do you let your dog off leash in public?

No, you are not alone in your thinking. I don't understand why people don't follow basic leash laws either. The leash laws are there for a reason - and that is to keep your pet AND the public safe from one another. Which is why i always follow them!

I don't care how "perfectly trained" or "friendly" you claim your dog is. Fact is, dog is animal and animals can behave unpredictably. When your pet is off leash you have ZERO control over your dog or his/her basic instincts or behaviors. If he/she wants to dart in the road after a squirrel then there is nothing to stop him/her from doing so. If he/she wants to go after another dog or person (be in aggressively or friendly) then you also have no control over that. In either instance there is danger to the dog AND to the public.

It's just rude, inconsiderate, and downright DANGEROUS to let your dog roam in public (public being anywhere other than your private backyard or home) without a leash. Period. End of. And considering how irresponsible most pet owners are these days when it comes to training and socialization, i feel it's well within my rights to protect myself (and my own dog) from a charging dog that i've never met.

That being said, i live in an apartment complex that also have strict control clauses in the contract (IE dogs leashed at all times outside of private apartment). Despite that contract AND local laws, my neighbors seem to think that them and their dogs are exempt. I don't know how many times these little dogs have charged at me (with or without my dog) or how many times they've almost been hit chasing after cars pulling into or out of the lot. All the owners do is stand there and yell at the dogs to "get the effing eff back here".

Greekman - you have a very good point, however not everyone is as thorough in training as you are! Most pet owners (which is what i'm assuming this question is geared to) can't even train their dog to sit for a treat let alone strictly obey off leash in all circumstances. So the general public SHOULD use leashes to save the rest of us from their dog's bad manners!

No. My Pomeranians would just run off. My Pom Corgi mix I probably could, but if she got spooked she`s run off.

There`s many people in a walk/park that let their Dogs off leash even though there`s signs saying that you can`t do that every where. I don`t like it when people just let their Dogs charge at mine especially if they are big Dogs, my 8 month old Pomeranian can be unpredictable around other Dogs especially when they try and sniff him. And what if their Dog ran in to a very dangerous Dog? A Dog may be leashed for a reason, what if it was aggressive towards other Dogs? What if their Dog ran across the road and got hit (This happened to my mom with her Pom Spitz mix) by a car? I say if you want to let your Dog off leash then do it at an off leash Dog park where there`s a fence, or maybe just your yard, Dogs don`t need to be off leash, my Dogs are all happy on leash.

I`m in the Uk and we have many open spaces and woodlands where dogs are allowed to be off leash and be free to act like dogs do. eg: running, sniffiing, chasing squirrels etc. The areas cover 100`s of acres and its quite rare to see another dog walker.

But I personally always call my dogs to me if i see another person approaching whether they have a dog with them or not, as it`s only polite. My dogs are gsd`s and not everyone likes big dogs.

In the uk, the animal welfare act states a dog needs to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns and to deny it this is considered an offence. I can`t see how a dog that is kept permanently leashed could do this?

But laws in the uk and the Us differ I presume.

I feel sure my two gsd`s would suffer mentally and be thoroughly frustrated if never allowed to run free and investigate the wonderful smells in the countryside and I would never consider owning an active large dog if I had to keep it confined on a leash for all it`s life.

I train my dogs extensively and get many comments from strangers on how well behaved they are but training is not "relaxing" for them and they need to be able to "chill out" and run free in the fields and woodlands. Thank goodness i live in Britain and not the USA. Jmo.

I certainly do let my dogs off in public, but NOT the ones that are not good enough off lead to stay by me should it need to. I take in fosters and they obviously stay onlead.

If an unleashed dog of mine run up to anyone, either dog or person, biker or jogger, I'm afraid I deserve whatever that person does to my dog as I should of had more control and it would be me that was highly embarrassed that it happened and I wouldn't blame the other person.

