Obeying leash laws

[marbel]

Our town has a leash law, requiring that all dogs off their premises be leashed.

 

Lately I've seen a dog walking, unleashed, with a woman and a young boy, around the neighborhood. I've always figured the dog has great self-control because he always walks right beside the woman...until today, when I happened to be walking out the front door with my (leashed) dog and the unleashed one came running right up to the door, barking furiously.

 

I was so busy trying to keep my dog calm and get back in the house that I didn't interact with the woman. She might have said "sorry."

 

She wouldn't know this, but my dog has anxiety and is very fearful of other dogs. (We got him from a rescue when he was about a year old.) He can't distinguish between a friendly approach and an aggressive one. Frankly, that dog didn't look too friendly to me but I am no expert, and I just focused on controlling my own dog.

 

There was no contact between the dogs. The dog went back to his owner after she called him a few times. My dog is not aggressive but don't most people get it that dogs can be unpredictable, which is one of the reasons for leash laws? I suppose she'd have been mad at me if my dog hurt her (smaller) one.

 

Why do people think the leash laws don't apply to their dogs? General question, no one knows why this woman thinks it! I guess I should watch out for her to see if I can talk to her about it... if anyone has any tips on this sort of conversation, I'd love to hear them.

[Georgiana Daniels]

This is one of my HOT BUTTON issues. (I was bit as a child and had to go to the dr, etc., and it was quite traumatic.)

 

Why do people think their dog is so special it doesn't belong on a leash??? They do it in our town on the hiking trails. One couple's dog came and jumped on my daughter and the owners said, "Don't worry, she's friendly." I flat out said, "I don't care. There's a leash law." And I walked off. Another time someone's dog came and started sniffing me (UGH!) and I tried to shoo it away. The owner said, "Oh, it's okay." And I looked up and said, "NO, it's not. There's a leash law."

 

Really, to assume that other people WANT to interact with your dog is rude.

[TheReader]

We don't have leash laws that I know of where we live, but we do keep our dogs leashed when out & about; it's just safer for everyone.

 

We do, on hiking trails, let them off leash (again, no leash law here) BUT the minute we see or hear another person in the distance, *well* before said person is w/in range of our dog, we leash the dog back up. For our safety and the dogs' safety and the person's comfort.

 

We did have an incident with a friend's dog when some people surprised him while off leash; he jumped on their child -- just to play, 'cause he's an overly friendly mutt -- but it worried the little boy. My friend was extremely apologetic, restrained the dog immediately (ie, didn't just call to the dog, but was just steps behind him and leashed him asap), the people were good natured about it, thank goodness. She's more careful since then.

 

Bottom line -- people who disobey leash laws, and even behave in an inconsiderate manner regardless of whether there is a leash law or not, are flat out irresponsible and inconsiderate, IMO.

[mamaraby]

I'm assuming the OP's in the US and if that's the case I think it's part of an unhealthy dog culture. People tend to assume that their dogs will never bite and miss the signals their dog sends when they feel threatened or overwhelmed. I also think that in the US that there are generally a number of badly socialized dogs meaning they lack the socialization/training necessary to be as out in the community in the way that so many of them are. People really don't get that it's not an issue "if" the dog will bite, but *when* because any dog, no matter how nice they are, will bite if cornered, threatened, or provoked and the conditions are right.

 

All of the above is why we don't do dog parks and always, always, always keep our dog leashed and supervised around children. If it were me, I would definitely say something to her if you see her again. I'd remind her of the leash laws. If it becomes a habitual problem, then I'd be working towards calling the police.

[Pawz4me]

Oh, this is one of my huge pet peeves. I could go off on a major rant about it. But I shall leash myself. ;)

 

I think what it boils down to in a nutshell is there are a lot of ignorant (as in uneducated) dog owners out there. They're just totally clueless about the many purposes a leash serves.

