Dog walking off leash

To be perfectly honest, I agree. My mom is afraid of large dogs, and she gets extremely frightened by strange loose dogs.

ORIGINAL: sillysally

I have a retirement home close to my house and the seniors walk in the park during certain hours.  They largely stay on the paved trails and walk only during certain hours.  During the senior hours I do not let my dog off leash when we are not in the woods but I rarely walk her during the hours when most people are out during the summer.  In addition, I keep her on my right side well away from whomever we are passing.  Even a leashed dog is intimidating to someone who is fearful.  Some dog owners let their leashed dog approach and sniff everyone which I think is stupid.
 
I never have my dog off leash near non-dog owners and never allow her to approach leashed dogs except for a couple that I know the owner is familiar with my dog and is comfortable.  Most dogs we encounter, especially in the woods, she is familiar with and plays with.

ORIGINAL: fisher6000
I call my dog to me often, watch him to make sure he is not getting into trouble, and don't let him go up to strangers, especially strange dogs or children.   ...

If he does not come, I go and get him immediately (or risk ruining his recall).

How is this different than a long flexible lead?

Here is a list:
(1)  Some people are scared of off-lead dogs.
(2)  Some leashed dogs are reactive toward unleashed dogs and the owners have to fight to control them.  No problem for you or your dog, but it is sure a problem for the other owner.
(3)  You are not close enough to intervene quickly if another off-leash dog attacks your dog.
(4)  With two unleashed dogs in a fight it is hard to prove that your dog
      (a)  was not the aggressor in the fight or
      (b)  was not the one that bit someone who was trying
             to stop the fight.

How is this different than a long flexible lead?

For a lot of people, it's not.

ORIGINAL: sillysally

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8

ORIGINAL: fisher6000

I let my dog run around without a leash at the big city park where I work just about all day long.

And I call him to me several times an hour. And if he doesn't come to me immediately, I go get him and he gets tethered to me or put in the car for awhile.

If I didn't have an excellent recall, and if my dog didn't have really good dog social skills (really good at avoiding dogs on a leash, especially good at avoiding dogs that show aggression), and generally not have any bad habits beyond garbage eating...

...then I wouldn't consider it. It's rude in the extreme not to have your dogs under your control at all times in shared space.

I think it is rude to have a dog run loose in a city park and so do alot of other dog owners and people in the park.

To be perfectly honest, I agree.  My mom is afraid of large dogs, and she gets extremely frightened by strange loose dogs.  It doesn't matter if they come near her or not--if they are loose, she gets nervous.  If the park has leash laws, I don't see how people like her should have to be unnerved while trying to enjoy the park because someone decides to keep their dog off leash.

If the park is off-leash, that's one thing, but if it is on leash, people should be able to enjoy the park without worrying about loose dogs.

My daughters dog was attacked by an off leash dog at a park a few years ago. The person that owned  the dog kept trying to blame my daughters dog for starting the fight claiming that their dog was well trained and was trying to be friendly, when in fact, it was the off leash dog that  was the aggresive one. She wound up with a vet bill of around $300 and the unleashed dog and it's owner disappeared. Any off leash dog that runs up to my dog in a park, is going to get a dose of pepper spray. 

i walk my beagle off leash. i know, im expecting some hassle from some of you on here for doing so.
 
however, my walks/hikes are mostly in the forest, and 99% of the time we never see another dog or person. and when i do hear another person, i call her and she comes running back to me and gets her leash on. my reasoning for having her off leash is that she gets so much more excercise that way, she runs and gets to sniff everything ( i mean shes a beagle, they have to be allowed to sniff!) i keep a close eye on her and when she starts to go out of sight, i call her back.
 
i dont ever let her off leash when walking her on a road, or in any town setting or public place. she is not nearly reliable enough for that. there are too many distractions for her, and she LOVES other dogs, and doesnt get that some dogs dont love her. and she is never off leash in our yard, it isnt fenced and there are too many people that walk by with/without dogs.
 
Also, where i live there are no off leash dog parks to take her too, i live in the middle of nowhere.

Hasn't anyone ever heard of a 20'-30'-50' lead???

It gives your dog plenty of opportunity to run ahead and get some exercise while you STILL have control over it.

I don't mind so much the people that allow their dogs off in the country or places a little more...empty. It's those that insist that their dogs have 100% recall and let them off in public places and around residential areas, that bother me.

Hasn't anyone ever heard of a 20'-30'-50' lead???

