Loose Dog--Was it Right to say Something?

[sillysally]

We took the dogs to the park this afternoon. I has walking trails and an off leash park, but the rules (posted several places) explicitly state that all dogs outside the fenced park NEED to be leashed.

When we pull up, this standard poodle comes out of nowhere, off leash, and barking at us. At first we saw nobody but then saw the owner, an older man with a smaller dog on a leash, walking up the path. The dog did not return to him when called. We drove to the other side of the parking lot.

I was going to just let it go, but something inside my brain just snapped. I am SO tied of people thinking leash rules are suggestions. I got out of the car (left DH in the car with the dogs) and walked across the parking lot:

Me: Did you know that dogs are supposed to be leashed outside thge dog park?

Him: Yes. You walked all the way over here to tell me that?

Me: Yes, because she needs to be on a leash.

Him: She was 30 ft away from me and I was coming to get her.

Me: But she is supposed to be leashed. If I see that again I will report you.

Him: Go ahead. She would play with your dogs if she came up to them.

Me: It doesn't matter. She needs to be leashed--it's not that hard.



We then pulled in a parking lot across the street until he left. Now I'm wondering if I should have said anything. I'm usually not confrontational. Afterward, DH took Sally on the trail and I took Jack to the dog park. I tend to be a bit paranoid so I have worst case scenarios running through my head (what if he got our license plate number and retaliates by falsely reporting our dogs of something; what if we run into him again and he tries to make trouble for us, etc).

Was I right to have said something or should I have let it go?

 

[lay_lady]

Hm, honestly, I think it was okay to confront him about it but maybe you should've done in a friendlier manner so he didn't feel defensive about it. And if he still refused to keep his dog on a leash, and it continued to be a problem, report it without further warning. That would you wouldn't have to parnoid about anything...

 

[SmexyPibble]

Quite honestly, if we're on a trail, I'll let Georgia off leash, but only because she responds when called, I'll tell her to heel when there's another dog or person within twenty feet of me and sometimes even hold her collar when passing someone, and also, she doesn't bark at other people or dogs.

Was it an aggressive bark, or more just a hello? If she wasn't being aggressive, I wouldn't have confronted him about it in that way, unless your dogs are aggressive, then you could have told him, you should keep your dog on leash or have her under control, because my dogs are aggressive. Because really, he should have been much more cautious than he was, because you may know your own dog to a point - but you don't know other people's.

 

[ACooper]

I think you were fine in saying something. See if someone like ME showed up walking Orson on lead........it doesn't matter if that dog was friendly or not, ORSON ISN'T and while THAT dog might want to come make friends, Orson most definitely DOES NOT want to be friends, LOL
(and you can feel free to use that scenario in talking to people in the future if you want, hahahaha)

So yes, your conversation with him might save someone like ME from going through something with his dog. Never know, you could have saved him trouble in the future

 

[sillysally]

Sally is reactive, that is why we drove away before I got out. I didn't want to say THAT to him and then have it be implied that it was my dog that was the issue. If I had just had Jack I probably would have just let him catch her, but the dog was close to the car and Sally was starting to react (she shakes and whines) and that was getting Jack reved up, so we removed them from the situation.

I probably could have been friendlier, but Jack has been attacked by a loose dog in that parking lot before because someone else thought that the leash rule only applied to them. If Jack (who is VERY friendly and does NOT bark at like, anything) were running loose in a leash only area and someone called me on it I'd tell them I'd be apologetic....

 

[JennSLK]

My thing is, yeah your dog would play with my dogs, but my dogs would try to eat yours. There are leash laws for a reason.

Comming from some one who has a DA dog

 

[ihartgonzo]

Yes. It absolutely was right of you! And what I don't get is... why was one dog onleash and the larger dog off? She obviously isn't an obedience champion.

I haaaate it when people let their dogs run up to the dog park off leash. WHY? It's a freaking parking lot. I wonder if they'd let their dogs run offleash across the parking lot to Petco, too. It's just stupid. Allowing your dog offleash in a safe area, without people and other dogs around, and with a solid recall is one thing... but why risk your dog's life in a parking lot, full of cars, people and other dogs? It also makes the dog park look bad, and one of the biggest arguements against dog parks is offleash dogs running around outside of them. It sucks because it makes all of us look bad. D:< I have worked so hard with Fozzie to get him over being leash reactive, but he gets stressed when an exhuberant offleash Lab charges at him when we're walking to the dog park... and when he growls I'm the one getting the dirty looks! Um, thank you for setting me back in my training just because you don't have the decency to leash your rude dog for 15 seconds. I have to lurk around a lot before going in because there are always dogs running in/out off leash and I don't want to risk all of the progress we've made.

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

When we pull up, this standard poodle comes out of nowhere, off leash, and barking at us. At first we saw nobody but then saw the owner, an older man with a smaller dog on a leash, walking up the path. The dog did not return to him when called.

I think you were fine to say something ... because the dog was not leashed in a leash-required area, was not under voice-control either, and the dog ran up barking. How were you supposed to know the dog was "friendly"?

And even if the strange dog was friendly ... Coop and Jenn bring up a good point, i.e. what if your dog is NOT dog-friendly with strange dogs? That guy should think about that last one ... some day his dog might run "playfully" up to the wrong dog.

