In my opinion - Dogs on leads.

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Should dogs be kept on leads in all public areas

  • Yes

  • No


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Chippy_Tea

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5 live do this every day today's topic is dogs on leads.

Should dogs be kept on leads in all public areas?
 
Before you owners answer this includes park area football fields etc where I see many owners let them off their leads where they are a long way from the owners and not in control of them and if kids are playing they will naturally run after any balls the kids are playing with and then you hear that shout "it will not hurt you" whilst being 25 yards away
Sorry for the rant one of my personal hates
 
I will follow that with my rant

A few people have already phoned in saying their dogs are friendly so they should be allowed to run free what these owners don't get is there some people like me do not like dogs I was bitten a few years ago and now have a fear of dogs I don't want your little ball of hair running towards me jumping up and putting dirty paws on my clothes when I am out enjoying a walk if you want to let your dog run free find somewhere where you are not going to bother anyone.

On a positive note some owners phoned in and said you can now rent dog exercise areas by the half hour whee you can let your dog run free, a good business idea and it solves a problem not often discussed.
 
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A high majority of attacks especially on children are family pets(that one will not hurt you) no dog and I mean no dog is immune from attacks they are just like humans they have bad days and treating them like children can make them become jealous in fact some people prefer them to children.
They can be a integral family members but they are pets at the end of the day.
 
My dog loves humans but is not so keen on other dogs so I keep him on the lead to A) stop him bothering people like Chippy Tea who may not welcome the attention and B) to prevent him getting into scraps with other dogs. The only time I would consider letting him off the leash is in a wide open space with no one else around.
 
I think it's not impossible to have different rules in towns and out in the country rather than having blanket bans at national level.
On a positive note some owners phoned in and said you can now rent dog exercise areas by the half hour whee you can let your dog run free, a good business idea and it solves a problem not often discussed.
There's not that many of them and they're not cheap.

As something I have experience of, I think the US has a better idea in that they recognise the fact that they restrict the rights of dogs and their owners by expecting dogs to be on lead in most public places, but in return for that every council is expected to provide an off-lead dog park for free. The best ones have two separate areas, one for small/timid dogs and one for the rest, and provide water fountains, poo bags and bins (in fact it's considered normal to provide poo bags for free in other areas, which means a much better rate of clearing up poo). I think it's not unreasonable tradeoff to have to make, providing facilities in return for a restriction of rights.

The other thing that I think the US is much better at is that they have a "driving test" for dogs called the Canine Good Citizen test, which tests the basics of being able to eg walk past people/dogs without jumping up etc. The Kennel Club here have something similar but it's less of a thing, whereas in the US you need to have passed the CGC to access certain parks and eg have the dog in rented accommodation. One difference is that the British one puts more weight on off-lead training as it's more needed here. But just generally I'd put more weight on training and less on the nanny state trying to ban stuff.
 
My dog loves humans but is not so keen on other dogs so I keep him on the lead to A) stop him bothering people like Chippy Tea who may not welcome the attention and B) to prevent him getting into scraps with other dogs. The only time I would consider letting him off the leash is in a wide open space with no one else around.
Well said it's a shame all dog owners are not as responsible as you.
 
NB the problem with dog only areas where you can let your dog run free is some dogs get on with others and some are vicious.
 
Our little JRT stays on a lead for 2 reasons 1 she is a terrier and like to chase things sqirrels and stuff 2 she is very friendly unless you have hi vis on or a granny trolly or walking stick then she becomes agressive, round town and local it's a short lead open spaces and woodland it's the long lead, a couple of times other smaller so called well behaved dogs of lead have been snapped at the owners said i need to get her trained, my reply think yourself lucky she is not a Rotty your dog could be dead get it on a lead or trained
 
I have a beagle. A lead is essential at all times. She wants everyone to be her friend and gets upset when people ignore her when out for a walk.
I’m very aware of the fact that not all people like dogs or know certain breeds personalities so always keep the extendy lead short when passing people when out for a walk. If I let her off the lead her recall only lasts for as long as she dosnt pick up a good smell and heads off in search of the source.
I hate being out for a walk with her and a yappy ball of hair and teeth looks to pick a fight it can’t win. I have no problem telling the owner to control their dog or I will drop kick it as far as I can and score a point for Donegal like a gaa final.
 
Our little JRT stays on a lead for 2 reasons 1 she is a terrier and like to chase things sqirrels and stuff 2 she is very friendly unless you have hi vis on or a granny trolly or walking stick then she becomes agressive, round town and local it's a short lead open spaces and woodland it's the long lead, a couple of times other smaller so called well behaved dogs of lead have been snapped at the owners said i need to get her trained, my reply think yourself lucky she is not a Rotty your dog could be dead get it on a lead or trained

My terrier is much the same. His prey drive is way too high, and he'd end up lost, or dead. Plus, no one with a nervous dog needs another dog running up into their space. "Oh, but he's friendly" they cry! "Well we're f*cking not".
 
Round here it's "illegal" to walk your dog on a marked out sports field. You'll get a fine. You'll also get one if you have no means of picking up it's ploppy.....ie no dog muck bag in your pocket.
Yes,they should be on a lead in busy areas or if local legislation dictates or you're rubbish with dogs.
 
This is a subject very close to me, a topic on which I have been known to rant in the past, mainly due to the knee jerk reaction of so many dog owners that never fail to recite the mantra 'my dog is a big softy, wouldn't hurt a fly, great with kids' etc, ad infinitum.

I'm not a fan of dogs at all, but I can tolerate their presence to some extent, it's the irresponsible owners that wind me up.
There is still somewhat of a fashion in my area for XL bullies, leads are rarely seen and I've personally witnessed several unprovoked attacks on both humans and other animals over the last few years by unleashed dogs (of many breeds).

I've been bitten a couple of times, but many years ago and on both occasions it was either a family member's dog that overreacted or a random on lead dog that was well known in the area for being aggressive.

I'd say about 99% of the dogs I've come into contact with over the course of my life have been friendly, but as others have said, I could really do without being leapt on, drooled on, having fur shed all over me etc.
What's more, my daughter is terrified of dogs and tends to panic when we're at the park and a large, powerful, animal with sharp teeth charges towards us while completely ignoring the feeble and ineffectual calls to return from its owner.

There have been far too many avoidable tragedies involving dogs that should have been on a lead, if I had my way it would be enshrined in law and severely penalised when flouted.
 
There's a dog in my neighbourhood that walks beautifully along side its owner that my dog really does not like. One day I saw another dog react the same way as mine, and I realised that it was the dog's body language causing this - it was giving other dogs what I can only describe as a death stare.

Thinking back I remember seeing the owner in the local park 'training' the puppy. Their approach was to growl and shout at the pup whenever it showed any interest in any other dog or strayed from the owner's side.

As a result the grown dog does walk beautifully next to its owner, but a lot of other dogs do not react well to it's 'go away' body language.
 
To be a dog owner is not hard it's common sense, so owner training should be the order of the day along with obedience training for doggo, followed by an exam, owner training then get a dog obedience training then exam, also proof you have the means to look after the doggo ie vet bills feeding, a lot of people get a pooch without a clue what it costs to look after it, take our dog she is a fussy with food took us almost 2 years to sort her, now she has James wellbeloved small dog lamb kibble with boiled chicken or fresh salmon with a small amount of warm water being small 6kg it is not much compared to say a lab.
 

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