ok.. i dont' seem to be feeling so philosophical any longer so... one last attempt at clarity.
i was playing with my dogs in a clearing... at the end of which the dogs were moved to leave a little gift... on opposite sides of me with fully extended leashes.
as the dogs were leaving their gift, i looked up and saw a couple of people enter the edge of the clearing with their unleashed dogs... about half a city block away from me.
they weren't headed in my direction.. in fact they were loitering at the edge of the clearing playing with their dogs.
I admit that i was indulging in risky behavior. i was letting my dogs play leashed in the middle of the clearing where i could clearly see at least a half block's length all around me... it was a calculated risk, but it was a risk...
However, let me repeat, my dogs were leashed.. and i was in the middle of the clearing where i could easily see and react to any threat to their safety... including but not limited to runners... dogs off leash... bikers.. and frisbee playing kids... though the rain, the time of day and the fact that the clearing was pretty much surrounded by woods cut the odds of encountering any but the most dedicated..
when i saw the couple and their unleashed dogs, i called to them to leash their dogs.. that mine weren't dog friendly..
the man called his dogs to leash them while i moved towards one dog to pick up the poo...
I straightened and had my hand full of one dog's bagged poo when I saw the woman moving rapidly towards me with her dog... and i yelled again that the dogs were not dog friendly.
those of you who bag poo while walking a dog will know that it is impossible to do so with a retractable leash in both hands so at that point i had both retractable leashes in one hand with bagged poo in the other.
the woman moved at a speed walking speed directly at me with her dog pulled to her side...
My dogs were completely uninterested in the woman and her dog and were off to the side not quite at at the end of their leashes at that point until they saw her and the dog moving in an aggressive manner directly at them.
my challenge... move the leashes so that they were in two hands... call the dogs who had now noticed a woman and a dog charging rapidly right at them and had started running diagonally at full speed towards them... stop them in their tracks... reel both leashes in... and yell at her one more time asking her to please stop, my dogs were not dog friendly...
I was able to successfully do that quickly enough that with the assistance of the other dog who quickly moved back out of the lead dog's way, the dogs were not able to reach her and i was able to both retract the leashes and move out of the way of the woman quickly enough that even as she kept moving towards me, smirked and told me to have a nice day... as i struggled with two over excited dogs trying to reach her, i was able to keep the leashes short enough that the dogs could not reach her or her dog.
i did drop the poo bag and my gloves in the process and had moved far enough out of the woman's path that by the time her companion followed with his dog, i was well out of their way.
i will tell you that i did one thing wrong.
When i saw the couple with their dogs, in spite of the fact that the man called the dogs to them and started leashing them.. i should have assumed that they were a direct threat to me and my dogs and immediately shortened the leashes and moved off leaving the dog piles for someone to step in. I will next time.
I am sure each and every one of you who have criticized could do better.. would have done better.. would never have put themselves in that position anyway... would never own a dog they had to warn other people to avoid... can walk their dogs safely off leash in any circumstance and believe that only people who don't train their dogs can't do the same... and would be glad to lend me your copy of your favorite dog training video.
and isn't it good that woman taught JoB a lesson.. thinking she could go to a park with her dog aggressive dogs even when that park was practically empty and let their leashes out in a clearing letting them have a little fun.
All i can say to that is that you need to get a grip on reality...
and i truly hope you never encounter a situation where you have underestimated the malicious behavior of another person and put yourself at risk..
because you clearly aren't equipped to deal with it..
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West Seattle Blog
