Posts from the ‘people problems’ Category

Jan 4

An Off Leash Dog Ruined My Life: A Service Dog’s Story

Service Dogs need space to work. But they’re not getting it from us. Turns out, off-leash dogs and dogs on retractable leashes, not to mention humans with no boundaries, are an epidemic for people who depend on Service Dogs.

The intrusions range from minor (people who want to pet their Service Dogs) to major (losing their balance and falling when their Service Dog gets chased by a dog on a retractable leash).

And then there are life altering encounters. Attacked by a “friendly” off-leash dog, Kristel and her Service Dog, Murphy, had their world turned upside down in a single moment.

This is their story:

“Murphy has been prepared for service work since he was a young puppy. He was well-socialized and exposed to all manner of weirdness from the time he was about nine weeks old. He went to puppy-kindergarten, met lots and lots of new people and had a group of dog-friends with great social skills. He was easy to train, well-mannered and confident. He got through his basic training, public-access training and task-specific training without a hitch.

When he was about three and his training was complete, our family decided to move into town (we had previously lived in a rural area). The adjustment was challenging for all of us, but after about two weeks or so, we settled into a routine and Murphy continued to perform his job flawlessly.

One morning we were walking on the local bike path just for recreation and exercise, and we had a 30 second encounter that made our lives hell for the next two years.

It had always been my habit to stay in areas that prohibited loose dogs and to choose Murphy’s playmates carefully because of the importance of his work and the need to keep him physically and psychologically healthy and sound.

There was a clearly posted leash ordinance on the path. Even so, out of nowhere a loose dog came running toward us, his owner, about twenty feet behind shouting “He’s friendly!” in the usual manner of those who believe they are exempt from the leash laws.

The dog wasn’t friendly at all. He went straight for Murphy’s neck without making a sound. I had to kick him repeatedly to get him to let go, and even then he kept trying to latch on. The owner yelled at me to stop kicking his dog. I promised that I would the moment he had regained control of him. I was so angry to be put in a position to hurt an animal, but I would do it again to protect my dog. The owner finally arrived and grabbed his dog by the collar. He wasn’t even carrying a leash.

The owner wanted my name in case his dog had broken ribs. I agreed that an exchange of information was a great idea, so I would have all the information I needed when I called the police to report the incident. The guy just shook his head and said “I don’t get it, he’s so good with the kids”, and he walked away without either of us getting any info at all.

Thirty seconds of a pet owner’s bad judgement, that’s all it took. After the encounter Murphy became profoundly leash-reactive to other dogs.

This is a dog I depend on to live my life and get through my day, and now he would come completely unglued at the sight of another dog.

To say I had no life at all during Murphy’s TWO YEAR rehab is an understatement. I couldn’t work, it cost me hundreds of dollars in training and equipment, and I had to watch my previously confident and happy-go-lucky dog struggle just to be in proximity to his own kind. Years of work, years of careful exposure, years of my life shot to hell in thirty seconds.

We are ‘out-the-other-side’ now for the most part. Murphy is back to work and can handle most situations with other dogs again. He’s never going to be okay with a strange dog in his face, but I can live with that.

I appreciate your efforts to educate the public, so much. If people would just obey leash laws it would be HUGE. Any dog could be a service dog, just out for a walk; you never know. And it shouldn’t matter. Each of us should have the right to decide how we socialize our dogs and not have that decision made for us. Thank you for calling so much attention to an issue that is not only relevant to many, but life-altering for some of us.” – Kristel S.

Devastating, isn’t it?

Leash laws exist for this reason. If you allow your dog to run loose, in a designated on-leash area, you’re making a choice that could profoundly impact the lives of those around you.

Leash laws are not optional.

If you think it’s oppressive, being required to use a leash: it’s not. If you think you’re the exception to the leash law, because your dog is friendly: you’re not. This is bigger than you and your dog.

People who depend on their Service Dogs for their lives should not be harassed, chased, intruded upon, or attacked because other people believe that the rules don’t apply to them or because they’re too ignorant or irresponsible to control themselves or their dogs.

All of us, whether we have service dogs or not, deserve to live in a safe, respectful environment. We can create that type of community by thinking about the consequences – unintended or not – of our actions and commit to not making poor choices or assumptions that could cost a dog or person their entire quality of life.

