Hardly a new topic, but my turn to rant -
In the last couple of weeks I have started to notice how many irresponsible dog owners are out there.
I'm sure they always existed, but until we had a dog ourselves, it was never a factor.

On three occasions, including this morning, there are have been a number dogs off leash in a park my son and I walk through to school and use for recreation. Most of them seem to be Maltese Poodles and Toy Poms and they are just the worst! They run up to Kaya, she thinks they want to play so she starts wagging her tail and then they start growling and snapping at her! Poor dog is on a leash, can't go anywhere, and gets startled and these maniac dogs are aggressive - they don't stop until their panicked owners come sprinting over to round up their stupid dog. It's p**sing me off big time. Next time I'm going to drop the leash and let the chips fall where they may.......

At the same park, I have encountered another nutter who said he "does not feel the need" to have his bigger dog on a leash!

Thirdly, if people bring their dogs to the school, they're supposed to be leashed (of course). Yet another idiot who keeps coming to the school with a retractable leash in one hand but the dog roaming freely (wtf?). When I told him I don't like the fact that his dog is off leash, he had the gall to tell me to "cheer up and stop having a bad day!" Never mind the fact that having 470 kids and one dog on the loose just spells future trouble as far as I'm concerned...

What is it with these people?????!!!!!
Do some dog owners have a level of stupidity reserved just for them??

We ran into the same problems with toy dog owners at the park by us. There is a dog park at one side, but they insist on using the big public field for their dogs, who can't play nice in a dog park. Soshanna, Mixie, and Locca are all rough players, tried hunters, and have been trained for off-leash work their whole lives. They also know far too well that they are not to start fights. Leevon and I immediatly take those 3 dogs off their leashes when we see people with little dogs off leash, and tell them to go play. Since we are in our 20's, everyone assumes we are irresponsible and must have mindless killers for dogs. They usually leash up their dogs pretty quickly after that, and so we call ours back as well, and leash up. It serves to make the point that their dog is not an exception to the rule, and if it is, mine get to be as well.

That being said, Soshanna walks off-leash with me, often. I take her downtown, or through parks, or walking paths all the time. She is completely responsive to voice training, and knows exactly where I expect her to walk. She's also a CGC, so she knows her manners around people and dogs. I honestly don't feel the need to keep her on leash, since she doesn't leave my side without permission to go play. Hell, I don't even tie her when I leave her outside of 7-11. I just put my coat down and tell her to stay. She doesn't move.

That's well and fine, but other people do not know the nature of you dog. Hell, If I saw a dog outside of a 7-11 without a leash or owner around, I wouldn't go near him/her. Sorry, just a HUGE per peeve of mine. I've had plenty of encouters with off-leash dogs, some good, but the bad far outweigh the good. Plus, where I live there are leash laws and I will never hesitate to call AC to report an off-leash dog, and I have before.

I live at the end of a cul-de-sac, and two of my neighbors up the road are constantly letting their little dogs roam around. I get nervous for those little dogs because I worry that that one of these days Nanook will lunge hard enough to break the leash (or me) get away from me (he does NOT like little dogs). Not to mention there have been countless times that I've had to stop my car driving down the street because the little dogs were standing in the road and wouldn't move out of the way.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I usually make her wait on the backside of stores, so people with reservations about dogs aren't affected.

We have leash laws, too, but my giant county has 4 Animal Control officers, and they don't really have the time and resources to deal with a call for Soshanna (she's distinct) off-leash. Especially, when majority of the time, off-leash means heeling next to me properly, ignoring people and dogs as we pass.

kaya2012 wrote:

Hardly a new topic, but my turn to rant -
In the last couple of weeks I have started to notice how many irresponsible dog owners are out there.
I'm sure they always existed, but until we had a dog ourselves, it was never a factor.

On three occasions, including this morning, there are have been a number dogs off leash in a park my son and I walk through to school and use for recreation. Most of them seem to be Maltese Poodles and Toy Poms and they are just the worst! They run up to Kaya, she thinks they want to play so she starts wagging her tail and then they start growling and snapping at her! Poor dog is on a leash, can't go anywhere, and gets startled and these maniac dogs are aggressive - they don't stop until their panicked owners come sprinting over to round up their stupid dog. It's p**sing me off big time. Next time I'm going to drop the leash and let the chips fall where they may.......

At the same park, I have encountered another nutter who said he "does not feel the need" to have his bigger dog on a leash!

