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Unleashed dogs in apt. complex
As I mentioned in the "things I'm looking forward to this week" post from yesterday, DH and I are watching a friend's dog for the week (she lives in the same complex as us, so pretty easy). We've now had 2 run-ins with unleashed dogs coming up to us. First was on Sat., and it was a tiny dog (DH and I thought it was a squirrel at first- it was dark already). Our friend's dog didn't get too crazy, owner came and got the tiny dog, fine. It was annoying, but not a huge deal. I should mention that our friend's dog does not get along well with other dogs- anytime we walk him we steer clear of others. Last night, as soon as we stepped out of the door, a medium-sized dog charged at us and our friend's dog went nuts. DH held him back and they didn't attack each other, but it was upsetting to me. The lady came and put the dog on a leash, saying he doesn't bite. Well, our friend's dog attacks!! She got pretty defensive, saying that it's fine and that people let their dogs run loose back there all the time.
What is wrong with people?! We're not dog owners ourselves, but I find it ridiculous that people let their dogs run around free in a public space, even if it is grassy areas and sidewalks between apartments. Our friend has had a few issues with unleashed dogs in the past too. I freaked of course because I love her dog and don't want anything to happen to him, especially on our watch. I just needed to vent, and have to wonder if any of you have run into this situation, or people with these attitudes.
Re: Unleashed dogs in apt. complex
I think the bigger issue is that these unleashed dogs have owners who have no control over said dog.
We let our dog in our yard unleashed, but she stays there and listens to us when we tell her no. I would never take her on a walk or to a public space off leash because the issue for me is always you never know how another dog is going to react. You could politely let these people know that next time you come upon them - that you're concerned for THEIR dog's safety.
When we lived in an apt complex a dog tried to attacked one of our dogs because it was off a leash. I kicked it (not hard, but more like a "shoo, get away" kick). I felt horrible, obviously, but the owner was changing the oil in his car (aka not paying attention to the dog) and there was nothing else I could do to protect my dog. I couldn't pick him up fast enough (nor did I want to have my face near the crazy dog's face), so I kicked it. The guy freaked out and ripped me a new one (meanwhile his dog was jumping up at my dog who was no in my arms/jumping all over me). Luckily one of the maintence people saw the situation and came to help me. I don't know what happened to him, but it was against our complex's policies to have unleashed dogs, so he was reported to the main office. We never saw them again.
It can be very scary. Just do what you need to do and stand up for yourself and protect your friend's dog.
We make the rockin' world go 'round.
You probably have a leash law in the city where you live. At least in the City of Alexandria, it is pretty strictly enforced and they'll send out an officer to your location and ticket the person.
I had to call when a neighbor refused to leash their 2 small dogs. There's a very small common area of grass, and when her dogs kept coming yelping up to my dog and my dog couldn't walk down the grassy area without being paralyzed in fear, I called the police. I warned her nicely once, more sternly twice before I did it, but I finally called the police and gave them the address of the offending parties and the dogs.
Those dogs actually weren't vaccinated and ended up spending a couple of days at the (no kill) shelter until it was determined they weren't infected with diseases and could be properly vaccinated/ licensed- I'm so glad I called now because what if one of them had been diseased and bitten my dog? Or someone's child?
Not everyone is a responsible pet owner and if they're actually breaking laws and endangering people or other animals, they should be penalized for it.
Stand up for something you believe in.
Ditto PPs.
I would think that your complex would have its own leash rules on top of any town/county rules? I live in a tiny 20 home complex and there are very well spelled out rules regarding pets in our HOA docs, including fines.
I've rarely seen a dog that will not chase a bunny or a squirrel or another dog, no matter how well trained... and then of course there is the danger that that dog will get hit by a car, run away, attacked by another animal... I totally give the side eye to owners who don't think about things like this and just let their animals roam free (unfenced or unleashed, that is).
This.
People are idiots. End of story. We've had soooo many run-ins with idiots since owning Scout that I can't even put it into words*. You're a better dog watcher than they are owners.
*I lied. My favorite is our neighbor with two super aggressive dogs (DH once almost had to separate them with a BASEBALL BAT because they were fighting EACH OTHER while her 9-year-old stepson tried to walk them unsupervised and was screaming for help). She didn't leash them for the longest time, or if she did "leash" them, it was on long, retractable leashes. My favorite is her morning routine: Open front door, close front door on retractable leashes, go do other things like make breakfast, watch dogs shiit all over our yard while in bathrobe because you're too lazy to get dressed and WALK THEM. We're in THs so there aren't fences or anything.
Scout
Chocolate Blog!
I see people with unleashed dogs in the public park near my house all the time. And when I say all the time, I literally mean every single time I'm at the park. This is a regular park, not a dog park. People ride bikes on the trail that runs through there, and it would not surprise me if a small off-leash dog was hit by someone on a bike. I don't know why dog owners don't seem to grasp this.
Good to know- we're also in the City of Alexandria. I know our friend has addressed it to the complex at least once before. I almost hope I see the lady again so I can get a better description of her, since I have no way of knowing even which building she lives in. I will be addressing the problem with them though, since it's clearly multiple people. DH said that he thinks the dog that came up to us last night is the same that ran up to him when he was walking home the other week. He didn't know if it was friendly or not, so he held out his umbrella to deter it. The only time your dog should be loose is at a dog park or in an enclosed yard!!
Planning Bio
Stand up for something you believe in.
This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine!! I've reported one neighbor more than once, but it doesn't seem like it did anything. I constantly see her dog off the leash. My 2 Yorkies are very friendly but I don't know how another will react to them (especially a larger dog since they are so small). I would never EVER trust them off leash - I have this intense fear of something happening to one of them (it's quite a scene whenever I accidently drop a leash!). I'm in Rockville where there is a leash law but dogs may be tested by the city to see if they are trained well enough to be off leash. I still think that's crazy.
I've seen people running along busy streets with their unleashed dog following them and I become a nervous wreck because I'm just so worried about their dog! I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
Ditto PPs that mentioned looking into your local laws as well as reporting it to your complex's management office. I would think it's a liability issue for them if they don't try to enforce some sort of leash law for their residents. GL!