 

I think in your shoes if I met the woman again I might point out the leash law and that it's for her dog's own protection. Also maybe say something along the lines of how her dog may be extremely well trained, but someone walking toward her with a small child or small dog has absolutely no way of knowing that. And I never hesitate to point out to dog owners that when they break the law they ultimately make things harder for all dog owners.

[Arcadia]

We had that problem at the park. An unleashed dog was sniffing all the toddlers and chasing them while owner was chatting with a friend. An irate neighbor had to remind the owner that she is liable to be fined for her unleashed dog if anyone reports.

On another incident a dog attacked my older unprovoked when he was three at Hearst Castle and the dog was taller than my boy. It freaked all of us out and hubby nearly wanted to log a police feport. The owner just grab the dog, apologised and disappeared.

[momofkhm]

There is a dog I see going on runs around the lake here. When I'm alone, the dog is fine. When I have my dog with me, this other one is all "MY YARD! MY YARD!" in the park. I call him demon dog. The owner thinks he's fine. Of course, he's off leash. About 3 months ago I was running with my dog and stopped and talked with a totally different owner. Her dog is off leash but so sweet! We talked for a long while and demon dog came up. She thinks hes a real sweetie. When I told her about the "MY YARD!" stuff, she thought about it for a minute. Demon dog is "intact". So with most of the dogs around, he's fine. These other dogs are female. My dog is a fixed male. Demon dog is competing for dominance. The funny thing is my dog has about 50 pounds on demon dog.

[RemsMom]

People "think" they have control of their dogs, they don't. And most people think that because their dog is friendly that they don't need to control it. I don't care how friendly your dog is, I don't want him to jump on me or lick me. My dog is far from perfect but when I have him in public I have him on a leash and I don't let him bother people.

[marbel]

Looks like I am not alone in my concerns.

 

I am in the US; I never thought about our attitudes towards dogs being different. I do remember when visiting the UK seeing dogs lounging in pubs at their owner's feet. I thought that was pretty cool. My dog could never do that.

 

I will be on the lookout for that woman and her dog. My husband, who saw the encounter from a window, said she was carrying a leash! I assume she knows there is a law and I wonder about the message she's sending her child. Obey the laws you like, ignore the ones you don't? Who knows...

[chiguirre]

Yes, this is my own personal pet peeve too. Especially at the beach!!! We had the worst time one weekend in Galveston when we had an off-leash dog mark his territory on our folding chair. Barf!!!! I made the owner wash the chair off and the glares that woman gave me were unbelievable. Hello! Your dog peed on my stuff, the very least you can do is clean it up. You should have offered to pay for it if you had any sense of shame! Nitwit!!!

 

Then the next day, another idiot left her GREAT DANE run free on the beach. First the @#$% dog came at me first while I was wading. I was terrified it would knock me over and drown me in a foot of water. It was bigger than me and I'm 5'10" so it was very intimidating. Luckily, it was a pretty friendly dog so it obeyed when I said NO in my mean mommy voice. BUT, then it saw Geezle who's afraid of big dogs and this thing was twice his size. Well, of course, G screams and takes off running, GD in hot pursuit. At this point the owner strolls up HOLDING HER LEASH and avoiding making eye contact with me. At least she was embarrassed and hopefully learned a lesson without her dog knocking anyone over or biting a kid, but WHO lets their humongous, scary-looking dog roam free on a public beach?!? Why are people so incredibly thoughtless and reckless!!!

[RoughCollie]

I was in a hotel parking lot with Aidan a week ago. The lot was huge, and empty, but for one other car way over on the other side. I took Aidan, leashed, out of the car to do his business before we went to our room. A lady came out of the far end of the building with a 3 lb. Yorkie, on a leash. We made sure Aidan didn't see the other dog, so all was well.

