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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

People walking cats and rabbits on leads in parks

497 replies

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 05/04/2021 08:50

Utter fools. Do they not like their pets?

I've come across this at least 4 times now - people (all different!) walking cats and, in one case, a rabbit, on a lead.

In all cases, these are parks where dogs are allowed off lead and the vast majority are off lead. Including everything from ex-racing greyhounds to terriers.

I spoke to rabbit woman and pointed out the dangers. She said she'd just pick the rabbit up - while seemingly failing to account for the fact greyhounds can travel at 40mph and jump higher than she could possibly lift the rabbit.

Yesterday I saw this on-lead cat before my own dog did (a small miracle - from a distance I thought it was a puppy), and warned them my dog wasn't cat friendly. They then decided to stop sitting down in the park and instead FOLLOW US through the park.

Presumably when it goes wrong they'll be whining that the dog was out of control - but presumably they'd also be whining if they wandered out blindfolded onto a 70mph road and got run over. It's asking for trouble.

I'm not convinced cats or rabbits enjoy being walked - and surely the much safer / more pragmatic option would be to walk them somewhere where dogs aren't allowed to be off lead?

Let's pray this doesn't catch on as a trend Gin

OP posts:
Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:00

@WiganNorthWest
Being legally under control is not the same as being 100% safe to be off lead in all circumstances

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
• injures someone
• makes someone worried that it might injure them

Nothing to do with having less than 100% recall in all situations Confused

Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:03

@Poorlykitten

Yes, unfortunately this is also the case but as a dog owner you have a responsibility to prevent that dog chasing other animals/children/people while in that space. It needs to be controlled if it can’t do that, it needs to be on a lead.
You actually don't have a legal responsibility to do any of those things. Just like cat/rabbit owners don't have a legal responsibility to not stress their pet by exercising them in the park

You can't argue for decency and responsibility in one set of circumstances and against it in another. It's nonsensical

Poorlykitten · 05/04/2021 14:04

I’m sorry @Veterinari but I’m no longer engaging with your waffle.

Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:05

@Poorlykitten

I’m sorry *@Veterinari* but I’m no longer engaging with your waffle.
Yep I can see have you're struggling with reason
YesItsMeIDontCare · 05/04/2021 14:06

100% purebred Rescue Moggy 😁. Cost me a £30 donation and lunch for my friend who took me to pick him up. (I couldn't wait 'til DH could take me at the weekend.)

sunflowersandbuttercups · 05/04/2021 14:06

[quote Poorlykitten]@sunflowersandbuttercups you are missing the point. You feel it’s a need and a perfect right to exercise your dog in the park, other people feel the same about their animals. Right or wrongly but there it is.[/quote]
I don't disagree.

But my dog isn't at risk of being eaten alive by your rabbit.

Poorlykitten · 05/04/2021 14:08

@sunflowersandbuttercups no, it isn’t but that doesn’t negate it’s right to be there.

Stellaris22 · 05/04/2021 14:08

I'm sorry @Poorlykitten but by ignoring basic animal welfare I don't think you have a right to comment.

Parks are for everyone, yes. And dogs should be under control, I agree.

Taking an animal like a rabbit out on a leash, where it could cause itself spinal injuries regardless of dogs being around, is not looking after that animal. All that is happening here is encouraging animal abuse. If you can't see that then it shows you have no interest in animal welfare.

Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:09

[quote Poorlykitten]@sunflowersandbuttercups no, it isn’t but that doesn’t negate it’s right to be there.[/quote]
Or the dog's right to be off lead by an extension of your 'logic'

sunflowersandbuttercups · 05/04/2021 14:10

[quote Poorlykitten]@sunflowersandbuttercups no, it isn’t but that doesn’t negate it’s right to be there.[/quote]
Yes, and I've repeatedly said I understand that.

But that doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid, irresponsible and dangerous to take a rabbit out on a lead in public.

Just because you have a right to do something, doesn't mean you should do it Hmm

Dentistlakes · 05/04/2021 14:12

YANBU op. People wouldn’t expect to see prey animals being walked in areas which are predominantly used by dog walkers. It’s not about dogs being more important, but having some common sense. I greyhound for example would likely see a cat on a lead before it owner and certainly before it could be put on a lead. Once they lock into their prey they wouldn’t even hear their owner let alone listen to them. The poor cat or rabbit would be torn to pieces in front of their owner. I don’t have any pets at the moment but have owned dogs, cats and rabbits in the past and I would never take the risk with a much loved pet. To do so is foolish imo.

anyoldtime · 05/04/2021 14:12

I haven’t seen a rabbit on a lead. But I have seen cats and dogs. Dogs should be on leads at all times. Being off leads ruins some other people’s enjoyment t of the park.

I say this as a dog owner.

Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:15

@sunflowersandbuttercups
You're wasting your breath trying to apply logi, reason or decency.
@Poorlykitten doesn't care about animal welfare or reasonable behaviour. She only cares that all dogs should be on leads at all times and will argue black is white to push that agenda. As seen in this thread - cats and rabbits have a right to be in parks because it's not illegal but no dogs should be off lead and they have no rights despite it also not being illegal. Confused
It's impossible to reason with unreasonable people.

