Rant: Smart dogs, stupid owners

[JoB]

today while walking my dogs in Lincoln park we encountered a couple with two off leash dogs.

both of my dogs were fully extended on retractable leashes doing the business dogs want a little space for in opposing directions.

i hollered that my dogs are leashed for a reason.. and the man called his dog over and leashed them both…

While i tried to pull the plastic bags and pick up after two dogs at opposing ends of retractable 16 ft leashes.. this woman aggressively starts walking down the trail toward me with her dog.

mind you.. i have dogs on two sides of me at the end of their leashes…

I yelled at her that my dogs weren’t dog friendly as i moved towards one end and bent over to pick up poo…

she kept coming.

i yelled, would she please stop.. my dogs were not dog friendly… and she kept coming…

i managed to barely control my dogs at the end of 16 foot leashes while the woman continued aggressively towards and past us.

her dog backed up and did his best to put his owner between him and my dogs as they did their best to reach him.

The stupid woman told me to have a nice day.

i don’t know what she was thinking… but the man with her was smart enough to stand back until i had both dogs completely under control… which is not easy to do with two agitated dogs at the end of their retractable leashes while holding bags of poop…

Did she think because her dogs were bigger that she had nothing to fear from my smaller dogs? She needed to think again.

Her dog wasn’t that stupid.

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[JoB]

sorry.. i meant to put this in rants and can’t get it back out once it’s posted:(

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[PDieter]

I’m not sure I fully understand that the idea of leashing dogs absolving people of the responsibility for training them.

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[JimmyG]

Stupid dog owner, there’s no excuse for off leash dogs (despite what others may say here on the WSB forums).

Yet retractable leashes should be banned IMO. Most people can’t use them well (can’t get them rectracted fast enough) and they technically violate the leash law in Seattle. Which is no leash over 10 feet (I believe).

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[JoB]

PDieter..

what ever gave you the impression that i am not training my dogs?

In addition to training them ourselves, we have had them in training more than once with some pretty expensive trainers…

I did everything i am supposed to do while training dogs to protect the safety of those around me… they were leashed.. they were under my control… and i warned the other dog owner more than once.

I did everything except having them on a leash that is less than 10 ft long…

Jimmyg..

most of the time my dogs do not end up at the end of their 17 ft… they are seldom more than 9 ft…

but we had stopped in an open area to do business.. and the dogs each chose their spot as far from the other as possible…

I admit that was absolutely the worst circumstances to find myself in with an owner who was not willing to behave prudently…

had i seen them ahead of time, i would never have allowed my dogs that much latitude.. but they were not visible when we stopped.. they emerged off leash from a wooded area mid squat.. so to speak…

and even then i kept my dogs from interacting with her dog…

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[BarbG]

So I’m confused, besides you and your dogs, there was 2 other people and 2 dogs. The man leashed the 2 dogs and the woman walked towards you with the dogs on a leash? I’m not sure that you can tell people where to walk in a public area, Lincoln Park is still public correct?

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[grr]

I gotta jump in here as well…While I certainly appreciate JoB’s wise warnings to other dog owners, having TWO ‘non-dog friendly’ dogs on 16′ retractable leashes is EQUALLY as irresponsible as the other owner who ignored the warnings-

there is simply NO way to control your dog, no matter how large or small, on a retractable leash. And, it gives your dog all the power to control YOU and take you where IT wants to go.

–

A 6-9 foot fixed leash is MORE than enough room for any dog to do their business while out for a walk. Time for JoB to get some Cesear Milan videos…

–

let me reiterate..I DO appreciate JoB’s ‘warnings’ to the other dog owners. Really. But, knowing you have non-dog friendly dogs puts EXTRA owness on YOU to maintain their control as best as you can.

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[Irukandji]

Retractable leashes are a riot. We have a neighbor with two little fuzzballs that he walks on retractable leashes. They run the circus! I don’t have the discipline to do all the work it takes to have two dogs on retractable leashes (nor do I have a valium prescription). If my little tyrants get to go anywhere, it’s on a split leash so they stick together, and a leash length I can handle.

JoB, if I remember right, works with rescue dogs – a whole level of commitment far beyond what it takes to manage pugs. It’s easy to forget that dog owners all have different stories, though we all ought respect the basics of the law. All part of why I adore Marymoor despite the distance.

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[thee]

again? really?

i’ll get the popcorn….

thee

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[BarbG]

I can appreciate JoB’s warning, but if you have two dogs on a long leash and the dogs are so very unfriendly that you have to warn other people with dogs to stay away from you, then maybe you need to figure out some other way to get them out for exercise.

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[vincent]

Retractable Leashes are illegal in the city of seattle, by virtue of violating the maximum length allowed. For reasons as you described.

You should have gotten a ticket, as well as the off leash dog owner.

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[Anonymous]

It seems it’s actually 8 feet.

***The law states that it is unlawful for any owner of a domestic animal, except cats and pigeons, to allow it to run at large, but that pets may be removed from the premises of the owner if restrained by a leash that is eight feet or shorter, and if in physical control of a person.***

http://www.cityofseattle.net/animalshelter/didknow.htm

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[JimmyG]

Mid-squat or not, if your dogs were in danger from off leash dogs they should have been yarded in immediately to right next to you.

I’m unaware of any dog suffering long standing trauma from having to pinch one off a bit early.

And in all honesty, as others above have said: 2 dogs being handled by one human that aren’t dog friendly in a park well-known for off leash violators shouldn’t be on retractable leashes.

An aside on retractable leashes: they teach your dog to “pull”. We weren’t allowed to use them while raising service dog pups because of that.

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[JimmyG]

Oh and JT thanks for looking up the law. I was trying to remember what the legal length was, yet was too lazy to stop typing to look it up.

