Does anyone remember pet dogs being let out to roam???

[EinsteinaGogo]

I was just reading another post about 'the old days'.

Someone remembers pet dogs being let out to roam in the 70s.

Oh my god, does anyone else remember this? And white dog poo on the pavements?

A dog ran out in front of me during my driving test in 1977 - that was my emergency stop!

We never let our dog out alone deliberately but he used to escape sometimes and spend the day in the woods.

@CaptainMyCaptain (great name) I had to reverse around a corner on my driving test while a free roaming dog was asleep on the kerb!

Though it was 1990!

I must admit, this is one thing I am so so glad isn’t a ‘thing’ any more (along with letting your young children out to roam!)

We had two dogs locally, one in our road and one who lived at the bottom of the road, both always roaming around.

We did also see white dog poo.

@YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp a lot of horrible things happened to children. Drownings, traffic fatalities, sexual abuse, peer on peer abuse, misadventure from things like messing around on railways, electricity pylons and so on. There were any number of terrifying PIVs about them. I can’t imagine dogs came off much better.

As a teen I stayed at my much older sister’s flat in the summer holidays which was next to a small kids playground. A sausage type dog used to walk himself to the playground along the pavement, cross the road using the crossing ( he waited at the kerb for the green man before crossing) and sit in the sun for 30 minutes or so every afternoon in the playground. Kids used to pat him and he was very friendly and patient with them. It used to amaze me how clever he was.

Yes! I was brought up on a council estate and dogs roaming around was as common as kids playing out! It’s mind boggling thinking back, how come they never got run over? Stolen? Got into dog fights? Attacked people?

I remember as a kid a group of us where playing a game and we decided it would be better with a dog - so we just grabbed the first one we saw - a huge German shepherd. We had no dog sense so were hugging it and tying stuff to it to pull along etc (I’m talking skateboards etc) … it really is amazing how more kids were not killed by dogs back in the day

how come they never got run over? Stolen? Got into dog fights? Attacked people?

In short, because they had no monetory value at all.

Puppies were being born all the time to cross breed parents who roamed. You gave them away, sold them down the pup for the price of a pint or you drowned them in a bag with a brick (sob).

If any dog grew up to be problematic (i.e. bit people or fought) it was destroyed quickly or injured and without insurance, no one would pay vet fees for treatment so it was PTS or died. Plus, natural beeding tends to result in more stable temperments as well as healthier bodies.

They sometimes did attack people.
I remember being about 8 and being cornered by some big German shepherd type dog, growling and snarling. We were lucky because our family dog came and ended up fighting the other dog and won.

There was also 2 pure bred doberman down the street who were terrifying. They used to sit outside their own house and lunge at anyone who walked past. We obviously used to go the other way.

Another neighbours dog was massive and as dogs generally didn't get neutered he used to try and mount you when he saw you. He knocked my friend over and she smashed her face into the pavement.

Absolutely. Back when I was young, everyone had a dog, hardly anyone had fences or if they did there was no barrier from front yard to backyard so all dogs just used to wander. No such thing as safely keeping a kid in the yard either if they were not in the house.

Lots of dog fights as most people didn’t get them desexed back then. Lots of puppies. Lots of dogs run over by cars as many thought it great fun to chase cars and had free access to roads and treatment at vets was not what it is today (just as treatment for people was not what it is today). Also no one would think of spending the equivalent money they spend now at the vet. So lots of three legged dogs running around. If something like parvovirus swept through many dogs would be wiped out across the neighbourhood. I can also say there were very few cats in the neighbourhood 😁.

Even with all of that most dogs seemed to live a LOT longer back then, many had dogs over 15yo that just slept in a warm spot in the backyard most of the day. I think it was because they were hardy bitzer mixes, not like the fragile dogs of today. They also seemed to know they were dogs and didn’t think they were children like dogs today do. They mainly lived outside (we are a warm country here), none of this having to have someone with them 24/7 or go to daycare or be carted around on visits. They were happy with life.

Poo’s were white and crumbly as they were given long marrowbones to demolish frequently.

