This will probably sound like a rant so beware!

I'm down visiting my parents for the weekend and we decided to take their 2 dachshunds on a walk. Harvey just got his shots today so he will get to start taking walks in a couple of days!

Anyhow, we were like a block away from the house and the dogs were super excited, when this yellow lab charged us. I picked up Ozzie and my sister picked up Pippin. The "owner" of the yellow lab came walking over as the dog was jumping up on me and circling us. The lousy owner was calling the big dog, but the dog never even turned towards him. I was scared to death because the dog didn't look very nice.

When the owner finally came over he tried half heartedly to get a hold of the dog. He never got the dog physically under control I had to yell "DOWN" and it and stare it down to get it to back off.

Some people! It makes it miserable when we can't take the dogs on a walk without having to turn back because someone doesn't have their big dog on a leash. In our city there is even an ordinance that people have to have all dogs on leashes unless they are in a fenced yard.

Do others have this problem or is it just my area? It seems like at my place (another town) it's all right as long as I stay in my townhome area, but anywhere else it's the same deal.
ARG!

My parent' don't have a problem with it and I don't think I do either (I don't walk my cat LOL) but it does drive me nuts when people don't put their dogs on a leash. It ruins it for the good people.

In my city, Dogs by law are meant to be leashed while out walking, unless in a designated off leash park.

Drives me nuts when you see people letting their dogs run upto yours. I had one owner abuse me because i hit her dog with my leash, nevermind the fact it had its teeth in my dog!!

We live on a busy street... we have a lot of people walk past with their dogs I am amazed how many choose to walk their pets without a leash... there is one couple that walks their 2 shelties by everyday (not on a leash) for the past week I've noticed that they have only had 1 dog and it has been on a leash... I am thinking that their other dog must have been hit by a car.

Some people do not understand how trust is a deadly disease... those people trusted that their animal would not go into the street and more than likely it has been hit by a car because of their stupidity.

Leash laws are in place for several reasons... why people don't follow them I will never understand.

If I was you I would have followed the guy home and called the police. Not only was he putting his own dogs life on the line, but your dogs as well.

We dont really have problems with people walking there dogs without leashes, the problem here is people just letting there dogs wonder. there a huge black lab and a little dachshund down the black that are always running loose. and theres a group of 3 little dogs that run around in the mornings.. and countless other strays that pass through. I dont really want to take Tanner for walks alone because im afraid where end up running into a stray

There is a law here as well for dogs to be leashed at all times,unless in an enclosed area...but nobody listens to it and it doesn't seem to be enforced.

A few yrs ago me and my sister were walking our older dog.Her name was Nikki and she was about 13 yrs old (R.I.P).Anyway there was a guy with a boxer off leash and the boxer was coming towards us.The owner told us not to worry and his dog wouldn't touch ours...well just as he said that,his dog grabbed Nikki by the throat and a fight broke out.The owner was hitting his dog trying to get him off of ours! He managed to get his dog off ours,but it was still scary! Nikki wasn't hurt too bad,just had a swollen neck and was scarred.She wouldn't leave the house for walks for a couple weeks afterwards.

Not only do people let their dogs walk off leash,but you always see roaming dogs as well.
My neighbours have 3 small dogs that they just let out.The dogs are not fixed and are always running in the streets! Also one of my past foster dogs was out (on leash tho with me) and one of the neighbours dogs rushed up and my foster who wasn't good with other dogs lunged at him.There was no fight,but there could of been!

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one. I called the police on him. I don't know if they ever did anything. My parents city has like 3 police officers at any one time for 20,000 people /sigh.

I can't believe people let their dogs wander around. I would be worried sick about him getting hit by a car or attacked by another dog!

Don't take this in a nasty way or anything but its often makes matters worse when you pick up little dogs as other dogs think its a game and they have to jump up to sniff the dogs that have been lifted up.

Well, you guys may hate me now, but I walk my dog off leash. She's 11yrs, and super good. She won't cross the roads, and always waits at the corners barking at us to tell her it's ok to cross. She's not big, only 52cm tall, she doesn't jump up on people, she approaches all dogs friendly and slowly, unless it's a dog she knows, then she'll run up and say hi and they'll play. She loves bigger dogs, with a strange preference to golden retrievers and slim black labs.

we have a leash law as well but out her in the country (ghetto country lol) no one puts a leash on, we can no longer walk our dogs here because we would never risk them getting hurt so we put them in the truck and drive them down the road to grandmas, she has a fenced in 5 acres so we walk them on leash (to leash train properly) than we let them run with grandmas dogs...

Yesterday a lady with a known cat aggressive pit let it out with no leash and it got my neighbors cat, the cops were here as well as animal control...if she had just kept in on the leash it would never have happend, its a sweet pit with people...but now its being held pending a court case to probably have it put down...

Ughhh people make me mad when they don't think about all the possibilities of their actions. Leash laws are their for a reason, to protect other dogs, people as well as your own dog...a leash costs so little....people just make me mad sometimes

Our neighbor's dog attacked me when I was in my own yard. I've had dogs approach me during walks but only one seemed aggressive. It was a large shepherd mix who wouldn't leave my mom and I alone. We had the two Cockers with us, though, and they eventually scared it off (it's funny how vicious Cockers can act when family is on the line).

It seriously bothers me...I mean, there's a leash law for a reason.

That is probably so. However, when my father was little his father bought him a little terrier after the death of my grandma. My dad and grandpa had the pup out in their front yard playing when the neighbor's big dog came over and snatched the little terrier up by his neck and began flipping him around. Needless to say the puppy died.

I will fight tooth and nail for my dog and I'm not giving another dog the opportunity to touch my dog. Even if it makes him curious. I usually carry pepper spray with me when I'm at home for this reason. Postal workers and police officers use it on unfriendly animals. I haven't had to use it yet because my townhouse village has strict rules about dogs on leashes and you can get in trouble with the village manager if you don't comply.

The size difference between a dachshund and a lab is huge. If I had a bigger dog that could fend off a lab I wouldn't have picked him up. I'm not willing to find out what will happen if I don't pick up my dog though. Just my opinion I guess.

It is bad, especially where I've moved to in Arizona.

About two weeks ago we were walking our dogs and a chow mix, or that is what it looked like anyway, ran across the street and promptly attacked my pittie! Grabbed her by the throat while she tried to run in circles with this look on her face of "GET IT OFF OF ME MOMMY!" The owner came running up, not that he had a choice with all the choice words I was shouting at the top of my lungs while I tried to get his dog off of mine, shouting at -me- not to hurt his dog, it was not a violent dog, blah blah blah. He had to literally pull his dogs jaws apart to get it to let go of my dog and he was still trying to tell me he was worried my dog would attack his!

Needless to say, I let the police sort it out since my dog was leashed and battered while his didnt have a mark on it and was off lead.

It makes me sick the way people let their pets run and then blame everyone else when something goes wrong.