Isn't it cruel to walk a dog with a leash around its neck?

Question

If I ever have a dog I will treat it as my most beloved friend and I won't put a leash around its neck when I walk the dog... so... dog *lovers*, how can you on earth say you love your dog while pulling them with a chain like slaves? This isn't love is it? Like you never pull your kids out for a walk with a chain? Don't tell me the safety bs... if you really love your dog, you shouldn't keep it prisoner for 15 years (i.e. life sentence). Set it free will you? I feel so bad when I see the way dogs are locked up in the prison cell like tanks (worse than a prison cell actually) in pet shops. Miserable creatures.

Answer 1

I agree with you completely about pet shops - they are miserable places, and the puppy mills that create those pups should be stopped. http://stoppuppymills.org/

But 'set it free'? Where? Out on the street, for it to join a pack and harrass and injure or kill other dogs, cats, and even people? To be hit by a car, shot, or poisoned? In the woods, for it to starve or die of disease, to be caught in a trap, to be shot or trapped for harrassing livestock, or to be killed by other predators, including other dogs? Free, to get heartworms, hookworms, mange, rabies, distemper, parvovirus, etc.? Free to spread diseases and parasites? Free, to join up into a pack and kill the neighbors? (If you think 'oh, my dog would be different', you're dreaming - dogs will behave much differently in a pack than they will normally, and it can get very ugly.)

What dogs who are 'free' can do with their freedom:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/12/13/pitbull.attack.ap/index.html
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/108534/Nearly_60_Cats_Killed_Possibly_By_Loose_Dogs
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=News&id=1557664
http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/chair/pio/HtmlNR/04-41.htm
http://lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=162304&x=articles&s=pets_nature
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06264/723752-54.stm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1032428/posts
http://www.pjstar.com/php/index.php?/news/comments/pekin_dogs_killed_after_attacking_woman/

Obviously you've never had a dog, or you'd probably have already had the all-too-common experience of trying to keep an aggressive loose dog away from your own pet dog while out for a walk. I've also seen plenty of dead dogs by the side of the road who've been hit by cars, and saw plenty of injured ones come into the animal clinic where I worked.

Domestic dogs are the result of thousands of years of mutually beneficial coexistence between humans and dogs. They are not wolves or coyotes, and do not pine for 'freedom', so long as they are treated well as members of their human 'pack'. Modern cities and suburban areas are far too hazardous for dogs to run free. In rural areas, your dog is at risk from predators, and it might be shot or poisoned if it harrasses livestock or your neighbors.

If a dog is trained using positive methods, a leash and collar or harness are not cruel. My dog came from a shelter where she'd been picked up as a stray and saved from just such a hazardous outdoor life. I trained her using positive methods and clicker training, to build a bond for us to work together. She walks on a leash because our city has a leash law (for good reason - I don't want to be jumped by a strange dog, and neither does she). I use a harness, usually, to let her know that we're just out walking for fun and she's free to wander within the limits of the leash so long as she doesn't pull. I clip the leash to her collar (her signal to heel closely) when we enter a crowded area where people may be intimidated by a large dog that is not visibly under control. It's as much for her protection as for others, so I can be sure no one trips over her or steps on her. She lives in the house with me and is treated well, and is happy with her place in our pack. If I set her 'free', she'd just wait at the door to be let back inside. She knows she's better off now than when she was 'free' as a stray!

If you want to advocate for dogs, work with the humane society to educate people about puppy mills. Work to educate people about caring properly for their dogs and making them members of their household instead of spending their lives in the backyard on a chain. Volunteer at your local animal shelter to help care for dogs in need of homes. There are lots of ways that you can help!

Answer 2

I love my dog enough to keep her safe from traffic. I live in the city, and my dog ALWAYS has a leash on, for MANY reasons. First, my dog is leash trained, and heals. Shes does not pull on the leash, so she does not get choked. And, we have a leash law here, for good reasons. When dogs run loose, even the most well behaved dog, they can get distracted and run after a bunny, a bird, a stray cat, and it could run right out into traffic and get hit by a car. I am NOT about to let this happen to my dog. And I also keep her on a leash as a courtesy to other people. Not everyone loves dogs. People like my mom don't want a dog walking up to them. And children either. Some children don't know how to properly interact with a dog, playing to a child could be intimidating to the dog, I wouldn't want anyone to get bit. And if another dog comes by, I have no idea if that dog is dog aggressive or not, I would prefer to avoid any fights. The only time my dog is allowed off leash is if she is in a secure fenced in area. I am lucky to have many fenced in parks in my area where I can let my dog run loose, and this is the ONLY time she runs loose. I feel like if you love your dog, you will protect it and keep it on a leash when in public. If you don't like the collar around the neck, try using a harness.

