Why can't people follow the rules

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

Some people think they know their dogs but honestly they can't read their dog's body signals for nuthin.

This is why I have such a problem with it.  You may not like leash laws, and the dogs may have more fun without them, but if there is a law, and your dog is unleashed, better have a good lawyer if yours attacks mine.
Today, I took one of my therapy dogs to a picnic for disabled people.  She was asleep under the picnic table when some idiot came walking by with his unleashed Chow.  The Chow makes a beeline for Sioux, I call her out to me, and get ready to kick the crap out of a Chow.  The guy calls the dog, who, of course, doesn't come, and finally got to it and cuffed it upside the head.  Ouch - oy - yikes.  What an idiot.  Don't train or leash your dog, then cuff it because *you* are a jerk.
Sioux was horrified to have been deprived of her nap, but, thankfully, she didn't get bitten and I didn't have to step in and conk anyone...

Well, that dog will surely come to him next time.  Come to me and be hit. 

i rarely use a leash when i walk my dogs (only when i think the law'll be out). they have never had an 'incident' in the 7 years i've owned dogs. when another person seems to have a problem with my dogs because of their dog or just out of fear i call my mutts to me and we keep our distance.

i've seen MANY people who walk their dogs on leashes and have FAR less control than i've got with my mutts.

 
I don't want to start anything here Satch, but it's exactly this kind of attitude that bugs me.  Somehow, many people think that they are above the law because somehow they are better equipped to break it without consequence, or because they're entitled.  Speeding, impaired driving, insurance fraud, tax evasion. I don't care how well behaved your mutts are (or how well you drive), it there is a law, you will follow it or get a good lawyer.  Your dogs are not robots, and there will come a time when they choose to do something you do not expect. If accidents could be planned, nobody would have them.
 
You can expect no sympathy from me when your unleashed dog is pepper sprayed.  God forbid that ever happen though [].

I've begun to think the leash laws are only for accountability after the fact.  They don't do much, but allow someone the grounds to press charges against someone whose dog infringes upon their personal space.  How many folks out here have made posts about being "attacked"?  How many of them have reported it to an authority?  And what percentage of those people got any kind of equitable resolution out of it?  I'd imagine not many.
 
The real point to me is education and safety.  Dogs and people need to be safe from encroaching/threatening dogs.  Leashes are an easy measure, but even dogs on leashes are just as guilty of threatening me and my dog.  I hate flexi-leads - they are often an excuse for owners to keep their dogs "on leash" while paying just as little attention to their dogs as they would have if they were running loose.

It is the dogs' safety that I worry about.  I live next to a very busy road.  It is a state highway that runs through town.  There is this one girl who lets her dog walk off leash quite often.  One day, I was out and had Colton on a 20' training line because I was, well, training him.  Colton was sitting nicely waiting for me to call him when this dog ran at him.  The dog wasn't aggressive, but wanted to play.  What if the dog had seen someone to play with across the highway!!!!!  She was like, "oh!  hes friendly!!!"  I said to her, "you don't know that mine is friendly, and there is a leash law for a reason next to this highway."  He's been on leash ever since.

Somehow, many people think that they are above the law because somehow they are better equipped to break it without consequence, or because they're entitled. Speeding, impaired driving, insurance fraud, tax evasion. I

 
I totally agree with this.  My neighbor, who happens to break every HOA rule we have, now has a new lab puppy (well, if you call 70+ lbs, a puppy).  He never, ever puts him on a leash.  The dog's adorable, but when I'm walking my lab I worry constantly about running into them or coming home to find them out front.  Do I let go of the leash so my girl won't feel constrained (and reactive)?  I don't think I could do that, but I know if Duke comes bounding up to us and I don't let her go, she's going to react and it may not be pretty.  I just resent the fact that I even need to consider this type of thing and find it very arrogant that people think they're above the law.