It wasn't just dogs who were let out and left to roam! I clearly remember going out after tea and playing in the streets until bedtime every evening. It seems bizarre when I think about it now.
Our family dog wasn't allowed out though, although he would regularly escape in search of "romance"

Should have added, while most houses had a dog there was none of the barking like there is today. They also didn’t seem to have the nervous/anxious dispositions many dogs have now, although I think that might be down to identity issues as now they are dogs being treated like children so that’s going to mess them up as it messes with natural programming if their brains I would think.

I was born in the late 80s, we had a street Labrador he was lovely, would follow you to the shop wait for you outside and walk you back home.

Although I am glad this isn’t a thing any more because I am terrified of most dogs…

When I was a kid in late 80s early 90s we had a little Yorkshire terrier that my Mam would let out the front to wander and he would come back and bark to be let in! It would be unheard of now

My next door neighbour’s dog used to wander all over the local streets, calling on his friends. He used to wait at the Zebra crossing to go to the local park (this was in the late 80s). He was a lovely mutt, very friendly and chilled - I was really sad when he had to be pts, I’m not sure how old he was as neighbours brought him back from a holiday as a young dog

Yes - to roaming dogs and white poo - 1970’s

Poo was white because it didn't get picked up. Rain or sunshine it sat there on the pavement getting bleached or the colour washed out. Nowadays most pick up but if you walk in areas like woods where some slackers cba you'll see the same poo after a few weeks get paler and eventually white ime.

I don't totally disagree but I also think this was linked to the dog's low value.

When I was growing up, I remember my friend being sad her dog was PTS to because it chewed up the carpet on it's first night alone in the new house. Her mum wouldn't keep a dog that was going to destroy the house so off it went.

Looking back, that dog had clear seperation issues but it was not recognised and the dog paid for them with its life. I am sure, if they'd paid today's prices for that dog, it wouldn't have been killed so quickly. But they were cheap and another was bought to replace it a few weeks later.

how come they never got run over? Stolen? Got into dog fights? Attacked people?

I don’t know about stolen, but all the other things did happen.

It is strange how we have gradually changed the existence of our dogs. If I see a dog walking alone now my first thought is to ring the dog warden. No doggy day care, dog behaviourists, insurance, vast choice of different feeding options, clothing, groomers. Not sure how or when the changes happened.

We called white dog poo "fossilised dog poo" and thought it was white because it was old.
I remember visiting family in Ireland in the 60s and all the dogs would be out. If a car or other vehicle came up the road, they all chased it making a terrible noise as vehicles were rare. Unfortunately the vehicle they chased the most was the milkman so everyone got woken up at the crack of milk

Yes, dogs roamed in the 60s and 70s. I saw the Magic White Dog Turd only the other day.
That's one reason I get annoyed by entitled cat owners saying they can't keep their pets in, as if it's some immutable situation. Dog owners didn't, in my lifetime, then the law was changed.

Being able to prevent first and ticks with a drop of medicine has played a big part in changes.

It was a mix in our village. Our dog wasn’t allowed out to roam, but none of the gardens were that secure, so she did escape a few times. None of my friend’s dogs were allowed out either, but there were a few that did roam freely every day.

None of the dogs were neutered and there was one particular lothario proper scruffy terrier mix who fathered dozens of puppies. I still remember when ours had one of his litters at the same time as our next-door-but-one neighbour’s did. That was probably around 20 puppies needing homes at once in a small village and I knew several other people who had ended up with litters from him as well. If the objects of his affection didn’t escape, he would just find a way into their gardens to woo them! Sadly my mum decided she couldn’t cope with the mum and litter and they were all collected by a rescue charity to be looked after until they were weaned and then rehomed. I suppose they had a better fate than many unwanted litters in those days, but it was cold comfort as a child when they were all taken away.

He was lots of fun though. When he wasn’t courting he used to spend his days playing in the park with us kids. He used to love the massive slide and spent hours on the roundabout with us, as well as paddling through the local stream and nicking tennis and footballs from the sportier among us.

In rural Ireland where I spent my summers at my grandparents’ house, all the dogs were free roaming and that was still the case well into the late 80’s. My grandparents’ last dog was an inveterate car chaser, his favourite being the post van and he never learned not to do it, despite being run over twice! He had a specific route he followed every day, visiting various different houses and businesses for treats before heading home for dinner.) It’s not like that there now though. Farm dogs still have a fair amount of freedom, but pet dogs are all purebred/pedigree, have fenced in gardens and are walked, rather than let out.