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Irresponsible Dog Owners

nfitz said:
One of the women then comes over and tells me I'm breaking the law by taking her photograph without her permission (from 40 metres on a cell phone?). I tell her that there's no such law, and remind her that her dog is off it's leash. Then she threatens to call the police. I ask her to call the police (the thought had already cross my mind, but surely it's a waste of police time to be complaining about loose dogs). She seems surprised, and then threatens to take photographs of my 5-year old. Kind of creepy ... but we are in a public park, so there's nothing I can do to stop her ... so I tell her to go ahead. She seems to be at a loss, and starts swearing at me (in front of a 5-year old!) and calls me rude (?!?) for taking photos. She takes no responsibility for her dog being off leash, because it's "harmless". (not sure what that has to do with it).
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Actually, it's illegal to photograph minors without their guardian's consent. You can shoot any adult (or their pets) that is in public and has no expectation of privacy but when it comes to kids, it's illegal. If she took pictures of your 5 year old, you could have had her charged.
 
PinkLucy said:
I'm a dog owner and the off leash thing drives me mad. My dog isn't very social so I seldom take her to an off leash area and always have her on leash. However, there are so often off leash dogs in the parks and on the sidewalks that approach her. When I ask owners to call their dogs, I get blank stares or "he just wants to play". Well, that's nice, but go to an off leash area! And don't get me started on where people let their dogs go. I have definitely come to the conclusion that many city dog owners have a definite sense of entitlement
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"He just wants to play." "She just wants to say hi." "Oh, it's okay, he's friendly."

I too have a reactive dog. Most of the time he is friendly, but he doesn't like rambunctious dogs getting in his face. So when he snaps at off-leash dogs who do get in his face, I am always on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing by the ignorant owner of the other dog.

Incidentally, although I rarely let mine off leash anywhere but the beaches (Cherry and East Beaches), he has a PERFECT recall. When I say "Come" he is sitting at my feet instantly. But all these idiots who let their dogs off leash? Don't get me started.

And Metro Man is correct. No photos of minors.
 
MetroMan said:
Actually, it's illegal to photograph minors without their guardian's consent. You can shoot any adult (or their pets) that is in public and has no expectation of privacy but when it comes to kids, it's illegal. If she took pictures of your 5 year old, you could have had her charged.
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Out of curiosity what law is this? I gave her my consent though ... not sure if she did or not ... she seemed to think that would bother me, and I would react ... she seemed to lose interest when I said yes.

Ex-Montreal Girl said:
I too have a reactive dog. Most of the time he is friendly, but he doesn't like rambunctious dogs getting in his face. So when he snaps at off-leash dogs who do get in his face, I am always on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing by the ignorant owner of the other dog.
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A tongue-lashing because they were breaking the law, and their dog went after your dog??? These are adults? Wow ...
 
Some people are nuts when it comes to their dogs, nuts. I'm one of those. I love my dog more than life itself but like most (but not all people) I've always been a responsible dog owner who always keeps my dog on leash and who never - ever - fails to pick up after her. I even have dog health insurance (same as my last dog) which pays 90% of most any treatment/procedure and medications necessary, including preventative treatments (yearly checkups, blood work, heartworm/flea/tick applications etc.). The only place I let my dog off leash is lower Riverdale Park (west) at the bottom of the hill and ONLY if no one is around, at the offleash dog area at the west end of Cherry Beach and the north end of Hanlan's point if no one is around so that she can swim (she's a Lab, Labs love to swim). I don't use offleash dog parks, I've always preferred our main 2-3 hour brisk walk every day to exercise the both of us. In the summer we do that walk later at night when it's cooler & after the concrete/asphalt has cooled down.
Bottom line, most of us are responsible when you think of all the dogs in the city, some are definitely not.
 
I think part of the problem there is simply not enough park space in the downtown core. I live near Bloor and Yonge and neighbours who are dog owners constantly complain that they don't have any decent place in the neigbhourhood to let their dogs off leash - many take their dogs to Queeen's Park but Idon't think that's an off leash area. At the sametime, the BCCA has volunteer greening projects in the neighbourhood and the volunteers constantly complain about dogs peeing/poopiong on the plants and ruining the planting that they do - but the dogs have no where else to go other than the side walk. I do think most dog owners are responsible, but some aren't and doesn't take many to ruin it for everyone. I think the problem is only going to get worse with the new condo towers coming in - more people = more dogs. Personally, I think every knew condo development that is going in should have a dog run area as part of the comment element - if they can put in huge gyms and swimming pools they can have area for dogs to play - maybe not ideal but it would help.
 
Agreed re dog run area. Most condos in our neighbourhood have made every patch of grass no-go zones which is frustrating because while we have parks close by, sometimes the dog just has to go, especially first thing in the morning. I understand not wanting dogs in flower beds, but a dog run would be great.

I live where there is a lot of green space and a large off leash area, but too many people think everywhere should be an off leash area -- that's annoying. I hear a lot of parents complaining about the off leash dogs in children's play areas.
 
