Save Your Dog: Don’t Let Go Of The Leash!

One of the big mistakes that are made when educating a dog is to believe that he has the self-determination necessary to stay close to you when you take him for a walk on the street. Dogs are predators and have an instinct that cannot be ignored, even in the cases of the most educated ones: so it is good that you listen to this advice! Don’t let go of the leash.

The leash gives you control

As predators, dogs will not hesitate to run after prey if they see one. This problem is easier to manage in dogs that have received training, although this is not always a guarantee. The street is full of stimuli that can lead the dog to react suddenly, and without a leash you will have no way of controlling him, or at least not with the immediacy that chance would require. But let’s see some of these stimuli:

–  Other animals: one of the main causes of loss of pets is due to the fact that when you take them for a walk, they run after another animal and the owner cannot reach them. This phenomenon is also the basis of almost all quarrels between animals, which can also cause disputes between neighbors.

–  People : An important number of attacks on the person, especially children, have been detected by dogs that went on the street unsupervised, especially those who are unable to socialize. Children are usually very invasive and have no experience in analyzing dog body language; an incident of this type can give you a lot of legal problems and could even lead to the killing of your pet.

– Bicycles, motorcycles and cars: vehicles are a great temptation for dogs, and this fact can increase according to the breed. A common cause of death in shepherd dogs (Border Collies, German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd) are in fact investments. Dogs that have undergone domestication for grazing have a strong instinct to chase things, and in the city they run the risk of chasing cars, an extremely dangerous phenomenon.

–  Noises : there are dogs that are very nervous and have a much more developed hearing capacity than ours, and it is normal for them to react badly in front of loud noises. Vehicle horns, trucks, shouts and pyrotechnics are all things that can scare them and make them run away.

Some advices

As you can see, with a little responsibility and keeping control of your dog at all times through the leash, you will be able to avoid a lot of problems. Furthermore, another aspect to take into account is the legal one: the laws with respect to this vary greatly from country to country, and although there are more flexible ones, in most cases there are real paragraphs dedicated to the responsible detention of pets. These range from simple rules of coexistence to codes that regulate quality of life aspects that animals must respect.

One of the aspects that is most controlled is precisely that of the use of the leash, and, according to the breed, of the muzzle. What we want to do through these regulations is basically to avoid many conflicts deriving from the presence of free dogs.

Ultimately, if you want your dog to run free (which is not wrong), look for  a large green area and not a small park, and preferably one that is fenced to prevent the dog from running away. There are spaces with these characteristics, especially in densely populated cities; first of all, however, always make sure that your dog loves socializing: you do not run the risk of letting a dog with aggression problems loose.

Also keep in mind that during walks you must be the center of attention of your dog. Always carry a ball or some game and some snacks with you, so you can play with him while keeping yourself at the center of attention; in a nutshell, if he is concentrated he will be more unlikely to give in to the temptation to run away after someone or something. You also need to get him used to walking with you without pulling the rope, a simple exercise that will reduce his anxiety level and the urge to run away from the first thing that moves. Remember that your dog needs training, and that you can rest assured if your 4-legged friend follows your orders when you go out for a walk.