‘Leash your dog, dammit.’ Why control is critical when leaving home with your pets
The buck stops here. And we like that.
As usual, we’d watched with pleasure as a stately six-point stag rested in our “back 40” for more than an hour on Jan. 4. Then, unfortunately, a trespassing, unleashed dog dashed onto the meadow and chased the deer away.
The ending could have been very different. Tragic, even.
So, here’s a firm request: If your dog confronted that buck, we respectfully request that you and your pet stay off our property. (The law requires that the dog be on a leash, by the way.)
Likewise, if you and your dog are walking anywhere other than in your own home, yard, ranch or farm — or somewhere designated as a “leash free” area — we respectfully request that you keep your dog on a leash.
You say it’s a dog’s instinct to run free? Sorry. Not when that instinct could get your dog maimed or killed, or result in injury or worse to another dog, animal or person — a child perhaps.
You’re sure you can voice control your dog, or you believe your pet is too small or mild-mannered to pick a fight? Sorry. No. Even the best-educated dog can break training under the right circumstances.
I was fiercely attacked once by a highly obedience-trained, dog-show competitor. The dog apparently thought I was a threat to its handler just because I’d inadvertently walked too close.
One of the fiercest canine fighters I ever knew weighed 2 pounds and had absolutely no concept of relative size.
I’ve loved dogs for my entire life. As a child, I helped my mom raise miniature wire-haired dachshunds eacup poodles.
It was her occasional hobby, not a business. There were probably only six or eight litters in 30 years, and selling any of the pups was a traumatic wrench for both of us.
All of Mom’s dogs always sat glued to her side, nearly pushing her out of her Eames lounge chair. Several used to compete to doze draped around her shoulders. They slept with her and traveled with all of us.
My husband and I met through our dogs — his three and my two Shetland sheepdogs. They were cupids masquerading as canines.
Until Husband Richard developed health and stability problems, we always had at least one dog in our family and our home. I adored them all, and they ruled our lives.
But is Cambria great country for free-running dogs? No.
I’ve lived in this heavily forested, hilly town nearly 50 years. Whenever we’ve taken our dogs out of the house, they’ve always been on leashes or confined in a vehicle or fenced yard.
We knew this area was lavishly populated by deer, turkeys, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and large raptors, all of which can be dangerous for pets. And there’s always risk from unconfined dogs and vehicles.
An unleashed dog facing off with wildlife will often go into its natural attack mode to defend its territory, its master and/or its pack — often by trying to chase the wildlife away.
Sometimes, the results are heart-breaking.
I’ve seen a dog eviscerated by a buck that had simply been protecting itself against a canine attack. It was horrible and haunting, as were the aftermaths of a vicious dogfight and several vehicle-versus-dog accidents.
You don’t want any of those to happen to your pet, believe me.
Then, too, consider the safety of other people.
Prominent violinist Brynn Albanese posted on Facebook recently about a scary dog encounter she and her 10-pound dog had on a local, forested trail. She said “an 80-pound black lab” charged them, but the big dog’s owners merely stayed in the background, yelling at their pet.
She said the lab “tried to chomp up my little dog like it was a toy.” The larger dog jumped all over Albanese, “lunging into me with its 80 pounds as I screamed for help,” she said.
Leash your dog, dammit.
We live at urban Cambria’s southern forested edge, in wildlife territory, their home. That was one of the things we love best about the house.
Now, watching and photographing the wildlife is a daily highlight for my disabled spouse. Of course, the rest of us are entranced, too.
We respect the wildlife, other dogs, children and each other. We ask that other people do the same, no matter where they are.
So please obey the law, especially when you’re in wildlife territory or near children and other people. Keep your dog on the leash.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 5:15 AM with the headline "‘Leash your dog, dammit.’ Why control is critical when leaving home with your pets."
