During the week I visit several clients' homes and take their nice doggies out for walks. We go to Briones, Lafayette Reservoir, dog parks and many nice neighborhoods. I love getting out in the fresh air, burning up calories and teaching pooches to be good canine citizens. It's rather idyllic, really. It's the kind of job one only dreams about. And California is the perfect place for it, with weather to die for most of the time. My friends with office jobs tell me I'm a lucky guy and I can't disagree. So why do I come home some nights frustrated and angry? Bad dog owners.
I was walking my buddy Baxter on a back trail at the Rez recently when I encountered a gentleman walking his dog just ahead of me. The pup was doing his "doody" so we started walking by him. Suddenly the other dog sprang at Baxter, teeth snapping and his body twisting wildly on the leash. His owner was yelling at him as the dog dragged him across the pavement, knocking me down. I got up just in time to pull Baxter away before the other dog sank his teeth into his neck. In the calmest voice I could muster I said: "Sir, could you please not bring a vicious dog like that to this park!"
"He's not vicious, he's just scared!"
No Excuses!
I was walking my two "kids" Jake and Grace on a woodland trail when we were approached by a couple walking a mastiff. As they approached us the mastiff began to growl and strain at her leash, pulling the poor man along the trail. The woman told me: "Oh, she's recovering from an injury, she's not usually like this." Two weeks later we saw the same dog on the same trail. Same behavior, same explanation.
No Excuses!
I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences while walking your dogs. It can't continue. The next time somebody's dog acts out against you or your pup and their owner tries to explain it away with some lame story about their past or, worse, tries to put the blame on you, tell them:
No Excuses!
Training classes are held year-round and a small investment of money along with a responsible attitude toward dog ownership will make those stories unnecessary. I'll see you out there!
1 comment:
I take my dog-aggressive dog for walks at parks where dogs are required to be on a leash. That way, when my dog reacts to other dogs, I have control. (I try to go as early as possible, hoping not many dogs will be there.) However, there are plenty of people who let their dogs off leash in these parks, which is extremely frustrating for people with my problem. We've tried training. It hasn't worked. Where do you suggest we take our dog-aggressive dog on walks? Are we supposed to just stay in our backyard? That's certainly not the answer.
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