Get your dog on a lead

I think you are sad, we cant train dogs to be robots and urinate on demand, your a cat lover?! cats urine contains more ammonia and so you should complain about your own animal.s before judging others

Oh and I realise I left something out in my first response. Yes I agree that dogs should never be allowed to urinate on people or other peoples things but you say "the way they just go around urinating wherever they feel like it" Oh ok I'll just teach her to balance over a bloody toilet shall I? And I will tell my friend who owns a great dane that he has to take him in public toilets and teach him to aim in the urinal. Use your bloody common sense! something you would rather not witness, well dont look then. Or shall I just tell my dog she has to hold it because it might offend your delicate eyes.

I have just seen that there is another Kathleen (sorry I am new here) posting on the Talk Talk thread. This will be irritating for her and confusing so I will post as Kathleen W.

I have no problem with non aggressive dogs having a free run in parks and green spaces but I think it is better if they are on a lead in built up places, as much for their own safety as for that of other people.

I let my guide dog have a free run in the park last week and he was nearly hit by a cyclist hurtling along the path. My friend (politely and with no swearing or shouting) said that , if he was going to cycle in the park he should go slower and be more careful, and she was treated to a torrent of abuse, threats and swearing.

Maybe some people should be on a lead and muzzled in public?

I am a dog owner and why should I keep her on a lead? she is a healthy active and friendly dog who needs a lot of exercise and hates being on her lead because she cant run around and because of this she is never on her lead except when near a main road. I have plenty of control over her "just by shouting" and she has never once (except during early training months) failed to come back to me when called or stop when told to wait. If you dont like dogs thats your problem, find another park. If you didnt like kids running around would you expect mothers to keep them in pushchairs all their lives? No, you get on with it. Why should my dog suffer because you are close minded and dont like them.

Frankly, if a dog sniffs your crotch ... so what !! What's going to happen? Are you going to die?? Asphyxiate??

As for urinating, dogs' urine will never hurt anyone - feces, yes, urine no. Just get a life if you don't like dogs' cocking their legs. What about all the thousands of men, my husband included, who think it perfectly acceptable to have a wee behind a tree.

I have read your views on dogs and thought it was the funniest thing I have ever read. Your last paragraph gives you away, your obviously a cat lover so has a problem with dogs. not every dog in the world comes running up to every stranger sniffing their crotch!! I walk my dog three times a day in Battersea park and not once have a seen a dog do what you have described. with regards to urinating do you seriously think dogs know when and where to pee when they are in a park, shall we ask all the parks to have dog peeing areas for all the dogs to pee. funnily enough dogs are like humans and need to urinate at different times so taking your dog to pee in a certain area when it suits you would be quite difficult. my neighbour has cat which runs around everyones garden doing what he/she feels like peeing/shitting everywhere, leaving dead birds/mice around and annoying my dog who is relaxing in his garden! I'm afraid people like you should stay in their house and enjoy the company of their cat who doesn't even like them as it is well known cats care more about themselves than their owners, there just there to eat and sleep, I feel you should just do the same.

Hmm I had a simular expierence to you freedie, but the other way round! My poor dog was attack by the cat up the road, whilst she was on the lead and wasnt even intrested in the cat - we was just walking past!!! And the cat just lunged at her and left her with a nasty gash across her face. People need to keep their cats under control like most people do with their dogs!

And I dont for a second agree with being a fool if you think you can control your dog off the lead. I most certianly can keep her under control - it's called training her. Yes she is a dog and will chase birds, but NEVER will she annoy people, this is because I have trained her since a puppy not too.

Dogs have every right to be off the lead in the right place - Parks, Fields,Beaches etc.

Absolutely Freddie, justice was done. Twas ever thus between cat and dog ... the dog has now learned that cats rule. Any intelligent dog knows that, but not all dogs are very intelligent. My daughter has a half Bengal ... lovely aren't they, and I don't even like cats! ... and when she spits at my Mal x Husky weighing in at around 100 lbs, he jumps. HE moves, not her! I like it !!

You are also right when you say that no-one can predict the unforseen ... this is true, but I will not confine my dog to a life on the lead. It is terribly bad for them, they need to run, and that means free, off the lead. You just have to pick your place. Not around sheep or other livestock, and away from roads. My dog is not perfect, no dog is, but he is very obedient, and will come when called. However, he will chase sheep, he will chase cats, he will chase deer, rabbits, chickens that have escaped from their garden, he is a dog, not a powder puff! I am sensible where I take him for walkies. If I am walking past sheep, or through the town, then he is course on a lead. But I avoid these places like the plague, so that my boy can run free ... and attempt to chase your cat !!

Nice to talk to you again too !

Hi Nikki, long time no speak..I hope you're well.
I think that dogs can be controlled quite well when off the lead if they are trained properly. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, can account for the unforeseen incident though. I don't believe anyone could say that there are no circumstances under which they would lose control.
When all is said and done it is a requirement to keep a dog on a lead in public now. A lesson learned by a local dog walker round my way. His dog attacked my male Bengal cat last year. My cat was on it's lead (they don't go out alone as they're real expensive) and the dog wasn't. The result being that the dog needed very expensive surgery to reconstruct it's face. The owner sued me for the cost and lost in court as his dog was not on its lead. I felt sorry for the dog but my cat was only defending itself.

Oh dear, I am the world's biggest fool then, because I most certainly CAN control my dog off the lead in public areas, or anywhere for that matter.

Whereas I am with you all the way about respecting people's space etc. etc., I will not accept your ridiculous statement that people are fooling themselves if they think they can control their dogs when off the lead.

People are fooling themselves if they think they can control their dogs off leash in public area's. Perhaps when their precious pet bites someone and they are sued that they'll think twice. There are specific dog parks for this reason and rules about leashes (usually) as well. I love my dog and she is very well trained, off leash, she does not leave my right side but still I do not allow her off leash in more public area's because; I do not want to give her the chance to lose control or greet people rudely, I do not want her injured and I respect those who may not like animals the same way I do.

It's simply a matter of respect, to say "If you don't like dogs, get a life", no, no, no. It's a PUBLIC park and EVERYONE should respect EVERYONE ELSE'S SPACE! Allowing your animal to wee on people's property is the ultimate in disrespect and rudeness. How would that owner have liked the writer of this article to whip it out and wee on his stuff? Not much I suspect.