I’ve been known to let my dog, Gabby, off the leash once in a while. She is so well-trained that I figured I would always have control over her no matter what. I know it’s the law but I never really gave much thought to it. That is until my good friend, Monika, called me this week, sobbing. She watched her beloved dog Monkey (unleashed at the time) run into the street and get hit by a car. There was nothing she could do. He was killed instantly. She kept saying it was her fault; if only she had him leashed.
Monkey, like Gabby, was really well trained. He listened to Monika under all circumstances until that day. Something spooked him or maybe he saw a squirrel and ran into the street at the worst possible moment. I felt so bad for my friend; a lesson learned in the hardest way imaginable. It made me think about leash laws and why they are so important.
Melissa McCue-McGrath, a member of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers cringes when she sees dogs off leash – even the ones she has trained.
“I knew a guy that would take his dog, Shred, to the dog park,” McCue-McGrath recalled. “Shred was never more than a couple feet behind his owner and he never used a leash. One day, they were crossing a very busy street on their way home. They had the crossing light, but the minivan that ran the red light didn’t care. The owner ran forward to avoid the car; Shred didn’t move and got hit. Had he been leashed, the owner’s forward motion to get away would have at least pulled Shred enough to maybe miss the oncoming van.”
Dogs are animals. No matter how well trained, they just don’t think like a human. And they have instinctual impulses – dogs chase things and don’t know to look both ways before crossing the street. Dogs get scared of loud, unexpected noises.
McCue-McGrath gives another example of why a leash is so important. “A leashed dog is walking in a park with his owner. An off-leash dog sees the leashed dog and starts happily bounding towards them. The owner of the off-leash dog goes after his dog, saying ‘Nelly, come!’ But Nelly ignores her owner. Nelly’s owner changes tactics – ‘It’s OK – she’s friendly.’ The leashed dog might be excited to say hi to a rapidly approaching happy dog or the other dog could growl, bite or show other displays of being uncomfortable with an oncoming strange dog.
“The leashed dog might be on leash because it’s illegal to be off-leash and the owner might be a law-abiding citizen. The leashed dog might be on leash because he’s not friendly and doesn’t appreciate other dogs in his face. The leashed dog might be on leash because his recall isn’t so great. The leashed dog may do much better with other dogs off leash, but it wouldn’t be a problem if Nelly was also leashed or had a decent recall.”
There are several off-leash dog parks and hiking trails where a pup can run and play to its heart’s content. However, like most things, there are rules. A dog may be allowed to be off leash when all of the following conditions are met:
-The dog is friendly to people and dogs.
-The dog is under voice control. One command, one action: “Sadie, come!” The following is not a recall: “Please, Sadie, Come! I said come. Come here now!”
– The dog is in an appropriate place, not on a city sidewalk, where too many things can go wrong.
– Some dogs, like hounds, should never be let off leash in an unfenced area. Seek out safe, fenced-in places for the friendly dog to run.
-The owner is paying attention to the dog’s behavior and surroundings. If the dog is off playing with other dogs, don’t be on a cell phone, doing a crossword puzzle or chatting with other people.
Once again, I think this information is common sense, but too many people seem to forget that a dog is an animal without human reasoning. I’m guilty of it, too. But after hearing about these tragic accidents, you can bet Gabby will be leashed at all times. She’s just too important to me to take any risks.
Lori Fusaro has been voted the best portrait photographer by FoxTV three years in a row and is a proud member of PPA and HeARTspeak. She lives in Culver City with her husband, four cats and dog. Contact: Lori@FusaroPhotography.com, FusaroPhotography.com. Follow her on Twitter: @FusaroPhoto.