Folks who don't walk their dogs ...

This is quite common in Hartford. Lazy asses who just open the back door and let the pooch out, usually without any I.D. and in danger of being killed. Walking back from Stop and Shop today I encountered a lovely little pug dog running around without a leash or I.D. Lord knows if he belongs to someone, but he had disappeared by the time I got to my gate.

Or the folks who walk on my street with their dog, but the dog is not leashed. Three people on my street who "walk" their dogs this way have all had their dogs hit and injured by cars. And every day I see these same people "walking" their dogs and the dogs are racing back and forth across the street.

Jesus wept!

What I don't like about people doing that is that you don't know if the dog is dangerous. I am afraid of dogs bigger than a Cocker Spaniel running around loose. I don't know if they're going to attack me, rip me to shreds, and kill me. I recall a time when I went walking in a park (with no one else around) and a Pit Bull started following me around in a way that didn't look friendly. It scared the heck out of me because there was no safe place to go (like up a tree or in a bathroom) and no one else was around, and I didn't have a cell phone. And yes, I realize that not all Pit Bulls will tear you apart, it's just that there are always bad stories on the news about them.

I can't figure out why these people even want dogs to begin with. If they're too lazy to walk the dog or don't have the time, then it make me wonder how much love and good health care the dog is actually getting. They probably want it for security reasons. I hope these people don't have kids.

Hartford is pit bull city. Loads of them around on and off-leash. You're right, a pit bull can be scary.

I agree I cant understand why some people dont walk thier dogs it is part of the joy of having one, all 7 of ours are walked every day what ever the weather, they are usually off the lead because they walk on our farm land so no need for a lead. One of my dogs (Culotte some of you have seen her pics) I take with me when I go to town sometimes, or most days we just walk and train together (I am hoping she will be a working dog) but often I have her on a lead and always with a lead in town, I would worry so much about the traffic otherwise.

In fact I have just taken some pics for the where do you walk thread so you can see where we walk if you want.

Milkmaid, I have seen all your photos. You are lucky you have such nice places to walk.

Thats true I am lucky to live in such a beautifull area, and you would need a realy good excuse not to walk a dog here

I don't think people who don't walk their dogs should have them, period.

However on the pit bull jabs, they are not supposed to ever show any signs of human aggression. Any dog can be scary, not just them. I hate that nobody ever gives them a chance, rather than just saying they are "scary" via what they hear on the media.

Most of those "Pit bull" attacks aren't even "pit bulls". People these days do not know how to decipher a pit bull from a lab and I find that sad.

There is only one pit bull and that is the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT). However there are bully breeds such as the American Staffordshire Terrier (AST) and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (SBT). APBTs were once "Nanny" dogs back in the day. What happened to that, honestly?

People just can't believe what they hear without meeting the dogs. Maybe you haven't met the right one to fall in love with? The breed of today, is being ruined by BYBs and people who fail to get educated on the breed. Do not judge a book by it's cover, these dogs are amazing. I work with them every. single. day. and never had any bad experiences with them.

Of course I will say not every APBT or bully breed is a perfect example of the breed. Just like any other breed, there are no "bad" dogs, and it's not always the owners either. It's never how you raise them, it depends on genetics, maybe not solely but that is a pretty darn huge part of it. I had a lab for 12 years and he was a great dog, should have been an APBT that's how great he was and now the labs of today are gentically messed, even mentally.





I get that not everyone will favor them like myself, but people do not need to be so closed-minded about the breed. You can believe what you want but this behavior in people is what targets and fuels BSL. All I can do is educate and try to change a person's mind. Plus, any dog you get not just an APBT or bully breed, you need to do your research and must be responsible.

Remember for every dog that is in the news, we are one step away from losing a breed that we come to love because of people's ignorance towards them. If every person was responsible, that would be ideal and great but that doesn't work out that way. If people would stop breeding irresponsibly, these dogs wouldn't be in such he double hockey sticks that they are in.

Keep your dogs out of trouble, because it's the breed as a whole that has to pay, the responsible owners, and your dog.

I do not own an APBT, however I am very passionate about this breed and do not want to see the responsible owners suffer or the dogs. I will own one someday when the time is right but I will always fight for the dogs and responsible owners that have them. There are a lot of people out there that shouldn't own them, had they done their research first but all I do is educate and hope for the best that the person takes my advice.

http://badrap.org/rescue/breed.html
http://badrap.org/rescue/myths.html
http://badrap.org/rescue/responsible.html
http://badrap.org/rescue/owning.html

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/pospress.html
http://saveabull.com/2008/pitbull-heroes/

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I do not like when someone makes jabs at a breed of dog just because what they hear or see in the news and not actually knowing the facts. These dogs make wonder family dogs, therapy dogs, service dogs, you name it. Just get to know them, I promise you won't be sorry!

I hear what you are saying, but, in this thread, you are overreacting. The other lady said she met a stray pit bull in the park and felt threatened. Would I feel threatened by a stray pit bull - hells yes! I would feel very threatened. There is a lot of dog fighting with pit bulls in Hartford and some of them on the street walking with their owners are very ferocious. The other lady was telling us about a personal experience she had had and I am talking about my experience with some pit bulls in Hartford. I have also had wonderful interactions with pit bulls here, with pits that are so lovable.

There is no such thing as a bad dog, just bad owners.

