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Originally Posted by Ilovemypuppy Letting a dog off leash is dreaming unless you are in a fenced area. Ask any dog  |
You haven't met a few dogs in my neighborhood!
Example: There's one guy who takes his dog for walks off leash all the time, and we see him frequently when Luna and I are out and about. The dog is usually 20 feet or so ahead of him, but always listens when given a command to "come" or "stop". The other day I came out my front door with Luna and as we approached the sidewalk, beyond the hedge I see this dog about 15 feet away. He saw us and made a little jump forward to come visit and his owner, who was still halfway down the block, called out "stop". That dog stopped in his tracks and waited for his owner. As far as I'm concerned, this guy can walk his dog off leash as much as he wants. He has a mental leash and his dog responds immediately to it.
As long as people have control over their dogs, I don't mind at all if they are off leash.
As far as what I do, it depends on the approaching dog. If it trots up friendly, I lift the leash out of the way, allow a greeting, and then move on my way (while looking for the darn owner!) If it comes charging up in a more aggressive manner, I will give Luna a pop and take a half step in front of her to let her know I'm taking care of it, and I will yell in my best growl voice "No!", and that usually takes care of that. Beyond those, we've only encountered 3 dogs that were very aggressive and looking for a piece of meat. I just had to think on my feet for those, and one encounter was pretty darn scary.
For these types of dogs, there's no excuse in the world good enough for not having them leashed.