WiganNorthWest · 05/04/2021 14:16

[quote Veterinari]@WiganNorthWest
Being legally under control is not the same as being 100% safe to be off lead in all circumstances

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
• injures someone
• makes someone worried that it might injure them

Nothing to do with having less than 100% recall in all situations Confused[/quote]
I don’t agree that it’s nothing to do with perfect recall, because if you are walking your dog where there are other people around and you can’t call your dog back how can you know if other people are worried your dog might injure them?
I know a couple of adults and several children, some of whom have ASD, who are scared of all dogs and worry that any off lead dog will attack them. It’s quite a common fear/phobia I believe. If they are approached by any dog, they (maybe irrationally) worry that the dog will injure them. So technically the owners of these dogs are breaking the law. So unless you are walking in very remote areas where there are no people, you should be able to call your dog back from people if you want to avoid potentially breaking the law if you run into someone who’s scared of dogs.
But the law is rarely enforced anyway, so I think it’s more just a case of good manners to control your dog around people and dogs etc.

bluebluezoo · 05/04/2021 14:16

I have a small hairy dog.

It has as much chance of being chased and killed by a sighthound as a rabbit or cat.

Or any other dog that doesn’t like other dogs/small furries or whatever.

So should I not walk my dog? Should we ban small dogs in case bigger dogs mistake it for prey?

Or should we ban any dog capable of hurting any other animal or human?

As the owner of the small furry I constantly scan for sighthounds - i am perfectly aware once their brain switches to prey mode nothing will stop them.

Same if I walked my cat, or any dog, it’s my responsibility to keep it safe from any dangers, people, animal or road.

If people want to walk their cat, why not?

MiddlesexGirl · 05/04/2021 14:18

I have no idea about rabbits but some cats are fine on leads. One of mine was and although she normally roams freely, when she was recovering from an illness a few years back I took her out on a lead several times, including to the park over the road. She wasn't able to jump at that time so she wasn't safe to be out unattended. If a dog came anywhere near just picked her up ... no problem at all.
If the dog tried to jump up then it is the dog owner that is at fault. In any case, my cat visits the same park when roaming free. So what's the difference? The onus is still on the dog owner to keep it under control.

AlfonsoTheTerrible · 05/04/2021 14:19

Parks are public spaces for the use of the public - not only for dog owners who let their pets off-lead. Either find a dog park or keep your dog on a lead so that others can walk their pets, too.

Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:20

Oh I agree @WiganNorthWest

But that's not the same as 100% recall in all situations including rabbits on leads

MrsMackesy · 05/04/2021 14:22

Yes, as others have also pointed out, this is an offensive term Veterinari. Language does indeed move on but the foul history of some negative words is too strong for them to lose their power to diminish or hurt other human beings. This put down to a pp's intellect who disagrees with you:
Yep I can see have you're struggling with reason (sic)
makes your mea culpa post to me somewhat less convincing unfortunately.

MiddlesexGirl · 05/04/2021 14:22

A greyhound that is likely to kill its prey should be muzzled. There are several locally that are always muzzled when out. Common sense surely?

Poorlykitten · 05/04/2021 14:26

As I’ve repeatedly said, don’t he need to be on a lead if you don’t think they are safe around cats, squirrels, monkeys, rabbits, people/ children etc etc. If they are properly trained and you are 100% confident they have absolute recall then I don’t see the problem. The onus is on the owner to keep their pet under control, just as the onus iOS on the cat owner or the rabbit owner. If you can not do this then a lead is the appropriate answer.

LolaSmiles · 05/04/2021 14:28

Parks are public spaces for the use of the public - not only for dog owners who let their pets off-lead. Either find a dog park or keep your dog on a lead so that others can walk their pets, too.
Correction, parks are public spaces for everyone to enjoy in different ways without expecting others to avoid doing perfectly reasonable things to accommodate someone else's preferences.

m0therofdragons · 05/04/2021 14:28

It’s a new trend - RSPCA are very clear it’s cruel to put a cat on a lead.

Veterinari · 05/04/2021 14:31

@MrsMackesy

Yes, as others have also pointed out, this is an offensive term Veterinari. Language does indeed move on but the foul history of some negative words is too strong for them to lose their power to diminish or hurt other human beings. This put down to a pp's intellect who disagrees with you: Yep I can see have you're struggling with reason (sic) makes your mea culpa post to me somewhat less convincing unfortunately.
Thank you for coming back and explaining. I don't want to derail the thread, but are you suggesting then that it is ablist to point out any kind of illogical or unreasonable behaviour? How then do we make that point?
WiganNorthWest · 05/04/2021 14:32

@Veterinari

Oh I agree *@WiganNorthWest*

But that's not the same as 100% recall in all situations including rabbits on leads

Well if I was walking a rabbit(not that I would) and an off lead dog came running towards me and my pet I would be very worried it would injure me as I would instinctively pick up my pet or try to get the dog off which would put me at risk of being bitten. So I struggle to see how that situation would be legal. There are probably some examples where 100% recall doesn’t equate with dangerously/illegally out of control (such as chasing birds in a field with no people around) but I think practically speaking they are mostly one and the same. And I still don’t think that dogs that chase animals should be let off lead/long line in most places personally.