I have to report a neighbors dog

mudpuppy

who are you planning to report the dog TO?  since the dog is, technically, on a leash and hasn't actually bitten anyone I suspect AC will just ignore you.

If the kid is struggling to control the dog, he might be pleased to receive an anonymous gift of a nice sturdy SHORT leash.

I didnt mean to sound as if I was sticking up for the guy and I'm sure if this was in my neighborhood I would be wary to. A growling lunging dog is a very scary issue, epsecially so close to home. I'm sorry if I came off rude, it less to do with the dog then neighborly understanding. Just the other day on here there was a issue about a neighbor dog peeing on the grass and the OP wanting to report it so I guess that topic rolled into this one in my brain, LOL.....I just think we should all learn to talk to our neighbors adn give the benefit of the doubt. Sure a scary dog is a much pressing matter then peeing on grass.....I guess I just try to think "if the situations were reversed".......I would hope my neighbor would come to me first. I sincerely apologize and hope this gets worked out

I don't know why the flexi should be an issue.  If you don't extend it out it's not different than any other leash. 

Lori, I had a cocker break the lock on a flexi.  A COCKER who was in no way agressive, just in a hurry and not getting the line he wanted.

I got the impression that this kid DOES let the line out.

It doesn't matter what kind of lead you use, provided your dog is under your control.  This dog is not.

I've seen MANY flexi leads break.  And even more "knock off" flexis break.  I don't know which he has.  The dog is being let out enough that he has trouble being reeled in.  As far as I am concerned, a flexi is a completely inappropriate tool for a dog who is so aggressive.  If the dog was just aggressive to people who try to pet it, that is one thing, but the dog was lunging at me from 40 ft away!  It is a large dog who could very easily break the flexi.  Even if he had a six foot lead, he still needs to move somewhere away from the sidewalk with the dog.  At least with the 6 foot lead, there is less of a chance of malfunction. 

I will NOT use a Flexi with ANY breed.  I hate them with a passion.  The young man with the Pit has NO business using one with a powerful breed.  I have seen them break with small dogs. A Pit?  I am surprised it hasn't broken YET.

As someone who owns a bull breed and has worked with HUNDREDS of dogs over my lifetime, I  would be hard pressed to find a dog product I like less.  If Gypsy (being friendly!) is capable of snapping one, than a fully aroused DA and HA dog surely could break one like it were a piece of thread.

I don't like flexis and have the scars to prove why.  However, I don't have any issue with a well trained dog getting a little extra running room.  It's the dogs that want to circle me and hog tie me in the flexi, or the rare dog who decides to take a large chunk out of me that make me really nervous.  A dog with ANY agression issues simply does not belong on a flexi, I don't care how diligently the owner has worked with that dog.  The dang things can break, and they can easily cause some serious injury to the poor hapless soul who happens to get tangled in one.

My drag lines, 50 foot of climbing rope have knots tied in them every few feet so if need be I can step on the rope and stop a charge.  You can't do that with a flexi.  And, I honestly don't find it difficult to reel the line around my hand and elbow when we get to a populated area where they need to be on a shorter line despite the control I do have over them.  Someone coming out of the showers does NOT need to be greeted by a full size german shepherd first thing in the morning!

I completly agree with your feelings on reporting a pit. Due to their bad rap I too am "afraid" of them. Although I know it's all in how they are raised. As well as all other breeds. But I feel it was good to raise your concers. Keep us posted on what the outcome is for the boy and his pit.

Jessie

 I would just like to make it clear that I am not afraid of the dog at all because of his breed.  I'm not afraid of him really just don't want others to get hurt.  I have enough sense to not put myself in a situation to get hurt and would like to make sure the owner has enough sense to keep him from hurting others. 

I LOVE pits.  My BF has one and I will be rescuing one as soon as my housing situation allows it.  I would report the dog no matter if it was a Chihuahua, Yorkie, Lab, Golden, Pit, or Doberman.  Breed makes no difference at all to me.  I have trained numerous pits and find them to be really fun dogs.  I'm not afraid of any dog breed at all. 

 I always find it amazing that folks don't actually read the entire post of the OP.

I think you are right on, and good on ya for trying to keep everyone safe. I hope that the building management does something about it. It seems the young man is quite immature and I agree, if you talked to him he might just sic his dog on you. If you can't walk outside when he's there, I would say that's quite a valid issue!

As for flexi leashes..... 

Flexis don't work for me for so many reasons: 

Sofia can really pull, and extreme cold can make plastic really brittle, so I don't trust a flexi in the winter at all. Also, when it is cold outside I need to put my hands in my pockets (with gloves on) to keep warm when I'm out with the dogs, so the leashes go around my wrists. With a flexi you are reduced to one had, and the one on the lead is out in the cold. It's also hard to hold onto smooth plastic with a gloved hand.

I had two leashes made from mainlines (dog mushing gear) and I can loop the ends around my wrists and still have two hands to work with if needed. 

Nope, flexis just aren't very practical for me. 

Jeano said

" It seems the young man is quite immature and I agree, if you talked to him he might just sic his dog on you. If you can't walk outside when he's there, I would say that's quite a valid issue!"

I'm sorry but thats a awful assumption, he could very well in over his head.

bottom line. Dog is aggressive, and out of control. Something needed to be said. Great job Colleen, reporting him and hopefully saving someone a lot of pain. I hope they listen to you before something bad happens!

re flexis - Casey has one. We rarely use it, unless we are walking in my neighborhood when there aren't a lot of other dogs out. I like it, it's great for giving him extra running room to hunt lizards and such. Casey is only 13 lbs, and under my total voice control. The leash is just an added safety bonus. I would never use one on a bigger dog, or on a dog that has aggression issues. Never. Period. End of story.

AuroraLove

Jeano said

" It seems the young man is quite immature and I agree, if you talked to him he might just sic his dog on you. If you can't walk outside when he's there, I would say that's quite a valid issue!"

I'm sorry but thats a awful assumption, he could very well in over his head.

If you had read the previous posts you would have seen that the OP said:

"I definitely don't feel comfortable just going up to his apartment to talk to him.  He doesn't seem like the nicest kid.  He has more of the attitude "my dog is big and bad and I'm so cool."  I don't really want to tick him off and then him actually LET his dog go after mine. "

It's not worth taking a risk like that. I'm the mom of a young man. There is no crime in being immature except when it involves people getting hurt! He'll grow up eventually and probably be fine. For now, it's better to let the natural consequences of the building management talk to him.

I'm not disputing the fact that something needed to be done. Regardles of wether the kid made him this way or is over his head its just 100% unnacceptable.....not only for other's safety but that of the dog and the poor reputation. Its so sad that people in society have resorted to finding false pride in a object or in this case a dog. If I could say one thing to this young man it would be......

You can't take pride in a dog you have no control over, regardless of the breed.