Off leash dog problem

[Nemo2]

Nemo2, There nothing like a well trained dog BUT the signs around here don't say "If your dog is well trained it doesn't need a leash". Why do you think that the signs don't apply to you and your dog? Isn't it the law where you are?

Can't recall....did I ever mention disobeying signs? (Although I do admit to driving a little over posted speed limits from time to time...which puts me in the minority here, I guess. )

 

[Aerides]

I'm a runner. I was bit by a dog that was tied to a tree in his front yard while owner was gardening. Yappy little thing, decided he hated me so much he broke his leash from the tree to come bite my ankles. Drew blood too.

Another time running, I could feel the panting of a German Shephard type coming from behind me as I ran.... braced myself but he just ran calmly on by, with his owner by bike a few seconds later. Beautiful creature, well trained.

Almost daily, 80% of on-leash dogs go INSANE at the sight of a runner.

But yes, how many less responsible owners go "oh ok that GS is fine mine will be too" and let them loose. I have learned to basically stand still and feign enthusiasm whenever a free-reign dog approaches. Never know when one might decide to flip.

Love 99% of dogs, despise 68% of their owners.

 

[Nodak]

I love animals but don't have any pets since I like the freedom of being able to take off on short notice and go on a road trip. Anyway, a couple of years ago I was at a family reunion where there was a number of grandchildren under the age of 10. There was also a couple of people with Border Collies there. I was unaware this would happen but it was funny watching the dogs trying to herd the kids. They were actually fairly successful at it. A very impressive breed of dog.

 

[travelover]

..........Love 99% of dogs, despise 68% of their owners.

I think that there is an ugly under belly to pet ownership for some, as they use their pets as surrogate aggressors. I noticed this with my shovel handle experiment. Previous to carrying the big stick, dogs would attack me and no matter how much I screamed at the dogs, the owners were no where to be seen. When I started carrying the stick, amazingly, the owners appeared rapidly. My guess is that they realized that instead of entertainment, they were going to get a vet bill. Fortunately, the dogs were smarter than their owners and kept their distance.

 

[eytonxav]

OP, bear spray works wonders on both dogs and owners.

This! Anyway, in our litiguous society, I am a bit surprised about the officers advice to shoot the dog, unless it started biting. Otherwise, it seems to me that could set you up for a law suit, as well as arrest, especially being in a public park. If it happened on your property, that might be a different story.

Anyway its amazing to me that some folks claim they are dog people, but refuse to control or discipline their pets.

 

[eytonxav]

My take on it is that leashed dogs feel insecure when another dog is aggressive and put on a self defensive show. .

Actually, I think the dogs are just protecting their owner in a situation like this. Probably a good thing.

 

[Nemo2]

Actually, I think the dogs are just protecting their owner in a situation like this. Probably a good thing.

http://www.ourcompanions.org/pdf/Marie's Den- Leash Frustration.pdf

Dogs don’t like barriers, and psychologically, a leash acts as a barrier to them, preventing access to things they desire.
Although it’s essential to your dog’s safety to be on a leash in public places, the leash may actually cause your dog to
feel vulnerable because she’s unable to communicate with other dogs naturally. A tightly pulled leash interferes with
the dog’s body language, making her appear to be taking a more aggressive stance when encountering another dog.
This can be misinterpreted by other dogs, causing posturing behaviors and angry communications between them!

 

[eytonxav]

http://www.ourcompanions.org/pdf/Marie's Den- Leash Frustration.pdf

OK thanks, haven't owned a dog for a while, but thought the protecting owner made sense. It might still come into play, who knows for sure.

 

[Nemo2]

OK thanks, haven't owned a dog for a while, but thought the protecting owner made sense. It might still come into play, who knows for sure.

There was an old Gary Larson Far Side cartoon wherein a car, with a dog leaning out the window, was going down a street, and there's mayhem all around, (nuclear explosion in the distance, buildings on fire with people leaping from windows, shootings, etc, etc, etc)......the dog sees another dog...and the caption was to the effect that "Fido finally saw something to catch his attention".