ORIGINAL: Satch

walking a dog you can't control w/out a leash is stupid.

i rarely use a leash when i walk my dogs (only when i think the law'll be out). they have never had an 'incident' in the 7 years i've owned dogs. when another person seems to have a problem with my dogs because of their dog or just out of fear i call my mutts to me and we keep our distance.

i've seen MANY people who walk their dogs on leashes and have FAR less control than i've got with my mutts.

i think the mutts' walks are much more fun for them when they are off leashes, and that the leash laws in this country and the paranoid masses (especially fellow dog owners) are obnoxious.

have you been to many other coutries? i've been to several where their either aren't leash-laws or they simply aren't enforced and the dogs and the people manage fine (though there is a lot more poop on the streets).

al

I'm sorry that you don't feel the need for "obnoxious" leash laws.  If your dogs are 100% perfect 100% of the time, I'm happy for you.  Personally I know of too many dogs that get run over because they weren't on a leash.  Or they attack another dog, or a child or an , for that matter. 

We had a GSD when I was a kid.  I would clip his leash on and throw it over my shoulder.  It remained there the whole time, never moving an inch.  He wouldn't stray from my hip by more than two feet.  But he was still on a leash.  That way I could control him "just in case."

I could probably control Xerxes without a leash.  But I'm not going to take that chance.  You're willing to take a chance on your dogs life and well being and I congratulate you.

I too can control my dogs off leash.  I can call them off running deer and bunny rabbits.  BUT, for that miniscule little" what if" chance they wear drag lines 99% of the time even on my own property.  BUT when we go into public places, my dogs are on lead.  After the MS Walk we were at my Mom's and my 3.5 year old great niece was "walking" Tyler in the driveway (in back of the house off the alley).  Grandma told her if he started to run she should let go of the leash...her MOTHER was appalled but I told her, IF Tyler starts running, he WILL come back to me, but there is NO reason for Gracie to be dragged on the end of the lead.  I know that should my young dog bolt, he will obey and return to me, but I don't want a child being hurt.
 
If being a responsible owner, not scaring the spit out of other folks who might be a little nervous around BIG dogs, keeping my own dogs safe and not being pleased with seeing another dog loose and bounding up to us (whose temperment I have NO clue about) makes me part of the paranoid masses, well, so be it.
 
We were at the parts store this weekend and had parked right beside the door since DS wanted to put the computer on my van.  Since he was taking his sweet time, I took Tyler out in the parking lot to stretch his legs a bit. Lots of people back and forth and each time I reminded Tyler (who was not attempting to approach anyone) that not everyone wants to make friends with a BIG dog.  That line is MORE for the people so that they know my dog is not a menace.  We had walked to the FAR side of the lot and were hanging out in the grass when an older man who had gone in came back out, walked all the way across the lot and asked if he could pet Tyler.  Tyler WATCHED the guy, but didn't do a darned thing until I said "Go say hello, Tyler". 
 
When you own large breed dogs, it's just the smart thing to do to be sure that folks can feel comfortable approaching your animal, or at the very least, don't feel that they need to run for their lives.  And I'd leash them in town, law or no law, for their OWN safety, regardless of their excellent recalls.  It only takes once..........

well, i feel a little bit better... As i said before, dogs off leads scare me a bit, because i haven't had a chance in my 2 months of owning Kira to begin to socialize her with other dogs. She has already had a scuffle once with a dog who had escaped from her owner(i posted this before), and i just don't want this to happen... I talked to my HOA, they said to call animal patrol... well that won't do much... being by the time they would get here, the owner wouldn't be in sight.... oh well...
 
As i said and as other said, I'm not afraid of the off leash dog to attack mine, i'm more afraid that my staffie will become aggressive if a dog came up to her...

the whole leash thing is a catch-22. It's totally impossible to properly exercise a dog on a leash. Under-exercised dogs often end up being put down due to behavioral problems that could have been prevented by proper exercise. Most communities insist dogs be on leash at all times everywhere. Most people can't afford private well-fenced large properties to let their dogs run. So what do you do? many folks are forced to break the law for their dogs benefit.

