Keep your dog on a leash
Why dog owners should stop letting their dogs run loose outside
I saw him from across the street. His senior dog was cruising alongside him, and the dog I was walking stiffened on the other side of my running leash. I crossed the street. The dog owner saw a friend on the other side of the street and circled across the street a second time, senior dog cruising slowly behind. I walked across the street a second time, glancing down to see the alert ears of my observant four-legged friend. I could see her muscles flexing as she walked.
Finally I yelled out, “Will you please put your dog on a leash? I’ve crossed the street twice already. My dog is a bit of a jumper.”
The friend of the dog owner turned, looked at the dog I was with and retorted, “Well, how do you know this dog wouldn’t jump on her?”
My response, “I don’t care who can jump. My point is to help them avoid contact.”
The dog owner quietly put the senior dog on a leash. And even with both dogs on leashes, my scrappy 2-year-old still tried to jump. I almost went tumbling on the other end of the running leash trying to keep her away.
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I could tell the senior dog had outgrown his scrappy days. But I knew my energetic friend way more and could alrepredict this would happen. It’s how I mastered keeping my balance when she tried to sneak and jump on the other dog. Even socialized dogs have moments in which they’re in rare form. And the last thing responsible dog walkers and dog owners need to see is an unleashed dog running amok.
Your loose dog has no idea that, for example, in a state like Illinois, animal control wardens can use tranquilizer guns and other nonlethal weapons and equipment without specific weapons authorization.
I will never understand why dog owners (or dog walkers) let dogs run loose. Forty-seven dogs later and more than 257 walks completed, I see someone strolling with their loose dog almost every time I’m walking in the city of Chicago or suburbs— on a residential sidewalk, in parks (where leash signs are obvious) and on busy streets.
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While some dog owners may be confident in their psychic abilities about their own dogs, they don’t know what to expect with other dogs.
While some dog owners may be confident in their psychic abilities about their own dogs, they don’t know what to expect with other dogs.
Here are 10 reasons I’ve personally experienced for why you should keep your dog on a leash: