IRRESISTIBLE, UNPREDICTABLE TEMPTATIONS. 

 You might take your dog off the leash 1,000 times without a problem.  But your dog is still a dog.  You cannot predict which temptation might be their undoing.  Skunk? Dead bird carcass? Squirrel? Unspayed female dog? Screaming small child? There are a lot of attractive nuisances for your dog.  All of us have fallen to temptation at one point or another, eating too many potato chips, or staying up too late watching television. If we can’t always control OUR behavior, how can we expect our pets to do the same?



When your dog is under your control – meaning you have him on a leash – he is less likely to get into something he is not supposed to. Off-leash and romping unattended through the nature park, he may eat something he is not supposed to, step in a bee hive, fall into a hole, drink from a polluted puddle of standing water, eat a dead animal. There is often glass, stray food, or other remnants of late night parties off the path that could be dangerous for Fido. What happens if he is roaming free and encounters a wild animal, like a skunk? For your dog’s sake, keep him with you and under your control



LIABILITY.  You are liable for your dog’s actions.  What if your friendly off-leash dog approaches a child with a life-threatening dog allergy?  You do not want to know the number of figures at stake in that lawsuit.  A leash will provide emergency control over your pet.  Bad things will happen if your dog is running loose.  A court may feel letting your dog off-leash shows reckless lack of concern for those around you.  If something wrong happens, you could find yourself in a lot of hot water. 



Just because your dog is friendly does not mean every dog is friendly. The park in the morning is the perfect place to exercise a dog who may not like other dogs. Not all dogs do well in puppy play groups or on pack walks, and that doesn’t make them bad dogs.



PROTECTING YOUR DOG.  Even if your dog has perfect recall and you can control its every move from 50 feet away – you CANNOT control the world around them. Online resources encourage people to carry pepper spray to prevent dog attacks. A lot of people just do not know how to read a dog’s body language. They may mace your dog in the face in an attempt to protect themselves. The leash is there to protect your dog from the world as much as it is there to protect the world from your dog.



SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE.  People do have the right to walk their dog without being confronted by loose dogs. But dog owners do not have the right to let their dogs run loose in the park.  There are dog parks where dogs can play with their leashes off, and there are many facilities that have doggie play groups.  But just because there are acres of nature trails available does not mean you get to break the law and let your dog run around loose. 



Every dog owner honestly believes that their dog is the friendliest, greatest, most perfect dog in the world, and that everyone else should love their dog the way they do, But, as a dog owner, let me let you in on a little secret:  I do not like your dog.  In fact, other dogs scare me. I say that as someone that is very active in the animal rescue community.  But I do not want your strange dog jumping, but inappropriately trained dogs running loose aren’t good for anyone. As good pet owners, we should set good examples and keep our dogs on a leash. 



Please, for the sake and well-being of dogs everywhere, keep your dogs on a leash!