It’s time to leash up and give dogs some space. No more excuses.

Want to learn more about Service Dog Etiquette? Visit Please Don’t Pet Me

Do you have a DINOS (Dog in Need of Space)™ ? Join us on Facebook!

If you’d like to read more from Kristel, please check out her new blog: The Lighter Side of Darkness

Be responsible, respectful, and ask first!

Dec 16

18 Comments

Retractable Leashes: Handy Tool or Fifteen Feet of Doom?

Meeting a ROAR (Rover on a Retractable), can be a nightmare for other people walking their dogs, especially DINOS. ROARs are often 10-15 feet away from their owners and this makes it difficult for us to step aside and let them pass without our dogs interacting.

From a distance it’s super hard to determine if the incoming dog is on a retractable or off-leash all together. I’m not a big fan.

flexi lead

My own personal experience with retractables varies from just fine to pretty awful. I walk some small dogs on retractables and I have no problem keeping my tiny DINOS close, I lock the leash when we pass others and I let them roam when we’re alone. I do my best to use the leash correctly and follow common sense dog walking etiquette, the same as I would with a flat leash.

But, I’ve also had really bad experiences with them. I’ve burned my hand trying to grab at the leash when the braking mechanism failed. And worse, my fear reactive DINOS, Boogie, was attacked by a ROAR.

Picture this: there we were strolling on the sidewalk, when a very large dog, standing in his driveway on a retractable, began to chase us. The weight of the dog running at full speed snapped the bulky handle right out of his surprised owner’s hand. The dog ran towards us, bulky handle scraping on the sidewalk, making a terrible noise. He jumped on top of Boogie, biting him on the head. Boogie didn’t fight back, but he did curse at the other dog pretty loudly. The man who owned the large dog was afraid to step in and help me because he had another dog, also on a retractable, and didn’t want to drag that dog into the chaos. It took a third person to step in and get the dog off of Boogie.

Would this have happened if the dog had been on a flat leash? Maybe, but I honestly doubt it. It was the force of the big dog hitting the end of the line at a full sprint that snapped the huge plastic handle out of his owner’s hands. It was the crazy sound of the handle crashing behind him that amped the dogs up even more. It was the lack of a flat leash to step on, to safely pull his dog away, that kept the tussle going because there was nothing to grab onto (the giant handle was left dangling a foot or so off the attacking dog’s neck).

Do I think retractables should be banned? Nope.

Do I think they have a place and that place isn’t highly populated areas? Yep.

In addition to the control issues, the problem is that, no matter how skilled you are at using them the equipment is known to fail. I’ve worked in pet stores and seen them returned, over and over again, for snapping. I’ve had the breaking mechanism fail on me. And that’s why Consumer Reports wrote that delightful article on finger amputations.

But these leashes aren’t going anywhere, so in the interest of exploring the more (and less) responsible methods of using retractables, I’ve compiled a DO and DON’T list (available as a pdf, minus this whole intro, for easy printing).

A Guide for ROARs (Rovers on a Retractable):

Retractable Leash Etiquette

DO: Be aware that retractable leashes have a reputation for breaking, snapping, and otherwise failing.

DON’T: Let your dog’s retractable get tangled around another dog’s body. The friction from the moving tape or string can cause serious injuries.

DO: Lock your leash to 6 feet or less while walking your dog in public around other dogs and/or people (not all people want to be approached by your dog).

DO: Use them in unpopulated areas, such as the woods or your own back yard.

DON’T: Use them with a gentle leader or other training tools. The point of those tools are generally to teach your dog not to pull, to engage with you, or for better control. It’s a confusing message to a dog to be on both a retractable and a head harness or corrective collar at the same time.

DO: Purchase the best quality retractable you can afford. Typically the tape ones are stronger than the string ones.

DON’T: Expect to teach your dog to stop pulling while using these. Your dog is enjoying pulling ahead and wandering off.

DO: Work on your dog’s recall at other times, so that you’re not just relying on the leash to gather your dog back.

DO: Be aware that those bulky handles are difficult to hold on to if your dog hits the end of the line at full speed.

DON’T: Let your dog wander off while in public places like the pet store or at the vet’s office. If your dog can walk away from you, into another aisle or across a room, the point of using a leash (for management) has been defeated.

