# Help with ignoring leash law violators



## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Okay, so, it's part of my personality I suppose, that it just irks me when I see people let their dogs off leash to run freely. Why does it bother me? I don't know. Maybe it's because there exists an Arlington County Leash Law that states:

_Leash Laws

When off their owner's property, all dogs in Arlington must be leashed and under control of the owner or another responsible person. The only exception to this law is if the dog is in a county-sanctioned, off-lead dog exercise area. _

And the pooper scooper law:

_Waste Removal

Known as the pooper-scooper law, this ordinance requires Arlington dog owners to remove and dispose of feces that their dogs have deposited on public areas or another person's property. _

Now that the weather is nicer, I see people allowing their dogs to run off leash outside of the fenced in dog park.

So, I'm certain they understand there is a leash law. My question to you is, how can I just "let it go" and not let it bother me so much that pet parents choose to ignore the leash law?

Sometimes, yes, it does interfere with my walking my dog on a leash. Other times, it's just annoying because they aren't following the rules. Too bad for me!! Get over it!! Let it go!!

I know that personality has a lot to do with why some people choose to ignore the leash laws. They must think that letting their dogs run freely off leash is more important than following the law. Or they think that the rules don't apply to them, only to every other dog. What if every dog owner let their dogs off leash?

If you are the type of person who lets her dog off leash and violates your local leash laws, I would like to know why so I can be more understanding and more tolerant.

Thanks!!


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## mamacjt (Aug 23, 2011)

Why do people speed, or drink before the legal age, or ignore due date on bills? Rules don't apply to them, doncha know?? Be happy that you have a brain and no one needs to wonder about you! lol


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## Ruthi (Nov 10, 2011)

No, it is not just you, but as the previous poster said, people dont follow a lot of the laws. Here, where I live, which is more in the country, people move in and get dogs, and take them home, turn them loose and they dont bother much with them again. Occasionally they put out some water, or throw them some food. But mostly they wander the neighborhood, getting into other peoples yards, digging in trash, looking for food and water. I am dealing with a neighbor right now like that. They had 2 large dogs last yr, and they were constantly finding a way to get in my place. I have a beautiful little pond in the front yard, and they would get in it to cool off, and meanwhile mess the pond up. Talking to them did no good. Then they suddenly disappeared. Now they have gotten two more, and they are starting to do the same.I feel for the dogs. They definetely are not being took care of. They wont come to you when you call them, probably because so many have ran them off. Our dog control people here are useless, you are on your own. Yes there are laws that they cant roam, but, no one will do anything about it. I sure understand your frustrations.


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Maybe one reason it bothers me is because I don't think the leash law is actually enforced. I've not ever seen an Arlignton County Police Officer issue a citation to anyone with a dog off leash. 

Why have the leash law to begin with if it's not going to be enforced? 

Are pet parents who live in apartments more concerned that their dogs will not be trained properly off leash? 

It has to be a great feeling to be walking or strolling along with a dog off leash right beside you. I've seen that with dogs in the neighborhood like Golden Retrievers. However, I've also seen people let their little dogs like a Maltese off leash to chase after squirrels. 

It makes me feel like I'm an uptight person by not allowing my dog to go squirrel chasing. 

I would love to hear from leash law violators to understand their reasoning. I'm sure they don't feel they're putting their dogs in any harm.


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Ruthi said:


> No, it is not just you, but as the previous poster said, people dont follow a lot of the laws. Here, where I live, which is more in the country, people move in and get dogs, and take them home, turn them loose and they dont bother much with them again. Occasionally they put out some water, or throw them some food. But mostly they wander the neighborhood, getting into other peoples yards, digging in trash, looking for food and water. I am dealing with a neighbor right now like that. They had 2 large dogs last yr, and they were constantly finding a way to get in my place. I have a beautiful little pond in the front yard, and they would get in it to cool off, and meanwhile mess the pond up. Talking to them did no good. Then they suddenly disappeared. Now they have gotten two more, and they are starting to do the same.I feel for the dogs. They definetely are not being took care of. They wont come to you when you call them, probably because so many have ran them off. Our dog control people here are useless, you are on your own. Yes there are laws that they cant roam, but, no one will do anything about it. I sure understand your frustrations.


I remember when my grandparents had two German Shepherds, Rocky and Lucky, and they stayed outside on about 5 acres in Missouri. But it was outside of county lines, and they had ponds and such. The dogs loved to roam freely and would come back home!! They would go over to the neighbor's and bark at the cows.

