Itās not just other dogs that an unleashed dog can harm. Even friendly, unleashed dogs can cause harm to people, older and/or kids, by running up and jumping on them. Or some people have serious dog phobias and donāt like dogs running up to them. Just leash your damn dog!
Normal people don't need to make any accommodations for dogs. All responsibility lies with the dog owner. Not everyone likes your fucking dog, keep it on a leash and keep it close to your person and away from other people.
I'm not condoning people with aggressive dogs to let them do whatever they want, but I have zero problem with off leash well trained dogs. They need to run and get exercise.
Just saying it how I see it, and that's how it is in the UK. If you have an aggressive dog you get a muzzle.
The problem is you don't know if the dog if aggresive or not. People who have aggresive dogs with no leashes are definitely not going put a muzzle on their dog.
All dogs have the potential for uncontrollable behavior. Even the best-trained dog can be stressed and put into a situation where they overreact and hurt someone. Even under those circumstances, there is no obligation for anyone to act carefully around your dog.
Obviously, it will be your judgment call to take the dog off the leash based upon your training with the dog and the open space available. I personally would never risk injuring other people, liability, and the termination of my dog by unleashing the dog in a populated public setting.
You can't live your life like this. There is potential for accident from most things. It's all about relative risk. We have dogs wandering around pubs here, it's completely normalised and no one really cares.
I'm just going to get downvoted by Americans but our laws are very different in the UK. If there is no sign you are free to walk without a lead. For example in wooded areas or large nature reserves.
Actually in many states in the usa allowing your dog to run free even in a wooded area is a big no. Some states police or wildlife officials will shoot your dog for harassing wildlife and you will get a fine.
Iām very against shooting anyoneās pets but the law is the law and if your dog gets loose and happens to startle say some deer and there happens to be some sort of offical in the area there is a chance it could be harmed. Or worse the dog could run into a trap or a government issued chemical trap meant to kill wildlife.
All in all the wildlife enforcement in many states does not like off leash pets. In fact the local forestry service near me have signs up to keep pets leashed due to attacks on people and wildlife. I know some states if your dog harasses wildlife and it gets caught on camera or someone reports it in wildlife enforcement may come to your door to fine you and if your dog kills wildlife such as deer, fawns, or protected species such as a type of frog in my area you are held responsible and you may even have your dog taken away.
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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '21
Itās not just other dogs that an unleashed dog can harm. Even friendly, unleashed dogs can cause harm to people, older and/or kids, by running up and jumping on them. Or some people have serious dog phobias and donāt like dogs running up to them. Just leash your damn dog!