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You can do whatever you want on your own property, but you're responsible for making sure your dog does not cause anyone any harm, 100% of the time, when out in public. Causing harm isn't limited to biting or attacking - simply scaring people counts, too. People don't know that/if your dog is well-behaved and most will assume that an off-leash dog is not. Especially if it's a dog of a breed that, deservedly or not, "has a reputation".
40 yrs of ownership of the breed.
ZERO bites
ZERO issues.
K9 unit stopped by once while passing to ask if it was a European blood line (mine aren't).
"Simply scaring people"...........ummm is there a state statue for that one?
Here where we are we have miles of beaches and dogs are allowed on all of them 24/7 as long as they are leashed. Many don’t appreciate the opportunity to have their dogs on the beach and allow them to run wild. Many leave the dogs leash on so if someone where to question they can say the leash slipped off their hand.
We definitely have instances where an unleashed dog has attacked a smaller dog the owners picks up and the owner has gotten bitten.
Things have changed in the last few years, fur babies, are taken to stores, restaurants, airports and many other places where when I was growing up was unheard of.
Still scratching my head over the Doggy Day Cares in my area and how packed they are.
We have definitely become a more dogcentric society.
40 yrs of ownership of the breed.
ZERO bites
ZERO issues.
K9 unit stopped by once while passing to ask if it was a European blood line (mine aren't).
That's great. The problem is that when you're out with them in public, you're the only person who knows that.
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"Simply scaring people"...........ummm is there a state statue for that one?
I think you were looking for the word "statuTe". There are none (although causing mental harm can be an arguable legal matter), but, then again, the concept of basic decency isn't written in statutes, either. It's just something you align to in the (occasionally vain) attempt not to be an ass.
You've trained your dogs well. Others haven't. Problem is, a passerby doesn't know which he's dealing will until it might be too late, so it's best, on the dog owner's part, to exercise the lowest common denominator rule. People are more likely to be apprehensive of an "aggressive breed" (which is a nonsensical term to begin with, but has stuck around), so, as you've correctly pointed out, ensuring that the dogs are on their best behavior in public falls on the owner.
That's great. The problem is that when you're out with them in public, you're the only person who knows that.I think you were looking for the word "statuTe". There are none (although causing mental harm can be an arguable legal matter), but, then again, the concept of basic decency isn't written in statutes, either. It's just something you align to in the (occasionally vain) attempt not to be an ass.
You've trained your dogs well. Others haven't. Problem is, a passerby doesn't know which he's dealing will until it might be too late, so it's best, on the dog owner's part, to exercise the lowest common denominator rule. People are more likely to be apprehensive of an "aggressive breed" (which is a nonsensical term to begin with, but has stuck around), so, as you've correctly pointed out, ensuring that the dogs are on their best behavior in public falls on the owner.
The dangerous dogs are generally the ones that aren't taken out for walks and attack people visiting their owners' property or after they escape their enclosure.
At least where I live, the less well socialized anxious/neurotic dogs are kept on leash. The off leash dogs I come across have been friendly. If the dog is trotting towards you with their tail wagging, it's safe to say they're friendly and just coming for a sniff - typical behaviour of labs and retrievers, as well as many boxers and hunting dogs and some poodles.
The large mastiffs tend to be more low energy and hang around their owners and not show as much interest in strangers in my experience.
The small dogs tend to be the least friendly and insecure, but mostly all bark no bite and on leash and small enough that you can give them a kick and send them flying all the way back to their owner so it's hard to see them as a serious threat.
The dangerous dogs are generally the ones that aren't taken out for walks and attack people visiting their owners' property or after they escape their enclosure.
At least where I live, the less well socialized anxious/neurotic dogs are kept on leash. The off leash dogs I come across have been friendly. If the dog is trotting towards you with their tail wagging, it's safe to say they're friendly and just coming for a sniff - typical behaviour of labs and retrievers, as well as many boxers and hunting dogs and some poodles.
The large mastiffs tend to be more low energy and hang around their owners and not show as much interest in strangers in my experience.
