Hey Woofa’s,

This is a topic close to my heart!

I really find it arrogant behaviour when people have their dogs off lead in a non-off lead area.

Why?

Because their dog might be all happy and running around, but there are other dogs that are walking on lead minding their own business and don’t want other dogs running up to them getting in their face.

There are specified ‘off lead’ areas and that’s fine, let your dog run free in those areas.

But the non-off lead areas are that way for a reason.

We’ve had it happen to us many times.

We’re walking Billy on a lead, in a non-off lead area and there’s dogs off lead that run up to him barking in his face.

We turn him around and Dean walks him the other way and I generally shoo the said dog away from him.

Billy is a Staffy, so i know the minute he barks back at the offending dog that’s all up in his face, he’s going to be seen as the ‘aggressive’ dog.

Even though he’s doing the right thing and walking calmly on his lead minding his own business.

And you’re dog might be fine to run around off lead in your eyes !

But ask yourself this – How good is your dog’s recall?

What do I mean by that?

I mean if your dog is running around all free, in a non-off lead area, if you call your dog back to you, will they come?

If your dog is fixated on something or on another dog – How strong is your dog’s recall?

Some people come off very arrogant and ignorant in these situations.

And sadly, their dogs pay for it in some way!

WHY IT’S NOT OKAY TO LET YOUR DOG OFF LEAD IN A NON-OFF LEAD AREA?

I very recently heard the following story.

My friend was walking her rescue Greyhound who she has had for quite a while now.

They were walking on the path around a local sports oval.   Her Greyhound was on a lead.

She’d just picked up her dog’s poo in a bag and went off to the side of the path to put said bag in the bin.

While she was doing this a Pomeranian who was off lead in a non-off lead area ran straight for her dog.

You might think, well the Greyhound is much bigger than the Pomeranian what’s the matter?

When dogs are on a lead and they have another dog freely running at them and barking, they can potentially go into fight or flight mode, especially if they’re anxious dogs.

So when the dog goes into flight mode and realises they can’t run away because they’re on a lead, they go into fight mode.

My friend was yelling at the owners of the Pomeranian to grab their dog, because her dog was starting to become agitated.

Sadly those in charge of the Pomeranian were only kids lucky to be 12-13years of age and had no idea what was going on.

My friend’s dog was becoming more and more agitated and she was trying to remove her from the situation but the other dog kept barking at her dog.

The Pomeranian was left to keep on barking in my friend’s dog’s face and her dog became so agitated that she got away from my friend.

She horribly got to the Pomeranian and it ended in loss of life.

My friend was mortified!

A witness said it wasn’t her fault, the Pomeranian should’ve been on a lead.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

In situations where there is injury or loss off life where dogs are concerned, I try to see how the situation could’ve been avoided.

There’s a number of things that went wrong here:-

1.  The Pomeranian was off lead in a non-off lead area – the area in which they were in was not marked as off lead.   Sadly at the other end of the playing fields, there is a gated off lead area, where the dog could’ve run freely off lead without any issue.

2.  The Pomeranian was left to the hands of kids – yes it’s fun for your kids to play with your dog, no issue there.  But to allow your kids to be in charge of your dog in a public place is just neglectful.   These kids not only had no idea what to do they also witnessed the horrible incident.  Where were the adults, why wasn’t one present?

3. Should the Greyhound have been muzzled – the Rescue Greyhound was retired so no longer in the racing world.

According to the NSW Government website on Greyhounds – To promote the welfare of greyhounds and encourage the adoption of ex-racing greyhounds, pet greyhounds registered on the NSW Companion Animals Register are no longer required to wear a muzzle while in public.

My friend had confidently walked her Greyhound in other areas and not had this problem, she also has another dog at home and they get on fine.

So there was no reason why she thought her dog ought to be muzzled when she was out doing the right thing.

She will beat herself up about this for a very long time, however she was not in the wrong.

I see the whole incident being avoided had the adults of the kids who owned the Pomeranian been present.   They did eventually come over to my friend once the kids had run home and informed them.

And even the adults agreed that they should have been there.

THE CONSEQUENCES!

People who allow their dogs off lead in a non-off lead area don’t even think to see any consequences of what may happen.

In this horrific incident –

• the little Pomeranian has lost his life because of human neglect;
• the kids of the Pomeranian had to witness such a horrific scene;
• they could potentially blame their selves for the loss of their dog’s life;
• my friend will forever be scarred also having tried her utmost best to prevent the situation;
• her dog is also scarred by the situation!

It breaks my heart because this whole thing could’ve been avoided had someone have said, oh keep the dog on a lead while you’re out!

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

That when you are walking your dog on a lead in a non-off lead area, you expect to see other dogs on a lead.

When arrogant or uneducated people allow their dog to run off lead in a non-off lead area, horrific incidents can occur.

Be aware of your surroundings when walking your dog.

Don’t be arrogant or uneducated it could end your dog’s life!!

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – HAVE YOU SEEN DOGS OFF LEAD IN A NON-OFF LEAD AREA?