 

All of a sudden the Yorkie ran at top speed, off-leash, toward Aidan, barking and growling up a storm. Aidan, who weighs 18 times more, responded in kind - a very impressive terrier display. The lady nearly had a heart attack b/c she didn't know Aidan was out there (my car blocked her line of sight) and she thought he was going to kill her dog. Still, why would she think it was safe to let her dog off leash in a parking lot -- a car could have arrived at any time!

 

DS1 and I were amazed -- we looked at each other like, what the heck? This tiny dog thinks it is going to take on Aidan? It was funny to us because we knew that DS1 was going to scoop up the Yorkie before it got too close to Aidan.

 

The lady broke all speed records and got her dog before DS1 rescued it. She apologized and hurried off. I bet she doesn't let her little dog off leash again any time soon! Sadly, she left so quickly that she didn't have time to hear my speech about how it is necessary to protect snack-sized dogs even if no obvious danger is lurking outside. Especially a terrier! They all think they are very large and scary dogs!

 

I'm also for a leash law for cats and robins, too. I am getting real tired of cats teasing my dog on my property. We have one here that visits Aidan several times a day. I don't mind that too much -- the cat is sweet and very friendly. She and Aidan are best enemies -- they look forward to their encounters. Aidan puts on a full terrier display while she watches impassively from the other side of the window or fence. He is wagging his tail the entire time. We were gone for 5 weeks and 15 minutes after we returned home, there was the cat! Aidan was thrilled!

 

So last night, I was unloading groceries from my car. The cat shows up and leaps in the trunk to investigate the contents of the bags. Aidan sees her from his pen and is delerious with barky, growly, snarling, tail-wagging joy. Then I get to the porch and a robin starts zooming back and forth across it because I am disturbing him -- he is protecting his mate's nest, which is atop one of my porch pillars. Robins fly really fast and look like bats in the dark. Zoom, zoom! I am amazed he didn't fly into me! He kept it up the entire time we were unloading the car. Who says country life isn't exciting?

 

At my mom's house, her next door neighbor's cat comes around. She was afraid Aidan would scare him. Nope. He brought 2 friends along with him, cats my mother had never seen before. The windows of my mother's house extend nearly to the floor. Every single day, multiple times, these 3 cats would come right up to the window to bug Aidan. Add that to the JRT who the people down the street let run loose, and it was window-mayhem at my mom's house every day. Luckily my mom is practically deaf and didn't wear her hearing aids much of the time.

 

On the bright side, the mean man who lives next door to Mom was afraid of Aidan after he got out of his car at midnight and Aidan responded to the sudden appearance of a stranger with much vigor. For five weeks, the man waited in his car until Aidan and I went inside. He is such a jerk that my mom told him to communicate with her through her lawyer nine years ago. So, Aidan and I lingered, even it was midnight. That guy is lucky I adhere to leash laws!

 

PS There are many places in the world where people treat their dogs in ways many of us would consider to be abusive and/or neglectful. I don't think dogs being off-leash is an Ugly American problem. Generally speaking, I think we Americans can be proud of how well we take care of our dogs. Sure, there are plenty of ignorant people ... but in general, our dogs live the life of Riley.

[poppy]

Most people don't obey leash laws here either. I think it's regarded like speed limits, which is another law frequently disregarded by otherwise rule following people.

[Baseball mom]

I am not scared of dogs but I don't want them sniffing and licking me.

 

I am sitting on my neighbor comes up with her leashed dog. She stops on walk and says "You don't have to be scared of my dog, she is nice." I said "I am not scared I just don't like dogs." So what does she do but bring the dog up on the porch right over to me so the dog can sniff me and start to lick me. I shooed it away and she again she said "oh she is a nice dog, she just wants to lick you to say hi" I looked at her and said "I don't like dogs and don't want it licking me". She looked rather shocked.

 

[momacacia]

Yes, we've got a lady down the street with two golden retrievers who do not return to her when called. I'd never encountered them before until on a walk with my 3 a few weeks ago. I had little guy out of the stroller and in my arms (thankfully as they would have been in his face) and both dogs came running up to us barking. "Oh, they never bark like that!" Yeah right!

