Should You Trust Your Dog Off Leash?

00:00 — Kati introduces the recurring off-leash problem from her perspectives as trainer, handler, and dog…

Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Off Leash and Unfiltered. I'm Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training here in Biddeford, Maine. How are y'all doing today? So I got a little psyched up lately, <laugh>, as I usually do about, uh, off-leash dogs that are really, um, a problem <laugh>, I guess is the best way to put it. So it's so common, you guys, it's so, so, so common. So here's the thing. I'm often looking at it from the perspective of being the trainer, being the owner with the dog in training, being in control of things and trying to just take our dog places and work with them.

And I'm coming at it from that perspective, which I still am, but

I don't think necessarily that that's my target audience with this episode. So maybe some of you listening and you know who you are, I'm sure maybe some of you are the ones with the off leash dogs <laugh> that are charging my customers. So, um, so it's just so common for me to hear, um, people say that they were charged by an off leash dog and sometimes it results in an actual physical attack and harm, sometimes it doesn't, of course. Um, but it's always scary, um, and it's never good. Like nobody wants this to happen. Um, and so I wanted to take a few minutes and kind of talk about like what is the off leash etiquette and what should you and should you not be doing because maybe you're one of these people and you don't even know it, right?

So I think most people mean well, and most people think they're being responsible, but they're not <laugh>.

Okay? So, so take a listen and see, you know, uh, if you think maybe there are some things you should be doing a little differently, like maybe this will give you another perspective, um, because like I said, I think most people don't realize, um, some of the, uh, problems that come with this, you know, philosophy that dogs should just be able to run around off leash and do whatever they want all the time. So, and I am a huge fan of off-leash freedom, huge proponent of off-leash, um, activities. However, there are some prerequisites. So first off, let me just say now that I know about eco training, right?

03:00 — Kati supports off-leash freedom but says dogs need prerequisites, including training and appropriate safety…

This is something I've been doing now for years, but there was a time where I didn't know about it. Um, so you know, you can't use something if you don't know it's a thing. So that's kind of my first big thing to be honest, is like I would never, never have a dog off leash in an unfenced area without an eco.

Like why, why would you do that? Now that we know we have the technology, we have the ability to communicate and control our dog's behavior with a wireless device, no leash required, that is your safety net guys, even if your dog does great off leash and listens to everything, there's still really an autonomous creature and they could make a different decision at any moment and there would be nothing you can do about it. You guys, this protects not only everybody else but your dog, it protects your dog. So please, please, if you want to have your dog off leash, do some eco training, um, even if you can't afford a fancy program, the information is out there.

There's really no excuse. You can do it yourself, you can do it right from home at your own pace. Um, and I strongly, strongly encourage you to do that. Um, but I wanna just say like if you are off leash with your dog, your dog under no circumstances should be running up to strange people or strange dogs. Not meaning they're literally like strange, but strangers <laugh>, right? That just shouldn't be happening. So I think there's a huge divide where not necessarily that people have two different opinions, but that one side isn't even really aware that the other opinion exists.

So here's something that might be shocking to you.

A lot of strangers, a lot of people that you're going to encounter at the park on the trails, they don't wanna meet your dog <laugh>. So I know it's shocking. Um, and a lot of people do and I know that just from going out in public with dogs, like everybody wants to say hi and, and blah blah blah, but a lot of people don't. So even though I say everybody wants to say hi, if you really look at the number of people in the vicinity when this is happening, it's like maybe one out of 10, one out of 15, one out of 20, it's not actually everybody, right?

06:00 — Kati explains that unsolicited off-leash interactions affect only some nearby people, despite feeling widespread…

It just feels like a lot 'cause there's a lot of people around. So you're out on the trail at the park, whatever the case may be, and there's someone else that arrives or is hiking in front of you or whatever the case may be, or toward you and your dog just beelines it over there.

They might not wanna meet your dog and that might piss you off, okay? And fine, I get it. You think your dog's great and everyone should wanna meet your dog, fine, but just think about it for a minute. Put yourself in their shoes because now like whether you think they're crazy or you agree with it or not, they don't wanna meet your dog and you are forcing them to, they are now obligated to interact with your dog. How is that Okay? That is not okay. That's not even a little bit, okay guys, okay, so, and accidents happen, mistakes happen, dogs get away, I get that.

And this isn't directed at those people. So I've had incidents where someone accidentally dropped the leash and their dog ran over no big deal. Um, it happens, it can be a big deal, but it was an accident, right?

So that's different than just having the attitude that you're out there with your dog, they're off leash and they can go and run up to anybody they want and do anything they want. That's a different attitude. Um, that's a different way of going through the world and you are subjecting other people to something that they're not interested in and it's not okay. Alright? Um, so I would urge you to think about that if you're, if you're one of those folks. And then your next question might be, well, what am I supposed to do? It's like, well, you're supposed to train your dog.

Okay? So just teaching your dog what cu means and how to come back when called is not dog training, okay? That's more like trick training because it's optional. So you're teaching your dog to do something, but you're not teaching them that they have to do it.

So that's different. And that's where eco training kind of comes in handy, right? Because now you can communicate with your dog physically, you can influence their behavior at a distance. Um, but it is training. There is a skillset to it. You can't just expect the caller to do the work, you do have to teach the dog what to do with it. So I just wanna put that out there. Um, but you should either teach your dog that they're not allowed to run up to people and dogs or if you wanna recall them every time, then I guess that's fine, I wouldn't wanna do that.

But your recall has to be non-negotiable guys. So you need to be able to call your dog away when they see another dog or another person.

