Get Your Leash On!
Last week it was adolescent behavior, this week I've heard several stories about scary encounters with off-leash dogs. One involved a family with small children and a leashed dog being rushed by FIVE off-leash dogs on a hiking trail. The five dogs consisted of four muscular bully breeds and a yappy chihuahua bringing up the rear. This family had no idea where these dogs came from, if they were friendly to dogs, adult humans and most importantly small children.
They scooped up their kids and hoped that their well-socialized white shepherd could handle the situation on her own. Jasmine, the dog, immediately dropped and rolled over. The big dogs stood over her, growled, sniffed and moved on. The little dog attacked immediately and moved on when Jasmine didn't fight back.
All of that took place before the owners sauntered around the corner with a very relaxed, "Oh, sorry."
Here in Oregon we hear lots of stories about off-leash dogs slipping off of mountain trails, getting into terrible situations, being followed by their owners in a rescue effort only to end up on the news when the professionals have to rescue both owner and dog.
In fact, it has become so common that in some areas it is posted that dogs will not be rescued.
Now, I'm all for training dogs to be well-behaved and reliable off-leash. However, there are times when leashes are required by law or for safety reasons. Additionally, there is a HUGE difference between having you're dog under control off-leash and simply having your dog off-leash.
NEVER should an off-leash dog be running up on people and other dogs while you lag behind. Sorry, but never. You don't know if that person is afraid of dogs or if a leashed dog is aggressive. Besides that, it's just plain rude!
When hiking or camping, it simply isn't safe to have dogs off-leash in areas that they don't know well. While dogs are pretty agile and smart, they can still misjudge a trail or lose their footing. They can be lured by a new scent or interesting sound into a dangerous situation. It's their human's responsibility to keep them safe.
Speaking of safety, when out hiking, a leash should not be attached to a collar! The collar with identification needs to be on, but the leash should be attached to a harness. Should a dog slip off the edge of a trail, we don't want him hanging by collar!
For more information about hiking safety, please check out the in-depth artcile from Spot Magazine at http://www.spotmagazine.net/Issues/Spot_April2009.pdf.
One last thing. I have heard people say that they don't want their dog on-leash because it seems mean, it seems less fun for the dog and they just want their dog to be able to enjoy their freedom.
So, what if I said I didn't want to buckle up my kid in the car because it made the ride less fun and I wanted my kids to be free to enjoy the back seat? How would that go over?