 

With the baby in my arms, I was helpless to help either of my girls had the dogs bit. As we continued our walk (now behind the lady and her dogs) the dogs did this to another couple walking, including their barking. We have a leash law and the city police # is now on my phone and they will be called if we encounter the dogs again. I know where she lives. Mwah-ha-ha!

[Murmer]

Just had a similar experience with my daughter playing in common area at our condos, there was a little dog that just started chasing her and scared her to death. Yep we have leash laws.

 

2 weeks ago we went to the lake and there was a big dog that kept running away from her elderly having a hard time walking owner and going after the toddlers in our group....the lady didn't seem to care that we had 3 little kids terrified by her big dog...even better the same women did the same thing to one of the kids the night before and refused to call off her dog. Leash law didn't seem to effect her.

[Melissa in Australia]

^{I hate unleashed dogs as well. I also hate it when people think it is OK to bring their dog to my house, and bring the dog into my yard. then tell me off when my son's dog attacks their dog because she is guarding her home and protecting me ( She knows I am a dog disliker)}

[Eagle]

My friend was attacked by a dog while at work on Friday. Her leg is severely gashed, causing her pain to walk and rendering her unable to drive. Her wrist was punctured and a muscle in her arm badly damaged. She has a bite mark on her face. She is unable to work for several weeks.

 

She has always adored dogs. She is now having nightmares reliving the attack and is afraid of it happening again. It would not have happened if the owner had leashed their dog. I honestly do not see why people think the law does not apply to them and their "friendly and harmless" dog. It's an animal; animals can be unpredictable and dangerous.

[gardenmom5]

It's not just biting, but all social behaviors, eg. jumping, sniffing, engaging in dominat behaviors, becasue too many people treat dogs as though they are equal to people.

.

I was at someone's house and her large dog roamed during a bridal shower. we heard how the dog was "very nice", (BUT, poorly socialized). the owner was cluess "very nice" dogs do not sniff people's plates of food. (she did eventually put it elsewhere). My sil was later dog sitting this same dog - "very nice" dogs don't take anyone's shoes (even if they were outside next to a child's play equipment) and run off with them while chewing them up. refusing to come, or drop them when commanded.

 

"very nice" dogs can terrify a child who is afraid of dogs. dudeling is an aspie, and he was terrified of a bichon frise puppy who came into our yard. he was screaming as though he'd been badly hurt, trying to climb up on my shoulders. then I saw the dog shoot past, tail going, he ran to me, and was jumping all over. he 'just wanted to play'.

 

dh had a colleauge with an akita. that dog only jumped on me once. I grabbed his paws, and told him what a nice doggie he was and I was never going to let him go . . . . all he could think about was trying to get down. the next time he saw me, he came running to jump on me, realized who I was, and immediatly dropped without even touching me (or receiving a command). I was happy to pet him - as long as he didn't jump up.

[JBJones]

We have neighbors that think they are dog whisperers. (?) They have at least 5-7 indoor dogs. They use to let 2-4 of them out at once, none of them on leashes. (There is a leash law here.) They have one dog that bites. I finally got tired of their dogs roaming on my lawn, doing their business and the owners never cleaning up the mess.

They no longer let their dogs run loose as they got tired of having a police officer at their door. (There was much more going on than just the dog problem.) I'm totally baffled at some people who think laws don't apply to them.

[Cinder]

OP, my neighbor had a similar incident a couple years ago when she was walking her dogs. They (2 JRT's) were on leash when they encountered a dog off leash that rushed up to them barking and lunging at her dogs. In an effort to get her dogs away neighbor tripped over a leash, took a hard fall and landed on her arm and face. Fortunately nothing was broken but she was in quite a lot of pain for awhile. She said after that incident she carries mace and has no qualms about macing another dog if she feels threatened. I'm not sure she's ever done it; I think the offenders moved or no longer have that dog.

