared dead at the scene.
A 52-year-old man and 49-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of possession of a banned dog breed and owning a dog dangerously out of control.

Dear lord. It never ends.

Terrible for all involved but you might want to add in the next few lines of the quote

"Thankfully dog attacks of this nature are exceedingly rare,”

it was a banned breed of dog, it wasn’t a cockerpoo on a walk. This is the reason certain breeds of dogs are banned

The quote is wrong though. They are increasingly less rare. But really, they should be zero.

There are special dog parks where they can run free, there’s one near us. You book it by the hour. Otherwise on lead, obviously!

how lovely for the dogs to run free and enjoy themselves
is there a separate park for the killer dogs to run free and enjoy themselves by killing the smaller dogs, maybe take out a few humans too if they get lucky?

You only book it for your dog or dogs! No risk of any unwanted altercations.
Dog walkers book it too.
I think it’s an amazing idea. A lot cheaper than doggie day care too.

This I agree with entirely.

That doesn’t mean the quote is wrong though does it? Again, this was a banned breed of dog, - no one should have owned this dog not sure of the circumstances but doesn’t sound like it was off lead in a park.

Cats have killed people too. Would you like them banned? My friend has severe sight issues because of cats.

But of course the most dangerous animal is a human. What are you doing around making other people and animals safe from humans?

Are you a general animal hater or just dogs?

I wouldn't let my dog off in a crowded area or street but in the woods? Absolutely. She needs to run and sniff.

What constitutes a public place?

When I walk the dogs it’s round big deserted fields and they run. They need to run, it’s part of being a dog. A constantly on the lead dog is not a fit one. If you walk a mile your dog will have run three without a lead, whereas the dog on a lead will have slowly walked one.

The answer is good recall. If you get a puppy, get that puppy off lead as soon as possible and reward for recall (puppies have a developmental stage where they don’t want to be separated from you, they naturally recall, teach it then).

But I wouldn’t walk them off lead in a town centre, or in a kids playground, or where there is a dog on a lead (I assume they are reactive). I’d put them on on a beach if there are small children in case they are the rapidly increasing number of dog phobic children.

I guess with posts like these a growing business will be private dog fields, currently only rented by owners of reactive dogs, soon to be rented by anyone who wants to properly exercise their dogs. Just as well I have my own land!

100%. And who makes the increasing numbers of dog phobic kids? People like the posters on here who would like a cockerpoo put down for walking within 50 foot of their kids (who is part of the most violent species of killing machine that has ever existed). Irresponsible parents who can’t teach their kids to interact with an animal that has been part of human society, happily living alongside us for thousands of years. These people need to seek help to combat their issues.

Hyperbole doesn't really advance the conversation @OMG12 . Noone has said a dog should be put down for coming within 50 feet of a child. You clearly have zero understanding of what a phobia is if you think parents are irresponsible if their child has one for dogs. I'd love to "seek help" for him but not really financially viable I'm afraid. I'm not afraid of dogs, I like most of them, have no issue and have never shown fear to my son. I'm not actually saying that no dog should ever be off a lead, but big wide spaces where everyone can see each other well in advance is a different scenario to narrow woodland paths where dogs are often out of sight of their owners because they have run ahead. Even a great dog with excellent recall won't come until they are called, by which time it's too late if they are coming toward us. A little bit of compromise on all sides is not unreasonable here. In an ideal world I'd say no dog off lead other than in designated dog fields, but I accept that is unreasonable. A distinction between suitable public places is a reasonable compromise in my view.

I agree that dogs over a certain size should always be on a lead in public.

But I am probably going to be the first person here that says people also need to control their children & not let their offspring go & touch strange dogs without checking with the owner. It goes both ways. Kids always come & try to stroke my little dog, which neither me nor my dog want.

Maybe parents could also get their kids to stop shrieking around dogs. That really doesn't help.

But yes, OP, I'm another who avoids contact with those bully type dogs & admit I'm a little concerned if I see one.

A 70 year old woman in Bedworth, Warwickshire was killed yesterday by a banned breed.

Wish other dog owners would heed the warnings of other dog owners, my friend was out sick having to take hers to the toilet and a man ignored her warnings and she couldn't get away fast enough but now on social media she's being slammed bc he thought he knew better and began yelling at her and her worst nightmare happened. Incredibly sad all round. Saddest thing is she's been spending a fortune trying on muzzles and trying to get different leads, and searching for a trainer to help this dogs anxiety and her weakest moment became her worst nightmare

Well the phobia needs to be addressed. If you can’t afford to have someone treat it, you should do everything you can to address the matter yourself. Maybe get a dog (that’s how my mum addressed it as she was frightened of dogs and aware she was passing on that fear to us). My son was frightened of dogs after one jumped up him. We asked people with very calm dogs for help, slowly getting him used to them. So there’s plenty you can do for free. We have our own dog now and my son has lost his fear ( although kept his respect).

So where would you allow a dog off a lead? Most people in urban areas walk their dogs mainly in parks, I would assume you’re ok with them being off lead there but on leads in play areas? Which is what everyone does. Our local woods which dog walkers and children both use, what about there. Or do you, like others expect dog owners to hire a field? What if that isn’t financially viable for them, what if driving to the middle of no where isn’t financially viable or practical for them either.

99% of dogs don’t approach people just walking by, your son either learning to walk past them or avoiding areas dogs are is really the compromise. All dogs being on leads in places your son is really isn’t a practical solution

Dogs should absolutely be on a lead in the woods, as otherwise the dogs will at some point run around out of sight of the owner and are therefore not under control.

Can't afford therapy but you think they can afford a dog?

Dogs have teeth. And claws. Children are quite wise to be wary. It's the ones who aren't wary who need counselling, as obviously their common sense has been washed out of their brains by dog nutters like you.