Should dogs be kept on a leash in public places?

cindigold9

I have always been very afraid of dogs. They always are barking at me from even across the street or walking by and at other people including children. I have been chased by a small dog barking at me for 10 minutes, until the owner finally came out of her apartment and called him in, and he should have been on a leash with his owner! I have also had two other dogs with no leash jump on my thighs and their owner was right there.




In June 2012 a medium sized dog without a leash came running up to me barking, and her owner only called her to come back from a distance, he didn't even run after her up to me down the street.First she came back to him, but then she started running towards me again barking repeatedly! Her owner said sorry about that, but she wouldn't hurt you though.Yeah right, did his dog personally tell him she wasn't going to bite me? I was physically shaking for two hours after this.




I checked with my local police department and asked them isn't it against the law to have dogs in public streets and places running around with no leash,and they said yes, there is a 50$ fine it really should be a 100$ and told me to go to the .gov site about it.The Center For Disease Control reports that dogs killed 167 people over the age of 14 from 2001-2010! And they say *any* type of dog is capable of biting and or attacking people and that even small dogs can do real damage and harm.



When I was five I was bitten by my uncle and aunt's little grey terrier Heidi.When I 16 I was over my first cousin's house and they had found a poodle type dog,I was standing across from her in my cousin's bedroom and she was growling at me and my cousin yelled at her and said stop it! And then she said it was like she was ready to bite.



I hate dogs, cats never come up to strangers ready to bite them the way many dogs do and you usually have to provoke cats to get them to hiss, bite or scratch, and they are beautiful and don't make loud barking noises they just have a beautiful quiet meow and purring! I had a dog for about a year when I was 4 until I was 5, and then I had a gorgeous calico cat from the time I was 6 until I was 12.My former next door neighbor had such a sweet friendly beautiful orange and white tabby cat that I loved and he was an out door cat.





Just last week I was down the street and I saw a German Shepard with another dog running back and forth with no leash at my apartment complex.I had to stand and wait for 15 minutes until I didn't see them anymore and then I had to go across into the parking lot and I was still really afraid that they were still out there and would have run over to me and possibly worse.


But also, for the first 18 years that I lived in my apartments they said in the lease and brochures that no dogs were allowed only cats.Then they put a notice under everyone's doors unfortunately saying that now small dogs were allowed,and now with no notice in the last two years there are medium and big here now.




PEOPLE WERE BITTEN BY A NEIGHBOR'S POODLE OFF A LEASH and went to court.

http://voices.yahoo.com/dog-leash-law-pa-summary-offense-case 7036144.html



A nun was mauled almost to death by three neighbor's dogs and the dogs owner is a an owner of a dog grooming business,the dogs escaped from their fence and she was rescued by another nun.

http://www.mysecuritysign.com/blog/dog-bites-nun-prevent-dog-attacks/

silverinc13

100% yes. I can't count the number of times a loose dog has run up to mine while I'm walking which really messes with them. They aren't the friendliest of dogs to strangers.

queenb39

absolutely :noway:

jwooley13

My husband and I considered moving to the States. I'm American, he's British. The leash laws is one of the things (healthcare was the other) that put us off the idea. I have to keep my dogs on a lead, whereas there's nothing to protect me from people's unruly children? Don't think so. Sorry but your freedoms are not more important to me than mine or that of my dogs.

When's the last time you got bit by someone else's child? Much more likely to get bit by a dog, I think.

Ummm in just the past week I have been kicked in the shins by a small child on thee street and had a spit ball flung into my ear on the subway. Some children should be on leashes.

Agatefairy

Yes Yes adamantly yes! I've been mauled and scratched up my multiple dogs while walking and hiking. Please, no matter where you are if it's not your private land obviously keep your dog on a leash. Also, as a side note, clean up the piles of poo they leave behind if you're in a park. I just went for a walk in a park a few days ago and yeah....poo + shoe=#$#%##$

laynerich15

Yep my two little boys are always on leashes in public

elusive_design

Leashes are not for the public's protection, they are for the dogs. Dogs do not reason like people, if you expect them to be able to you have no business owning a dog. Keeping a dog on a leash insures it's continued survival from people who are driving cars, police officers who don't like dogs and people who don't want to be licked to death. You want to bring your dog out for some freedom go to the mountains, or the woods.. or a no leash dog park.

WanderingPomme

Yup, I think dogs should be kept on a leash in public.

Some humans (and human children) should be too!

vulpesgirl

Yes, absolutely!

I've got a little Pomeranian, and he is ALWAYS leashed outside. He's excitable, and he HATES bicycles and motorcycles and will lunge after them whenever they pass. (I can "thank" my friend's kid for that - repeatedly going at the dog and making revving noises with his bike was when THAT difficulty started.) He loves to jump on people, and even though he can't jump higher than your knee, I appreciate that while I know him, others don't, and it should be THEIR choice whether they want to approach the dog, not the dog's choice. He's kept on a short leash when we walk on the sidewalks.

He slipped out the front door last week when my hubby was getting the mail and went running up to another guy walking his own dog...I was MORTIFIED, both because that guy shouldn't be subjected to my dog's Napoleon issues off-leash, and because my little guy had to cross the parking lot/road to get where he was going, and people don't drive carefully there so I was terrified he could get hurt.

As far as being able to run around goes, when we go to the park, I let the leash out and we run around together. Good exercise for me, bonding for us both, and it's much safer for him since he loves chasing things that move. He tires out pretty quickly on those short little legs. ^_^