 
Yes, and I own one of each, as well as a flexi. They all have their places, but not when there are flying toys and water involved. Have you ever had your dog hit the end of a 30' leash at full blast? I have. Even though she's a small dog, it hurt BOTH of us pretty badly. It twisted my back so hard I threw up, and we both hobbled for a couple of days. It's *much* safer to stay off lead for those types of activities.
 
And she doesn't run free in crowds. She has fantastic recall, but I'm not stupid. She runs at the beach, in my yard (5 acres with a 1 acre pond, only partly fenced), and in large feilds and woods and such. I put a leash on her in stores and on sidewalks, because it's illegal and stupid not to. There's no "need" for it, obedience-wise, as she'll stay at a beautiful heel, when asked. There is a need for it, people and dog-wise though. I've gotta keep everybody out of HER face.

Any off leash dog that runs up to my dog in a park, is going to get a dose of pepper spray.

If the dog is in no way aggressive and particularly if the owner is trying to catch a dog or puppy that slipped its collar/harness, you are setting yourself up to be decked - and rightfully so.  I sure wouldn't convict the owner of assault and I would saddle you with any vet bills.
 
Punishing every loose dog for your daughter's incident isn't exactly responsible behavior, so you better not have any witnesses to your spraying a friendly dog.  That is called animal abuse and it is mean!!  [sm=censored.gif]   [:@]
 
How in the world can you justify putting a friendly dog thru the pain of pepper spray when you also try to tug on people's heart strings about some of the less-than-kind euthanasia methods?  It makes me doubt your sincerity about the latter.
 
Yell at the owner if you want or file a complaint, but leave the friendly dogs alone so you don't help make them aggressive.  That can cause more problems like the one your daughter had.  [sm=smack.gif]
 
If you must spray a friendly dog, use Direct Stop.  That is unpleasant, but it would be much safer for the dogs, your health, and your pocketbook.  Geezzzz!   

Any off leash dog that runs up to my dog in a park, is going to get a dose of pepper spray.

[8|] ... um....no offense, but isn't that a little mean? I totally understand if the dog is trying to hurt your dog, then I also would do anything I could to get the dog away. But spraying pepper spray when the loose (which I agree is very annoying and rude, when a loose dog runs up) dog is not even doing anything to you/your dog? That concerns me.

Any off leash dog that runs up to my dog in a park, is going to get a dose of pepper spray.

Bobsk8 is dead-on. Ok, maybe Direct-Stop, and not pepper spray, but the fact of the matter is, when a stranger dog runs up. YOU NEVER KNOW if they are friendly, or what they will do. Even if their body language is friendly, that means little to nothing. I have seen some (not all, but some - and again, you never know if this dog may be one) dogs flip from sweeter than applie pie to growling furies in a quarter second, and with seemingly no provocation. A dog that just goes ahead and runs up to another dog, or people, is probably not well-mannered anyway, especially if it ignored the owner's recall to do such a thing.

"If the dog is in no way aggressive "

You can never tell!

and particularly if the owner is trying to catch a dog or puppy that slipped its collar/harness you are setting yourself up to be decked - and rightfully so.  I sure wouldn't convict the owner of assault and I would saddle you with any vet bills.  Punishing every loose dog for your daughter's incident isn't exactly responsible behavior, so you better not have any witnesses to your spraying a friendly dog.  That is called animal abuse and it is mean!!  [sm=censored.gif]   [:@] 

Janet, I understand your anger and agree that it is s shame that a friendly dog could get hurt...like I said, however, the problem is you don't know if they are friendly! Dogs have run up to Ginny, acting for all the world friendly and submissive, and the proceeded to jump all over her. It is not animal abuse to protect yourself from a possible threat. If a big, goofy lab tried to jump on me and I kneed it in the chest to block the jump because I was afraid and not knowing if I was being attacked...I would be sorry I hurt a friendly dog, once I learned that it was friendly, but when you have two seconds to decide if this strange animal running up to you is friendly or not, I would err on the side of caution, and if the lab's owner tried to stick me with bills I would laugh in his face.
 
Being approached by an off-leash dog usually is a split-second decision. You do not have days to ponder the dog's history, its appearance, its breed, anything like that.
 
You have to make a quick decision with little or no information.
 
 

ORIGINAL: IrishSetterGrl

Any off leash dog that runs up to my dog in a park, is going to get a dose of pepper spray.