You do what I did when I didn't have a fenced yard and couldn't fence cuz the ground was frozen.  I put up a LONG cable run and got out there and PLAYED with them....fetch is a great one....and we found a fenced area that they COULD be offleash.  This one happened to be a running track and as we were romping, DH was by the gate eating lunch, someone stopped to tell him it wasn't allowed.....at that exact moment I bent over to pick up a fresh pile and the GUY almost pooped himself that I was CLEANING UP AFTER MY DOGS....once he saw that, it was fine for the dogs to run there.  If you look hard enough, you CAN find someplace.  Might not be close, might not be convenient, but there is someplace.............

well, I'm lucky enough to actually have a huge yard, AND live near a huge off-leash-allowed park. But other folks, not so lucky. I understand why sometimes they break the law. Disclaimer: anyone who lets an aggressive untrained dog off leash anywhere is an idiot.

I too have a large fenced yard AND plenty of room for roaming, but I don't think there IS an offlead dog park in this part of the state at all.  But, where there is a will, theres a way!  Just takes a willingness to hunt and find and a commitment to your dog(s).

i have been walking my dogs off-leash for 7 years w/out incident. i do not feel i'm "above the law," if i get a ticket, i'll have to pay it.

there is always the chance that something bad will happen regardless of what you do to prevent it. at some point you have to decide where to make the trade-off in regards to safety and quality of life. if YOU are afraid to teach you dog how to stay with you off the leash than don't do it. that's fine with me.

i completely agree that an untrained or aggressive dog should be on a leash, and that some people don't understand their own dog's body language. but many owners have very well trained dogs and do understand their dog's body language.

what bugs me is the dirty looks, snide remarks, and overall audacity, of people (especially other dog owners) who freak-out because my dogs are off their leash. their simply enjoying themselves as dogs should.

ORIGINAL: glenmar

If being a responsible owner, not scaring the spit out of other folks who might be a little nervous around BIG dogs, keeping my own dogs safe and not being pleased with seeing another dog loose and bounding up to us (whose temperment I have NO clue about) makes me part of the paranoid masses, well, so be it.

glenmar,
did you even bother to read the post of mine you're referring to?

"when another person seems to have a problem with my dogs because of their dog or just out of fear i call my mutts to me and we keep our distance"

ORIGINAL: Satch

walking a dog you can't control w/out a leash is stupid.

i rarely use a leash when i walk my dogs (only when i think the law'll be out). they have never had an 'incident' in the 7 years i've owned dogs. when another person seems to have a problem with my dogs because of their dog or just out of fear i call my mutts to me and we keep our distance.

i've seen MANY people who walk their dogs on leashes and have FAR less control than i've got with my mutts.

i think the mutts' walks are much more fun for them when they are off leashes, and that the leash laws in this country and the paranoid masses (especially fellow dog owners) are obnoxious.

have you been to many other coutries? i've been to several where their either aren't leash-laws or they simply aren't enforced and the dogs and the people manage fine (though there is a lot more poop on the streets).

al

 
Well, I think people who think they can break leash laws are obnoxious.  Everytime people see YOUR dogs off-leash in a leash law area, it looks bad for EVERY dog owner.  We are losing the right to walk in many public parks because of people who feel that the rules do not apply to them.  If I saw you in a public park with leash rules with off-leash dogs, you would likely get harsh words from me, because people like YOU make it harder for those of us that follow the laws.
 
I don't care how well trained your dogs are, they are still animals, and things can still happen.  There are many people who are afraid of dogs.  My mom is frightened of dogs, and would be very scared seeing even a well-behaved dog off leash.  All she would see is an off leash dog.  Luckily, she is not a complainer.  However, there are those that are.  And one or two people complaining loud and long anough is what causes dogs to be banned from parks.
 
In addition, although I have no kids, if I did I wouldn't want them exposed to strange, unleashed dogs.  I don't know these dogs, or these owners.
 
We live in an apartment, rarely visit the dog park, and still have found ways to exercise Sally off leash, and in some cases *almost* off leash (a 100 ft line).  We follow the rules and only ask that others people follow them as well.