I've wondered the same thing! Whenever I encounter people without dogs on the hiking trail, I just think, "Huh?".
exactly! where's the fun in that? LOL
( she can't find the leash, the dog ate it, the cat hid it, blah. blah)
That cat hid it ? :lol-sign: Now
that's a good one. It's actually an excuse I haven't heard before! LOL
I'm sorry that has happened to you. The owner has no right to let her dog off leash like that. Irresponsible owners like that are the reason there are leash laws, and its frustrating to say the least for me because I feel its not very fair. My dogs would never do something like that (nor would I
LET them) and let the leash law still applies... (though, I admit, I will unleash them anyway in appropriate areas even if theirs a county law or whatnot...)
I used to take my dog, Kiara, walking off leash all the time.
Now I am strictly against it. Kiara got spooked from our yard while off leash and went missing for 5 days. We are so lucky we found her after searching endlessly. We spent around $400 on supplies putting up signs and many sleepless nights crying.
Sure, it can be fun but it is a lot safe on leash. For hikes/walks where you are not around dogs or other people, invest in a strong retractable leash.
There are always risks when walking. Something can still happen to you dog if they're on a long line or a retractable leash ! While you are not comfortable letting your dog off leash (for a good reason
) its not fair to judge that
all dogs need to be [retractable] leashed at all times. Kiara got spooked and ran off, and thats unfortunate... Missy got spooked one time and she ran so fast ,and jumped into a heel position I nearly tumbled over! lol!
My dogs are off leash a lot. I'll even let Maddie off leash in town, because she heels regardless of other people walking or what not, but I'm not stupid. She's leashed if there's a lot of people, or other dogs, or traffic... She's usually off just to walk with me to the car.
Now, I would do the same thing with Missy, but her breed simply scares people. I don't want there to ever be even a remote chance of her scaring somebody by stepping toward them or something... I'll let her go straight to the car, though, too...
And just for the record (lol) I do own a couple sturdy retractable leashes... I got another one with a flashlight and a radio built into it for Christmas (LOL)
And they're on it when they need to be. Which isn't always