I am amazed at how many people walk their dogs offleash in our neighborhood. Especially since we live in an urban neighborhood with lots of cars and not in the country where we share a dirt path with the random pick up truck that drives down the road every once in a while. Is it ever okay to walk your dog off leash when you live in an urban neighborhood? And I'm not talking about standing in your front yard with your dog off leash, but like walking with them on the sidewalk, next to passing cars, down the street.
I suppose it's okay if your dog is 100% under voice control. But realistically, how many dogs are 100% under voice control? I interpret 100% to be that your dog comes running to you the second you call it. No repeating the command, no dilly dallying by the dog.
I've often wondered if I had dogs that actually listened to me if I would walk them offleash around the neighborhood. That's when the bf laughs at me and reminds me that I'm genetically predisposed to be the crazy overprotective asian mom that would not hesitate to strap a leash on her future kids, so why would I even consider walking the dogs off leash.
So if a miracle happens and I end up with dogs that are 100% under voice control, you might see them walking around with a monkey backpack.
1 comment:
We have this problem with our neighbors who think being "under control" means allowing their huge lab to run up and knock down everyone. We're bordered by 2 very busy streets in the city of Chicago, and I think it's just crazy to have any dog off leash. When we first were fostering Wilma, I asked them to keep their dog away as Wilma was very scared. Instead, the guy couldn't keep his dog under control and she came thundering towards Wilma. Luckily Wilma handled it well, but the next thing I knew after charging at us the dog went racing straight towards the very busy intersection. I thought that would be enough to show them how little control they have over their dog, but I still see them out there sans leash.
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