I do not think I am over-reacting. I am just trying to educate here. I understand she had a bad experience but just because of that experience doesn't make all of them bad. Did you even bother to read my links? Maybe you just have met poor examples of the breed but I do not think you shouldn't give them a chance. However it's not like I would go up to any dog I do not know and give them a hug regardless of breed.

I am sorry if you think I am "over-reacting".. but I am truly not I am just passionate about the bully breeds and do not think they should be prejudiced against.

Are you sure you don't live in Hungary? We spend time in a small town there every year, and half the neighbors simply open their gates, usually after dark, and let their yard dogs "walk themselves". I've lost count of the number we've seen hit.

We had a real scare two years ago. We were heading back to the house late one night when our headlights caught what we thought was a calf in the middle of the road, about two miles outside of town. DH really had to slam the brakes. It turned out to be a Saint Bernard/Irish Wolfhound mix that lives right down the block. We had the worst time getting him to move out of the road. His owner was very unconcerned when we told him where the dog had been.

Originally Posted by Milk maid

There is no such thing as a bad dog, just bad owners.

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It's not the dogs fault if they haven't been given any structure.

I live in an area where most of the neighborhood dogs are left outside, unleashed and unfenced 100% of the time. They have chosen our side yard as their doggy play ground and it's not uncommon for me to look out a window and see 6 dogs sitting out there. We're in a semi-rural area on a dead end street with little traffic.

I am one who will open up my door and let my 3 dogs romp with the dogs in the neighborhood. I don't do it all the time, but I trust mine to follow the rules that I've established for them. I am not afraid to do this because I have trained my dogs to not take a single step on the road until I give them specific permission. Mine have no clue how to walk on a leash, as when I'm out with them, they stay close to me. My dogs have no reason to leave the yard - their friends come over to play and they understand if they misbehave, their favors are revoked. The other dogs in the neighborhood are a different story. When one of them disappears, we always hear they wandered up to the busy street and got hit there.

I know I am the exception. We have neighbors without dogs that bring their visiting family members over to meet our dogs, as they proclaim "these are the best behaved dogs in the neighborhood". There's a part of me that agrees that people are lazy when they fail to walk their dogs. But please don't put all people in this category. If you love your dogs, you train your dogs.

My dogs don't get walked either. They do however get lots of time running around the yard and playtime outside. One is leashed with a 100 ft lead that is stationary on a tree and many times I've had to get him out of the fields chasing birds. My other dog is never leashed and never has been ever and I trust him to never ever stray from me even though neither dog is ever left outside alone. There are dogs who NEED to be walked and others that don't, I just happen to have 2 high energy dogs that don't need to be walked and are happy to romp around outside playing with their rope toys or playing tackle mommy.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

But please don't put all people in this category.

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I didn't. I was specifically talking about where I live, Hartford, and folks who just open the back door and let the dogs run around in the busy streets of a major urban city.

We don't go for walks, and we don't tend to use a leash either. We have a large yard, and my dog is about 90% on her recall- when she doesn't, I either squeak a ball, or shake the bells on her puppy-pull and she comes a runnin'. We have an aggressive, unchained/fenced neighbor dog that is randomly tied up or not, so we can't safely leave the yard. My dog, is a harmless chicken, and doesn't really understand what aggression even is!

We are heading into week three of obedience class though, and go for a few 10 minute or so walks a day, to work on heel. Other then those, she runs free in the yard upon request (with me watching, because of the neighbor dog)

Originally Posted by laceface

We have an aggressive, unchained/fenced neighbor dog that is randomly tied up or not, so we can't safely leave the yard.

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Yuck, another one of my pet peeves. Folks who tie up their dogs.

when we have had dogs they have rarely ever been on a leash or tied, but we have worked with them a lot and have never had a problem with them leaving the yard. Our last dog was a shihtzu and she was only on a leash when we went to the vet. We would frequently let her out in the yard while we were cleaning or cooking because she loved to just lay in the grass!
Our dane we went out with but he was not leashed, but never went more than 15 feet away from us. And if he did, we would click our tongues and he would be right back by our side.
But like I said, we have worked a lot on training our dogs to not leave the yard and worked with them on their recall!
Its one thing to let a crazy ill-mannered dog out running the neighborhood, its another to have a well behaved dog that doesnt leave the yard!

I believe dogs need to be walked, regardless of whether they are indoor or have a backyard to play in. I always walked my dog twice a day even though he had a nice yard to play in. He enjoyed getting out for a walk as it provides a different stimulation for them he was trained but I still used a leash always.

I haven't experienced people who just open the front door and let the dog roam. There's a lady next door who lets hers out until they reach the end of our Court, then puts the lead on - he runs over to my screen door to say hello to my cats which they love.

Try walking a 100lb monster Golden Retriever who hates walking with a passion and will lay down on the side of the road and miraculously loose his hearing and becomes dead weight. We dont have anywhere safe to walk our dogs because the 3 rds that are around my house for walking are dangerous, people including cops fly by with no regard to the 25mph speed limits and no regards to the warning animals crossing or children playing signs that we have posted along our property.

Originally Posted by Primula

Yuck, another one of my pet peeves. Folks who tie up their dogs.

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Ever lived someplace where you cannot put up a fence?
I do, not legal for me per park rules, also against the rules to be off leash at any time while outside.

We also get daytime temps that completely prevent dog walking and nighttime it is too dangerous due to wildlife.

My dog gets cabled out (tied out) in the evenings in my well lit yard and exercise via a swim or rough housing.