It's all a matter of what's really important to them.

 

[MRG]

This! Anyway, in our litiguous society, I am a bit surprised about the officers advice to shoot the dog, unless it started biting. Otherwise, it seems to me that could set you up for a law suit, as well as arrest, especially being in a public park. If it happened on your property, that might be a different story.

Anyway its amazing to me that some folks claim they are dog people, but refuse to control or discipline their pets.

They tell us that in this state, but qualify it's on your property. Could be that when the law was put in place there was no pepper spray.

Yep bad pet owners are a PIA. I'd like to silence my neighbors dog barking at 3AM, but it's the owner who ignores the dog who then, predictably, barks. Maybe the owner needs silenced.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Dogs that are prone to aggression are definitely more likely to act out when on a leash rather than off lead. It is both a protective thing with the owner and the restrictive nature of the leash.

I say this from the luxury point of having 4 fenced acres for my dogs to roam, but I rarely take my dogs to any public space, especially foster dogs that I do not know well, because of the inherent risks and the potential liability. As a responsible owner, I know I could get my pants sued off if my dogs bit someone.

 

[travelover]

Actually, I think the dogs are just protecting their owner in a situation like this. Probably a good thing.

I think it depends on the dog. My dog seems oblivious to my safety, but carefully reads every dog we meet and is never aggressive toward people.

 

[Nemo2]

My dog seems oblivious to my safety

Back in the mid 1990s I took a multi day seminar in British Columbia with a guy from England who traveled the world training, and presenting/judging dogs at shows; he also ran a 'Last chance rehabilitation clinic' in England for aggressive, etc, dogs who would otherwise be put down by court order, (if they failed his course it was pretty much inevitable that that was the end of them).

At one stage he had us all line up, with our dogs standing or sitting by our sides, for 5-10 minutes, just for us to observe how much/little attention our dogs paid to us.......not a whole lot.

Then, he had us periodically give the leashes a slight tug, just to remind the dogs that we were still there.......seems dogs take us for granted most of the time, and react mainly to extenuating circumstances.

 

[MRG]

.......seems dogs take us for granted most of the time, and react mainly to extenuating circumstances.

DW tells me it's not just the dogs that act like that.

 

[Nemo2]

DW tells me it's not just the dogs that act like that.

 

[FI by 2024]

I have to ask: what does everybody mean when they say "aggressive?" To me aggressive is snarling, growling, baring teeth, etc. But where I currently live I've seen people call a dog aggressive if the dog presses up against a leg, jumps, circles, etc even if the dog is wagging its tail while doing so. I can see that being annoying, but I wouldn't call it aggressive. Thoughts?

 

[Nemo2]

I have to ask: what does everybody mean when they say "aggressive?" To me aggressive is snarling, growling, baring teeth, etc. But where I currently live I've seen people call a dog aggressive if the dog presses up against a leg, jumps, circles, etc even if the dog is wagging its tail while doing so. I can see that being annoying, but I wouldn't call it aggressive. Thoughts?

To me, aggressive is a dog that will threaten to, and carry out an attack on you with the objective of causing a great deal of damage.......the guy I mentioned who ran the rehabilitation clinic told a story about one dog, (that was subsequently destroyed), a pit bull - one of the tools they had was a long flexible pole, (similar to the type you see around pools), with a loop on one end that they could (hopefully) put around the dog's neck, tighten, and keep the animal at a distance.....this particular dog, they looped, and (admittedly he wasn't a big man, but I don't know the size of the others involved) even with five of them trying to navigate the dog into a pen, it was still pushing them backwards.

 

[eytonxav]

Growling, showing teeth, biting, loudly barking while they charge you is my definition of aggressive. Normally, I love to pet dogs I meet when on a walk with the owners permission, even if they are not on a leash.

 

[travelover]

I have to ask: what does everybody mean when they say "aggressive?" To me aggressive is snarling, growling, baring teeth, etc.......

