Opinions On Leash Laws

[Gharrissc]

A lot of people don't control their dogs because they feel that it's taking away from the dogs fun. It doesnt make sense to me,but I've had people tell me that I should 'let my dogs be dogs' when I recall them from going up to someone in the park or on hiking trail. My dogs are friendly,but I think you should respect other people who are out and may not be willing to interact with your dog. Some don't feel that way.

Originally Posted by Kyleigh

IF and that's a HUGE IF ... people REALLY did have the control over their dogs that they thought they had, I'd support no leashes! But the reality is, people don't.

[codmaster]

Originally Posted by misterW

I dislike leash laws, but in cities, with so many other dogs, people, cars...it is probably best to have dogs on a leash. One reason why I do not live in a city and would not have a dog if I did.

It is such a different experience to be able to just walk out along back roads, through woods and fields, with the dog trotting along, constantly looking back and making eye contact, smelling things and stopping when it wants, chasing squirrels up trees, jumping in streams...

Isn't that one reason why we have leash laws?

[Debbieg]

Definitely need leash laws in our the city but nice to have many country area where we can enjoy off leash hikes.

Benny is very well trained off leash but I have no problem obeying the leash law in public out of respect for people who are scared of him.

[selzer]

Ohio has a leash law. It covers the WHOLE state, and I wish people in rural areas (like where I live) would abide by it. If they have the dog under control, the wording is such that the dog does not need to be connected to them. But people in rural areas, oftentimes, think that dogs should just go and be dogs, while they sit on their butts watching the boob-tube.

Yesterday I was walking my kids in the middle of the city. Ok, they are not my kids, they are my nieces, but I baby sit them a lot. And this city area has a LOT of dear roaming everywhere. What a nuisance, but that is a rant for another thread. Anyway, the girls are 6 and almost 6, and they are smaller than kindergarteners, and we did a forced march to a park about 2 miles away. On the way back, we went the other way around their huge circle to get up the seventh and steepest of Seven Hills' hills. And the girls and I see the beast at the same time.

They said it was a deer, I said it was a Great Dane. There is a man out there doing something, and a woman next door out -- it was a nice day. We kept walking. The dog charges toward us. It comes right up to my belly button -- it is a big dog, a boxer, but bigger. The owner did not bother to corral it originally, just said that it won't hurt me.

Nice. I am sorry but when you have someone else's little girls with you, that would make a good sized snack for a large dog, maybe you don't want dogs running unabated up to them. The girls were frightened, so it was important that I not be. I said, he is a boxer? His owner said yes, but we think he has Great Dane in him. I thought so too.

Eventually he realized that his dog, however friendly was not leaving us alone so we could go across his side-walk and he finally managed to call the dog off and put it in his trunk.

This is so unbelievably unacceptable behavior of an owner of a dog that people might be scared of, but it was not my neighborhood, and I just kept on going and told the girls not to stare at the dog.

We were all so tired last night, that I really did not care all that much that the power went out and I had to take care of the dog in the dark, and the go to bed in the cold. Some part of me worried about whether the power would be on today and how I would manage water if it were out for days.

But it came on, went off again, then came on again while I was sleeping.