ATTN: Dog owners

Woooow, people can be ridiculous. He is obviously one of those people that's "never wrong."

Good thing you didn't get bit and the dog didn't get hit!

Ooooh, in! Where's my popcorn?

no leash laws in the city here, but my dog is known for running when off leash. so we have been working with the shock collar. if she is ever off leash she has the shock collar on with my finger on the button at all times. She acts like a puppy even though she is 4. She does not chase anything but will run up and down the street.

I think people either need to have the dogs incredibly trained, have a invisible fence, shock collar or leash their dogs in the front yards. I can not count how many dogs have chased me and my dog on walks.

I don't understand why people let their dogs out without a leash anywhere but a dog park. My dogs are pretty well behaved but if they were out without a leash and saw another dog or a cat they would bolt after it. I am terrified of my dogs being hit by a car or biting someone. Although I'm pretty sure they wouldn't go after a person unless the individual was posing a threat to me or them.

Dogs should be leashed even if there isn't any laws compelling owners to do so (I can't think of a municipality that doesn't except maybe rurual unincorporated juristictions). It's in the best interest and safety of the dog, the owner, and the community. If you have a concern about an unleashed dog where you walk, run , bike, or push a stroller, keep a bit of kibble/bits of string cheese and throw it away from you to distract the dog. It's a minior inconvenience compared to what can happen.



I think it was appropriate to report it. Based upon the owner's response to you, he doesn't care much about his community or for that matter, his dog.

that's ridiculous, it's kind of like the people that bump into you and rudely say "excuse you"

Most dogs are racist.

Sounds like the dog owner needed to be leashed.

I hate that too.
As a dog owner and dog trainer, I am HUGE on safety for people as well as dogs.


FYI: If a dog runs AT you, stop running and turn toward it and cross your arms. DO NOT keep running since IF the dog is likely to bite you, you have now become a fun moving target and worked up the dogs adrenal response.
If you can judge dog language well, tell the dog to get lose, back off.
If not, wait til the dog loses interest. If your boring and non threatening, most dogs will saunter off pretty quickly.

That dog owner was a jerk about it. Most of us would apologize and explain our dogs were just wanting to play. My dog will chase, but he will not bite. Of course, my dog is in my fenced yard or leashed so he doesn't cause any incidents like this. Animal lovers and regular humans can coexist peacefully if we just show each other a little respect.

One of my pet (ha!) peeves...loose dogs (cats, too). I've been chased while out running. Very annoying. So much possible danger for the dog and me.

I nearly punted a Chihuahua today. I yelled at the owner to get their dog, and they just looked at me. I told them I would kick it, and they still just ambled slowly out to the road. I don't get it.

Edit to point out my awesome dog on my ticker :happy:

I will never understand people who let their dogs roam around loose like that! I have had issues with dogs on my road while walking with my dogs I don't think it is right that I have to feel like I can't walk or worry about walking because of other people's dogs.

I am friends with many of the police officers in city, so I'm sure I can mention it and probably have them talk to the owner. I have to check the leash laws in my city though.

In some States, the phrase "dog attack" is loosely interpreted in the law and could include behavior you describe. (e.g., I was in court recently and saw a case where the "attack" was a dog barking viciously through a chainlink fence...no joke). Also, many States have strict liability with respect to dog laws, meaning that no matter what measures an owner takes to prevent or mitigate certain offensive behaviors by the dog, he will still be liable for the dog's actions. For example, in such a State, if a dog chewed through a tether, jumped a fence, and then ran across the street and bit you, the owner would be fully responsible for damages incurred. I've seen only a handful of cases wherein defendants beat the strict liability...but only a small handful.

ETA: Good idea to talk to your cop friends and maybe even have them visit the owner of the dog. It would help him avoid liability AND hopefully prevent injury to some other potential victim.

This drives me crazy. It's really bad in my neighborhood with small dogs (chihuahua sized). We have been chased many times by the little guys and the owners get mad at us for not stopping because the dog keeps walking with us. We usually have our two larger dogs with us, so stopping could end up being a bad idea. (My older dog doesn't like small dogs especially when he's on a leash) I just don't get why people with small dogs think they are an exception to the rule.