DO: Consider them a potentially useful tool for environmentally fearful dogs, dogs that are semi-feral with humans, or other dogs that may need some extra space while they are building confidence.

DON’T: Drop the leash, especially if you’re working with a fearful dog. The bulky handle “chases” behind them, making a terrible scraping sound on pavement, further terrifying the dog.

DO: Be aware that Consumer Reports notes that people have suffered serious injuries, including finger amputations and bad burns from retractable leashes.

DON’T: Walk your large reactive dogs on retractables in any place you may encounter their triggers. It only takes a second to miss the opportunity to lock the leash and then you’ve got a thrashing dog, fifteen feet ahead of you.

Printable PDF is here: A Guide for ROARs

Dec 4

16 Comments

DINOS™ Handouts are Here!

Want to spread the DINOS message? Check out these pdfs of your favorite blog posts!

Dec 2

34 Comments

DINOS™: A Manifesto

It is our position that DINOS (Dogs in Need of Space)™ are good dogs with the right to enjoy walks in public without the harassment of other dogs and their people.

Therefore we demand the following from our fellow dog lovers:

Obey Leash Laws: Outside of a dog park, or otherwise sanctioned off-leash area, you must leash your dogs. This is not our opinion, it’s the LAW.

Ask Permission Before Approaching: Stop moving and ask, “Is your dog friendly?” or “Can my dog say hi?”

Listen to our Response: Give us time to respond. And no means no.

Respect Our Space: If we move to the side, so that you can pass, do not let your dog approach us. Please shorten their leash and continue walking. It’s not rude, promise.

Do Not Give Chase: If we abruptly turn the other way or cross the street, we do not want to interact with you or your dogs. Yes, we saw you. No we don’t want to say “hi”.

Lock your Leashes: If you walk your dog on a retractable leash (aka a Flexi Lead), please retract and lock your leash, so that we may pass by without engaging with your dog. Better yet, skip the retractable and use a flat leash. Retractable leashes break.

Zip it: Keep your judgments and nasty comments to yourself. One day, due to illness, trauma, or other circumstances, you too may find yourself the loving owner of a DINOS. Until you walk a (paranoid) mile in our shoes, we implore you: If you don’t have anything nice to say, just keep on walking.

No Matter How Nice You Are, the Rules Still Apply: You may think that because you and your dogs are really nice and very dog savvy, that it’s ok for you to break these rules. Look, we believe you. You seem really nice and so does your dog. We wish we could meet you under other circumstances, but trust us, we know our dogs better than you do. We reserve the right not to interact with you, no matter how nice you are.

In return, the DINOS pledge to uphold the following standards:

We will always leash our DINOS when out in public.
We will muzzle our DINOS, if necessary.
When it is possible, we will always create distance between your dog and our DINOS, so that you too can pass us without incident.
We will tell you our dogs are DINOS. No mind reading necessary.

Subsection 4A: Don’t Deny Your Dog is a DINOS.

DINOS Deniers are wide-spread. They refuse to believe that their dog is one of the following: inappropriate, rude, or aggressive. They fool unsuspecting dog owners by saying their dogs are friendly, but in reality they are not. Typically, after an incident occurs, they admit it has happened before, as in: “I don’t know why, but my dog almost always bites when he’s at the dog park.” Stop denying the truth. You have a DINOS and you owe it to your dog and everyone else’s dog to create safe interactions. If you own DINOS, you must be responsible for understanding your dogs.

DINOS, The Time to Take Back Our Space is Now!

DINOS Unite!

printer friendly pdf: DINOS Manifesto

Looking for a Kinder, Gentler Manifesto? If you’re a shelter, trainer, or just a really nice person, check out this less snarky version, with printable pdf!

photo credit: Ginger Monteleone Photography

Who’s who?

DINOS: Dogs in Need of Space™

MDIF: My Dog is Friendly™

OLDS: Off Leash Dogs™

ROARS: Rovers on a Retractables™

http://notesfromadogwalker.com

Dec 1

176 Comments

My Dog is Friendly! A Public Service Announcement

There is epidemic happening across the country and no one is safe. It’s occurring on crowded city sidewalks and spacious country walking trails. It doesn’t discriminate based on race, age, or economic status.

Innocent dogs and their owners are being terrorized, chased down the street, pinned into corners by…other dog owners.

