Some dogs are pretty passive off-leash, like our husky/Doberman mix Bromley, for instance. He sticks close to me and only wanders off because he’s extremely modest about his pooping business.
Then there are dogs of the lab or hound variety – or both, as Brewer’s luck would have it – who chase after everything, run pretty far ahead of you and eat anything and everything in their path.
I bring this up because over the last week, Brewer has run off a couple of times and had a literal case of morning-sickness because of it. He appears to have eaten a plastic bag and its contents, which came up a few days later in the shape his body made of it. Then again, over the weekend I had to chase him down at a large bird-sanctuary, only to find him chowing down on a pile of trash. I quickly removed pieces of bone from his mouth, but he threw up more the next morning.
We all think our dogs are happiest off-leash – they get more exercise, they prance around in their element, they play with friends – but the truth is that leashes and fences are also a big factor in a domestic dog’s safety. If you’re too lazy or trusting to accompany your dog out at night on Cape Cod, you run a very possible risk he’ll be attacked by a coyote. This happened to Bromley in the early morning years ago because we trusted him off-leash while we walked around the yard with him. If your dog eats a sharp bone in the woods and it cuts her stomach, the results are toxic. If she runs too far in the wrong direction, she’s back out in traffic on the main road.
It’s something that leaves me torn. It’s kinda like the whole “why eat healthy if I could get hit by a bus tomorrow” thing. I want our large-breed dogs to run, to play, to tucker out. But a few times lately my heart and breath have seemed to come to a complete stop over sudden worry.
Gary is fencing in our yard this spring, and I look forward to all the games of fetch and photos that will come of it. I also look forward to not having to go out in the cold and snow at 11pm next winter. When it comes to the beaches and conservation lands, however, I’ll admit – they boys will still get plenty of time off-leash (and I’ll have a freezer full of Cookies n’ Cream when I’m 80). We’re working on better verbal command.
Any thoughts or advice? Stories you want to share?
+ - 3 comments
Judy McCleery - Dogs off leash are fine with me, as long as they stay out of trouble. Our younger (8 yrs) guy, Hogan, black lab, sticks around when he is off leash. In fact, once we didn’t realize he was out, closed up the garage door,and the neighbor called to tell us he was out there! However, Boris (12 yrs) lab/golden mix, likes to explore, and will pretend he can’t hear you when he knows you can’t possibly reach him, and off he goes for an hour of gallivanting. I’m worried sick whenever that happens, but dogs are built for walking and sometimes that’s what they have to do.
Bottom line, if they can stay safe off leash, then by all means. It’s their planet too.
Amy - I feel best when my dogs are on-leash. They’re small dogs, and I haven’t trained them well enough to where I trust them to listen to me (my fault). We take them off leash sometimes on the beach and they’re okay – but other than in our yard for short times – they’re on-leash. For my sanity and their safety.
Diane - Our travels have found us at many dog parks. They are mostly in out lying city areas but we have found them a great way to exercise and socialize Rigley. I wish we had a few on Cape Cod.