You are not an old fuddy duddy for your thoughts at all and it drives me nuts that other people assume it is ok to allow their dogs to go up to others. Those that do should not have their dog offlead and should do more training.

Mine reach the point where they do classes offlead all the time and when out they will be brought to heel when passing anything. If it is something I am not sure of, like horses, then they will be clipped back onlead.

Nobody should assume it is ok for a dog to go up to others..... what if that dog wasn't friendly. It has every right to be there on a lead and not bothering anyone....

Here in Canada we too have leash laws. We also have leash free parks for them. I personally will not let me dog be leash free because she is a beagle and her nose will get her into trouble...lol. As for Criminal Minds, I think that person better read up on the leash laws if I were them.

Dogs have minds of their own and whist the standard that owners hold them to varies considerably, none can say with 100% certainty that in public where they are legally obliged to keep the dog under their control on a leash for the safety of road users, pedestrians and the dog, that under no circumstances, however unlikely, would it run into the road.

If an owner chose to flout the law and the dog was involved in a road traffic accident where harm was caused to human life or caused damage to property, a defence that it was out of character and trained to an exacting standard would be rejected and the owner found guilty.

I allow my dogs that mind their own business and do not bother unknown humans or dogs off leash in public in areas where it is legal and in my opinion safe to do so, but quite rightly there is no unqualified right to exercise a dog off leash and owners are as responsible for the behavior of their dog on leash as they are off.

If an owner chooses to keep their dog on a leash, I do not think of them as fuddy duddys, as they have the right to decide how they want to exercise their dog and for all I know the dog could be ill, in training, reactive due to fear or dog aggression.

Personally I cannot imagine a dog who never gets to go off leash. However, I don't allow my dog off leash in areas where leash laws are in effect; he is allowed to run free in wooded areas around my home, in designated off leash areas of the city, and at my sister's cottage (always supervised whenever off leash). My dog was trained at recall, so even if he is off leash in a wilderness area, he doesn't go out of my sight and comes immediately when I call him...a safety factor for both wildlife and for him.

If a dog owner doesn't respect the off leash restrictions and allows their dog to run loose, then they can expect to take chances on being heavily fined, or have someone react negatively to their dog, and they would be at fault. Ultimately it is the dog owner's responsibility to keep their dog safe, to respect the boundaries of others, and to keep their dog leashed when the area is designated on-leash only.

No, I don't. Dogs are animals of instinct, at any point really they could go from well-behaved and happy to in a state of anxiety because another dog walked by. Even if you have the most well-behaved centered dog I don't suggest it. If you insist on doing so, walk your dog by not other animals/people. Most places actually have law prohibiting this, similar laws also are for cats even though people insist on letting cats outside off-leash.

What wrong with simply walking your leashed dog? Exercise for you and the dog.

Having no space is not an excuse. Any city has walkways to walk your dog.

Diva..you know I love you, but, my dog is always off leash everywhere. Yes, there are leash laws, but, those were made for the who cannot and will not train, those who cannot correct and the lazy. Its just another excuse created by the higher ups to tell some people that they are too stupid to keep a dog under control.

I spend 2 years training a dog and proofing it, I hate leashes, my personal dog never runs to anyone, why should I be punished because others choose to fvck up?

Several years a go, I did have a dog try to attack mine, may it rest in peace...and yes, I do not like dogs running lose around me which is why I avoid all dog places.

You're not an old fuddy duddy, you simply grew up in a generation that taught people to be kind to one another and think of others before themselves, and what our actions could do that was detrimental to someone elses happiness.

We now live in a "what's in it for me" world, where the most important person it "me", not others.

Hopefully we will see that change back. I'm an optimist and think good manners aren't completely gone yet.

Read some of the answers being given here.......rude, unnecessary nastiness, very much what you might encounter any day anywhere.

Cross your fingers that people will eventually learn that good manners works better than rude behavior and that extends to what we allow our dogs to do. They only reflect their owners.