To limit the number of dogs

[TooJoy]

I’ve just watched the dog attack video in London where a woman is being attacked by 3 dogs.

The man is able to restrain 2 but every time he tries to grab the 3rd, another one gets loose and it keeps happening and the dogs basically take in turns to attack her (she doesn’t have life threatening injuries fortunately).

I don’t know if these were all his or if she was with him or not but I do see many people with multiple dogs and we know that pack mentality is a real thing and this is usually when people get killed or injured.

Of course they should be on a lead but I can recall a few times when they’ve got out of the lead somehow during an attack.

I am not anti-dog at all and I have a massive bull breed myself who most MNers would hate but I just have the one and I have her on a lead at all times. I will hire an enclosed dog field where she can be let off with her other dog friends.

I used to let her off the lead in a public dog park because she was so well behaved but she was attacked by other dogs on 3 different occasions.
None of them were bull breeds or strong breeds but each time the owner had multiple dogs and could not restrain them and it was very scary.

So AIBU to think that we need to limit the number of dogs that one person walks at a time?
Not just by professional dog walkers but by owners too.

I think you should walk a maximum of 2 dogs, else you are not properly in control.

If you own more that 2 then you need to hire private spaces or be prepared to walk them 2 at a time.

And if you own a powerful breed like myself then you should only walk/own one at a time.

I’d be interested to see others opinions on this.

YABU - people should be able to walk multiple dogs (3+)

YANBU - people should be limited to walking 1 or 2

I do think there should be much tighter restrictions on dog ownership in other areas too but I think walking 1 or 2 as a maximum could be a good start.

I’ve voted YANBU but I suppose it depends on the dogs. Multiple tiny dogs who are easily rounded up might not be such a problem, or even bigger dogs who are impeccably trained. If the dogs are lead pullers or lead reactive then 2 is plenty. Reminds me of two women I saw at the beach once who met up and hugged and didn’t notice that the four dogs they had between them (two each) had wrapped the leads around their legs and they just…fell and rolled away down the beach with four dogs in tow 😂 it was hilarious to watch and the women also found it funny once they’d managed to stand up but it could have been awful if the dogs were that way inclined.

I said YABU because, there are actually already guidelines on this.
dog walkers insurance would only insure a maximum of 6 dogs for example, and some local licenses only allow 4.
Obviously, walking 6 shih tzu’s are very different to walking 6 XL bully’s though.

I do believe it should be illegal to walk a dog off the lead on public ground. If you want them off the lead then find a private field, but on public ground they should always be kept on a leash.

It depends on the dogs. We have 4 dogs and sometimes walk them together. They’re all small, easy to control and well trained. Saying that I never let them off lead in public places. I’d be annoyed to be told I couldn’t walk them together because some twat decides they want multiple xl bullies.

It’s sad but I do agree that it’s come to a time where dogs shouldn’t be off the lead in public places.

It would be a shame for a lot of people but lots of people who own/walk multiple dogs say that theirs are also well trained and they’re in control etc (not saying you’re not).

It would be much more difficult to police if people were allowed to walk more than 2 only if they were well behaved because you’d have lots of owners saying yes of course they’re well behaved but actually not being able to control them if they were to attack or be attacked.

Perhaps mandatory muzzle legislation for all dogs will come in. Then if dogs get loose nobody gets seriously injured in an attack.

Could you not have posted on one of the other 100 threads about this 🙄

6 Jack Russell's or similar would be a very big problem actually....

I think it is a pretty sensible idea. It would be relatively easy for the police to act on a law that said no more than two dogs per adult in public. No arguments about breeds or how well trained they are.

I think all dogs muzzled and on leads in public (other than designated areas) would be sensible too.

I love dogs but they are too often out of control and the consequences of that are horrible.

Absolutely agree. I don’t walk our dog because I can’t control her, she’s a lot better as she’s matured but she’s a happy bouncy Lab that gets excited. I’ve got chronic health problems and don’t have the strength sometimes to deal with her. I’d certainly never stand a chance if there was an attack or something happened with other dogs.

I will take her to a local park after the school run on my own, she jumps out of the car and plays for a while. It’s usually empty. There are a few dogs we’ve got to know but most of the time I call her back into the car if we see dogs approaching, I will let her back out when they have past or if we know them. She’s got good recall and there is never any bother getting her straight in the car. We also take her to a doggy day care place where she gets lots of running around and walks with other dogs with experienced dog people.

I see lots of people walking multiple dogs, some are tiny (look like rats) so it would be ok to walk several of them, but I absolutely agree on larger breeds 2 max, even 1 dog if it’s a strong dog. And anyone who physically can not control their dogs should not be allowed to walk them in public.