[8|] ... um....no offense, but isn't that a little mean? I totally understand if the dog is trying to hurt your dog, then I also would do anything I could to get the dog away. But spraying pepper spray when the loose (which I agree is very annoying and rude, when a loose dog runs up) dog is not even doing anything to you/your dog? That concerns me.

I am not going to wait until some dog bites my dog to respond. Any dog charging my dog, is a potential threat, and I will deal with it accordingly. 

Hasn't anyone ever heard of a 20'-30'-50' lead???

 
I have a 30' & 50' line, but I have found it easier to let them off leash.  None of my guys are going to go more than 10 foot away from me, so what's the point in carrying the extra line?
 

 
Any off leash dog that runs up to my dog in a park, is going to get a dose of pepper spray.

 
I need more clarification on this before I comment in detail. 
How close does an off leash dog have to be before you get trigger happy?  Say, if my dog was in heel position, off leash, would you "take the shot" just because he wasn't leashed?
 
Frankly, I hope that you are a big guy, because that would be a very easy way to get your a$$ kicked.

I live in a county that has no leash law, many of our neighbors let their dogs run loose........I try to avoid those dogs by going in the other direction..........

I am not going to wait until some dog bites my dog to respond. Any dog charging my dog, is a potential threat, and I will deal with it accordingly.

If you don't try Direct Stop before escalating to pepper spray when there is no sign of aggression, you are commiting animal abuse.  No if's and's or but's.
 
With that attitude, I suggest that you not walk your dog in public parks.  Otherwise, I wouldn't be surprised to find out some day that you were slugged and/or that someone took away your pepper spray and used it on you and your dog.
 
People who use inappropriate force are likely to find out that people will push back with equivalent or higher force.

I've read the first post and skimmed through the rest,will read properly later when i have time.

First let me clarify my position by saying that i grew up and lived half of my life in the UK which is where my dog attitude was set.
America is a law unto itself when it comes to dogs and is like nowhere else in the world.People here think nothing of crating dogs for 8 hours a day and then again overnight,this would be classed as abuse/neglect in other countries,like theUK including most of Europe and Australia etc.People here think nothing of never walking their dogs or if they do it is only on lead[&:]

I'm one of those dog owners who's dogs are never on lead,unless we are on a sidewalk,near a busy road or in the store etc etc,but when we go out for walks twice a day,they are off lead 100% of the time,this is their time to tear around and play,sniff and explore,all things they cant do satisfactorily stuck on the end of a lead walking at my slow ass pace. I might walk 3 miles,but my dogs may do 6 because of all the back and forth running that they do,not to mention swimming when they get the chance.

They do NOT approach other dogs unless invited by dog and owner,or i ask first if it is ok,and i do not let them race up to people.My dogs are very good at reading other dogs body language and tend to give anti social dogs a wide berth.You see, i let them learn when they were youngsters,by letting other dogs teach them doggy manners,something i could never do(i dont talk dog),if they were being to rambunctious in play and another dog growled and/or nipped them then they learnt quick smart how to act the next time.There are many other things i did too,but i wont bore anyone with it all.Needless to say,now i have rock steady dogs who are able to interact with other dogs,because i let them learn how,something that really could not be achieved had they been on a lead on every outing and not been allowed to mix with as many dogs as possible!

Dogs need to run. I know it's all PC to always have them on leash, but dogs who never get off leashes are really not having their needs satisified.

Exactly,in a nutshell!

If i took my dogs out on lead for every walk,we would get home and they wouldnt be mentally or physically satisfied and they surely wouldnt settle,i wouldnt class an on lead walk as exercise.I like to see my guys pooped out at the end of the day,and i want them to sleep because they are tired,not because they have to...

I am a responsible dog owner,i put alot of time into getting rock solid recalls and getting them socialised to every possible scenario i could,and mines and their reward is that they are allowed free running exercise off the lead.
If all people put the time and effort into training their dogs from day 1,then most dogs could also be trusted off lead,but for most pet owners these days,it is all too hard and life is much easier to have their dogs on lead all of the time or just not take them out at all.Too many folk just dont have the time for dogs and shouldnt have them...

ETA: Personally i couldnt/wouldnt have a dog that i couldnt let off lead,it would break my heart to never see them interact freely with other dogs regularly,or follow a scent and all the other doggy things that just cant be done stuck on the end of a leash.

I also dont understand why some people think that if their dogs are on lead then they are safe from other off leash dogs.You could have your dog on a ten inch lead,this isnt going to stop an aggressive dog from running up and attacking him.Chances are you would drop the lead in the scuffle anyway.