Should your dog be off-leash?

Yesterday afternoon, after our afternoon pack walk, I dropped my oldies off at home and headed back out with my 9 month old, Ronin.

We went to one of our usual, lesser known, isolated spots to do some work (recall, impulse control, etc.), channel drive (fetch), and to work his body in a less-restricted way.

A car pulled up with a dog, and the couple chose to walk their dog away from our area.

Another car pulled up with a few dogs, and sat waiting for us to finish up.

We wrapped things up, headed back to the Jeep for some water, and I loaded Ronin up.

The guy waiting struck up a conversation with me. He, too, comes to this spot often and has for some time. He's got a few Goldendoodles. One adult and one under a year old. Sweet dogs, great dispositions, and super friendly. The youngest is a most enthusiastic pup, who views every person and every dog as a new best friend. Lots of unbridled energy. As the dogs were barking their tails off in the car, the guy said he'd been to "obedience training"- but they still struggled with day-to-day behaviors like the dog jumping all over people, "selective hearing", extreme excitability, etc. (as is common when there's only obedience and not behavioral training).

He asked if I'd like to meet his dogs, but warned me that they'd likely jump all over me.

He opened the car door and the dogs exuberantly leapt to their freedom. To his surprise, they didn't jump up on me.

Then he warned me they'd likely jump into my Jeep since the trunk was open (with Ronin in his crate).

The couple who first pulled up with their dog were walking back to their car. Their dog on leash.

The Goldendoodles caught sight of them and bolted towards them to spread their joy for life.

No.

The man with the dog on leash was yelling at the Goldendoodle guy to get his dogs on the leash. That his dog wasn't friendly. He was trying as best he could to keep the Goldendoodles away from his dog.

Cuss words starting flying back and forth between the two.

Emotions were at an all-time high.

The guy picked up his medium sized dog and was holding her, trying to kick the happy-go-lucky Goldendoodles away.

When the Goldendoodle guy was finally able to get a hold of his dogs, he dragged them back to his car.

Cuss words became threats that were flying back and forth between the two men. The Goldendoodle guy yelled not to threaten him and that he had a gun.

The police were called.

The Goldendoodle guy dragged his excitable, but now frantic, confused, and super stressed dogs into his car, and drove off.

I got in my car, then circled around to talk to the other people and see if everyone was okay.

Their dog had been attacked some years ago and is not a "dog's dog." Not friendly, and will bite.

They'd also just laid their cat to rest that morning (rest in peace, sweet little soul. You were loved), and were also distraught from that.

This scenario happens all too often, making it extremely stressful for those trying to meet their dogs daily needs safely.

We all have a right to our space (see the blog from 3/17/2023 / https://www.packfit.net/blog). The friendly and the not-so-friendly, the introverted and the extroverted, the sensitive, the curious, the insecure, the traumatized.... everyone has a right to their space. And, if we're going to be sharing space, we all need to be respectful of this.... and teach our dogs how to do the same (remember, they don't come pre-programmed). After all, we expect the same for ourselves, don't we?

Someone can have the friendliest dog in the world, but this does not entitle them to bomb-rushing other people and dogs.

Even friendly dogs do not appreciate being approached like this. It's very off-putting (as it would be for any human being bomb-rushed by a complete stranger).

A playful, friendly dog does NOT translate into a ***socially skilled*** dog.

Off-leash freedom is great for every dog (for many reasons), BUT we must practice extreme care here as many of us are sharing the same spaces. This... and *anything can happen.*

I created this infographic for a quick "food for thought". Awareness is key, and practice is prevention. This is for the safety and security of our dogs, ourselves, and others' and their dogs.