[Whereneverever]

I despise people who ignore leash laws. I have a giant dog who is always leashed when not in my yard. I even leash her when people come over to my house for the first time, and if they don't like dogs she goes outside. People's comfort > dogs.

[Iskra]

I'm encouraged by this thread. I always feel like the lone nut that is upset when people don't putt their dogs on a leash when walking the streets. I also am furious that when I go running if a person is walking a dog, instead of getting hold of the dog while I"m passing by, I am the one that has to run into the street and risk getting hit by a car so that the dog won't jump on me. Even if a dog is on a leash, the owner needs to have full control of it when walking on the side walk, so that others don't have to be afraid for their lives when they walk/run that same sidewalk.

[JadeOrchidSong]

No dogs, big of small, in China or Tibet are leashed. They walk free by their owners on the very crowded streets. I had company of five sleeping dogs in a public bathroom in Lhasa! Well, dogs in Tibet are usually ownerless! In China, my sister's 3 year old mini poodle is never leashed. It stays close to her side in the streets. There maybe problems, but I have yet to hear about them. I am unaware of the leash law in China or Tibet.

I, on the other hand, never go out without leashing my newly adopted shih tzu pomeranian dog in the U. S. and always restrain him so other people can share the walking paths with no inconvenience.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

This is also one of my pet peeves, too. I'm allergic to dogs, so if your dog comes up and jumps up on me or starts licking me, I'm going to have an asthma attack. Annoying.

 

Another similar pet peeve is at our farmer's market. There are signs ALL over saying, No Dogs by City Ordinance. People still bring their dogs. All. the. time. Cuz they're spe-shul. :glare:

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Duplicate post

[Laura Corin]

I'm trying to work out a cultural difference. In the UK, dogs are on leads near roads/livestock. Aggressive/untrained dogs are also kept on leads (to avoid jumping up, or whatever). Dogs on paths, in (most) parks, on trails, etc. are often loose. Dogs can't be 'dangerously out of control' but the definition of this is pretty extreme. Being sniffed by a dog (which has all four paws on the ground) is a normal part of a walk here. I've once had a problem with an aggressive dog - I yelled at the owner and she seemed reasonably contrite.

 

But then, the boys' school has a labrador puppy who spends her days happily in the art department chewing any supplies that get dropped on the floor, and a spaniel that greets the children outside the school dining room at lunchtime (it's tied up there while its owner, a teacher, has lunch). And yes, our local pub welcomes our muddy dog to sit on our feet under the table.

 

I should say that there are some people in the UK who train their dogs to be weapons - that's a different matter from normal dog-owner behaviour.

 

 

L

[RoughCollie]

Laura, in the comments at the link below, there are people weighing in about, among other dog-related topics, the cultural differences between the US (and its regions) and Europe, mostly. http://www.patriciam...round-the-world

 

In the UK, 23% of households own at least one dog. http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-population

 

In the US, 39% of households own at least one dog. http://www.humanesoc...statistics.html

 

Based on those statistic alone, you'd think the US (as a whole) would be more dog-friendly. I don't know why puppy mills are not outlawed, for instance, or why owners and breeders are permitted to crop ears and dock tails unless it is medically necessary or for a purpose other than aesthetics.

 

As far as the laws are concerned, dogs are generally left at the mercy of their owners. The rabies laws here are not enforced -- I guess if the 8 dogs I know here who are not given rabies shots went to the vet, the vet would make sure the owners were reported. I've never seen a dog anywhere, except when I was recently in Atlanta, roam around off-leash. Well, my collie did, but we were alone (no people or other dogs around) and hiking in the mountains. I don't count instances of dogs being accidentally let out of the house with owners in hot pursuit as dogs roaming around off-leash on purpose.