 

[KenyiGirl]

I think you were perfectly fine saying what you said. My dog is reactive and I HATE it when I see a loose dog, it ruins the walk for me because I'm so anxious that Hailey will try to attack it, or the loose dog will attack her (which has happened before).

 

[FoxyWench]

i always say something, either directly to a person of as there walking away ill make a comment loud enough for them to hear about how i LOVE that "dogs must be on leash" doesnt apply to SOME PEOPLE...

i dont care how well behaved your dog is...
if the signs say ON LEASH, put a leash on your dog...if you want to give your dog the freedom to roam, use a long line or a flexie...
why?
because 1: not all dogs are friendly...many dogs that ARE frinedly dont like strange dogs bounding up to them flat out, and fights can happen with the friendliest of dogs, ive seen dogs that have NEVER had a problem with other dogs before suddenly decide they just flat out dont like a specific dog...ect.
2: it ruins it for EVERYONE...its like the folks that dont pick up the poop in the path because "people can still get round it"...
its those kind of disreguards for the "rules" (which i personally feel following is a common courtesy) that spoils it for everyone.

we have 2 state parks and 2 small town parks locally, of those 4 parks, only 1 still allows dogs because people were constantly letting thier dogs wander about off leash...
the 2 state parks are "no dogs allowed" after someone walking their "friendly and well behaved dog" (a jrt mix) got into a scuffle with a leashed dog (dane x wolfhound) who was "owner protective" the offleash dog owner tried to sue for damages, when it was determined that the dog was offleash the case was dismissed, guy got miffy about it stating that "everyone walks their dogs off leash despite the signs" park is now NO DOGS and a $200 fine for dogs in the park.
the other state park followed suit then the 1 of 2 local parks stopped all dog acess when a medium mixed breed greeted a child a little too happily, knocked the kid flying and the kid hit her head on the corner of the playscape, she was in a coma for 2 months she was 7...all dogs have been banned since.

the one park left...i cant go to very often...its just not safe, so many "frinedly" dogs not on leash have proven to be "not so friendly" and theres dog poop everywhere...its only a matter of time...

so in short...
you absolutly did the right thing confronting this guy.
i HATE people who feel like the rules dont apply.
my dogs are good dogs, very frinedly great recal, small, and stay close, but theres no way in hell i would walk them off leash, not because of risks, but because im not above local ordinance...im not special because my dogs are good, im not above the rules because "well its not fair that i cant let them off leash" no, put em on a leash, a long line is better than no line...

ive also been unfortunate to see a "freindly dog" run up to a horse on a trail (the dog was supposed to be leashed) the dog got under foot, the horse literally stomped it to death, one hoof to the head and the dog was gone...

 

[vanillasugar]

It was absolutely right to say something.

He was in the wrong, and only gets away with it because people shrug it off, or ignore it.

Sierra is very reactive, and I worry that if a roaming dog gets in her face she might bite. I don't care how friendly the other dog is, that is irrelevant. Leash laws are for the protection of everyone, not just "other" dogs.

 

[iibao]

If you can control your dog off-leash, I don't care.
Just don't bother me or my dogs.

 

[colliewog]

"I'm not afraid of your dog ... I'm afraid of what MY dogs will do to your dog!" That might have worked. I don't see a problem ... he was out of line since his dog approached you.

 

[tessa_s212]

I wouldn't say anything, just because like you I'd be afraid of what he might do in retaliation. I'd just anonymously report him.

 

[Southpaw]

I'll be honest. There's a wooded area behind our dog park, and I let the dogs off leash there all the time. Everyone does, even though there are signs saying they need to be leashed. The area has kind of become an extension of the dog park, if I go walking through the woods, 95% of the dogs I come across are the same ones I just saw inside the park minutes earlier. So I suppose it would be completely within someone's rights to tell me to leash my dogs... but I can't say I'd listen to them. :x

It does irk me though when a loose dog runs into the parking lot or when there appears to be no owner around. Juno will only run so far ahead of me, but I make sure to leash her when we're still a good distance away from the parking lot.

 

[mmorlino]

I think you were definitely right to say something, but maybe be a bit nicer. The thing is, people will automatically recoil and become defensive when they are told they're wrong. We all do it. So chances are he just turned around and thought, "What a *bleep*" instead of, "Yeah, she's probably right..."

Your goal is to get people to listen.

 

[Dogs6]

That really ***** me off to. I was training fudge who CAN be slightly DR on leash and off eash will run up to another dog to sniff it but most owners don't appreciate it (and neither do I)so before he was let offleash i checked to make sure there was no other dogs around. I saw man walking along the road with an off leash BC and an onleash pup. Me being stupid thought that cos it was off leash along the road it was under control. yeah right ! I was playing with Fudge when he left me. That dog was right behind me. I was ready to kill the other owner. I knew Fudge was friendly but I didn't know if that dog was and if I has seen it coming I would have leashed Fudge or put him in a down stay. This man wasn't even watching his dog!!! although when he called the dog came to him I was stil exremely PO

If I hadn't had Fudge with me (ie my dad was holding him or something) I would have said something but ...