Off Leash Areas

[jamesq]

I was minding my own business, jogging through the eastern most corner of Ranchlands this morning when I encountered some guy walking his five dogs. Naturally a bunch of the dogs ran up to me, nipping at my heels, growling, jumping and basically acting in a manner that made me wonder if I was going to get bitten. These were medium to largish sized dogs that seemed to be part german shepherd, part heinz 57 so I was more than a little worried.

The owner's response to this behavior?

"Put your arms down, they think you're playing with them".
I shouted back, "Maybe you should learn to control your dogs".

Now I understand that this was an off-leash area, but off-lease areas are a privilege, not a right. It's the owners duty to control their animals. If the animal can't be controlled then it should be on a leash or in an enclosure of some kind. An off-lease area does not absolve you of your responsibilities. The vast majority of dog owners I encounter do control their animal, so it's not like this is a difficult task.

If his mutts got a face full of pepper spray, I bet he'd learn to control them.

Crossposted to calgarians.

Comments

The story of the Off Leash area

[nikitaa.livejournal.com]

While dogs are ALLOWED to be off-leash in an off-leash area, their owner is responsible for keeping them under control at all times. (Think virtual leash). It is not an excuse for the dogs to run amok.

Upon realizing that his dogs were bothering you (irregardless if THEY thought they were playing - it was obvious that you didn't think so), it was his responsibility to immediately recall them to his side.

According to City of Calgary Bylaws
- A dog in an off-leash area may not obstruct or interfere with other users of the area
- A dog must not bite, threaten, chase or injure anyone
- A dog must be under the owner's control at all times

If you have regular problems with this fellow, or see him pulling the same stunt again, report him to bylaw services. And if you want to know more about the bylaw, visit www.calgary.ca.

Re: The story of the Off Leash area

[jamesq]

If I had regular problems with this fellow, I wouldn't be joking about pepper spray - I'd be employing it.

Re: The story of the Off Leash area

[nikitaa.livejournal.com]

On him, or on his mutts?

Re: The story of the Off Leash area

[jamesq]

Yes!

Running backwards

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know how many times I have had to turn around to run back towards the owner so they could hold on to the dog that was following me. The worst part is that the dogs in the off leash areas (up here, anyways) are always well behaved. It's the ones which are off the leash in the wrrong areas which are always misbehaving.

It's almost as if the owners belligerence is reflected in the animals behavior.

In the ravine (right next door) the paved trails are leash trails, but the rest (wherre I runn, naturally) are all off leash. thankfully the majority of the canines are well behaved and monitored (or just very very old and slow)

Heck, I know of one set of older dogs who are allowed to walk themselves, since their owner has passed on. Every day, like clockwork they can be seen wandering the leash areas from home through the ravine and back again... at the same speed as their owner did.

It's rather unnerving. they stop at the same water fountain for the length of time he usually stopped for a sip, too.