I think some times people who are out in the country, don't realize they are subject to city ordinances. If they live "out in the county" and not in the city, the leash laws may be different. I had this problem when I lived in a small town in Kansas near Kansas City. There were city ordinances and leash laws, but the neighbors with their pets acted like they lived out in the county. They did that with fire works, too. Didn't realize they lived in a denser area than out in the county.


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

Ruthi, the one advice I have is to avoid confrontation with your neighbor about their two dogs. I would research online to find out if your neighbor is violating any leash laws. If they are, I would contact animal control the next time you see them. Animal control should be able to catch the dogs when they are in your pond. I would NOT talk to the neighbor about it. 

I did this with my neighbor who would leave her garage door open a foot to let her cat wander outside at night. The cat would cry in front of my bedroom window and rattle me!! The cat would dart in my garage and almost in my house or my car whenever I opened my garage door. Yes, my neighbor was violating a city ordinance by letting her cat out. It didn't matter. There wasn't any reasoning with her about it.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

curly_DC said:


> I remember when my grandparents had two German Shepherds, Rocky and Lucky, and they stayed outside on about 5 acres in Missouri. But it was outside of county lines, and they had ponds and such. The dogs loved to roam freely and would come back home!! They would go over to the neighbor's and bark at the cows.
> 
> I think some times people who are out in the country, don't realize they are subject to city ordinances. If they live "out in the county" and not in the city, the leash laws may be different. I had this problem when I lived in a small town in Kansas near Kansas City. There were city ordinances and leash laws, but the neighbors with their pets acted like they lived out in the county. They did that with fire works, too. Didn't realize they lived in a denser area than out in the county.


I can't tell you why people do this, except, as someone else said, people break laws all the time and don't even think about them. If they are not enforced, even MORE people break laws, and at the same time, under funded police departments have bigger fish to fry than dealing with off-leash dogs.

I DON'T live in the city. I live at the edge of the suburbs in a town that is zone residental/agricultural except for a small business district. I have a 5+ acre horse farm and back up to another much larger farm, and have wooded town-owned land to one side. We STILL have trouble with loose dogs, and it's not OK here, either.

I HATE going out and stepping in huge elephant plop sized dog poop in my yard that CLEARLY didn't come out of Kodi. (besides, we pick his up when he goes) We once had a neighbor's Rottweiler cross who would come and run our horses. When I yelled at him when I was out doing stalls one day, he came after ME. Fortunately, I had a pitch fork in my hands, and he actually bounced off the tines before he retreated. Otherwise, I'm sure he would have attacked me. We have another neighbor with two Springer Spaniels. These are both nice "people" dogs, but one of them is very dog aggressive. I have to walk right by their house to get down my driveway, and twice the dog has come running out and tried to grab Kodi. I've had to yank him up off the ground with the leash, then kick the dog off repeatedly before the owner came and dragged him away. They apologize profusely, but they don't maintain their fences, and don't properly supervise their pets.

Another time I was carrying groceries to my house from the car. Kodi was off leash, as he often is in our yard, following me back and forth as I brought the groceries in. (our yard is set WAY back from the street at the end of a very long driveway, and is out of line of site of these dogs) The dog came charging INTO our yard and grabbed Kodi ON OUR BACK STEPS. fortunately, because of Kodi's long coat, he only got a mouthful of hair for the effort before I chased him off and got Kodi in the house.

People seem to feel that because there is open land (ours) behind their house, it is fine to let their dogs run loose. But it's MY property, and I want to be able to SAFELY use it for my own animals. So this is not just a "city" problem.

Around town, people do, for the most part keep their dogs on leashes, and MOST people (besides my stupid neighbors) either have solid fences or "Invisible Fences". But they don't clean up after their dogs on the street... Walking down the sidewalk between our house and town is like walking though a minefield.

So, I don't have any answers for you, but I'm right up on the soap box with you. These people are irresponsible and a danger not only to other people's pets but to their own as well.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

curly_DC said:


> Ruthi, the one advice I have is to avoid confrontation with your neighbor about their two dogs. I would research online to find out if your neighbor is violating any leash laws. If they are, I would contact animal control the next time you see them. Animal control should be able to catch the dogs when they are in your pond. I would NOT talk to the neighbor about it.
> 
> I did this with my neighbor who would leave her garage door open a foot to let her cat wander outside at night. The cat would cry in front of my bedroom window and rattle me!! The cat would dart in my garage and almost in my house or my car whenever I opened my garage door. Yes, my neighbor was violating a city ordinance by letting her cat out. It didn't matter. There wasn't any reasoning with her about it.