You forgot barking, especially when coming toward you. Some dogs stand in place, bark in the air and look around to see if their owners notice. Others bark and charge - those are the ones I consider aggressive.

 

[FI by 2024]

You forgot barking, especially when coming toward you. Some dogs stand in place, bark in the air and look around to see if their owners notice. Others bark and charge - those are the ones I consider aggressive.

I actually purposely left it out, as barking on its own is not aggressive while I would consider snarling, for instance, to be aggressive on its own. But I agree that barking plus charging is aggressive.

 

[target2019]

I have to ask: what does everybody mean when they say "aggressive?" To me aggressive is snarling, growling, baring teeth, etc. But where I currently live I've seen people call a dog aggressive if the dog presses up against a leg, jumps, circles, etc even if the dog is wagging its tail while doing so. I can see that being annoying, but I wouldn't call it aggressive. Thoughts?

It's aggressive behavior around here. Some kids really have a problem with what we might call friendly behavior.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I have to ask: what does everybody mean when they say "aggressive?" To me aggressive is snarling, growling, baring teeth, etc. But where I currently live I've seen people call a dog aggressive if the dog presses up against a leg, jumps, circles, etc even if the dog is wagging its tail while doing so. I can see that being annoying, but I wouldn't call it aggressive. Thoughts?

Understand your point but folks nearby may find such dog behavior threatening and confusing (esp if they are not dog owners). I think the owner may be legally exposed if any damage occurs - even if it was "not your fault." Keep it a non-kissing encounter - yes, there are still people who see a dog, start a slobbering context and end up with the inevitable - it's a show of submission in the pack.

I am a dog lover and former owner of a spectacular Doberman. She was trained such that if someone approached she was to sit or heal. I held the leash out of reach. If the person asks if he/she can pet the dog, I'll read the dog's general mood and have a treat in my pocket (I give treat to the visitor palm up, dog goes to treat). For kids or adults who seemed unstable for whatever reason, I had them step back and toss the treat a few feet to "play catch."

The dog followed her training >95% of the time. Extreme caution was needed if there was thunder in the air, other overactive dogs nearby.

PS: Got to know a Great Dane while living in Tucson about 15 years ago, nice dog park. Chatted once or twice with the owner until the and his dog disappeared into the sunset. Sophie never liked the guy. Turned out he became a mass murderer in the U. of Arizona School of Nursing.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Sophie was a beautiful and incredibly mannerly dog. A true credit to her breed and your care.

And yikes on the mass murderer! My dad's secretary brought her then boyfriend to our house one time when I was a child and our family dog pinned him in a corner, growling and showing teeth. Years later learned he was wanted for a couple of murders! Good dog!

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Sophie was a beautiful and incredibly mannerly dog. A true credit to her breed and your care.

And yikes on the mass murderer! My dad's secretary brought her then boyfriend to our house one time when I was a child and our family dog pinned him in a corner, growling and showing teeth. Years later learned he was wanted for a couple of murders! Good dog!

Time flies. How many years ago did we visit?

 

[Texas Proud]

You forgot barking, especially when coming toward you. Some dogs stand in place, bark in the air and look around to see if their owners notice. Others bark and charge - those are the ones I consider aggressive.

I actually purposely left it out, as barking on its own is not aggressive while I would consider snarling, for instance, to be aggressive on its own. But I agree that barking plus charging is aggressive.

Barking is an aggressive behavior.... It is the beginning process for some dogs.... barking can lead to other things... It is not the most aggressive a dog can be as growling, showing teeth or even attacking is much worse...



HOWEVER, I think it is very rude for a dog owner to not control their dog.... I have been at the soccer filed watching my daughter and dogs will come up and start rubbing against you... and if it is a HUGE dog (which has happened to me), I do not know if it is friendly or not... heck, even a small dog can bite, but a big dog can do so much more damage in a short amount of time... so IMO, any of the items you mentioned I consider 'aggressive' in my mind as I have no idea what the dog is up to....