Attitude of dog owners

I dont know what the attitude of dog owners where you live, but here is something else. A lot of the dog owners in Germany don´t understand that a dog is a dog and not a human.The more the dog is treated like a human, the more inclined it is to forget the rules of the dog "haerachy"(sorry, the longer I live here the worse my english is) .

I live in an area of Germany that is renowned for outdoor activities and walking the dog seems to be the favourite. The problem is that most walk their dogs without a line and although yes, I think thats great for a dog to have that freedom, you have to be prepared for the responsibility of what your dog does.

My dog comes from a pound, he was 4 years old when I got him and although he looks cute and friendly, he brought with him aggression toward strangers and dogs alike. Unfortunatly this will also remain. As I feel responsible for my dog and his actions, We walk only when he is on the lead. It is only to offen that a dog comes running towards us, the owner yelling "don´t worry, my dog wont bite, he´s such a nice dog, he doesn´t cause any problems". Then wondering why my dog starts to attack. Then of course checking out their poor dog and saying that any damage will be paid for by me. This is naturally nonsence, the law says I am right as my dog was on the lead.

The reason- the dog is treated like a human and forgets the laws of a dog and the owner forgets that a dog is an animal and will always hold wild traits.

This mentality is new to me, I grew up in Australia on the land training dogs as working animals. Anyway it anoys me.

We have that problem all over, Patrick. It's annoying at best, and enraging at worst.

Excellent quote from Mark Derr

Huh? I don't see how "treating dogs as humans" has anything to do with irresponsible dog owners not using a leash when walking a dog. Whenever I go to Germany, I think it's really cool to see people bonding with their dogs and taking them in to restaurants. They're mostly all on a leash, too. And well behaved, I may add.

There are a lot of people that walk their (untrained, might I add) dogs off-leash. We do have leash laws. I've had policeman slow down in their cars twice while I was walking my girls to check if they were on leash (which they were). My dogs are fully trained, and at times I do trust them off-leash on a walk, but rarely, if we're walking near houses, and not in a large open area where they can run and have fun without getting a ticket from a policeman.

I'm not sure I understand your point....is it that you are angry that you leash your dog when others don't...and obviously there has been some problem??? I'm not quite seeing that as a problem with people seeing their dogs as 'human'. I'm seeing it as something you wish others would do...contain their dogs on a leash. I guess if your dog is that aggressive, you have to use extra caution when in public. Yes....there are alot of times I wish people would leash their dog instead of the 'oh, he won't hurt you' speech. Agreeing with EliNHunter.......that's just owner irresponsibility..nothing to do with the dog and how it is treated.

I think what Patrick was talking about in his remark about people treating dogs like humans was directed at the fact that we tend to forget that they don't always have the same reactions to things that we do. They will always be, no matter how much of the veneer of civilization we teach them, creatures very much in tune with the world of instinct. We teach them to understand what we want and to participate in our world, then forget that they have their own world as well. Part of the attraction dogs have for us is that innate ability to walk on the wild side.

Yes, exactly Renee. People have to realize that dogs are creatures with wild tendencies.

For example, my bird will call out and squawk for about 15-20 mins in the morning and sundown (very loud I might add). Usually the same time of the day, everyday (give or take 15 mins) People who own these birds complain that they are making too much noise. They have to realize that Cockatoos are wild animals and when they call out like this, they are only calling out to the 'Flock'. Its in their nature and we should never want to discourage this. Now, would I allow my bird who is well behaved, near a stranger without the fear of him biting them ........ no.

As much as we control our animals, you never know what they will do in certain situations at any given time.

Yes, that is so true.

Well..I treat mine like humans and I treat them like dogs. LOL.

I let Hunter go off leash on our night time walks. And he always sticks right by me. We sometimes pass other night time walkers (even with dogs!) and he pays no attention to them (I know... weird! I am BLESSED!). I also love on him, kiss him, and let him sleep on my bed. Guess I'm a bad person who treats their dog like a human.

I understand about irresponsible people who let their dogs off leash. I don't mean the people who have dogs that stay with them and don't go straight up to every dog, I'm talking about the people who let their dogs offleash and their dogs don't listen to them. It really annoyes me so much when someone's dog comes straight up to my dogs on my walks. Lucas isn't real aggressive, but he doesn't like dogs that run straight up to him while he is onleash. I guess that's leash aggression?. Anyways it just upsets him and I usually have to ask the person several times to come get there dog after them telling me it's not aggressive. It's hard to get it through some people's heads that not all dogs are going to love their dog.
I think it's just important to know your dog and how it reacts to situations. Like some dogs can't handle being on the beds and couch's. But I know my dogs can handle it and get off when ever I tell them, so they are allowed up.

