Latest off-leash dog excuse

One time a very large dog (unleashed) jumped on me in the Reservation and got a hold of my shirt with his teeth. The owner came up a few seconds later to retrieve the dog, but offering no apologies. She was lucky I was in a good mood or else I would have called the County Sheriff.

Calling the police to tell someone to get their dog out of a place that serves food is not over the top when the management and employees of said place won't tell the dog-owner to take the dog outside (employees have been asked to, and they hem and haw).

And this is totally related to the off-leash topic: both concern reasonable laws being broken by people who consider themselves above the law.

Zero regrets on threatening to call the police.

FC_ said:

project37 said:
The self-entitlement drives me nuts. There's a couple that walks through my neighborhood in the evenings with their large unleashed dog and let it wander around exploring random yards as if it's no big deal. What happened to common courtesy?

I'm in that same neighborhood and know that couple and their dog. And when I'm gardening out front and see them I have to move up the driveway because even the nicest dogs bite me. And the couple smile and wave, and move on with their unfettered animal.

Also in the neighborhood as you know. I don't know of this couple, but there's another dog a block over that's always off leash and just wandering on his own or the owner is following the dog for a walk...holding the leash in his hand (not attached to the dog's collar). We were startled enough by barking one day outside and looked out at this dog nearly attacking a man and his two small dogs. The guy acted like the dog just happened to accidentally get out.....like this never happens. It's infuriating.

Ugh, that's ridiculous. I'll say something next time I see them.

The golden retriever story reminds me of something that happened to my former neighbor in West Orange. Her daughter (about 8 at the time, I think) had a friend over, and the girls were playing in the front yard. Someone else came along with a young golden, and the dog was not on a leash. It immediately bounded over to the girls, which was fine with my neighbor's daughter, but not at all for the other girl. She was absolutely terrified of any and all dogs, and she promptly ran for it.

Of course, the golden gave chase, thinking it was all a jolly game. The poor little girl was reduced to screams and tears, and she was scared almost literally out of her wits. The owner was ineffectually shouting, "Don't run! Don't run!" Of course, running encouraged the dog to run after her, and the dog in this case meant no harm... but the freakin' owner should have had the damn dog on a leash. I love goldens, but not when they are (a) untrained and (b) unleashed. My brother had a sweet golden that drove me crazy because it was totally untrained and therefore a real PITA. The ex-wife had let all the training lapse after my brother moved out.

Some dog owners are just plain morons.

Not all persons walking unleashed dogs are impolite or fail to understand the dangers of having a dog off leash in one of our parks. I just had a nice conversation with a person walking an off leash dog in Memorial Park. I stopped and froze as I have been advised to do when confronted with an off leash dog who does not know me and asked her to please leash her dog which she immediately did. We then had a friendly conversation about what could happen to an off leash dog. I don't know if she was converted to my way of thinking but she certainly did not consider my point of view to be unreasonable or denying of her's or the dog's freedom.

joan_crystal said:
Not all persons walking unleashed dogs are impolite or fail to understand the dangers of having a dog off leash in one of our parks. I just had a nice conversation with a person walking an off leash dog in Memorial Park. I stopped and froze as I have been advised to do when confronted with an off leash dog who does not know me and asked her to please leash her dog which she immediately did. We then had a friendly conversation about what could happen to an off leash dog. I don't know if she was converted to my way of thinking but she certainly did not consider my point of view to be unreasonable or denying of her's or the dog's freedom.

Glad they were respectful but it is not just your way of thinking it is the law. You shouldn't have to convince people that it is not unreasonable to keep their dogs leashed in our parks

joan_crystal said:
Not all persons walking unleashed dogs are impolite or fail to understand the dangers of having a dog off leash in one of our parks.

If they understand the dangers of having a dog off leash in a park, but still do, they're being impolite. Or at the very least, inconsiderate.

People who are dog people (and I love dogs) often don't understand that there are others who don't love dogs. And since there is no guarantee that you can control an off-leash dog, not keeping your dog on a leash is just plain thoughtless.

This frustrates me to no end.

I have a dog. She gets walked on a leash. For her safety as well as the safety of others. She is friendly and approachable but that matters not. She is a animal.

I also wear a seatbelt in the car and insist that my kids and any passengers do too. I have a safe driving record but hey, you never know...

Common sense.

ms_cooper said:
This frustrates me to no end.
I have a dog. She gets walked on a leash. For her safety as well as the safety of others. She is friendly and approachable but that matters not. She is a animal.
I also wear a seatbelt in the car and insist that my kids and any passengers do too. I have a safe driving record but hey, you never know...
Common sense.

Same here.

Even off-leash dogs in the home can be dangerous. My son was bitten by a neighbor's dog as he walked into their house. No provocation. Dogs are unpredictable.

shoshannah said:
My son was bitten by a neighbor's dog as he walked into their house. No provocation. Dogs are unpredictable.

The dog was protecting its territory.

The owner should have been there, though, holding the dog until your son came in, was introduced to the dog, and the dog allowed to quietly investigate the visitor. A sniff of the hand, or something.

If the dog was still aggressive after that, then it should have been put away in another room until the visitor had left, and some behaviour training undertaken with the dog and its owner.

Right on, Marksierra!

There is always provocation for a bite---you may not be aware of it,dog body language can be subtle, but unless the dog is neurologically damaged, there is always provocation.

I never open the door to visitors unless my dog has been told to go to the kitchen. That is just common sense (the dog could bolt, bowl someone over, or interpret the entrance of a stranger as a threat to me) Few people love dogs more than I do, BUT I believe in being responsible, training my dog to be responsible, and most of all, respecting that there are many people who do not feel as I do about dogs,so we have to set a good example.

I think 'provocation' means something different to dog owners (you walked into your friend's house that the dog is protecting), vs. to non-dog owners (you just walked into your friend's house).