Oh man, here we go again
. But I guess I'll throw my
in as well and get bashed for it too . . . . Warning - I have not taken hours to think of my response or the correct way to say it so I will ramble . . .
As a teen, we took my parents' dogs to the foothills and let them run to their hearts content quite often. Very well behaved animals - came when called back and got along with any other animals we ran into (except chickens, but that's another story). Whether legal or not, we did it. If it wasn't for those long runs, my parents' huskies would not have stayed in their yard during the week. The few times we did come across anyone with another dog, we made sure ours came back to us and we would stay with them until the other animal had gone. Each owner was responsible for keeping their own animal under control. That was a given. The same goes for when the dogs are in the front yard "off-leash". They know their boundaries and when they have to stay with my parents. Never a bad off-leash experience.
My own dogs are pretty socialized - might be scared of people and certain places, but they love other dogs. They are not however good on leashes - comes from having an owner with 3 toddlers trying to help walk them I suppose. They are great off leash when in familiar territory or with familiar people. So if we happen to be someplace that is wide open with no people, I have no problem taking them off their leashes. If it's against the law - then it is my choice to break that law and suffer the consequences - just like any other criminal. For example when we go off-roading, my dogs will wander around where ever we stop for lunch. If I walk them on their leashes, it could take 30 minutes before they'll actually relieve themselves, but if I let them go on their own - it's only seconds. I actually have never had a ranger tell me to leash them either - the opportunity has presented itself though.
Having said all that, I don't think I'd be hiking with 8 dogs by myself anyway. I barely hike, let alone with my dogs. 8 would be out of the question. I also would hope that the owner would have more common sense - if you have an aggressive dog, you don't let them off leash. That lady was just plain stupid. And anything that happened as a result is her fault. But I can't condemn every single person who hikes with their dogs off leash. Walking in a neighborhood with lots of people around, yes that shouldn't happen - but in the middle of nowhere? It's not the end of the world. We're NOT talking forest fires or gunfire or murder, we're talking about walking dogs - let's not exaggerate and make this such a huge deal. I understand an animal was hurt and that owner is upset - I'm upset it happened too - the situation could have been avoided. But I'm not going to throw blanket statements out there either that all dogs do not get along and should all be restrained at all times. My dog being on a leash is not going to protect MY dog if another is aggressive. It's the aggressive dog who should have been restrained in the first place - that's common sense.
Ok go ahead and pick apart my whole post in tiny little sections and tell me I'm a horrible dog owner and how much I break the law and promote doing so. Let me block my head with my arms - ok go . . . .
