Imagine yourself taking a walk, minding your own business, enjoying your day. Then you encounter a guy running straight towards you, shouting and getting right in your personal space, possibly even touching you. How would this make you feel? You probably wouldn’t like it, you might even react in a way you normally wouldn’t just to get the guy to back off. off leash training
Now replace yourself with your dog, and the guy with an off leash dog. See where I am going with this?
It would be nice to be able to walk my dogs (on leash) through my neighbourhood without having to worry about being charged by off leash dogs. About once a week while walking my dogs a random dog who is either off leash on the front lawn or a dog who has been intentionally let off leash with little to no recall rushes me and my dogs. DON’T BE THAT PERSON! off
I get it, accidents happen, and dogs accidentally get out the front door or sneak through a crack in the fence you didn’t even know was there. My issue falls with the people who intentionally allow their untrained, rude dogs to run up to people and their dogs who are following the law by having their dog on leash while on public property without any regard. Even worse when the person doesn’t even try to get their dog back and doesn’t even apologize!
There are two common scenarios in which we often get charged by off leash dogs. The first is the people who let their dog out on their front lawn, terrorizing anyone trying to walk by on the sidewalk. Even if your dog is still on your property (whether it be your driveway or grass), but runs right to the edge barking, still unacceptable. Often this scenario can result in dogs running across the street to charge another dog, which is also asking for the loose dog to get hit by a car. The second scenario is the person who just wants to let their dog have some fun at the park but has not trained a reliable recall. Which is all fun and games until that dog sees another dog at the park and takes off like a rocket with the owner casually calling his name and yelling “Don’t worry he’s friendly”! In either case, neither I or my dogs appreciate these encounters. Not only is it rude, and obnoxious, it’s also very stressful for the dog being rushed as well as their owners, and potentially VERY dangerous. Even the friendliest dogs can feel threatened and react towards dogs charging at them, especially when they are on leash and the other dog is not. So when you make the decision to have your dog off leash, consider your surroundings and having the common courtesy to not allow your dog to rush other dogs. If your dog cannot handle being on the front lawn without barking at passersby, or can’t be at the park off leash without running off then please don’t let them out off leash. Don’t be that person!
If you need help with training your dog to be off leash give us a call! 905-869-1170 or info@caninesinbalance.ca
Happy Training!
Katherine off leash training
off leash training