Canine Entitlement

[robertprior]

I like dogs, but I'm beginning to get rather irritated with a large number of dog owners. Today was the first day all summer when over half the dogs I encountered on my morning walk were on a leash. (Usually it's about a quarter on a leash.) Given that I don't go walking in off-leash dog parks, 100% of the animals should be leashed

Comments

[freetrav]

I've been feeling this for a long time, and apparently I'm not the only one. Restrictions on dogs have been increasing here, and dog owners are bitching - but don't seem to realize that the more draconian restrictions are a response to them ignoring previous limitations - like walking their dogs right in front of signs saying 'no dogs allowed', or having them on one of those extendable leashes at fifteen feet when the law says maximum six feet, or "they're ON a leash!" when they're not holding the other end (it's in the dog's mouth), or et multae cetera. Not to mention claiming exemptions from various muzzle or carrier laws or no-animals laws by using spurious 'therapy dog' claims (this state recognizes exemptions for seeing-eye and hearing-ear dogs, period, and they'd better have the papers to prove it).

Somehow, I don't see this kind of behavior from cat slaves...

[robertprior]

Was in the Gatineau last week, and had a family show up at one of the viewpoints on the Champlain trail (which is clearly marked "no dogs") with their off-leash dog. When they saw other people were at the viewpoint they called the dog and put it on a leash. Which I think sums up a lot of people's attitudes - "as long as no one catches me it's OK".

Worst example I saw was a few years ago in Jasper, hiking to the Edith Cavell meadows. There are large signs saying no dogs and explaining why (birthing area for elk and dogs stress the mothers and cause them to abandon calves). So what do I encounter on the trail? Several large (German Shepherd or larger) dogs running off-leash. I mentioned it to the interpreter at the foot of the trail when I returned and she said they'd been told to avoid confrontations with dog owners, which basically meant ignoring it. Apparently enough people get abusive when asked to not bring their dog along that Parks Canada won't enforce their own regulations.