Answer 3

I recommend you watch the National Geographic Channel show "The Dog Whisperer". While I agree that keeping a dog on a leash one hundred percent of the time is not necessary, there are instances when a leash is a necessary training instrument. Properly trained dogs do not need leashes to eliminate the possibility of them running into traffic. A properly trained dog will see its owner as the "pack" leader and will trust you to keep it safe without the need of a leash. Also if you ever get serious about getting a dog, don't go to a pet store. Find a local kennel club and ask around for trustworthy breeders. In most cases you can visit the environment in which the dog was born and has lived since birth. Also, dogs from breeders are far less likely to develop disease than those found in pet stores.

Answer 4

I think that you need to go for a walk and get attacked by someone's dog that isn't on a leash! Then we'll see what you think about having dogs on leashes!

By the way, if a dog attackes a person and it's not on a leash, not only does the owner probably get sued, but the dog will probably also get killed!

People like you shouldn't be allowed to own dogs!

Answer 5

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Since it is obvious that you do not have a clue about obedience training, your services should be for free. You cannot train even an adult dog for 8 hours a day. About the most that can be done at any one time is 10 - 20 minutes and that is with an adult dog and not a puppy. The attention span on this baby is extremely short and training session should be no more than 10 minutes and twice a day. Additionally, there isn't going to be much learned if you will only be training for 5 days. Obedience training is cumulative and is done over a much longer period of at least several weeks to several months.
What you can charge is determined by your experience, reputation, and accomplishments and in a case like this, should also include guaranteed expectations. Just working with dogs over several years, is not the experience that is necessary to be a dog trainer. There are too many people who are putting that title to their name and fleecing the public. Don't be one of them.

Answer 6

Good for you you have trained your dog to stay at your side and you are able to walk it leash less. However this is not always the case and some people are very affraid of their beloved misbehaving friend running loose for its own safety. They have the option of dog parks but I discourage these as dogs love to sniff other dogs fecal matter even sampling a taste of it on occassion. YUK something humans don't like to think of. But hte viruses and parasites spread by this are easily transmitable and can live up to a year on any surface so therefore I would rather see leash walking (if the leash is required at all) in areas that other pets do not frequent. and yea a persons personal yard is likely the safes place for defication on the leash or off. safety first.

Answer 7

Sounds like you're a PETA member.

I'll let you in on a secret -- Is it love? It sure as hell is. Think the safety reasons are bull ****? Then we all can be glad you DON'T own a dog. It's not cruel - it's keeping them alive. Whether you want to face that fact or not - the truth is there.

Set our dogs free? What, so they can die of starvation? For any domestic dog that wasn't bred for their hunt drive, which is a large population, would be dead soon. It's a death warrant for many dogs across the board.

Miserable? Oh yes, food, love, toys, health care, and many times the rule of the roost is an equation for misery.

One more secret for you - some people do put leashes on their kids. It happens, more than you think.

I would write more, but three of my dogs are whining to go out and enjoy the weather.

Answer 8

No. The reason that we need to walk our dog on leash is because 90% of communication between human and dog comes from leash training. By training with a leash, we are exerting leadership as well as excersise, and walking is the primitive form of excersise for dogs. The leash gives us immediate response time to correct the dog and get the behavior we want, if we walk them correctly. The leash should be placed at the top of the neck(behind the ears) for this is the most responsive part of the neck. The base of the neck is the strongest and naturally makes the dog want to pull. Dogs are followers, and naturally want to be lead, so take the initiative!

Answer 9

I would let him run out into the street and get run over by a car. A dog can be trained to walk with a leash without problems and you can call it cruel if you wish but I want my Havenese safe. I for sure don't want to pay for another one because I didn't keep her safe. If you don't know how much a Havenese cost, just check the Internet. She has the run of our house, sleeps on our bed, plays with children, goes camping with us, guess she is a dumb dog as she doesn't know she is a prisoner, but does know she is loved very much and loves us very much.

Answer 10

Ok I think you need to set the bible down and back away from it. Leashes are restraints for dogs so they don't run up on people and keeps other people safe and the dog safe. I owned 2 dogs for more than 20 years and I used leashes on both of them. Then expect to be sued if the dog runs up and bites someone and you claim it's cruel to have leashes on dogs when the laws say otherwise.

Answer 11

Most people don't treat their dogs any different then they do their children. I have walked in shopping malls where there is some people that have the children on a leash. This is just a safety measurement taken by the parents because their are way to may things that are a danger to our loved ones.