Near trauma
So my heart just stopped when I saw a lady get out of her car across the street and a little puppy off leash charged out and onto Parkdale. I stepped out to stop traffic in one way, and thankfully the car in the other direction stopped, but the lady had a hard time getting the puppy back. And of course, every stupid driver in both directions just sat on their horns. I swear if I had a bazooka I would have shot them all!!!  And around the same time, both Kim and I were walking the 3 girls to the park, since it's better to work on leash-walking with Gracie without the distraction of the other 2 girls, Kim was taking a slightly different route parallel to the one I was taking with Gracie. I was walking along Scott st, which is 4 lanes, busy and faster than Parkdale. And across the street some guy got out of his car and this little unleashed dog came charging out right across Scott st towards us, nearly got hit by cars, I tried to coax him over and he went running back across, and then BACK again towards me. There was not a lot I could do because I had Gracie and I could not risk her safety, she *would* run out in the street. And during this time, there is a lady who was walking 2 dogs towards me and Gracie. She had one big pit/boxer type of dog she had sitting while I was headed past with Gracie, I know she runs a rescue and she often is walking a foster dog. She got alarmed not because the little dog was running back and forth across Scott st, she yelled to keep the little dog away from her big one because he "would kill it". I was more worried about the dog being killed by all the cars whizzing by. ON TOP of all this, Kim was maybe 20 yards away and her view of us was obscured, she heard the shouting and cars braking and she knew I was right there with Gracie, she thought Gracie had got away and ran onto Scott St. So she was running over with the 2 girls, bawling (this is a very scary street to have your dog run onto). The guy finally got his little dog, and he didn't seem as upset as either Kim or I. Then last evening, Kim was walking Mady home from the park, and there was a lady on one of the side streets off the other side of Scott, she had a small dog off leash, and the dog spotted Mady and started running over, Kim froze, it ran right across Scott st. Miraculously it made it, and thankfully stopped with Kim and Mady and Kim grabbed hold of it. The lady came running and to her credit, was pretty upset. So all this to say, we saw dogs nearly hit by cars in the past few weeks, and it's not nice!!! I'm glad to say that if there is only ONE thing Mady is trained very well in, that is STOP! Last year at the herding clinic with the tough instructor, who thought after the first day Mady was a wild uncontrollable thing around sheep, was deeply impressed when Mady was chasing after the sheep across the field and I yelled STOP and called her off, and Mady stopped on a dime. In fact, Mady was the only dog that weekend who was called off sheep so well! And I'm training Virginia in this and Gracie will learn too. Mady's lousy at sitting on command, but STOP is far more important! And she will stop when chasing sheep, there is no greater temptation in this world than sheep for Mady!  |
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| Holy Crap! What's going on with these people - I mean, if their dogs are "door dashers" when they open the car door, why aren't they keeping them on a leash in the car, and controlling when the dog gets out? |
SamHeinous wrote: Holy Crap! What's going on with these people - I mean, if their dogs are "door dashers" when they open the car door, why aren't they keeping them on a leash in the car, and controlling when the dog gets out? I agree.  And what the heck are they doing opening doors on this busy road/street anyway???  |
| Thats sooo scary! Its only a matter of time before someone looses there dog. This kind of thing makes me sad and angry. Its something that easily can be avoided, I really hope tou guys arent around when something bad happens. What a horrible thing to witness. |
| I feel for you! I recently had someone pull up to their house with a puppy, opened the door and let it out. SHE SAW me coming with two big dogs. I can kind of understand going the 3 feet to the house without the leash if nothing was around. But not when two big dogs are walking by your house. (I wouldn't but anyways) WHY? I yelled at her you better get that dog. First off it was about to run into the street, second I had both dogs, and Laika is so unpredictable, recently. But I should be able to walk my dogs ON leash in peace? you think. I honestly don't understand why so many people have dogs off leash. What is the appeal? I don't care how well trained your dog is, if it see something tempting why would it not go after it. Thanks for letting me rant along.  I HATE dogs off leash. |
| david, gotta luv that stop command.  although i find myself still trying at times, you can't fix stupid.  last weekend, i grabbed up a 2yr old girl in a commercial district of town who had crossed a major road twice while i was at opposing red light. when i finally found the mother who was asleep in an empty commercial storefront, she said the boyfriend had left the door unlocked when he went to work. oh, and then she let the dalmatian out, which i made her put back in before leaving shaking my head. |