Thirdly, if people bring their dogs to the school, they're supposed to be leashed (of course). Yet another idiot who keeps coming to the school with a retractable leash in one hand but the dog roaming freely (wtf?). When I told him I don't like the fact that his dog is off leash, he had the gall to tell me to "cheer up and stop having a bad day!" Never mind the fact that having 470 kids and one dog on the loose just spells future trouble as far as I'm concerned...

What is it with these people?????!!!!!
Do some dog owners have a level of stupidity reserved just for them??

Report the off leash dog to the school. Tell them it's a safety hazard, how the majority of bites and attacks occur off leash, etc.

I think you all would be in for some serious culture shock if you came to Seattle. There are times we see groups of 3 or 4 people and 4 dogs all walking down the sidewalk, not leashed. People around here only care about you having a leash if your dog shows a reason to have one on. Usually those are little toy dogs with issues because their owners suck. Dogs rule out here, and trainers are a dime a dozen lol.

I know what you mean!! My neighbor is extremely pissed off at her son. He left socks out and her full sized poodle ate them.. Turned out she passed away last night

Am I missing the relation to the sock-eating poodle?

K9_Eric wrote:

Am I missing the relation to the sock-eating poodle?

K9_Eric wrote:

Am I missing the relation to the sock-eating poodle?

I think it's in reference to the title of this thread "irresponsible dog owners"

I. Hate. Offleash. Dogs. I don't care how well-behaved a dog is. If there is a leash law, your dog should be leashed. Rogue is great offleash and the friendliest dog, CGCed and my service dog, but she is never voluntarily let loose outside an enclosed dog-related area. There's no reason for it, and if a dog has no issue staying right next to you anyways, there's really no reason you can't just latch a leash onto their collar... it's not that big of a deal to hold a leash.

If a dog is offleash and comes over to my dogs or starts running towards us, I am a huge ass to the owner. I usually act like my dogs are thrashing around and I have a bad handle on them so that people feel a little bit more pressure to get their dogs quickly.. haha.

See, unless I specifically tell my off-leash dog to "go play" and tap her on the head, she stays right by me. No matter what. Just like if she's in a full sprint and I say "freeze" she stops dead and drops to the ground. People around here see a dog off-leash on a walk and don't think "oh, how dare that person". They think "Oh, how cool, a trained dog!". You've actually got a better chance of running into a problem dog off-leash at a dog park here, because people who can't control their dogs are at the dog parks, with off-leash dogs that they would normally leash in public. Ill count how many dogs I pass on my walk tomorrow, and how many are leashless to give you an idea of how completely normal it is around here to let your dog off-leash for a walk.

My phone crapped out before I was able to finish posting. Irresponsible dog owner would not leave things laying around the house they know their dog would eat.

I don't mind if a dog is off leash AS LONG as it is under voice command. What pisses me off is off leash dogs that the human can't control. Example: I am running on a trail in Forest park and two pit bulls run up to me. I stop dead in my tracks. (Bodhi wasn't with me.) One hangs back, barking; the other comes right up to me and sticks his head in my crotch. All the while the owner is calling and they aren't listening. When he gets close he says those famous words, "They're friendly." Then I look up and see the owner has a shaved head, is all in black and has one of those ninja fighting sicks in some kind of sleeve down his back. I am PO'ed, but stay silent because he looks so weird.

One of my neighbors regularly walks her psycho dog off leash. He has attacked Bodhi three times. I've told her that her dog needs to be under voice control and if she can't control him, he needs to be on a leash. She says, "I know. I know." But she never leashes him. The last time, I yelled at her. I thought I was going to break a toe kicking him off Bodhi (I'm always in running shoes when I see them) and she snapped at me like it was my fault that her dog attacked. People!

jalepeno wrote:

I don't mind if a dog is off leash AS LONG as it is under voice command. What pisses me off is off leash dogs that the human can't control. Example: I am running on a trail in Forest park and two pit bulls run up to me. I stop dead in my tracks. (Bodhi wasn't with me.) One hangs back, barking; the other comes right up to me and sticks his head in my crotch. All the while the owner is calling and they aren't listening. When he gets close he says those famous words, "They're friendly." Then I look up and see the owner has a shaved head, is all in black and has one of those ninja fighting sicks in some kind of sleeve down his back. I am PO'ed, but stay silent because he looks so weird.