 

There is a definite difference in dog culture here (in rural western PA) and in the Boston area. Here, I've met a lot of people who do not regularly take their dogs to the vet, neuter them, or seem to care much about the quality of their dog's life from the dog's point of view (exercise, food quality, training). Some of this is due to poverty or lack of knowledge about dogs, but a lot of it has to do with the culture of the area.

 

There are no dog parks here, but in the Boston area, there are plenty of them. Most dogs would be happy to have a place in which they could run around and roam ... but there is nowhere for many of them to safely and legally do it.

 

During the decades I lived in the Boston area, people seemed to care about the quality of their dog's life (and the demographics were much different), but they were much more leery of other people's dogs. Here, dogs are more welcomed, although as is typical, they are not allowed in business premises unless they are service dogs, except for Petco. Basically it boils down to, in general, here people are not afraid of dogs they don't know, and in the Boston area, 99% of the adults we met on walks were afraid of my collie and didn't hesitate to say so.

 

When we moved here, I was amazed that the mail lady, and the UPS and FedEX drivers would walk right up to my collie when he was on a tie-out in the front yard and I was not outside with him. They brought him dog treats, too. In the Boston area, everyone (except one old man) was afraid of my collie, and acted like they thought he would attack them. It wasn't because of the dog! A more gentle, well-trained, polite dog than he was would be very difficult to find.

 

My terrier barks at every stranger who gets too close to me for his liking. In fact, he barks at friends, too -- I know whether he is being protective or is or is greeting someone by his body language. If I did not know him, I would be afraid he would attack me. That doesn't faze people here. They say, "he's just a puppy", and they will walk right up to him to pet him. I have to stop people from doing that because I don't know how my dog will respond in all circumstances. Luckily, the few who have ignored me are greeted heartily as friends. If we were in the Boston area, I would be doing what I had to do in Atlanta -- telling people not to worry because I had my dog under control.

[Joker]

So, do owners always pick up after their dogs in these countries with much more lax laws? I cannot imagine more relaxed laws here considering the amount of people who, even with our laws, do not take responsibility for their pets and pick up after them.

 

Our neighborhood has leash laws and has a trash bin with bags every so often near the sidewalks, but people often ignore the leash law and many ignore the trash bin and bags. It makes it quite disgusting for the rest of us and I cannot imagine how those feel who don't even own pets who walk our sidewalks and have to put up with the sights and smells.

[marbel]

So, do owners always pick up after their dogs in these countries with much more lax laws? I cannot imagine more relaxed laws here considering the amount of people who, even with our laws, do not take responsibility for their pets and pick up after them.

 

 

I don't think "more laws" equals more compliance. I'm unlikely to get caught if I leave a dog mess on someone's yard, much less get a ticket for it. It's the culture: do people care about their neighbors or not? If they care, they will pick up the dog mess. If they don't, they won't.

[Laura Corin]

So, do owners always pick up after their dogs in these countries with much more lax laws? I cannot imagine more relaxed laws here considering the amount of people who, even with our laws, do not take responsibility for their pets and pick up after them.

 

 

 

I don't see much poo lying about, so I think most people must pick up.

 

L

[RoughCollie]

You'd think people would pick up after their dogs for sanitary reasons as well as common courtesy. I know people who don't clean up their own yards after their dogs, too. They think it is unnecessary that I clean up my dog's fenced area every day. It is sanitary, I can check for any health problems the dog may have, it keeps the dog from stepping in it and tracking it and/or germs from it into the house, and saves the lawn mower from being gunked up.

[Laura Corin]

I don't think "more laws" equals more compliance. I'm unlikely to get caught if I leave a dog mess on someone's yard, much less get a ticket for it. It's the culture: do people care about their neighbors or not? If they care, they will pick up the dog mess. If they don't, they won't.

 

Ah - something else that's different: front yards in the US tend to be unfenced, so it's easy for a dog to get onto someone's private land. British front gardens tend to have walls, hedges or fences, so an unleashed dog, or one on an extendable lead, would not be able to go in. This picture gives an idea.

