Dogs That Wander the Neighborhood
I just don't get it. I live in a pretty busy suburb, and the subdivision has busy roads on basically all sides. And yet some people still leave their dogs to wander around the neighborhood completely unattended. The subdivision roads themselves have cars whipping through fairly frequently, though not often enough to guarantee that a loose dog would encounter a car unless it got out onto the main road.
I mean, yeah, dogs escape sometimes and so end up wandering around. I've had to try to catch runaway dogs before. But there are a handful of neighborhood dogs that are either always roaming loose, or else I have seen roaming loose enough times that I don't think they're just escapees. Especially the ones where I've seen the owners watching their dogs wander around without making any attempt to get the dog to come back.
It's against the law to let them wander, of course, but even multiple visits by the police don't seem to change anything. I thought I was going to have to try to catch a small terrier today that I found while out riding a bike--but then I saw him hop back up on a front porch and scratch the door to come in. Apparently, his owners just thought it was cool to let him wander around their front yard. And their neighbors' front yards. And the yards down the street and around the corner.
I don't remember there being this many loose dogs in the neighborhood when I was a kid (and it's the same subdivision, as I'm still living with my parents for the moment). I wonder why it seems to have gotten more common in the last few years.
There's also a man who has a Boxer he never has on a leash, but always has wearing a t-shirt. He walks this dog like that every day, even along the main roads, except on days where the weather is bad. In that case, the dog never seems to try to get away or cause trouble... though it does poop in a lot of yards and the guy never cleans it up. And it used to really bother me when I had my Lapphund, because she was a little bit reactive with strange dogs and would not have been happy with a strange Boxer getting in her face off-leash. We did get charged by Labs a few times on walks as it was.
Then the other day there was a girl (maybe 12 years old) walking around the neighborhood calling "Puppy! Puppy!" My dad asked her if she'd lost her dog. "Kind of," she says. "What kind of dog is it?" "Black and white." "What's its name?" The girl shrugs. "Dunno." That's kind of unrelated, but it just seemed really really weird to me.
I mean, yeah, dogs escape sometimes and so end up wandering around. I've had to try to catch runaway dogs before. But there are a handful of neighborhood dogs that are either always roaming loose, or else I have seen roaming loose enough times that I don't think they're just escapees. Especially the ones where I've seen the owners watching their dogs wander around without making any attempt to get the dog to come back.
It's against the law to let them wander, of course, but even multiple visits by the police don't seem to change anything. I thought I was going to have to try to catch a small terrier today that I found while out riding a bike--but then I saw him hop back up on a front porch and scratch the door to come in. Apparently, his owners just thought it was cool to let him wander around their front yard. And their neighbors' front yards. And the yards down the street and around the corner.
I don't remember there being this many loose dogs in the neighborhood when I was a kid (and it's the same subdivision, as I'm still living with my parents for the moment). I wonder why it seems to have gotten more common in the last few years.
There's also a man who has a Boxer he never has on a leash, but always has wearing a t-shirt. He walks this dog like that every day, even along the main roads, except on days where the weather is bad. In that case, the dog never seems to try to get away or cause trouble... though it does poop in a lot of yards and the guy never cleans it up. And it used to really bother me when I had my Lapphund, because she was a little bit reactive with strange dogs and would not have been happy with a strange Boxer getting in her face off-leash. We did get charged by Labs a few times on walks as it was.
Then the other day there was a girl (maybe 12 years old) walking around the neighborhood calling "Puppy! Puppy!" My dad asked her if she'd lost her dog. "Kind of," she says. "What kind of dog is it?" "Black and white." "What's its name?" The girl shrugs. "Dunno." That's kind of unrelated, but it just seemed really really weird to me.
Comments
Someone on FB was walking their shiba and their neighbor always let their boxer off leash to potty and it ran to go greet her shiba and it gotten hit by a car. Coarse car zoomed off.
The owner of the shiba ran to the dog and the owner of the boxer was in shock.
The shiba owner always told them not to let the dog off leash, but they kept doing it. No street smarts..
Luckily the boxer is alive and is in a brace for it's leg with metal pin I believe.
Poor shiba was a bit traumatized by seeing her friend get hit..
In country I can understand as long as the dog doesn't bother live stock or deer, but city too many cars and stuff.
I lived in city always had change route due to dogs.
One owner of golden retriever had is dog out while he was yard working and it charged at us in playful manner, but our three dogs at that time had too many bad off leash encounters. Coarse telling the guy to recall his dog or please pissed him off.
I was nice and even said please jeez.
Yeah it's my fault my dogs are dog reactive I somehow predicted the dog would door bolt and go for my dog or the dog would jump it's fence cross busy street to try get my dogs.
He finally recalled the dog and she responded right away. I mean your dog listens so well why didn't you just kept her with you and ask before letting her greet my dogs?
