My dog doesn't need a leash.....really? All dogs should be on a leash when in public



Me with my dogs always on leash

I am always so amazed when I see people walking their dogs off leash.  I see this everywhere. Yesterday in a busy park with people, other dogs (on leash) and cars driving through the parking lot I saw a lady doing this.  She had 3 little dogs. One was on leash and the others off leash to roam free.  It only takes one little distraction for the dog to run in front of a car and get hurt or killed.  I had to bite my tongue because I wanted to say something so bad.  Her dog ran up to me as I was setting up my Pumped For Paws event. She yelled at the dog to come to her and of course the dog completely ignored her.

I have a paved trail by my house which I walk or run my dogs on and periodically I see other people with dogs off leash. I have mentioned before my Daisy dog is not friendly with other dogs. This aggressive behavior is multiplied when she is on leash. I think she feels the need to protect all of us.  So if a dog off leash approached us, it is not pretty.  Last week as I was running I saw these 2 ladies walking their 3 dogs all of them off leash.  Thankfully I didn't have my dogs at the time.  As I approached they held on to two of the dogs while the other roamed free.  I stopped and said if you ever see me on this trail (cause I am here alot) with my dogs please keep your dogs on leash because one of my dogs is not friendly with other dogs.  They said ok and I went on my way.  Yesterday I was walking all three dogs and I see the same ladies at the end of the trail.  They waited for me to come to the end of the trail before they started their walk.  The one lady said oh we waited for you because you were with your dogs.  I said thanks and kept walking.  At this point they were across the street from me (which is a pretty busy street).   Their big dog which was a Rottweiler came walking across the street toward me and the lady tried calling it back.  It kept coming and she said to me oh he is friendly.  I was thinking to myself (is this really happening) because I just told them how aggressive my dogs is.  I said well my dog is not friendly. She made no attempt to go grab the dog or anything.  She also didn't seem concerned at all that it was crossing a street all alone!  I looked at the Rottweiler and said NO!  It stopped and looked at us.  Moved forward a few steps and I said NO again!  Meanwhile the lady is still standing on the other side of the street calling her not NOT moving! And the dog of course is not listening.  I turned and walked forward leaving the dog only to stare at me.  Thankfully this turned out OK.  I can't believe the stupidity of people that don't feel the need to keep their dogs on a leash!  What is so hard about keeping your dog on a leash?  Why do people feel the need to let them roam with no regard for others? 

Please consider the consequences of not having your dog on a leash.  This includes when in front of your house, on a trail, or anyplace.  Your dog should always be on a leash. Don't think just because your dog is good, listens well, and is friendly you don't have to use a leash. Think about others. Dogs have natural instincts.  If they are off leash on a trail and see a critter they could be gone in a second and you may never see them again.  They could see another dog and dart off to go up to it. You may not be fast enough and that other dog may be like my Daisy dog and suddenly you have a full on dog fight.  They could easily run into the street only to get killed by a car and that is your fault NOT the person driving the car or the dog.