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

@gogohmm absolutely! My Goldie is excellent. Sometimes I recall him when we're surrounded by distractions just to show off to random passers by and other dog walkers! I am smuggy mcSmugface!

Mine is a Goldie too, she doesn’t wander off

@LittleRedYarny "In that 30 seconds that small dog catches a juvenile pheasant and kills it… I nearly threw up."
Sorry- you live in the country and seeing a dog catch a pheasant nearly made you throw up? Gosh.

I dont think its that black and white, a busy park with lots of children and picnics then mine are defintely on a lead, quiet beach in winter or a country walk with few other walkers then they are off lead.
I dont think many if any dogs have 100% immediate perfect recall every time, most are good most of the time but if they see a rabbit for example its more challenging to get them back. In public parks it would be a good idea to have a large area where they can go off lead.

@Kokopenny they're SO trainable aren't they? It helps that they think with their stomachs and will do anything for a biccie 😂

They are food hoovers !

I don’t I was visiting a friend :) Ta muchly for the judgement.

Dogs should be under close control in public. For the vast majority of people this means on a lead. The exceptions being dog friendly parks etc where people go specifically to exercise their dogs.

There is a very, very small minority whose dogs are capable of being controlled without leads so there is no reason for a blanket lead rule in my view.

The key is getting owners to recognise which camp their particular pooch is in.

Yes. Some dog owners have a very loose definition of "under control".

Yes of course.

There are too many irresponsible owners.

Not just on a lead, but under control. The amount of clueless dog owners using extender leads inappropriately and dangerously on narrow footpaths and by busy roads seems to be on the increase. My DP had to emergency brake the other day as a man was letting his dog wander off into the road. Couldn't get his dog under control, yet waved him to keep driving, even though his dog would have likely ended up under the wheels of a car! Had quite a few dogs on extenders come right up to my dog even though he's muzzled and of course the owners never think to check it's ok. I tell them they need to move their dog away as mine isn't friendly, and they half arsedly fumble around with the lead by which time both dogs are having a go at each other.

My dog is 100% reliable. Completely trained and never jumps up at people. In fact whenever something happens, like a small child walking by, perhaps squeaky voiced, he will automatically walk at heel, also if someone whizzes by Ona scooter/ bike/ with a ball etc. but, I would still put him on a lead when necessary, or when asked to do so. But, he is off leash trained, and I could do without a lead. My puppy, however, being only a 4 months old, with an extremely high prey drive, will be on a lead for a few months to come

100% on leads. Always

Public footpaths etc, my collie is always off lead. On lead if it's crowded area or roads etc.

My lurcher is an idiot that chases anything that moves so he is always on lead

Public places, as in, places the public are allowed to be? No. They should be under control hut there is shed loads of space like this where you'll never see another soul.

Public places, as in, places where lots of other people actually are? Probably, for the dogs welfare mostly. Other people can rarely be trusted.

So when I take mine swimming in the reservoir she should be on the lead ? I don’t think so

Yes

All dogs should be on a lead in a public place. No excuses for not complying.

I agree with pp's, it really depends on where you mean by public spaces. I live rurally and yesterday on my over an hour dog walk across fields and lanes, on public footpaths we met not one person. So she was off lead whenever we were not on a road. However had we been in the local park she would be on her lead all the time.

My dog is whistle trained and will recall to sit next to me when I blow the whistle. If on our rural walk we see another dog she is recalled to me until we can be close enough to the other owner to establish if it's ok for her to run and play with their dog.

Arbitrary rules about dogs on lead help no one, as frankly many dogs on lead are not under control either. What's needed is some form of mandatory training for dogs. I would happily pay for an annual license fee for my dog, which included providing evidence of training. Untrained dogs are the problem, not dogs off leads.

If they can manage this in Australia, and they do, it shouldn't be beyond the UK:
All dogs required to be registered
All dogs on lead outside the owner's property
All dogs under control in off-lead areas.

My dog is on a lead in our village and along our lanes. But that's for his safety more than anything else.

I agree with the sensible people saying leads won't solve the problem of the really badly behaved dogs and owners. And don't get me started in extendable leads!

The best solution all round would be for people to blimmin train their dogs.

I'm not a dog person but I do love it when I see a happy dog tearing around our local (Huge!) park, off-lead, having such fun. It's what dogs were made for

And then an off lead out of control 'he's only being friendly' one jumps up at me and I change my mind.

We need dog wardens, compulsory owner training and dog registration with penalties to include dog confiscation.

There's just too many poorly owned animals now and it needs taking in hand.

Extending leads used correctly are not a problem. The ignorance of those misusing them is.

I think then, @Brumbies there are lot being used incorrectly near me! Genuinely - why are they a good idea and what is the best way to use them?

They give your dog more freedom when it's safe to do so, and so easy to bring them back to heel.

This in spades, every. single .day