| Yikes--it must be happening everywhere. We had a real tragedy two weeks ago at the training center where I take Murphy for Puppy Kindergarten. A woman brought her Sheltie puppy to the center for the class--not harnessed in her car or in a crate. When she opened the door the dog dashed out the door. She did grab the leash but at that point the dog slipped out of the collar as it was not properly fitted. This place is around the corner from a very busy highway. The girl started to chase the puppy-rather than running from it. It ran out into the road in front of the center--stopped and looked at her ( her perfect opportunity to get it's attention and run the other way so the puppy could chase her) no--she ran at it and it took off --running through a parking lot of a fast food place and then out onto the busy highway. The puppy was struck by a car and died. It was tragic--and so avoidable. By the time the trainers came out of the building it was too late for them to intervene--as the girl was chasing the puppy and was too far away to hear anything. They have now added a new session to the puppy class. How to properly fit a puppy with a collar. It really shattered everyone that witnessed this horrible event--it has haunted me-- I may be overprotective --but I really think so many people are careless or just uneducated--don't know what the solution is |
| How terrible seeing that puppy hit and killed. I'm sure it's something you won't soon forget. We don't harness Butchy in the car but we have a short leash that is made from the material that they make the excercise bands from. We leash that thru the seat belt so it gives him freedom to move but he can't get out the car door if it's not safe. |
That's so awful, the poor lady, I would be shattered too. Another thing I am absolute about training is getting out of the car. This picture IS the typical situation now: I make them all wait, I stand right in front blocking them, I say one name at the time and take them out slowly on leash, and make them sit, then the next. And when it comes to safety issues like this, I am hard. For these safety behaviors anything aside from perfect behaviour and I will scream at these dogs like I'm a horrible dog abuser, I don't care what a passerby might think, when it comes to safety. Shoulda heard me give Virginia bloody hell the one time she stepped out of dog park onto the road (great thing it's an extremely quiet road next to the dog park, but still). |
guest56 wrote: you can't fix stupid. You hit the nail on the head. The ONLY time Benson has ever been off lead in the great outdoors was inside the dog park - and you should have seen how surprised she was!  |
| Why would anyone let a dog loose in a busy area is beyond me. A few years ago we were coming home from obedience class, just me and the dogs as dh had something to take care of afterward. I opened the back of the SUV, dogs are trained to not come out unless I tell them. I grab both leashes and release them, they both trot to the door. I opened the door, dropped the leashes, and without warning Gar turns and bolts. I pushed Simon in the door and turn to run after Gar who is running toward a semi-busy street less than a half block up from us. I'm screaming his name and can see cars coming and thinking he's going to get hit. Luck was on our side that day...the cars saw him with me in hot pursuit and stopped. I don't think I even checked for cars as I was running behind him trying to get him. He stopped to sniff a bush and I had him. I was shaking like a leaf. Hard lesson learned. I don't ever drop the leashes until the door is closed. In my past life, I hit a dog. I was driving home and this nice family had their nice dog out in the "front" yard playing fetch with a ball. The ball rolled into the street. I didn't see the dog until he was right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes but still managed to catch the dog on the rear with my bumper. The dog lived with no major injuries...except to me. That memory lives in my mind and I can still see it today and exactly how I felt at the time. |
| omg that is so scary and I totally agree with you. I use "wait" but it's the command that means absolutely no forward motion and both my dogs know it well and know it is not an optional command. Once at agility class, there was a woman with a dog who was dog agressive right in front of us during practice on the A frame. The rule at class was that unless the dog was practicing an obstacle, they were to be leashed. Bella was on her way down the A frame (her absolute favorite obstacle) and the dog in front of us was off leash and heading to the bottom of the A frame to get to Bella...I yelled, "Bella, WAIT" and she stopped dead in her tracks half way down the frame and did not move. Gave the owner time to control her dog and get it back on the leash. The instructor was so impressed. I admit I sometimes let things slide in the obedience area, but WAIT is a safety command and it is never, ever optional. They must wait before exiting doors, exiting the car and any time I tell them. I know it saved Bella from a potential bloody dog fight that day. |
This is a chilling thread. I grew up in small town America with only one main road. No one ever kept their dogs in the yard, on leashes or otherwise. We adopted every stray dog from the time I was old enough to say doggie. And we buried most, mangled from that road in our backyard cemetery. It was a fact of life, and a matter of when it would happen. It was just life back then, pets were just a one syllable word. Fast forward, we have buried all our pets from old age or other illness. I am TERRIFIED of any animal close to a road, regardless of how busy or slow. For that reason, Charm was taught to automatically move to the grass or curb when I say the word "car". She is beginning to do it on her own too. Her "come" is very good, but I am going to work on her new command "STOP" beginning today! Like all of you, the guilt would be too much. |
How awful....I am so glad you were there for that little puppy!!!! You are a guardian angle!!  |
| I am very proud of Butchy, for some reason he's gotten it into his head that he won't come out of the vehicle until we tell him too. The only time it might be an issue is when we get to the kid's places and he's excited to see them, then we really have to make sure he follows the rules. |
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