And I can see how intimidating it can be to a dog who's ON a leash, only to have a dog OFF leash run up to mess with them. It's probably a dominance thing in their mind. The dog off leash is probably telling the dog on leash "look at me! look at me! I'm better than youuuuuu aaaaaare!" Meanwhile your dog on the leash is saying "you suck." Lol...

Heheehehe....Yeah that's a good way of putting it...LOL

All four of my guys are leashed, it's the law for one, and they are curious to the point where they might wander, it's especialy hard to watch four unleashed. THey are very well trained, and I mean VERY well, but you just never know what might happen, and I am not will to gamble their lives and saftey. They sleep in my bed, and they are treated better than most parents treat their kids haha

Well I guess i'm the irresponible dog owner!! Gus is very rarely on a leash (i think the only time I out him on a leash is when crossing a busy road or going to the vets and this is just incase!!) I put his harness on just incase but he will walk to heel perfectly on command and I think in the 3 years of living here we have only ever seen 2 other dogs whilst out walking!!
Although him not being on a leash does have it's downsides, like the whole dancing for food from the fishermen!! lol!

You're in a different situation with Gus, and he has manners! It's a completely different story when people let their dogs run loose where they know there is a good chance of encountering strangers and strange dogs, especially when the loose dogs aren't completely reliable on recall!

I still say Gus has the best manners - dancing for his supper! Shiva or Kharma would just have bullied it away or rogued it while backs were turned, lol!

I think I know what you mean. We all idealize our pets, but some people are utterly irresponsible. It's one thing to forget that not everyone appreciates being licked by your dog when they come into your house, and another altogether to let your dog romp freely across a public space such as a park. It drives me crazy here in the US too. Try to take a walk in any open space -park, beach, field, etc. - and there's someone with dogs running loose. At the very best, they do the whole stand-off-and-stare-tauntingly at your leashed dog, who freaks out in sheer frustration. At the worst, they attack freely while their owner meanders up to retrieve them. My dog was nearly killed by a loose dog last year, and I hate, hate, hate people who are careless with their behemoth pets. It's enough to make me go for breed bans. Though the only dog I've ever tried to kill was a teeny dog, who danced around me and my leashed dog for five minutes as we walked down a busy street. The owners watched as their dog's taunting drove my dog so wild she nearly dragged me in front of a car, never moved to retrieve their pet. I was so mad I crossed the street and whistled for the little monster just as a car came down the street. The dog was nearly squashed, and the placidly observing owner suddenly came to life, rushing forward in a panic. Thinking about it, I realize that the problem isn't that people are treating their dogs as if they're humans - it's that they're treating other humans as if they weren't anything. It's the social contract that's missing here, where you agree that to live peacefully together you will compromise your freedom for other's safety. Too many people are behaving as if that only applies to their nuclear families (and pets).

Omigosh! I can't believe you did that! How COULD YOU?! It's not the DOG'S fault! How would you have felt if the dog got hit and layed there suffering and dying all because you did that???!!! GRRRR!!!!!!

DITTO. It's not the dog's fault--it's the owner's for failing to properly restrain and train their dog. My neighbors have a black lab mix that they allow off-leash all the time. My dog has almost bitten him before, but his owners think it'll teach him a lesson. One of these days, I think I'll find myself screaming, "PUT YOUR FRIKKIN' DOG ON A LEASH!" I think that's a bit better than trying to have a dog squashed by a car. And it's a nice way to vent, too.

Did you just growl at me? I didn't realize we were identifying that strongly with the dogs. I felt bad about doing it, and I would have felt worse if the dog had been hit - because I'm an idiot who likes dogs. The reason I did it was to force the owners to snap out of their indolence and come get their dog. I'd asked them to, they'd watched the problems it was causing me to have their dog run loose, they'd seen my dog nearly run into traffic trying to lunge at their loose dog - they clearly weren't going to do anything solely for me or my pet. When I helped put their property into jeopardy, then they reacted. With owners like that, any way the story played out would have had a 'greater good' outcome. If the dog's killed, no more problem from him. If he's not, the owner's at least aware that sometimes other people can be a danger to their loose dog, and are motivated to control him. A moment of fear was worth a thousand words to those people. I never saw that dog running loose again.