 

Laura

[RoughCollie]

Front yards here are rarely fenced. I wanted to have just the area in front of my house fenced in, but it would have cost at least $6,000 and would have been an ugly chainlink fence. Instead, we have a $1600, 20' x 40', 5' tall chainlink dog pen. It is black, to minimize the ugliness, because according the fence companies, black is the color that best merges into the background.

 

We have a 2-acre lawn, several acres of woods, and a 5-acre pasture, no fences. I have to take my dog out on a 50' lead for him to enjoy it, because we can't afford to fence a larger area and terriers, in the main, can't be trusted off-leash. This begs the question of why I didn't think of this when selecting a breed ... there are dogs who, with training, can be relied upon not to roam off their own territory or to chase vehicles, I presume. I've seen dogs like that and I always marvel over them.

 

My dream house has a tall stone wall all around the property. Unfortunately, this is likely to stay a dream. Actually, I'd prefer a wrought iron fence, but no matter what, any dog I own would get his head stuck between the bars. I attract dogs like that! :-)

[Georgiana Daniels]

Ran into a few unleashed dogs yesterday on my run/hike. UGH. Yep, their dogs are special snowflakes, indeed.

[msjones]

In my opinion, dogs shouldn't do anything to me that a human wouldn't do.

 

No licking, no humping, no sniffing my crotch, no biting, and no pooping or peeing on anything I own. I don't care how "nice" or "friendly" the dog is.

 

Seattle has more dogs than children, I believe. Some folks seem to think their dogs are people.

 

One of these precious doggies lunged at and (on a leash) bit my husband. He said, "Hey, your dog just bit me!" She said, "No he didn't. He doesn't bite." My husband showed her the bite. She denied it. ?!?!?!?!

 

I'll stop there. I won't start in on the behavior of my neighbor's dog.

[TheReader]

just have to share this story here --- my 12 yr old son took our mutt (1 yr old) on a walk this morning, but left our golden retriever behind. Upon his return, the 15 yr old son decided the golden needed a walk to even things out, so off those 2 went, leaving the mutt behind.

 

Mutt was hanging out/watching from 15 yr old's bedroom window, which is easily a 6 foot drop to the ground with a 1 foot wide/deep planter box in front of it + an 18" deep/wide hedge in front of that. Mutt (presumably) saw 15 yr old and golden go past on their walk, so Mutt *jumped* from the window, cleared the planter box & hedge and took off at a full run to catch his boy & dog.

 

By the time I reached the front yard to call for the dog, he was over a block away. Luckily son heard me calling and ran back towards us, caught up to the mutt, and brought the mutt home. Off leash, though, since he had the one leash between the two dogs.....

 

made me think of this thread :)

[gardenmom5]

In my opinion, dogs shouldn't do anything to me that a human wouldn't do.

 

No licking, no humping, no sniffing my crotch, no biting, and no pooping or peeing on anything I own. I don't care how "nice" or "friendly" the dog is.

 

Seattle has more dogs than children, I believe. Some folks seem to think their dogs are people.

 

One of these precious doggies lunged at and (on a leash) bit my husband. He said, "Hey, your dog just bit me!" She said, "No he didn't. He doesn't bite." My husband showed her the bite. She denied it. ?!?!?!?!

 

I'll stop there. I won't start in on the behavior of my neighbor's dog.

 

seattle isn't nearly as kid friendly as they advertise either. if you know who the owner is, I would urge you to report it to animal control and/or the police. your dh is likely not the first person bit by that dog.

 

dh loves to walk in the aboretum in the spring. I hate it - I hate all the dogs illegally off-leash, with a child who is afraid of dogs. yeah - he kept his distance from even that three month old english sheepdog puppy that rolled on its back to be petted. (there is a dog area there where they are allowed to run free, - we don't go there, and the dogs are off-leash in other parts of the aboretum.)