One of my neighbors regularly walks her psycho dog off leash. He has attacked Bodhi three times. I've told her that her dog needs to be under voice control and if she can't control him, he needs to be on a leash. She says, "I know. I know." But she never leashes him. The last time, I yelled at her. I thought I was going to break a toe kicking him off Bodhi (I'm always in running shoes when I see them) and she snapped at me like it was my fault that her dog attacked. People!

That's how I feel about it, and most Seattlites feel about it. We are fine with it as long as it doesn't impose on what we are doing with our dogs. The moment you can't keep your dog in control, you're going to hear about it.

You were right to leave that guy alone. That's the whole thing about Ninjas, you can never really tell if someone is one before you're being attacked by them. Especially in a place as weird as Portland .

I would say that very, very few dogs are under complete voice control and certainly none in my neighbourhood that I have come across. This is why it irritates me so much.

I don't CARE how friendly another persons dog is - when an unknown 80-100lb dog comes tearing across the grass towards me and my 30lb puppy what am I supposed to do? Especially when the owner is running after it screaming at the top of his lungs and the dog is ignoring him anyway.

Not only that, but how do other owners know if MY dog is friendly? Just because you tell me it's "ok" and yours is a pushover, doesn't mean you know if my dog is!

Agree completely.
I don't mean after the fact call and return.
I mean not charging in the first place.
Only one dog in my neighborhood is under total control.

The second (and last time) time I saw Mr. Ninja, I had driven to the trailhead with Bodhi.
Hadn't gotten out of the car when I saw him walking down the trail toward me and the trailhead.
The dogs were loose.
Mr. Ninja was doing martial exercises, swinging his fighting stick, thrusting the point at imaginary intruders in a fighting stance.
I stayed in the car until he left!

jalepeno wrote:

Agree completely.
I don't mean after the fact call and return.
I mean not charging in the first place.
Only one dog in my neighborhood is under total control.

The second (and last time) time I saw Mr. Ninja, I had driven to the trailhead with Bodhi.
Hadn't gotten out of the car when I saw him walking down the trail toward ma and the trailhead.
The dogs were loose.
Mr. Ninja was doing martial exercises, swinging his fighting stick, thrusting the point at imaginary intruders in a fighting stance.
I stayed in the car until he left!

There lies the difference. I'm not at all impressed if your dog comes trotting back to you after he has nose raped me and my dogs. When crap like that happens, I voice my concern, or when they come up saying "sorry, he's nice" I say "Yeah, I used to be horrible at raising dogs too, I understand" with a nice understanding smile and walk away.

And another thing about irresponsible dog owners.
I hate it when I am on top of a summit, eating lunch, Bodhi beside me, leashed and I am besieged by unleashed dogs trying to get my sandwich.
The owners seem unconcerned.
"Call your dog," I'll say.
"He's friendly," they'll call out from far way.
Inside I'm thinking, I don't care if he's friendly, I just want to eat in peace.
"Call your dog," I'll say louder and more forcefully as Bodhi starts getting worked up.
Then I'll get some response like, "Don't get your boxers in a twist, " or "Hey man, be mellow. Enjoy the view."
GRRGH!
I like dogs. I love my dog. I just don't want to be imposed upon by other dog owners who think everyone thinks their uncontrolled dog is cute.

No even mentioning unleashed dogs running around on summits with precipitous cliffs...

There's a lady that lives down the street from me, who always walked her yorkie with no leash on. Libby was the dogs name. I seen her darn near everyday. She had a leash in her hand, but the leash was never on the dog. Kind of irritated me, cause there is a leash law. Also being that the side walks are literally two feet from the street. I seen the dog on more than one occasion just up and cross the road. Make a long story short, the dog landed up getting hit by a car. I'm pretty sure she's learned her lesson now, cause she has two different dogs that she walks now, and they are always on the leash.

jalepeno wrote:

And another thing about irresponsible dog owners.
I hate it when I am on top of a summit, eating lunch, Bodhi beside me, leashed and I am besieged by unleashed dogs trying to get my sandwich.
The owners seem unconcerned.
"Call your dog," I'll say.
"He's friendly," they'll call out from far way.
Inside I'm thinking, I don't care if he's friendly, I just want to eat in peace.
"Call your dog," I'll say louder and more forcefully as Bodhi starts getting worked up.
Then I'll get some response like, "Don't get your boxers in a twist, " or "Hey man, be mellow. Enjoy the view."
GRRGH!
I like dogs. I love my dog. I just don't want to be imposed upon by other dog owners who think everyone thinks their uncontrolled dog is cute.