The small dogs tend to be the least friendly and insecure, but mostly all bark no bite and on leash and small enough that you can give them a kick and send them flying all the way back to their owner so it's hard to see them as a serious threat.
What exactly is a dangerous dog? No dog bite is a good one. Dogs can be weird and they may not like your scent or the hat you're wearing that day. You can come around a corner, you may be hidden by a tree or building and then spook the dog when it lays eyes on you.
At Thanksgiving, I was out hiking in a public place, and came upon a woman with 3 unleashed dogs. Two of them came at me and one of them bit me. While it wasn't a very large dog growling with hackles up, it was still a bite and absolutely not acceptable. Had I been a smaller person (like a child) or if I didn't have very good balance it's likely I would have ended up on the ground when it jumped on me. That is also not acceptable. And who knows how the dogs would have acted if they managed to get someone on the ground.
In my area people don't think their "less well socialized anxious/neurotic dogs" are anything other than perfect, especially when they are in the woods as they seem to think they are the only ones out there. Which they are not.
Oh and none of those three dogs were a breed you'd "expect" to have problems with, they are generally happy and friendly types. Until I got bit.
I live in a very expensive neighborhood and town and for the life of me, I do not understand what is up with people not leashing their dogs. Especially bigger dogs.
I have been approached aggressively by big dogs off-leash because of my small dog and it makes me feel really unsafe walking him.
It's so irresponsible not to leash your dog.
What is so hard or difficult about putting your dog on a leash?
If your town or municipality has a leash law just report them. Take a photo and send it in. My sister in law has a cattle dog but lives in Longmont CO in town. Very large walking trail system. She poo-pood the leash laws and a woman confronted her about her dog running loose (very friendly dog- but besides the point). My sis got into a not so nice verbal altercation, the other lady followed her back to the house, had photo's, called it in and my sis got hit with not only a fine but a restraining order to stay away from that lady.
As for me? I thank heaven I live in a very, very dog friendly state. On trails we allow dogs off leash as long as they are under control of the owner. Although I rarely take my dogs on heavily populated trails.
But they are free to roam and do their thing in most places I go.
The dangerous dogs are generally the ones that aren't taken out for walks and attack people visiting their owners' property or after they escape their enclosure.
At least where I live, the less well socialized anxious/neurotic dogs are kept on leash. The off leash dogs I come across have been friendly. If the dog is trotting towards you with their tail wagging, it's safe to say they're friendly and just coming for a sniff - typical behaviour of labs and retrievers, as well as many boxers and hunting dogs and some poodles.
The large mastiffs tend to be more low energy and hang around their owners and not show as much interest in strangers in my experience.
The small dogs tend to be the least friendly and insecure, but mostly all bark no bite and on leash and small enough that you can give them a kick and send them flying all the way back to their owner so it's hard to see them as a serious threat.
All of this may be true. None of this can be assumed. TL;DR: always leash your dog in public. Full stop.
Some jurisdictions include "under voice control" in their leash ordinances, but the problem with that is that most people don't understand what it means. They clearly think it means that if the dog kind of knows its names and might come when it's called if it has nothing better to do. Our beaches are all public here, and dogs are allowed off-leash as long as they are under voice control, but they just aren't.
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If the dog is trotting towards you with their tail wagging, it's safe to say they're friendly and just coming for a sniff - typical behavior of labs and retrievers, as well as many boxers and hunting dogs and some poodles.
Although this is better than being attacked by a roaming, poorly socialized dog, it's still a problem in its own right. Just because "he's friendly!" doesn't give pet owners carte blanche to ignore leash laws.
I see a lot of posts here about larger dogs being loose and attacking smaller dogs. We had a 195# English Mastiff and always walked him on leash. The problem we had was owners of small dogs letting their dogs run loose and they would almost always say........Don't worry, he/she's friendly! WELL, our dog wasn't friendly to small dogs running up to him and those owners had no idea what Jake was capable of doing to a hyper, yapping, small dog getting into his space. What always scared me more than injury to their dog was injury to the irresponsible owners who would rush in and try to grab their small dog running around our leashed dog. He never hurt one of those dogs or owners....... BUT it was very close a few times.
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