Stomach flu is going around according to my doctor. My wife and I were sick as well as my kid.

No she is not, but fortunately her assistant is though.

Point taken about service dogs, rescue dogs, etc. However, disagree with police dogs. Sometimes the police officers themselves cannot control the police dog.

>Bruh... Do you need help? My dog's extremely well socialized if you need help. I walk him 2-5 hours a day. If you're being literal with that... That's sad for your dog.

Yep being literal with that - my neighborhood has a lot of unleashed dogs. It's why I paid for a fence to play with my dog, and have to literally walk her up and down my street and watch for dogs, or walk her in off hours, or take her on Cary St or something that I know will be busy and dogs will be leashed.

It wasn't as bad a few years ago, but a lot of new people have moved into the neighborhood and unleashed dogs have gotten worse. For instance, someone was walking around with an unleashed pit on my block just this past week. My new neighbors literally play with their dogs unleashed in the street, etc.

We worked with a behaviorist and put in hours a day with a for 3 years now with my dog just to boost her confidence and lower her stress and to be somewhat normal like she was when she was a pup, and bad encounters with other dogs or humans sets her back again.

My statement 20 minutes of sniffing wasn't to say that it fully accounts for all of a dogs needs, but that mental stimulation has just as important enrichment as physical stimulation. But yes dogs need all the physical activity they can get, which is why I think if everyone leashed their dogs in public, every dog can get the exercise and be outdoors to enjoy and all that fun stuff.

Yes, I think I hit a nerve here and I apologize. I think we may even be talking about completely different scenarios. You may be taking your dog off leash in a private giant field where no one is probably around, or a dog park designated for dogs running around etc where all participants expect and agree to dogs running off leash together.

Which is the opposite of what I'm talking about, which is trying to walk my dog down the end of the block.

I don't believe I've ever prescribed 100ft lunge line leashes as a way to prevent dog attacks. I merely stated lunge lines are an option if you must give your dog more line on a walk. I just pointed out they can even go up to 100ft.

But if the dog was on a leash and under the owner's physical control, certainly the woman would not be dead. Since, the only reason the dog stopped attacking the woman was because the owner physically moved the dog away. That is what a leash is really good for - to physically move your dog if needed.

Unrelated to this conversation, I'm most certainly an idiot. Ask my wife :)

I stated dogs should be leashed in public or non fenced in yard. Never said all the time.

But you're just showing you only care about yourself. Got it.

My point is that a dog is never trained well enough to be reasonably let off leash in public. The breed does not matter - I've had golden retrievers, mutts, doodles, golden doodles, chihuahuas, and all manner of purebred dogs of all sorts charge my dog. The only common thing among them - they weren't on a leash.

Do you know what all of them say? "I'm so sorry! They've never done that before!"

Like I mentioned, those who walk their dogs off leash in public are just ego tripping - "look how well I have my dog under control!". It's actually full of human arrogance. Also e-collars are corrective based training, and lead to negative reinforcement or aversive training, which is not as effective as positive reinforcement - even though the study included leading professions within ecollar industry. Study concluded that e-collar did not create greater deterrent for disobedience, and unnecessary for effective recall training. Positive reward training is superior.

Also see my already stated comment about heart rate, and how no amount of correction, treats, or punishment can bring the heart rate back to resting on a dog - only time can.

You can still get a lunge line leash, which gives your dog tons of free space. I know there are lunge line leashes that go up to 100ft! Are you saying your dog needs 100ft? That means you are way too far to pay attention to a command or recall, even if your dog is well trained. With a lunge at least you will have physical control.

Why should I always be stressed out when trying to walk my dog in public around the block? Why can't my dog have a nice walk undisturbed and able to stretch her legs? Leashing your dog doesn't hurt anyone, and in fact it is a net positive to everyone. Walks with leashes are also training / exercise on top of a physical exercise. It also gives people the comfort of not having to walk around with dog spray or a bat around the neighborhood. It sure would allow me to walk my dog more than half a block.

A dog is happy when they are loved, cared for, and stimulated. Not every dog needs to run around in a 5 acre park, untethered. Just 20 minutes of sniffing is the equivalent of an hours walk of enrichment for every dog.

Some dogs like working dogs need "work", and that needs to be simulated and letting them run around isn't the same. The idea that a leash is somehow demeaning to a dog divorces reality that a dog is an animal. The better we can see that, the better we can care for them, and still be responsible to our neighbors.

Sorry, no dog should ever be off leash in public, or non-fenced yard.

I don't know how many times I've walked my dog and owners claim they "have full recall control", and "come through it's alright!", but they don't and their dogs charged my dog. It's taken a lot of money and countless hours trying to rectify the stress that it put on my dog, which manifested as fear aggression.

If a dog is staring toward another dog or person, their heart rate is already rapidly rising, and once they bark their heart rate is already at 130bpm and climbing, and it takes at minimum 30 mins to bring it back down, and no amount of commands, treats, or punishment is going to bring the heart rate down any quicker. This is where a leash helps, you can physically remove the dog away from the trigger.

I've had a certified animal behaviorist ( Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist board certified, grad degree, NIH experience, etc), strongly opine that people should not walk their dogs off leash in public.

Trying to walk around in public with your dog off leash, even if trained, is literally pushing your dog's tolerance to manage stress and the owners training to the edge. It's human ego trying to display dominance. It's unnecessary and risky.