The only time my guy gets to be off his leash when out for a walk is when he is in an off-leash area (and inside the house obviously) - I'm not that cruel :D
 
Ex-Montreal Girl said:
"He just wants to play." "She just wants to say hi." "Oh, it's okay, he's friendly."
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Also a dog owner and it bothers me when other owners (who obviously know their own dogs) try these dismissive lines. The person that they are "just wanting to play with" cannot possibly know that. My two guys are both about 100 lbs and neither would hurt thing (although one of them is sure he is gonna catch a bird some day) but you have put yourself in the shoes/mind of the other person and realize that an unknown and unleashed dog can be a source of fear/tension....whether you think so or not.

I too have a reactive dog. Most of the time he is friendly, but he doesn't like rambunctious dogs getting in his face. So when he snaps at off-leash dogs who do get in his face, I am always on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing by the ignorant owner of the other dog.
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We spend a lot of time with our dogs at an off leash park......owners who leash their dogs in those spaces are making a mistake. Someone who knows this stuff (way better than me) explained that off leash dogs see leashed dogs and immediately sense superiority/dominance over that dog and act accordingly.

So, just as you should not leash your dog in an off leash area, those owners who have their dog off leash in an inappropriate location should be aware (amongst other things...like breaking a law) that they are putting you and your dog in a very poor position.....and all simply because you are doing the right thing. Your dog is just asserting itself as less submissive than the leash may make them appear.
 
MetroMan said:
Actually, it's illegal to photograph minors without their guardian's consent. You can shoot any adult (or their pets) that is in public and has no expectation of privacy but when it comes to kids, it's illegal. If she took pictures of your 5 year old, you could have had her charged.
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This is getting a bit off-topic, but what's the line in this law (which I do think makes sense). Say if you're a parent taking photos of your kid's baseball or hockey game and get other children in the shot. Is that considered consentual as the parents consented to it though signing up for the sports?

What if you were taking general photos of streetscapes and there are children in that photo? Or taking photos of a crowd? Or is it for close photos of specific kids (as in niftz's story) that's where the law kicks in?
 
TOareaFan said:
We spend a lot of time with our dogs at an off leash park......owners who leash their dogs in those spaces are making a mistake. Someone who knows this stuff (way better than me) explained that off leash dogs see leashed dogs and immediately sense superiority/dominance over that dog and act accordingly.
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Similarly, dogs that are on a leash can feel restricted and vulnerable to other dogs. My guy never starts a thing when he's off leash, but if he's on leash when another dog approaches him you can see him getting cautious and defensive right away.
 
Gavin said:
Similarly, dogs that are on a leash can feel restricted and vulnerable to other dogs. My guy never starts a thing when he's off leash, but if he's on leash when another dog approaches him you can see him getting cautious and defensive right away.
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It's true that some dogs get defensive while on leash.

The point is, I never go into an off-leash area with my dog (except, as I mentioned, the west end of Cherry Beach and the east end of the Beaches near the water filtration plant.) It's because I don't trust other dogs or, more to the point, their clueless owners. They seem to be more about socializing amongst themselves than watching their dogs. The reason I am comfortable with the beaches is because my dog is such a nut for the water that he ignores other dogs completely. All he wants is for us to throw a ball or a stick and he will swim to NY if he has to in order to retrieve it.

The downtown condo situation is getting worse by the minute. Schoolyards are being overrun. Parkettes are destroyed by urine. With so many people living on their own and getting dogs for company, many of them rescue dogs which may come with issues (and go to inexperienced owners), the situation will only get worse.

Most dogs are underexercised as it is, which makes them bored and crazy. Having a big backyard is not enough so it's not a problem exclusive to the core. (A dog can be bored and understimulated in a big backyard.) I may be the only one in my building who walks my dog at least three times a day, at least 1/2m to 1m per walk and always in different directions so there are different sights, sounds and smells. Most people here just take their dogs to the corner for a pee/poo and that's it, back up the elevator.
 
I have a high energy dog from a high energy breed (Australian Shepherd), so the idea of people only walking their dog around the block once a day just baffles me (and it happens all the time). We take him out morning, afternoon, and night (and sometimes twice at night if we feel like going for a late night walk ourselves) for at least a half-hour each time (one of them has to be an hour or more), including one or two runs of 6-8 km on weeknights and some kind of "adventure" on the weekend (the island, a different park, or whatever else...). And he's still ready to go the second we even motion to step up off the couch!

Anyways, all that was to say that, yeah, too many people don't realize that their dogs are animals...not accessories to play with when it's convenient for them. I do think that the city as a whole is way too uptight about dogs and where they're allowed or welcome to go, but that said I also understand that it's other dog owners that have ruined it for the rest of us.
 
While we are on the topic of irresponsible dog owners, I saw this photo on flickr, posted by someone on my contact list - and it made me a bit angry at how irresponsible some people are with their pets:


Tempting the Tempest by Ben Roffelsen, on Flickr

This poor dog would clearly follow his idiot owners off a cliff. It is one thing to engage in stupid dangerous behavior, but leave your innocent pet at home dammit.
 
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