Is it ok to always keep a dog on a lead?

Well said Iam .

I'm with you on the training. In fact, Id go as far as to say that training lessons ( and socialisation) should be obligatory when you get a dog.

So many people who get a dog have absolutely no idea that their dog needs training. They see people who do have well trained dogs and assume that its that easy and their dog will be the same as if by osmosis.

A well trained dog is a joy but it takes hard work,

NanaandGrampy

Well said Iam .

I'm with you on the training. In fact, Id go as far as to say that training lessons ( and socialisation) should be obligatory when you get a dog.

So many people who get a dog have absolutely no idea that their dog needs training. They see people who do have well trained dogs and assume that its that easy and their dog will be the same as if by osmosis.

A well trained dog is a joy but it takes hard work,

Absolutely - and this is one of the reasons why I fear for the welfare of some of the poor dogs who have been bought on a whim during lockdown, and who will no doubt end up in rescue centres once the owners realise just how much work is involved in having a dog!

I have a new lab puppy having lost my dear old lab over a year ago. First lab took years before she would recall properly. Any sign of water and I ceased to exist. On one occasion she ran through a wooded area into a small river, then into a field with sheep. Fortunately she did not chase them when they moved away not wanting to play. She then tried to get back but there was an electric fence so terrible yelp. Took me ages to get round to her. She was scared of fence but too big for me to lift over. Luckily two strong lads came along and rescued her. It put me off of letting her off. Eventually as she got older she would come to the whistle for a treat but not near water. In the morning I could let her run out into the garden for a wee knowing she would be back within 10 minutes for breakfast.

With new puppy I will like to let her run free as she gets older but because of what happened with previous dog need somewhere safe for training. Also worried about dog napping. At the moment I let her chase a ball down my long corridor.

Some years ago a racehorse trainer was banned because one of his horses had a positive dope test. After huge investigations it was discovered that a dog being treated with steroids had peed while on a footpath across the trainer's field and the horse had eaten grass tainted with the steroid. It was all sorted but cost a lot of money and the trainer was distraught. Round where we live there are fenced 'dog parks' for owners to loose run their dogs. You book a time and are given a gate code - clear up any mess and off you go. Brilliant result all round.

Cruelty is relative. If I were to rescue some dog from eastern Europe; some dog who has been a long time stray, I cannot let him off the lead as he will have no recall; his life on lead with a kind old lady will be a lot better than when he was cold , starved , and terrified in Romania.

Similarly for retired greyhounds. It is either death or lead walk for them.

PS most people have no spare money to spend on getting to a dog park, let alone paying for that facility.

Dog theft rose 250% in the past year. Most of it from breeding kennels, or hobby breeders. Some dogs stolen from cars, outside shops and occasionally from owners on walks.

Every day my FB page has more stories and appeals from distraught owners of dogs and puppies which have been stolen, some even from gardens.

Dog owners are supposed to be able to control their dogs at all times.

This applies specifically if they are to be let of the lead in a public place.

A well-trained dog will come when called or whistled at by its owner and has learned not to run up to strangers or jump up at people.

This thread like so many others shows clearly that not all people who have dogs train them properly.

The only solution I can see is for all countries to adopt the German system. There you have to take your dog to police run dog training classes to be allowed to keep a dog. If you fail as an owner, I believe you can be refused the right to keep a dog.

Yet another reason why people should have to get a licence and training package before they get a dog Alexa . People tend to totally under estimate the costs involved in having a dog .

Its not just about food and the vet but its about insurance, the right food, training - the list goes on.

I agree Grandtante , I lived in Germany many years ago and totally support the methodology they have chosen.

I think all domestic animals should be able to live as near a natural (to them) life as possible. In the wild, dogs would roam freely, so to keep them on the lead always is going against their instincts. It could also make them defensive of other dogs as they aren't free to react in a normal way.

Blondiescott, I volunteer for a breed charity. Like local shelters and other rescues, we haven’t had the influx of lockdown dogs we expected. Instead, the adverts are full of young pups and dogs being sold by owners. The reasons are the ones usually given when unwanted dogs are handed in. It’s the sudden return to work, the combination of puppies and small children, the endless poor dogs who howl when left alone all day, or chew things.
I’m beginning to think NanandGrampy and Grandtante are right, we need the implement the German system. I also feel as strongly about hobby breeders as puppy farms. Breeding your unhealthy/temperament tested spaniel just because you can and charging £3500 a pup is outrageous and wrong

My DH is a retired vet, he dislikes breeders. Our last two dogs were rescue Great Danes, and were perfect, never jumped up and were fine with other dogs. I always let them off the lead in Bushy park, they were deer proof. The last one would plod along next to my three year old granddaughter, my stepdaughter once found her daughter covering the dog in Carins face cream, dog looking resigned!