I voted YANBU even though I've often owned or walked multiple dogs. I hope they introduce mandatory liability insurance for all dog owners now.

Nope completely agree.

Even small breeds are unmanageable in large numbers.

Case in point was walking my young staffy, women with I kid you not, 10 dachshunds, comes into view, all off lead.

Every single dog runs up to us, my dog is on a lead, the dachshunds surround us and start going for us. My hands are wrapped around my dog stopping him from retaliating whilst the useless owner is desperately trying to call them off which none of them listen to.

This goes on for ages, and at times I feel like letting my dog go and letting the inevitable happen, but I'm not a twat and know exactly whose dog would be called dangerous.

Eventually a passerby intervenes and dachshund owner swans off, all dogs still off lead.

My next door neighbour has thirteen dogs.

”it’s come to a time where dogs shouldn’t be off leads in public places•
This is a massive over reaction I live in a very rural area I walk my well behaved dogs alone and with friends and their well behaved dogs under the R2R we can go virtually anywhere. I rarely meet anyone those I do meet are generally other dog owners. Dog attacks on either other dogs and humans are unheard of here in my area. I’ve got no problem with dogs being on leads on streets or public parks at all the time but to say that dogs must be in leads in the approximately 5 million remaining and frequently deserted hectares is utterly ridiculous, a massive over reaction and unenforceable.

YABU. I know some people with more control over their four or five off-lead dogs than others have over their one on-lead dog.

I walk mine in headcollars. If I can control a 600kg horse by it’s head I can certainly hold a dog by one…

Regardless, I would support a 2 dog rule quite happily, despite having 3 dogs.

YABU.

I walk 4 or 5 at a time, which are my 3 and a relative's 2 and its fine. We just need tighter licensing and breeding laws to stop the idiots with their "hard dogs".

YANBU. As well as safety I see people with multiple dogs off leads being unable to keep an eye on all the pooping.

I am the biggest dog lover ever but no one needs an entire wolf pack.

We only walk 2 at a time, no matter how many dogs we've had.

I also don't think you're really giving the dogs a particularly beneficial walk if your attention is split between multiple dogs.

I'd rather stricter, wider spread leash laws than muzzle all dogs though - muzzling hampers how we can interact with dogs. Its harder to reward, harder to use toys for play.

It also doesn't make all dogs significantly safer, but DOES lead many people to believe they are.

So a muzzled dog who gets loose from their lead can generally get the muzzle off quickly.

Even if not, many dogs can bite through a muzzle, though they can't usually get a really dangerous grip on someone - they will also use their whole head to 'muzzle punch' - so a big dog has gripped a little dog through the muzzle and shakes it or smashes it with its head... still seriously injured or dead, despite the muzzle.

The effect of making people THINK the dog is safer is a big deal - it leads people to put dogs in positions where they're feeling fearful and are likely to be more of a risk. It leads to people getting closer to dogs who need space and that over all makes dog behaviour worse, not better.

Why do you always pop on to say pointless stuff like this on dog threads? Why not scroll on by? Would be better for your blood pressure surely?

YANBU.
You have two hands. In the event of needing to separate dogs, you can't hold more than two. Some people can't even do that.

There is a dog walker near here that was walking 12 dogs at once last year. People were kicking off as the local council only permit 4 at a time. The company were so unprofessional in the way they were replying to everyone. I've seen them out with less now (6) but they have no control over most of them and think they own the place.

@Context take your own advice and scroll on by 🥱

I'm not a dog lover (or hater). In general I'm pretty indifferent to them. I do find trained and clearly bonded dogs appealing. I regularly walk where there are lots of dogs with their owners. Where I walk is close to very mixed social areas (mostly old pit villages, so lots of (ex)social housing and new build estates mixed. The only dogs I see off lead here either totally ignore me (brilliant, well trained and socialised) or youngish, a bit excitable but closely supervised. I am so lucky I have never come accross anything worse than an excitable animal who wants a fuss - and so long as owners are ok with this I'm happy to comply.

I think that a 2 dog limit for walking is a good idea. I also think that people who want to walk with more, should, at their own expense, prove that they are able to easily control them - something similar to a driving test. AND should be prepared to show this license to absolutely anyone that asks to see it. Yes there would initially be people asking just because they can but it's easy to show the authorisation and the asking we quickly die down. These licenses should have a number that can easily be checked and have a feedback section, where any issues - good or bad - can be fedback - sufficient bad reviews would lead to further checks.

First checks should be relatively inexpensive - follow ups - with a number of bad reviews - should be more thorough. Anyone refusing to show their licence needs immediate investigation.
Dream world I know

There is a reason why there are a lot of threads about dogs.