this week is starting off with what i can only assume is a sinus infection, so that’s not ideal. i’m also down two grandparents, which likewise is not ideal

  • Thalestr@beehaw.org
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    7 months ago

    Tried to go for a nice relaxing bike ride today but got jumped by someone’s off-leash dog. No injury but came very close to being thrown off the bike. The owner blamed me for not getting off my bike to walk it calmly around his dog even though it was a bike-friendly pathway and was marked as such.

    Here’s hoping the rest of the week goes a bit smoother.

    • autumn (she/they)@beehaw.org
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      7 months ago

      off leash dogs are the worst. i’m a huge dog lover, but put your dog on a leash! i don’t care how well trained your dog is, they’re not a robot, so unless it’s a leash-free zone… and even then, they’d better be under voice control.

      • lemillionsocks@beehaw.org
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        7 months ago

        I have family members that have owned poorly trained dogs, and have been around places with aggressive dogs. Ive also met many people with “oh dont worry he’s friendly” dogs who then are not friendly.

        I love dogs, but I always have a respect and caution around dogs I dont know.

        As an aside there was one time I was walking around a walking path in a park when around the bend comes a fairly large dog trotting down off leash at a reasonable clip. I was initially agitated that the owner would let their dog off leash especially at the pace this dog was moving and kept waiting for the owner to also cross the bend. They never did and as my eyes focused I began to come to terms with the fact that this was a coyote and we got off the path to let it scoot by and it paid us no mind.

      • Radiant_sir_radiant@beehaw.org
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        7 months ago

        I agree on out-of-control dogs being a problem, but it goes both ways. Mine wait by the roadside when I tell them to (and we always make a show of it so the oncoming people can see we’re aware of them), and we still get yelled at by a lot of dickwads on bikes even though they have 3/4 of the road to themselves.
        And frankly, keeping a dog where it can’t run and play off-leash on a regular basis is animal cruelty.

          • Radiant_sir_radiant@beehaw.org
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            7 months ago

            Sort of. Switzerland doesn’t have leash-free zones per se - there are places where a leash is mandatory or recommended, everything else is the owner’s responsibility. The law basically just says “make sure your dog does nothing stupid”.

            • autumn (she/they)@beehaw.org
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              7 months ago

              sounds like leash-free zones to me with voice control! most public places in the states are leash required. those that aren’t require dogs to be under voice control, which it sounds like your dogs are doing a great job of.

              here (in the states) letting a dog off leash is really inadvisable because there are too many risks (cars, other unruly dogs, etc.). i’ve never felt like it was animal cruelty since we have plenty of places to run around in safe zones, like a big yard or dog parks. i also train my dogs for agility competition, and none of the dogs i know are allowed off leash unless it’s a fenced in area.

              could totally be a cultural thing. in the rural areas in the states, it’s much different. my childhood dogs were rarely on leash because cars weren’t a danger and we had 36 acres for them to run around.