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even in the city i lived in at that time had a mandatory leash law, but the animal control saw how well behaved they were and i had great control, they left us alone even off leash).
This is flawed thinking. Just because a law is not enforced does not mean the law is invalid. You may have been lucky, even for years, but if there is a leash law, you are always in the wrong, and are subjecting your beloved pets to harm.
For instance, we have a leash law where I live, and have off leash areas, which are rarely used. Why? Because many feel their special pup is OK to be off leash wherever they wish. The flawed thinking costs their beloved pet. The cost? Since those who obey the law, for their and their pet's safety, do not know the off leash dog, they are well within their right to defend themselves in any legal manner should they be approached by an of leash animal. Personally, I do not risk the time to see what an off leash animal will do. If I cannot vacate safely, I defend, and the defense may consist of offense. The law does not allow me to stop the human, so the pet has to bear the burden of their human's mistake.
In the last 5 years, this has happened 5 times. We start (there are usually two of us), if time allows, with an air horn, then pepper gel, then a stun stick. There is one more step we can take, but we hope to never get that far. All 5 times, it resulted in pepper gel, which has worked well enough for us to vacate after use.
Our law enforcement backs us up every time, and actually thanks us. One case, a ranger (we were at a park) pointed out the other party was lucky we were not carrying a gun (wrong assumption)...
I am not saying off leash is a never. Just pointing out an off leash dog is always in the wrong when there is an issue with a leashed dog. I do not want my dogs to be on the short end, and I am not willing to be approached by an off leash dog either. It is not fear, it is common sense and experience. We vacate often, as avoidance is the best safety, but when there is no other option, we are not going to be bullied.
An off leash dog approaching another animal or person is NOT a dog under control... even if their handler is yelling about how friendly their dog is. If an off leash dog is controlled, and does not approach me, live and let live is fine.
Edited February 15, 2018 by Dp26
No i never thought the law was bad in any way, or that i (or my dogs) were "special". was just saying that to show how good some dogs and there owners can be.
now i always did leash them under new conditions, new people, new dogs. in the woods, campgrounds, (except some open areas with NO one else around. or any place i thought they would walk away and not know how to "find home". and never out of sight.
they knew the property lines and never did walk away on there own. just layed there on the front grass sleeping in the sun.
why i believe in proper training and full time control. just wish cat owners would do the same.
on ALL walks i had both of there leashes hanging over my shoulder or in my hand.
heck holly would stop in her tracks if her tag collar fell off. and both of them went crazy (fun crazy) when i got out the "walking collars and leads".
I do not trust any animal enough, even if well trained for many years, to believe I can 100% control it off leash in all circumstances. I don;t believe we have ever been approached by an actual well trained dog, but there is no way to be certain.
With that said, if we see an off leash, it is too close for our peace of mind (see above), so we vacate as best we can, and defend 100% of the time if approached. We know reporting illegal off leash is useless, and that is not going to change, nor would I want it to (much more important things for peace officers to handle). We do report every defense. The dye in quality pepper gel allowed our local animal control to fine an owner whose dog had been getting out of their yard over and over, and had bitten people, but was not caught. The dye in our spray was the proof it was loose. This poor dog was left alone all day, with access to their yard by doggie door. The owners neglected fence care and discipline.
An important exception are service dogs who are trained not to pee or poop while on leash and must be let off leash to do their business. They are trained this way so that the owner can take them into shops and restaurants and not worry about an accident happening. They know they are off duty when off leash.
I just want to correct this misunderstanding, for people reading this thread later...
Properly trained service dogs are trained to go potty on leash. They are trained not to wander around sniffing or doing any of those other doggy things, and they go do their business on command. In most of the world trained service dogs are never off lead in public places except in those instances where doing their work requires them to be off lead for a specific task.
One of the greatest fears I have with my service dog is that an unleashed dog will attack or intimidate her. A service dog that becomes afraid of anything, including other dogs, can't work any more. My dog cost $30,000 to train and training takes two years. So people that let their dogs loose around my dog actually put me and my dog at risk. We've been charged at by a sweet little poochy poo that wouldn't harm a fly and now I am terrified of dogs that aren't on leashes. I'm glad I haven't encountered that yet when we've been boon docking.
One of the greatest fears I have with my service dog is that an unleashed dog will attack or intimidate her.
What type of service dog do you have? My duaghter-in-law is blind(totally) and uses guide dogs. She is nearing the time to retire her third one.
Sadly, the "service dog" designation has become a very abused and misused designation.
Since this thread popped to to the top again, I will add my comments.
Unless our dog is within the fenced confines of our backyard, she is on a leash. Period.
It is just as much about her safety as anything else. Many are talking about being attacked by an unleashed dog, but that is not the only animal in the woods or where ever. When we do boondock (admittedly not often) we are in the mountains where one might run into a skunk, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion or bear.
No I prefer to have her close so I can offer some protection if needed.
Since this thread popped to to the top again, I will add my comments.
Unless our dog is within the fenced confines of our backyard, she is on a leash. Period.
It is just as much about her safety as anything else. Many are talking about being attacked by an unleashed dog, but that is not the only animal in the woods or where ever. When we do boondock (admittedly not often) we are in the mountains where one might run into a skunk, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion or bear.
No I prefer to have her close so I can offer some protection if needed.
To put in simply : X2^ . 
I live near a wilderness area and have many wild animals come through my yard, thus my yard is fenced and when i camp dogs are leashed. One of the first times i camped as a 20 yr old , forty yrs ago i had my large dog loose as we hiked, surprised a deer and the dog was gone chasing the deer. We did not find him till the next night. We were thankful he was safe. Have had friends lose dogs to wolves and small dogs to eagles in addition to run in with skunks and porcupines. Glad I do not live around deadly snakes! For me my choice has been walk dogs on leash or have them contained at campsite, less worry for me.
I know many pet owners think their canine is well trained and can be allowed off leash under many circumstances. Maybe they have taken them to formal training, maybe they have just worked with them by themselves. If you are out in the middle of no-mans land out west and you decide to let your canine roam freely then you are always taking a chance. There is a chance your pet could be killed or injured and a chance you could be liable for someone getting injured.
In my previous career I did a stint as a K-9 Officer (State Police). At the end of our initial academy a part of our certification test was the "long stay". You commanded your canine to the down (laying down) position and told him to stay. Then you walked away and out of sight. With my partner I actually walked into a close by building, sat down and had a soda. I could see him out the window and he never moved, even with other troopers and K-9 teams walking around the area. I went back out about 20 minutes later and continued the certification process. Another part of certification was "recall". A well trained canine loves to chase the bad guy and apprehend them. When your canine had chased down the bad guy (trooper in a bite suit) and was about ready to apprehend him/her, you yelled the recall command and your canine had to stop and return to your side.
The point of my story is, even as well trained as my K-9 partner was I would have never allowed him to roam freely without being closely monitored, no matter where we were. He was still a dog with those instincts.
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