OR, they're walking their dog off leash around the neighbourhood, and again, their dogs are fairly well-behaved until they see my dogs, then they come running over. Across the street, across a park, a block away, or whatever. One guy's dog kept following us for a couple blocks, staying just out of reach of my dogs, running up and growling, then running away. Sosuke was growling and mumbling and Rakka would snap at the other dog and bark when it got close. Just when I got my dogs calmed down and redirected, this dog would come running up for another hit-and-run. I kept changing directions and crossing the street to try and get away from this guy, but I soon realized he was actually following me with his dogs so that they could interact. He jogged up to me (because I was walking faster and faster to get away) and said something about my dogs needing the socialization. I was like, oh my word, are you serious? I told him I didn't want to talk to him and my dogs didn't want to interact with his dogs and started running. Yes, I had to run away from him and his dogs. Luckily, he didn't run after me.
It's always toy breeds, and the owners always start screaming bloody murder in hysterical, annoying voices (with the exception of socialization man) when their dogs run off their lawns or into the street. Seriously, not that they should have their dogs off leash to begin with, but when did screaming like you've just lost a limb ever make anyone want to come back closer to you?
I walked Matsu on leash today - he was with me at work, so we took a walk from there- up the dirt road, looked at some horses then were met by a casual loose dog. It was a relaxed, friendly, labby type mix. They both wagged and invited to play (Matsu puffed up and growled a little- but it was NK talk growling, accompanied by bouncing around "I dont know you, but if youre okay, we could maybe play, yeah I do love to play but are you okay?"- not 'Im going to eat you' growling with stillness and teeth showing). They probably would have had fun playing, but obviously I didnt want to let Matsu off the leash in the road, so I was stuck with slacking his leash and making happy talk while they circled and sniffed, bowed and danced.
I dont want to install fear of a friendly loose dog by shouting or pulling him along, but at the same time its really not fair for him to be encumbered by the leash, so I cant really let them play. a quick hello and who are you? and then Let's go! I was just lucky that the lab listened and went home without me having to act tense or unfriendly. I am grateful for Matsu's personality. He could divide his attention and listen to me and agree to follow my directions. He is very trusting and confident- he can disengage from the dog and Be With me. I SOOO appreciate this because of my experience with Sage- a whole 'nother ball of wax.
When I walk Leo, if we encounter a loose dog, it will be nothing more than a greeting and moving on. But I've had to get in between Toby and loose dogs too many times, and I carry pepper spray and will use it, because I will NOT have Toby hurt again by another dog. I've had it out several times before clueless owner manages to catch their dogs. (And why is it so often labs? Seriously, I don't like them as a breed much anyway, but I'm starting to loathe them because of stupid entitled owners who think they can just let them go free). But what if I was walking Oskar? We're just retraining him to walk politely on the leash, and he's starting to get it, but he's 120 pounds of "don't mess with me" Akita, and yes, I do have a right to walk my reactive dogs around my neighborhood on a leash, because you know, we have leash laws in this county. Oskar will not go after another dog on his own, but he would not be happy at all by a dog getting in his face, and he also would see a dog rushing me as a threat to me. (And it's so clear many of these loose dogs, esp. the labs, seem incapable of reading other dog's signals. They often rush right up to a leashed dog!)
I was walking with Leo once and ran into a neighbor who is often walking when I do in the evening. She doesn't have a dog, but we often stop and talk briefly, and she told me that she'd just been chased by a loose dog who tried to bite her, and there was no owner in sight. (She also usually carries mace or pepper spray but had forgotten it that day).
And the other thing that drives me crazy is people with LOOSE dogs or dogs on a long retractable leash at the vet. We've had some near misses with Oskar because of that. He likes the vet, so he's usually pretty enthusiastic about being there, but he is not at all patient with loose dogs rushing him in the vet office (once while he had a cone on!). I yelled at someone who didn't have a leash on her dog when her dog rushed at Toby once, and she was all put out, but seriously, put your dog on a damn leash!
Yeah, I guess you can see I have zero tolerance for this. It drives me crazy. And beyond the fact that it is a special kind of entitlement from people who think they don't have to leash their dog because inconveniencing other people is ok, it's also just stupid. There are cars, wild animals (lots and lots in our neighborhood), etc, and sooner or later, their dog is going get hurt.
So now I can't walk both pups at the same time because she lives a block away, and her dog is about 50-60 lbs, which is over half my weight. Even if I had pepper spray, I am confident of being capable of protecting only one of my dogs at the time, especially because if the little one sees her brother feeling threatened she will immediately throw herself into the fray to try to protect him (despite being 17 to his 25 lbs) and my boy is already fairly protective of me.
People are insane really. I've met off leash dogs that owners have even told me are dog reactive. Their owners literally just stood there without trying to call their dog back as it barrels towards mine.
Unfortunately in these scenarios, sooner or later either the dog will get hurt, or a person will and the dog will be put down. A lot of folks don't seem to feel a shred of responsibility though.
And I do understand that there are people who can responsibly walk their dogs off leash, it just feels like the majority are pretty careless and obnoxious about it.
Or their dog can do no harm! My neighbor does this with his rat terrier they did zero socialization to dogs or people she chases cars or people on bike.
God forbid my dog defends herself from their dog. Which I don't want my dogs to feel they need to do that. I've had use my legs to block this rat terrier.
Luckily she is so afraid of humans she shakes and runs away.
I saw that story on FB crazy. Tough kinda good reminder to keep dogs on leash and away from water. Poor husky and poor gator.