I also have tried talking to a neighbor (thank goodness she is no longer a neighbor) about her cat who was pooping in my yard. She swore up and down that it was not her cat. When I asked if 'Dudley' was trained to use a litter box, she haughtily informed me that of course he wouldn't use one, and basically told me it was my fault for digging up flower beds in my own yard, thus 'inviting' cats. Funny thing, after she got her husband to pay off her house and redecorate it and then dumped him, he took the cat with him - and wonder of wonders - no more cat poop in my flower beds! There are some people (quite a few, actually) with a sense of entitlement, who only consider themselves and couldn't care less about how their actions affect others.

Our city council recently voted down a leash law, because the city does not have the funds or manpower to enforce it. It shouldn't take a law to make people show consideration for others, but it certainly appears that a law is needed, with strong teeth, to make some people do the 'right' thing.

We had a neighbor years ago that would let her toy breed of some sort run around the neighborhood, no leash - and this was when we did have a leash law - because there was no leash laws for cats and 'he's no larger than a cat', she told me. I had a hard time showing any sympathy, except I felt sorry for the dog, when that dog was struck and killed by a car. And guess who she blamed for that??


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

When I first moved to Arlington, it was difficult to find an apartment that did NOT allow dogs, since I didn't have one. I was very "old school" and thought it was cruel NOT to have outside space for a dog, and I couldn't visualize myself with a smaller breed dog. 

Anyway, unless they really weren't being honest with my grandparents, their neighbors seemed to love the two German Shepherds that would roam freely. Lucky was the younger one that would sometimes not come back at the end of the day. I remember my grandparents weren't even worried that he hadn't returned home before dark. 

Remember the tv shows with dogs, like "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," where I think the dogs weren't allowed in the house, and the kids were always trying to sneak the dog in?? Or maybe that was The Brady Bunch, where the dog would sometimes run loose through the house and Alice would freak out!! Dogs had their own little houses outside. Maybe some people still think that way, that dogs should roam freely and then return home. 

I saw another tv program "Bad Dog" where they put a hidden camera on an escape artist dog to see where he went when he escaped from his own home. He traveled pretty far and wide for a dog through some water to a neighbor's house to eat BBQ. And then he saw his pet parents' car on the street, and started running back home to get there before they did. It was soooo funny!!!


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Michele,
Where I live in Montgomery County, I almost never see any dogs off leash, thank goodness. Except for the occasional dog that gets loose and then all the neighbors help to corral the dog.
However, the folks here don't obey the pooper scoop laws and that is so aggravating. I'd love to find out who is doing this and approach them with a poop bag.


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

luv3havs said:


> Michele,
> Where I live in Montgomery County, I almost never see any dogs off leash, thank goodness. Except for the occasional dog that gets loose and then all the neighbors help to corral the dog.
> However, the folks here don't obey the pooper scoop laws and that is so aggravating. I'd love to find out who is doing this and approach them with a poop bag.


Well, Montgomery County has some very smart educated people!!

I've laughed at the "Doody Calls" commercials here in Arlington, VA. There's actually a business where someone will pick up your dog doody for you.


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

I'm like you curly_DC, people who let their dogs roam their front yards bothers me. They let them out in the FRONT to go potty - don't they have backyards for this?! There's one chihuahua in my neighborhood who on more than one occasion has charged my dogs. I almost want to walk my friend's dog (who is protective) and "accidentally" let go of the leash! But of course, I will not do this because this is someone's dog, and the chihuahua has a family that loves him. Which is why it perplexes me that the same family would let him wander. I think people let their dogs out in the front thinking their dogs are well-behaved, but several dogs have ran towards me from a whole street down. Many people do not have control over their dog.

I've seen one large boxer mix who is let out in the front yard, and I noticed an e-collar. I assume the owner has control of this dog. I can't be all high and mighty about the leash laws because I too will sometimes have my dogs off leash. BUT, they stay in the garage. They don't go roaming around. If I see people or kids, I leash them, for their safety. There is also a boat dock with a large parking lot that I take my dogs to at night - anywhere from 8-11 PM. I pick the late times so that I know people aren't out. It's hard to find a safe, well-lit large off-leash area, so this works for me. I'm on the lookout though, at the first sign of a person, car, or animal, I leash my dogs.