But, you ask, don’t all dogs like to meet, greet, and play with other dogs, even unfamiliar ones? How rude of them not to greet me and my dog! Not so, kindhearted dog lovers, not so at all.

In every city, town, and suburb, loving, law abiding families share their lives with dogs that, for a variety of reasons, cannot or would rather not, socialize with other dogs.

Today I call on all dog lovers to take a stand on behalf of dogs that walk in public while they simultaneously cope with one or more of the following:

contagious diseases
leash reactivity
service or working dogs
injuries and painful physical conditions
intolerance of other animals
recovery from surgery
fearful of unfamiliar or rowdy dogs
aging and el
derly
learning self control around other dogs
are owned by people that want to be left alone

To keep it simple, these dogs and their owners shall be known as Dogs in Need of Space (DINOS)™

These DINOS have every right to walk the streets, using a standard 4-6 foot leash, without interacting with strangers, human or canine.

And yet…they are hounded, day after day, by cheery, well meaning dog owners who insist on meeting them.

Despite frantic efforts to cross the street or hiding between parked cars, DINOS are chased down by other people walking dogs, who refuse to believe that there is someone out there that does not want to meet them.

How do you spot these terrorists? You can recognize these people by their battle cry, “My dog is friendly!”

Henceforth known as My Dog is Friendly (MDIF).

Pick any corner of any town in America and you’re likely to see a scene similar to this one:

A DINOS is working on his manners, let’s say it’s leash reactivity. He has some issues with strange dogs, but is in training so that he can learn to stay calm in their presence. The DINOS owner spots another dog coming and, like their trainer instructed them, they create some distance and do a sit-stay with eye contact. The goal: to keep cool while the other dog passes.

But they didn’t realize they were being stalked by an eager MDIF.

Look! There’s they are now, crossing the street, speed walking in a beeline right towards the seated DINOS, their own dog straining at the collar.

The DINOS owner steps further away, trying again to create distance. Any anthropologist (or kindergartner) can read the clear body language in play from the DINOS team. Observe: no eye contact or smiling, they are facing away from MDIF, glancing frantically around, looking for an escape.

MDIF is impervious to body language and insists on coming closer.

The signals from the DINOS owner become escalated, and like a dog losing its patience with a rude puppy, the DINOS owner issues a quiet, but firm warning, “My dog doesn’t like other dogs.”

Unable to understand their native language, MDIF continues their advances until DINOS is trapped and begins to lose his ability to stay cool. See: lunging and barking, coupled with awkward struggles to get away. Now, like a dog that’s being humped relentlessly by a teenage dog with no manners, the DINOS owner snaps, so the message is clear, “Stop! Don’t come any closer!”

And, without fail, MDIF calls out their cheerful battle cry, “My dog is friendly!” Their plea is received by the back of the DINOS team as they jog away.

Then, with a hurt look, the MDIF mutters, “What’s your dog’s problem?”

The DINOS owner, shaken, wonders why they are working so hard on improving their dog’s manners when the humans around them have the social skills of, well, a dog with no social skills.

A brief interlude from the author:

Quickly, let’s turn to the similar epidemic of off leash dogs that are not under voice control. It’s the law: Put your dog on a leash. No one but ME gets to decide who my dog interacts with. Not you, with the “friendly” dog who just wants to say “hi” or you, with the dog who “knows” not to leave your property, but charges me up my porch steps. I, and I alone, will decide if my dog will be interacting with your dog and when you let your dog run loose you are ROBBING ME of my right to choose whether or not we want to interact with your dog. Not cool.

And now back to our Public Service Announcement:

Dogs In Need Of Space are good dogs. They may not want to socialize with your dog, but they have the right to walk with their owners, on leash, without harassment from strangers who insist on a forced greeting. Their owners do not want to cause a scene or yell, in a panic, at strangers. They don’t want their dog to act inappropriately, get injured, backslide on their training, or frighten anyone. Please, dog lovers of the world, allow these dogs and their people some space and, if they are walking or turning away from you, keep your dog close by and pass them without comment.

All they want is to walk their dogs in peace, without having to hide under a park bench in order to escape the relentless pursuit of dogs owners calling out…

“My dog is friendly!”

If your dogs are DINOS, join the movement on Facebook!

You can also:

Take the online class!

Read the book!