09:00 — She strongly disagrees with allowing dogs to meet random dogs on trails or streets.

And a lot of people think dogs should just be able to go meet random dogs, you know, on the trail, on the street. And I disagree with that vehemently. I am not a fan of that for a lot of reasons. Even if in the past your dog has been really great with other dogs, you haven't had any problem. That's really just besides the point. Um, because all dogs are just so individual and you know, even your own dog is gonna feel different from day to day and from moment to moment within a day. And then you have the other dog that you've never even met before, you don't know who they are.

Uh, you don't know how they behave or what their triggers are or, or anything. So how do you know what's gonna happen? There's no way for you to know what's gonna happen.

So why would you wanna put your dog in that situation? Um, I know I wouldn't wanna be in that situation, so I do not allow my dog to meet strange dogs, you know, but you can imagine how I feel if I am out at the park or the beach or the trail or something and I have no choice but for my dog to meet other dogs because the other dogs just come charging up to you into your space and, uh, whether you like it or not. So it's not okay, it's dangerous. And what if my dog, um, did have some tendencies to be aggressive and I knew he didn't like to meet other dogs?

What then? Whose fault is that? So if I have my dog under control and your dog comes running into his space, your dog is now at risk. And that's not my fault.

That's your fault, <laugh>. So I think sometimes we have a tendency to just villainize the dog that does the biting instead of the dog that does the out of control charging into someone else's space, uninvited, uh, without permission sort of thing. And I don't blame the dog in that case. I certainly blame the owner. Um, but you know, there's no way for me to know what your dog's intent is or what their triggers are. So you need to teach your dog not to charge up to people or at the very least to recall when you call them.

Uh, and if you're one of those people that does want your dog to interact with strange dogs, which I completely disagree with, but if you wanted to do that, like that's fine too. But the other person and dog, they need to be voluntary participants. So you can't just decide you're gonna force yourself and your dog on other people.

And dogs not cool guys, not cool at all. Not even a little bit, um, and dangerous in my opinion. Um, but all parties need to be voluntarily involved if we're gonna have greetings like that. And most of the time they're just not. They're just not. And uh, a lot of times it does end in a physical, uh, scuffle between the dogs, which is not great obviously. And sometimes there can be some lasting effects from that and reactivity and all sorts of things. So you have to protect your dog. And so, you know, the unfortunate truth is I don't go to a lot of these places with dogs anymore for that reason.

12:00 — Kati limits her outings to controlled environments where she can see approaching people and…

I stay in very controlled environments. We do go to the park, but the park where I go, I mean it's nice and open. I can see people coming from a mile away and I can prepare accordingly.

And I'm observing their dog. Is it under control? Is it listening? Do they have an e-collar on? All these things are going through my mind and the less controlled it all looks, the more likely we are to rein our dog in, um, or even walk away and start to head another direction. So giving people space, um, you know, being proactive about it, but you won't find me out on the trails with dogs because people surprise you. Uh, and they just come around the corner and they don't have control of their dogs. So it's no good as far as I'm concerned.

Um, but that's it. I mean, eco or train your dogs if you wanna be off leash and just watch for other people and dogs and observe them, you know, go to places where you can see them coming. Like, that's my advice. So you can kind of evaluate the situation and decide how to respond, but do not let your dog just subject people to their greetings whether they want it or not.

That's so uncool. So if you're one of those people, hopefully this will give you a different perspective. I mean, some people are afraid of dogs. Um, some people have just had bad experiences with dogs, especially in situations like that. Um, sometimes their dog isn't really social and doesn't like other dogs and they feel like they can't take their dog anywhere because, you know, unless they're the super happy go lucky, super social dog that wants to play with everybody, they just can't take 'em anywhere because they're forced to be involved in all of that when they don't want to be.

And it's not, it's not fair. Everybody has a right to take their dog out, um, as long as they're under control. So hopefully, um, hopefully you're not one <laugh> one of those folks, but you know, if you have been, maybe this will just give you a little bit of a different perspective.

Um, and a lot of us, you know, our dogs are in training and we're trying to teach them to prioritize us and, and to not assign so much gravity to the other people and other dogs. Uh, and that's hard to do when the environment is so out of control and you have other dogs just plowing into your space, which dogs don't like by the way. So a lot of dogs have very, very, very poor manners. Um, and even if they're friendly, they're rude. So friendly does not mean safe, right? They're rude, they've got their tail right up over their back, they've got a high energy, they come running in really hot.

Um, and that's kind of a big <laugh>, uh, red flag. So a lot of dogs don't like that and they react poorly to that. And so two dogs that might've otherwise gotten along won't just because of how they were, um, introduced with all the wrong energy, uh, in no manners.

So just something to think about. Maybe rethink your off leash activities. Um, reassess how safe they are and how polite they are because in my opinion, as I said, the etiquette should be that your dog should be under control enough that they do not make it into somebody else's bubble. Okay guys, that's it for today's episode. Hopefully the next one will be a little lighter and and more fun. Um, but I thought this was a really important issue to cover because it's so, so, so common. And like I said, there are places now that I don't even go because of it.

15:00 — She concludes that dogs should remain controlled enough not to enter another person’s personal…

And, and I hear it every day that I'm working with my clients. They're telling me about, um, their experiences being charged by off leash dogs and sometimes it's not so bad. Um, but it's still a distraction. It's still, you know, a setback in their training a lot of times. And then worst case scenario is it ends in the vet with stitches or something like that. So, so food for thought. Alright, thank you all for listening and uh, I look forward to next time.