I feel it's good and bad. I walk Sassy. I have to because its one of my chores. An 8 year old walking a chi or maltese should be fine with me. The are reletavly small and easy to control. But some exceptions can be made. Like that 15 year old story. Well, I think that's really fair for them. The law should be: Only responsible teens/kids can walk a dog. I mean, I can control probably any dog. I know what to do if such an incident would to happen. Plus, if I ever get another dog it will probably be big so I HAVE to know how to control the dog in these types of situtations.