Originally posted by micki76
But see, the whole reason I don't take my dogs for regular walks is because when we encounter an off leash dog, how am I supposed to know whether the dog is going to try to kill mine or not? Granted if I saw Par & her boys I wouldn't be scared, but what about the morons who aren't training their dogs, but just think it's ok to let them off leash anyway. I have one very small dog and for some of these dogs it would just be one bite and Chester could be dead.

I guess I've always had bad experiences with off leash dogs. Our Chihuahua was nearly killed when I was 12 and I also had a foster dog that was attacked years ago by someone who said their dog was "friendly & under control".

All I'm saying that not all those off leash dogs out there belong to Pet Talkers, and I don't think it's right to endanger others, not to mention prevent them from walking their own dogs comfortably & without stress.

I know there are always strays & escapees that can be just as harmful, but I still think it's rude to disrespect others and cause stress to them by not leashing your dog, IMO.
I know exactly what your talkking about & how you feel, I have ran across many many idiots out there that say the same & the next thing that happens is their dog is out of control. My one dog was attacked twice by *friendly, well behaved, obedient* dogs, both times my dog was on a leash, she was over friendly before that but after the second attack that made her turn on stray dogs, she was then not out of control but would not hesitate to fight back & be very cautious. This took years of work & she is now once again her old self.
But like I said (or copied from par as I didnt want to type much lol) I only have them off leash in the country, park, woods etc.. & even then as soon as I see an unleashed dog, their leashes go on. unless it's a friends dog that they already know.