We couldn’t let ours off on the beach today because it was high tide and there was also a lot of stones and shells (worry about her doing zombies on sharp shells etc) so we just hid lots of kibble around the house when we got back and let her do lots of sniffing on the walk. I heard a while back that it’s important for dogs to get sun on their backs the same as people as, in the wild they would be outside all the time absorbing VitD but because they’re inside most of the time they can be deficient the same as people.

oh well said Iam !!

I totally agree. I know of someone with very poor specimen Springer Spaniel who breeds litter after litter of equally poor specimens, sells them for a fortune as 'working spaniels' when neither of the parents have ever seen a gun in their lives.

Its all about the money and its a sad, sad state of affairs.

I think all dogs should be on a lead in public regardless of whether the owner believes them to be well behaved or not. A large area of woodland locally is now virtually a no go area for the general public due to dogs running free and no sign of the owner(s).
Dog excrement left on paths or worse still, in plastic bags just lobbed into the undergrowth.
Our local Facebook page regularly has pleas from owners who have lost a dog, last seen "chasing a deer" or running free in someone's field. They are a d**n nuisance.
I know there are many dog owners who are responsible and careful, but there are a heck of a lot who treat their pets as child substitutes and expect the rest of the population to feel the same adoration as they do.
Taking your dog, on a lead on a public path across a field is fine. Allowing your dog to run loose over land that does not belong to you just because you feel it needs it is not.

No I'm not a dog hater. I have had dogs in the past but no longer. My dog was exercised in a farmer's field with his permission, provided no livestock was there, otherwise it was a nearby park, on a lead or in my own (small) garden.

In my view, if you feel your pet cannot be exercised adequately on a lead in public or loose on land that either belongs to you OR where you have the permission of the owner, then maybe you out to reconsider whether you should have a dog in the first place.

I agree about people underestimating the cost of pet ownership. Not just about food etc but vets fees, kennel fees and other incidentals. So many dogs here in France are abandoned in the summer as owners are not willing to pay for kennels.
I love Great Danes Grannysyb we had a Harlequin who was a delight and so good with children. When my daughter wins the lottery we are going to set up a rescue centre for Danes and Donkeys.

Today it’s been reported locally that wild deer have been driven in towards the town centre, after being chased by off-lead dogs. Apart from the terror the deer must feel, it’s almost caused traffic accidents because the deer have leaping into the roads in built up areas, frightening people.

I’d say not a day goes by here without someone begging for help in searching for their lost dog. One has been missing for nearly two months now. There have been sightings but it’s living wild and is now unapproachable. Another dog was found dead a few days after it ran off.

A friend of mine lost her whippet when it chased a deer, ran into a tree and broke it’s neck. I guess so much depends on the breed of dog you have. Someone on a Facebook page complained that her whippet had twice ran up to an on lead Akita and the owner had been very angry with her. Now, I know someone that has Akita’s and wouldn’t have any other breed of dog and they are wonderful companions. But they are also bred to fight and are stronger than their human owners. People that own dogs should know their dog breeds so they can make informed decisions as to which dogs might be safe fir their dog to say hello to. If we see an Akita in the distance our dog is straight on a lead. Ditto Malamutes. Which are a favourite breed of mine.

agree with Lilolil

I always liked to see a dog run free until some hooligan terrier tore into my cavalier and we had to take her to the vet. She such a gentle dog and it was so traumatic I vowed never again. Awful experience.

Once that has happened you’re always waiting for it to happen again. I have to try to stay calm when another dog runs towards us but it isn’t easy. I wish other dog owners understood that.

Grandetante wrote:
"--- the German system. There you have to take your dog to police run dog training classes to be allowed to keep a dog. If you fail as an owner, I believe you can be refused the right to keep a dog."

I agree ; this or something like it should apply to all animal ownership for any purpose.

My ex was riding his bike through a country park yesterday (it is allowed) and a large dog ran straight into his bike from out of some woodland. His helmet was split open and he’s in a lot of pain down one side. Had his COVID vaccine today which there was no way that he was going to miss. I’m so angry. He’s cycled all of his life. Cycled from John’o’Groats to Lands End when he was 70 and has never had an accident till yesterday.

Unfortunately we can’t go to puppy training at the moment but I did go to Kennel Club training with my previous dog. I have no intention of letting new puppy off lead until she will recall. If she won’t I will need to find somewhere safe for her to run free. I intend to do lots of walks on lead as she gets old enough. I do not want my dog to be a nuisance to others. Dog stealing does seriously concern me.

It really is a worry isn’t it (dog stealing, that is). Annoyingly there are lots of enclosed fields now but we can’t use them. I’m really upset about what happened to my ex. I was only thinking the other day of how many people I hadn’t seen for over a year and wasn’t likely to see in the foreseeable future, and we’re still very close. He’s a real animal lover as well and would have risked his life to avoid it if he could but it happened so fast. The dog was ok. He’s even cycled parts of the Tour de France including the mountain section and never had a problem. Sorry to rant on about it: I’m just getting it off my chest!