In yesterday’s post I mentioned Delilah had a little off-leash hike. If you’ve been reading for a while you know there are certain areas Delilah is prone to running off to. One of these areas is in the field.
When we entered the park I unclipped her leash and gave her freedom. I think off-leash works best for Delilah if I try to keep her focus on me, so I call her back to me quite frequently. She was returning every time I called.
We went to the field. There was one time where she turned and started running away from me and she didn’t respond to my call. I turned around and said, “Sampson come.”
As soon as I knew I had his attention I started running the other way and I said, “Go, go, go, go, go, go, go” really loud as we ran away from Delilah.
Do you know that worked?
And the only reason I can think why is that I sometimes psyche the dogs into going outside by giving them a little pep talk. I think the excitement in my voice tells her something exciting and fun is about to happen.
Of course I don’t know this with any certainty, but it makes sense to me.
After the field we made our way up the trails and then started back down towards the rail trail. As we approached the rail trail I leashed Delilah again, and shortly after that we ran into the couple I mentioned in yesterday’s post.
Naturally we got to talking about dogs. This couple had a Husky for 14 years. The man said he used to walk his dog every day and was so in the habit that he continues to do so. He also said he always walked his dog off-leash, there was an older man that he used to encounter and the man always said, dogs were meant to run free and not be leashed.
He went on to say, times have changed and people have changed. There are so many people out there on the rail trail now walking their dogs, but they don’t want you to look at their dogs or pet their dogs and he’s not sure what happened.
I’m not really sure what happened either. I don’t remember when it changed, but it certainly has. I don’t ever remember our childhood dogs on leashes. Is it because our parents didn’t walk them? Or because there were fewer people? Have people grown less tolerant of dogs? What do you remember about dog etiquette from when you were a child?
After we parted ways, I kept Delilah on the leash. I felt like it was best to end our walk with her remaining successful.
And she was.
I remember all the dogs running free around the neighborhood, and if they were acting weird, we told them to go home, and they did! I don’t remember anyone walking with their dogs when I was a kid. Life has changed so much since then.
That’s what I remember too! We had one dog who was bit aggressive and so we kept him on a run in the back yard, but the rest of the dogs just went out at will. They stayed out of the streets and didn’t bother anyone. What happened?
I can’t remember why or when it changed to how it is today! Weird.
I think people have become like this because there are more dog owners and less are worried about training them. They are more worried about having them as accessories like the celebrities do. I had one lady bring in her dog for a groom in her purse and when I asked her to take it out she told, no no I don’t like dogs, they scare me. This just didn’t make sense to me and it made me wonder what happens when the dog is home, not in a purse. I think this is the reason society has changed their ways. I walk my dog off leash all the time, however, and no one really says anything to me. 😀
I think you are right although I don’t really remember my parents training my dogs in any way. That is sad they are using the dogs for accessories. How the heck do you groom a dog in a purse? That’s just nuts!
It’s nice that Aladdin is so good you can walk him off leash, Delilah could never do it on the sidewalk or street.
Maybe train was the wrong word cause my mom and dad didn’t ‘train’ either, but the dogs knew the rules. So maybe we made them follow rules? And grooming a dog in a purse is difficult. lol
Aladdin is a very good boy. Today Julio forgot to put his collar back on when he dropped me off at work, and we walked down a very busy street. I’m very lucky he knows to heel and not run all over like a maniac. Some dogs just can not be trusted off leash (like my old jack russell lol). Doesn’t make them any less amazing! 🙂
Yes, times have changed…I am really grateful that I can let me girlz go “wild” out here on our property. FYI…Molly is really doing well. Still have her on the long lead but rarely need to use it to capture her anymore. She stays with the pack “hurray” she has come a long way and I am so very proud of her!!
Have a good week Jodi… 🙂
You’re lucky Val, I wish I had that kind of run for them, it would make working with Delilah a lot easier! I’m glad Molly is doing so well, she just needed someone who cared.
Have a great week!
When I was a child (back in the 1950’s) my parents always let our dog (an unaltered male) run loose. It seems to me that there were an awful lot of little black & white pups (that looked a lot like Elmer!) in the neighborhood as well. I have a feeling that there were probably more than a few people who weren’t real happy about my parent’s way of managing our dog.
That’s something I’ve always wondered about too. We never walked our dogs, but they got plenty of exercise and no dog that I remember was ever a nuisance or anything.
I was wishing my Mum would let me off lead, now I’m not so sure cos she might run away too!! 🙂
Have fun guys
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Now she’s just showing off! Well done Delilah! 🙂
I had this conversation with my parents when Fred got sick and I considered taking him off heartworm and flea medicine and shots because they would make him seize worse.
My mom said my childhood dogs never got their teeth brushed, atre grocery store food, never had heartworm medicine, later on in the years wore flea collars and hardly anyone took their dog to get shots. Its funny because all those dogs were healthy as can be, I dont remember knowing one fat dog when I was growing up because all these dogs were “Dogs” OUr childhood dog would just lay in the front yard while we played, she slept in a dog house outside and was brought into the garage when it was raining or cold. I never saw people walking dogs with leashes on them, if anything they were all out in their yards watching over their kids play. Im not saying that the new advancements are bad but it did make me stop and think because those dogs lived long healthy lives, there has to be something to it?! 🙂 oh and yeah for Delilah!!
on the bright side, people are getting more exercise now it they are out walking their dogs and not just letting them roam free. 🙂
Glad to hear your trick worked with Delilah!! That’s awesome news!
Yes, the world has changed. In some ways for the better, and in some ways for the worse. I tend to worry about idolizing the past. It was a long way from perfect in many respects.
The dogs of my childhood were not walked daily but we had a fenced in yard and we played with them. I do have pictures of me walking with one of my dogs off-leash in the neighborhood but as a rule, dogs were not allowed to run free. In fact, my father’s favorite little Schnauzer got loose once and was hit by a car and killed. Reason enough to not let dogs run loose. Not to mention other dangers and unscrupulous people who might intend to do harm.
There’s no one correct answer to this conversation – it depends on the dog, it depends on the circumstance, it depends on the locale.
There has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere lately about off-leash dogs and, as an owner of a scared-y dog, I have to admit one of the things I dread is encountering off-leash dogs when I’m walking Bella. The off-leash dog may well be friendly but Bella is not – which is why we don’t take her to off-leash areas.
If you can control your dog 100% of the time or are in an off-leash and safe area, then by all means, let them run free. If that is not the case, then one has to consider the circumstances of others and behave accordingly. We do not live in this world alone.
And congratulations on your new trick. You are absolutely spot on as to why she came to this time – she thought what you were doing was more fun. The trick is to make that the case every time. 🙂
Most public places you take dogs to these days have rules that they must be on lead. Maybe that has changed from when I was a kid. When I was a kid, you could walk a dog off lead in a park…not so today.
It’s rare to see dogs on leashes in my neighborhood Jodi and I must admit it is often a problem. People let their dogs roam the streets and they become very territorial and sometimes aggressive as we pass through. I sometimes see people walking their dogs but it is rare. The culture here appears to either restrict dogs to yards or allow them to wander the streets.