Would you be happy with this dog walker?

[honeyroar]

One of the most popular dog walkers in our area has been posting photos of the dogs she walks in the recent snow. Several pictures show the dogs off lead next to frozen rivers and ponds. They scare me to death. I'd never let my dogs off the lead next to a frozen pond. I walked along the same footpath yesterday and there were snowdrifts across the river, you couldn't even tell where it was in places.

Would you use a dog walker that did this? She knows all these dogs pretty well. Am I just being soft?

Is the ice actually thick enough that it wouldn't immediately break if an animal stepped on it? If it's very flimsy ice I don't see any issue.

If the ice is thicker and dogs can actually run across the pond, then yes I might be worried. I have a large dog and can't imagine encountering ice that thick in England though. Were the dogs tiny?

Yes it would probably break. But probably thick enough they'd get a few strides onto the ice before they fell through. I'd not want my big dogs doing that, I've seen too many news clips of dogs struggling in deep icy water this week.

3 people died trying to rescue a dog from an icy pond, what a senseless waste of life. Definitely would have mine on a lead.