No even mentioning unleashed dogs running around on summits with precipitous cliffs...

That is a huge pet peeve of mine. I let my dogs have freedom on trails, but I also try to make sure they are always at least within my line of sight.

On the exact opposite side, this is also an annoyance:

One time we hiked up to Big Creek Falls, which lets out into an extremely cold alpine lake. It was hot, and when we got there, many other hikers with dogs were already there. Since everyone was off-leash and swimming, I let mine go play too, and conversed with the other dog owner/hikers. Everyone was doing fine, and then a guy with a very snarly Golden Retriever came up. He started telling us all that we needed to leash our dogs because his dog was aggressive and he wanted to let his dog off-leash to swim for 15 minutes. Thankfully, a father of two teenaged kids, there with his wife kids, and dog, spoke up first, because ill bet he was the only one there who had a graceful response in mind. He said "Look, man, the dogs aren't supposed to be off-leash in the first place. Ours all are off-leash because they get along and listen. If they were aggressive, or unruly, we would have our dogs leashed. Its not your right to let your dog off-leash when he's the one that would start a problem, and to expect us to make special arrangements for your dog is just plain unfair." It probably ruined that guys hike, but there are plenty of secluded pools on that hike, and the majority ruling was to let the dogs off-leash.

I know the law requires a leash, but after the 4th or 5th ranger I saw hop out of his or her truck with an unleashed companion dog, I stopped caring about it, as long as I have a leash if I do need it for some reason.

K9_Eric wrote:

See, unless I specifically tell my off-leash dog to "go play" and tap her on the head, she stays right by me. No matter what. Just like if she's in a full sprint and I say "freeze" she stops dead and drops to the ground. People around here see a dog off-leash on a walk and don't think "oh, how dare that person". They think "Oh, how cool, a trained dog!". You've actually got a better chance of running into a problem dog off-leash at a dog park here, because people who can't control their dogs are at the dog parks, with off-leash dogs that they would normally leash in public. Ill count how many dogs I pass on my walk tomorrow, and how many are leashless to give you an idea of how completely normal it is around here to let your dog off-leash for a walk.

Then why not have her on a lead then if she stays by you anyway? This attitude does frustrate me, when we're trying to do the right thing and have ours on lead. The leads are for their protection just as much as yours and anyone else you come into contact with. It only takes one slip up for everything to come crashing down.

Honestly, because I can without worrying about her, and it gives her ample room to get away from a problem dog if one does try to snap, on their leash. If you have to worry about yours, that's your thing. I keep the ones I can't 100% trust to respond immediatly on leashes. The ones that I can 100% trust get the freedom of no leash, and they're happier for it, because it makes the walk that much more of a structured activity.

Hell, Soshanna doesn't even need voice commands. I was training a deaf dog when I got her, so she looks up every few seconds on walks to make sure my hand hasn't changed positions, because every command she knows has a hand sign.

I know there is a leash law, but I know there are certain well trained dogs out there and I dont mind if theyre unleashed. Its certain folks that cant control/not willing to train their dog or the dog has ADDish personality/rebellious/aggressive/in heat etc that I believe should be on leash. I do believe that when on sidewalks, leash is a must no matter what. Its just plain risky. Hikes and the like I understand no-leash. Unfortunately there arent many smart dogs owners out there. IMHO, there are more people ignorant/stubborn who cant take care of a dog properly then those that do. And most dog owners just leave a bad taste in my mouth. Its one thing to not know and learn, and another assuming the person is douche for telling you to call back your dog and the like. Its called courtesy, and I wouldnt like it if Shiva were to harass someone for a sandwich.

I have to keep shiva on a leash, shes too young and curious still and has doggy ADD (well, not literally) so I dont trust her, as much as I know she loves me.

Speaking of irresponsible dog owners, my aunts new husband recently bought a siberian (I think he just fell in love with shiva really) and it lives outside.....Mind you we're in south florida, it is not unusual to have high 80-mid 90 degree weather. Ive tried convincing him (grudgingly, I down right hate the guy, even before this) to keep it indoors and tried to explain the breed to him but to not avail. When I worked at a petshop (large chain) I had a customer tell me a story about her friend whos husky died because he kept it outside. I was bothered by the story, and got downright pissed when someone I know is doing the same thing. Even told him the story. But...I dont know what to do. I havent met the dog but I know its quality of living is poor (crap food, hot weather, no playtime- he admitted that he doesnt really pay attention to him) so why have him in the first place?! argh....