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[PDieter]

my work here is done

;)

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[JimmyG]

As you were PDieter, as you were.

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[Sue]

Commenting on retractable leashes, I do wish people would be more careful with where their dog is running in a busy, urban area. My best friend in NYC walking his dog down a Manhattan sidewalk, and the dog started running and releasing the length of the leash. Unfortunately, a car came driving out of a driveway at that instant, didn’t see the dog darting out, and he ran over and killed the dog. Whenever I see dogs running like that, I cringe at what could happen.

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[mellaw6565]

JoB- I’m sorry this happened as it can be unnerving. However, I’m with the crowd on this one – you need control leashes, not retractable ones. I’d be glad to help you find some good ones that will work for your dogs:)

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[JoB]

Perhaps i didn’t explain the situation well, but tell me.. what would have changed in this situation had my dogs been on an 8 foot lead?

I was in the middle of a clearing with my dogs.

In fact, the only reason they were on an extended lead at the time of the incident is that i was in the middle of an empty clearing and had been exercising them.

At the point that i noticed her, her partner and her unleashed dogs were playing at the edge of a clearing… they were not walking purposefully down a path in my direction.

After her dog was leashed, she chose to walk directly at me at substantial speed in spite of the fact that i clearly warned her repeatedly that there was the danger of a confrontation…

she chose to come within leash length of my dogs… in fact at one point she was substantially closer than 17 ft… but i had already successfully pulled the dogs closer to me.

It was a clearing.. there was plenty of room to go around me. She heeled her dog in next to her and charged at me and my dogs… in spite of the fact that i warned her that my dogs weren’t dog friendly and that i was dealing with both leashes and filled poop bags.

In this situation, the only reason there was no confrontation is because her dog was smart enough to move out of the way.

In fact, had the dog obeyed her and walked where she put him, there would have been a confrontation… provoked by her.

I was not reporting the behavior of a space cadet here… this was not some bumbling keystone cops comedy unfolding over a long period of time…

i was reporting deliberate provocation which occurred in less time than you can speed walk half a block’s distance.

You might have had less reason to chastise me if my dogs had been sitting next to me on leash..

but that wouldn’t have changed her behavior one bit.

And in this particular situation would have likely resulted in far more danger to me and my dogs.

The suggestion that I will always be at fault for choosing to walk my dogs at all in a public park simply because other people frequently choose to disobey the law and walk their dogs off leash… seems more than a little wrong headed to me.

I choose times when there are few people in the park and choose routes which are generally not much used.

At the first sign of another dog, i pull my dogs in next to me… walk off the path a substantial distance regardless of the terrain and wait for the other dog to pass… whether those dogs are leashed or not.

I was in the process of doing just that as this woman chose to walk rapidly and deliberately right at me and my dogs.

I commented on this instance because it was so blatant…

I admit i am more accustomed to seeing the “I am entitled and my dog can kick the crap out of your dog.. i like to see them fight” attitude from men than i am from women… but this type of incident happens too frequently…

i have been injured more than once while my dogs were sitting next to my knee.. off the path… by a dog or dog and owner combination that approached and provoked confrontations after they had been warned to leash their animals and leave mine alone.

Should i be happy to report that my dogs have never been injured during one of those confrontations??? .. just me… and their dogs.

JimmyG…… your pronouncements about what i should and shouldn’t be doing with my dogs is more than a bit judgmental…

You don’t know my dogs.. you don’t know my level of skill handling them and you were not there.

i am sure armchair quarterbacking is a lot of fun.. but to be just a tad catty… your dog walker tale pretty much disqualifies you from having the kind of expertise to pass that kind of judgment on other dog owners.

but hey, we all get to have opinions…

mellaw6565….

thanks, but i don’t need assistance purchasing control leashes.. i already own them.. and train my dogs on them.

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[RainyDay1235]

I keep my dog on a tight short leash. I walk her because she is a dog and needs walking and loves it. She is a shelter dog with abuse issues from a hoarding home. If any off leash dog runs up to her I yell to the owner that she is not friendly to aggressive – even “friendly” aggressive dogs.

If they get too close they get bared teeth, and if they get closer they get nipped. It’s happened a few times. She is just defending her space. If she were off leash at a park she would simply run away – and she does every time, and fast. But on a leash she feels threatened, and rightly so. My dog is leashed, yours is not. I’m right.

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[thee]

i dunno, pdieter. i hate to disagree with yr well played and pithy comments, but this topic/OP surely has not gotten quite enough attention yet.

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[guidosmom]

Job, I am sorry that you had a bad experience. I used to go to Lincoln Park at least twice a week, but now only go maybe once every other month due to similar encounters. It’s not fair. I now pick up one of my dogs when we encounter an off leash dog, which is probably one of the worst things you can do because I don’t want to encourage his “naughty” behavior, but we’ve had too many dangerous encounters where he’s been attacked by offleash dogs and I’ve almost been injured trying to protect him. I know Animal Control has been out more often and doing a great job. I have considered trying to organize a group of “on leash dog” people to get together and walk their dogs on leash, because at least if there were more of us we’d be able to fend off the off leash dogs easier. And, it would be a great opportunity to allow our dogs to socialize in a safe leashed environment while walking. I am sorry about what you experienced. :(

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[PDieter]

OK Thee,

I bow to your greater knowledge of these things. So I say take the leash off this topic and let it run free; or at least pee on your leg.

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[inactive]

pdieter ! LOL !

And do we not have cute dog avatars on these forums?

Good grief Guidosmom and PDieter – your dogs are almost as cute as mine ;).

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[guidosmom]

westseattledood, I have always noticed your avatar. Your dogs is adorable. Looks like an Irish wolfhound I used to have. I love the sunglasses, but I think you need to put a rain coat on your dog instead. :) Adorable!

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