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

curly_DC said:


> Well, Montgomery County has some very smart educated people!!
> 
> I've laughed at the "Doody Calls" commercials here in Arlington, VA. There's actually a business where someone will pick up your dog doody for you.


What I find _totally _annoying are the people who clean up after their dog but then LEAVE THE BAGGIE WITH POOP IN IT THERE, either on the ground or tied to the fence!!! Sheesh!!


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## Becky Chittenden (Feb 4, 2009)

I live in the country and think I'm the only one on our road who confines their dogs. The state has a leash law, but with only 1 person in our county to be a dog catcher, it is not enforced. Unfortunately, a number of dogs have been killed on our road, but the owners don't learn from that.


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Didn't mean to infer that all of Montgomery county keeps dogs on leash. Just my little neighborhood. LOL
I'm sure there are parts of the county where the dogs are just "let out" to do their business.


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## My2Havs (Jun 5, 2009)

luv3havs said:


> Didn't mean to infer that all of Montgomery county keeps dogs on leash. Just my little neighborhood. LOL
> I'm sure there are parts of the county where the dogs are just "let out" to do their business.


This is a sore subject with all of us that keep our dogs on leash and pick up their poop. I'm always grumbling to my husband, "what is wrong with people that they think it's OK to have their loose dogs poop in our front yard and then just leave it there? Once I picked it up and dropped it back in their front yard but of course they didn't know it was me because I was too scared to let them see me do it! Last week after it had been pouring rain all day, I found a big pile on wet mushy poop on our driveway, can you believe it? These are the same type of people that don't spay/neuter their pets and just drop them and their puppies off at a shelter when they don't feel like taking care of them anymore. This is a very depressing and apparently unsolvable subject, sigh....
Monica, Dooley & Roxie


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## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

A time to rant yeah!!!! My pet peeve is that we have some wonderful places to walk where dogs need to be leashed and there are signs all over the place. As people don't leash their dogs we are going to loose these places as this has happened before. What was "dogs on leash only" becomes "no dogs allowed".
I am lucky in that I have many off leash places to walk also but it does bug me,because these people could go elsewhere to run their dogs. I do agree that just a leash walk is not really exercise for most dogs. Our little ones can deal with it better but I do try to let him run when I can. DONT worry he is always in a safe place,wide open fields , my own property and is often on a drag line. We do work on recall every day,getting there.


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## curly_DC (Nov 27, 2011)

As for the poop scooper issue, maybe a home owners association can pay for a Doody Calls service to pick up the poop, just to maintain the neighbor relationships. Trees and fences and pets probably cause the most issues with neighbors. And the funny thing is if you're the neighbor who wants the ordinances enforced you're the "bad" neighbor in their eyes.


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## FancyNancy (Oct 7, 2009)

I can answer the question about why people violate the leash law. It's simple - they want their dogs to have the freedom of walking or running around without the restriction of a leash and they don't care what you think about it. It's as simple as that. As far as being aggravated about what other people do, I try not to be. I honestly believe that the world is a better place for having all kinds of people in it. Even the disobedient. And don't start yelling your heads off. I don't mean Hitler or murderers. Leash violators are annoying but not a world threat. And being annoyed at them is more damaging to YOU than to them!!! Just my two cents.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

curly_DC said:


> Okay, so, it's part of my personality I suppose, that it just irks me when I see people let their dogs off leash to run freely. Why does it bother me? I don't know. Maybe it's because there exists an Arlington County Leash Law that states:
> 
> _Leash Laws
> 
> ...


I dont think I can make you anymore tolerant but I have made my own rules. I have been a off leash dog walker ever sence I got maddie. I have numerous pictures and videos of her running playing and chancing balls. I do however pick and choose where I allow her to be free. Mostly we do it during the off months that the places we go I hardly run into anyone. Never in the summer months . I work a seasonal job for the parks department and I know trails all around our town. At the time I lived in an apartment and I don't like dog parks. I have never felt them to be very clean and full of fleas. I also never got the same runs in at a dog park. The last place I lived I got in trouble for letting the sisters run. A nice woman who had lived their for told me of a area about two blocks away where we could run free so that's where we would go. I found another place that I would go only on the weekends her is a video of the sisters of leash braking the law. 
off leash fun! Bad momeace:


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

My DH solved the neighbor's dog problem. We lived in the county at the time on a 100 acre farm. The next neighbor down the road had several 5 or 6 mixed breed dogs that ran loose all the time. They would come up on our back porch aat night and get the garbage bags and strew it all over. DH talked with the neighbor several times, warned him and sure enough he loaded the shotgun with bird shot and only intended to scare the dogs and pepper their butts, but managed to kill one and wound two others. He felt horrible, but the rest of the dogs never came back and the neighbor never said a word. Now that we live in the city where their is a dog catcher, I am quick to catch the strays and call the dog catcher. (there is not one in the county)


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Cute video. 
I don't think people object to letting dogs off leash in that environment.
It's letting them off leash in areas that are populated with other people and dogs and letting them poop wherever etc.. that is the problem.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

This bothers me as well, I have had a few occasions where big dogs have ran up to me and Gucci at the beach and it could've been a bad situation. I was bitten by a dalmation when I was 7 years old, minding my own business in my front yard and the dog just came in my yard growling and bit me  My parents were irate over the whole thing and it was several years drama with this neighbor, what is so hard about keeping them on a leash?? For the safety of themselves and others....

Kara


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

luv3havs said:


> Cute video.
> I don't think people object to letting dogs off leash in that environment.
> It's letting them off leash in areas that are populated with other people and dogs and letting them poop wherever etc.. that is the problem.


Right, I also think loose, but supervised and under control of their owner is COMPLETELY different than loose and unsupervised, going where ever they want.

We have a lake near us, and in off season, and in the late afternoons/evening even IN season, the smaller, less used beach is the "unofficial" dog park. Because it is completely unfenced, and is also a beach, the boat ramp and has a playground, in general the people who take their dogs there are very responsible, the dogs get along well and people clean up after them. There is a long road going in to this beach, and people typically let their dogs loose once they are inside the gate and onto this road. Cars do use the road, but they go slowly, because you often have kids dogs and horses on it. All of us who use the road for our animals make sure our animals are off the side of the road, held by the collar, when a car is coming.

I don't have any problem with dogs being loose in a situation like this, and I don't think other people in our town do either. If they did, someone would make it off-limits. I think that's the reason people are so responsible about it... we all want to make sure it STAYS accessible to us.


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## Jplatthy (Jan 16, 2011)

I'm guilty too of breaking the leash laws....I live in an apt and I let mine out all the time to run and play in the backyard BUT I am ALWAYS with them and always pick up after them. I would NEVER let them out by themselves. But they have so much FUN running around and playing I would have a hard time stopping it. I never let them off leash when we are at the parks, etc.....


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## CarolWCamelo (Feb 15, 2012)

*Neighborhood Dog Police - Camellia*

I've lived in my current neighborhood for 38+ years. I've seen it change (a rural subdivision) from having only 4 houses, and maybe 6 dogs at most, to having over 100 houses and lots and lots of dogs.

We've had a variety of people move in; some of them, fortunately, some of them, sadly, out!

We've also had dogs from outside the subdivision roaming; one trio had a range, according to Animal Control, of about 10 kilometers up and down the highway.

I called this trio "The Visitors." They were never wearing anything. Although not necessarily always aggressive, when the female was in season, her mate would chew up other dogs, including my beloved Australian Terrier, Kwali.

After many years, with Animal Control picking up The Visitors, those dogs would jump right into the van, because they loved the officers - and the pound! What does THAT say about the owners?

The worst immediate-neighbor problem I had was a cheerful, friendly dog named Friendly - much bigger than my Australian Terriers (I've had bigger dogs, too), who would visit us constantly and be a terrible pest, when I was trying to get my dogs out for a walk, or, perhaps, let them rest quietly at home. Fortunately, after a few years of putting up with that, those people moved out. Whew!

We've had other problems with roaming dogs, some of them moderately aggressive to mine. I always did my best to talk to my neighbors first, explain what difficulties their roaming dogs caused for me and my dogs (for instance, while on rehab after knee surgery) - and running into a variety of attitudes that made it clear they had no intent of confining their dogs on their property.

After talking to the neighbors, always several times, and failing to get needed results, I would notify Animal Control. We have a really good outfit, most of their officers being tactful and pleasant. They give warnings first. After several offenses, they will pick up roaming dogs (if we can confine them for pickup), take them to the pound, and notify the owners, who can then go pick them up - and they have to pay a fine to do that.

