How Often Does Your Dog... (barking, aggressive, black, fleas)

[wac_432]

...while OFF LEASH, sniff, bump, bark at, lick, urinate on, jump on, or fight with strangers or stranger's on-leash dogs in public areas like parks and playgrounds, where leashes are required?

Exclude interactions at off leash areas. Please be honest. Include friendly interactions where your dog is approached by others.

Curious how my area compares to the general population.

[spencgr]

I never would have my dogs off-leash in an area when leashes are required. Impossible to answer.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

My dogs are on leash in areas where it is required.

When we are in areas where leashes are not required, my dogs do not jump on, hump, urinate on other dogs or on people. If my dogs could not behave themselves out in the forest, they would not be off leash.

When another hiker comes by, my dogs are called to my side and put on a sit stay until the other person passes.

I do not take my dogs to the off leash dog park. The park where I walk my dogs, everyone else has their dogs under good control or I wouldn't take my dogs there. I don't walk my dogs in areas where loose dogs fight, assault, act aggressive, or even annoy my dogs.

Additional note: no matter how well trained my dogs are and how reliable with their recall, I would never have them off leash in an area close to traffic, or close to anything that might hurt them. The best trained dog can have a brain fart and forget to come when called. I won't take that risk.

[subject2change]

I know there are some joke responses to the poll, but it does happen, and people letting their dog be off leash infuriates me. People say their dog is under their complete control, but there can always be that one time out of a *thousand* even, and that could be at just the wrong moment.
I just thought about this stuff the other day. One of my dogs bolted out the door, for the *first* time in the *7 years* we've owned her. My husband wasn't paying attention as he went in because, well, in 7 years she had never done it. He didn't know our neighbors' puppy was running around behind him, and apparently she finds puppies as irresistable as a lot of people do. She stopped and came back when called, just before she got to the street, but things could have turned out differently. She could have gotten hit by a car (and so could the puppy but my neighbors are hopeless)
Your dog might be 99.99% obedient, but that's not good enough imo.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

The "my dog would never do that / my dog in always under voice control" crowd obviously do not understand the concept of a "Black Swan" type of event.

[ansible90]

The most annoying off-leash situation is when people come to the dog park and let their dogs walk off-leash through the parking lot. They wander, they prevent others from getting out of their cars, they can't be seen by people backing out their cars, they upset the other dogs who are already in the park behind the fence, they sometimes intimidate dogs who are properly on-leash in the parking lot, they jump on people who are walking. Seems to be mostly the big dog owners who let their dogs wander off-leash. It can be downright scary sometimes.

[eggalegga]

Big difference b/t a dog sniffing versus all those other interactions. My dog has never fought, bit, or urinated on another dog while off leash. She is very sociable & friendly. She is small (12 lbs) and not a nippy/barking dog. I've had one of those before.

[foxywench]

if an area requires a leash my dogs are on leash.
if an area doesn't rewuie a leash and is fully fenced (ie a dog park) my dogs are allowed to play respectfully humping, and urinating on other dogs or fighting is an IMMEDIATE issue, that is BAD doggy manners...
barking/yipping ill allow within reason (if I ask for quiet its expected...) and sniffing is always allowed assuming the dog being sniffed is allowing it. that's a major communication tool with dogs.

I'm ALWAYS ready to step in if my dog (or a dog my dog is ineracting with) decides to forget their manners...
we rarely go to offleash public places though...too many lazy people and too many "i brought my kid to the petting zoo" people who don't even own a dog bu their "kid loves dogs"

however we are a multi dog household and our dogs al interact in a fun, enjoyable, playful but RESPECTFUL way.

[wac_432]

Fox, do your city bylaws allow off leash dogs in public areas? Where I live, any off-leash dog outside of your private property or the paltry number of dog parks is supposedly subject to fines and impoundment.

The way you posted makes it sound like you could legally go off leash in public parks or somewhere, but you choose not to because people aren't careful around your dog.