Eventually, Animal Control quietly spirited The Visitors away (found them a good home somewhere else). A few years later, we had a SECOND set of Visitors; this one had four dogs in it, usually only two or three of them running loose, wearing nothing.

Over all these years, I had become a kind of unofficial Neighborhood Dog Police.

Finally, I made a badge. This one cracks me up! It's true that Camellia would like to be the Neighborhood Dog Police, but gosh; I don't want her to be that! I'd rather do it myself, in quieter fashion.

Here's Camellia's Badge.

Sun, 8 Apr 2012 18:15:50 (PDT)


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## Blue_Persuasion (Jan 4, 2012)

I too have issues with folks and leash laws. But on the flip side, for me it depends on the wheres and whether they clean up after them and the overall situation.

I live in Northern Virigina where we have old railroad lines that have been convered into black-topped walking/riding trails -- miles and miles and miles of them. I've seen folks walking their dogs off leash on the trail; and so long as they're WELL-BEHAVED dogs that the owner doesn't have to worry will go after other dogs, I don't really care.

I leave my dogs (except for the puppy -- not there yet) off leash in my own yard. We live in a small neighborhood, and there are few fences, but my dogs have always been trained where their property line is and not to cross it. We even have them trained that when somebody is walking on the sidewalk along the side of our house, they are to come immediately to us. I trust MY dogs -- it's other dogs I don't trust.

We have a house in the neighborhood whose pit bull has gotten loose, apparently. I'm a little less scared of this puppy than I am of a Bichon they have that has bitten more than a dozen people THAT I KNOW OF. One of the neighbors to this beast is a sheriff's deputy who has also been bit. He told the owner in no uncertain terms that if this EVER happens again, he will shoot it. I'm right there with him. **** dog bit ME one day waiting to cross the street. The lady had it on a leash and we were at a cross walk waiting for a car to go by and the thing just grabbed me and bit. I know, I know, I KNOW it's not the dog's fault, but if that little sucker ever did it again, it would be the LAST time he'd ever bite me. That much I can promise.

As for the dog poo, one time in my late 20s we had a neighbor who would let their dog out. It was bad enough that it crapped in MY yard all the time, but one time it growled and charged my daughter who was maybe 6 at the time. I grabbed up a bunch of that dog's poo and slung it at their front door (where it then landed on their "welcome" mat) and posted a sign to their door that said NEXT time it would be their dog. I never saw that little scab running loose ever again.


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## goiter6 (Mar 6, 2010)

One thing to be aware of is it isn't always pets that leave presents in the yard. I used to think whenever I found something that I had a neighbor that wasn't cleaning up very well. After some more samples, I am now pretty convinced it is the local neighborhood foxes that are leaving droppings.


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## CarolWCamelo (Feb 15, 2012)

Very good thought about the foxes!

I too have NO objection to people letting their dogs off-leash when the dogs are properly supervised, and especially, if they have good recalls, and the owners are paying attention, and being considerate of others. In fact, I ENJOY seeing off-leash dogs who are so well-cared for.

Maybe someday - probably very far in the future - I can even let Camellia off-leash - unlikely in my area, though, as we have cougar around who would make a lunch of a dog like Camellia. We lost a Brittany to a cougar across the way (in another neighborhood), a couple of weeks ago; it was a total heart-breaker - the dog was around 10 years old, very reliable, but it seems the cougar had been stalking human-and-dog for some time as they walked a forest trail.

The Brittany was just out-of-sight when taken by the cougar. The owners found her remains the next morning, after lots of searching.

On a better note, I've met dog-walkers in my neighborhood who are relatively clueless, but nice people. Some of these have been wonderful at following my instructions when I've been out with my reactive dogs. When asked, they've called their dogs back, or come to get them, and gently taken them off to a distance from mine.

I just LOVE to see their faces, when, from a distance, I call out,"GOOD JOB! WELL-DONE!" They tend to be amazed!

So, I appreciate any REAL effort from the dog-walkers. Especially when the efforts are successful!

(hehe)

Our area is a bit unique; being in the boonies, without Animal Control services right handy - but I believe my quiet work over the years, in coordination with Animal Control, has helped the locals learn they can't just let their dogs run free willy-nilly. The only real exception, I think, was the owners of The Visitors. They ended up moving out of the neighborhood, which was a relief to me and numbers of other people.

Mon, 9 Apr 2012 08:28:54 (PDT)


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