EverythingDogBlog: The Other Side of the Story

Oblivious Dog Walkers can be Dangerous

I was driving home the other night and came to a stop at a stop sign, where I noticed a small white dog was crossing the street in the crosswalk in front of me, seemingly alone.

I couldn’t believe it!

A dog alone, at night, in a crosswalk?

Way behind the dog I finally spied the owner but I still totally expected the dog to run out into traffic in one direction or another. I had to stop anyway (stop sign) but I stopped with my heart stuck in my throat, holding my breath, finally realizing that the dog was on a retractable leash (often called a Flexi leash but that is the brand name).

Dangers Lurk in Retractable Leashes

Besides being thin, nearly invisible, composed of wire, and therefore potentially dangerous to people if the dog takes off, suddenly startled, and the person drops the leash, the dog is then dragging a long wire with a noisy contraption on the end, scaring him even more.

If the owner is not injured by the wire severing a finger, other dangers are possible if a dog bolts.

Consumer Reports and Professional Dog Trainers

A startled dog dragging a retractable leash may become tangled in the wire and try to pull free, causing more havoc. Just check out Consumer Reports here.

Most of my dog trainer colleagues recommend retractable leashes only for highly trained dogs (and even few of us dog trainers have such a dog – we tend to have the difficult dogs!) and well-coordinated people – certainly not children.

So, be wise and don’t use a potentially dangerous retractable leash. If you must, use some common sense and reel it in when crossing the street. It’s the right thing to do.

Be seen and be safe.

Read more about it: Ten Reasons not to use a Retractable Leash

The Dogington Post

BARk

ABC News

Need I say more?

EverythingDogBlog: Beware the Jogger - Final Words

Whatever Happened to Jogging Etiquette?

Years ago when I was in training for the Marine Corps Marathon, we were told to pass walkers on the left (like cars do) and announce our intentions beforehand by saying, “Passing on the left.” Bike riders often do something similar – perhaps that is why they have bike bells to ring!

Challenge to You

Therefore, I hereby challenge every jogger (runner and biker, too) to display a wee bit of etiquette and common sense, and announce to the person you are overtaking that you are approaching. Help prevent an accident! It’s just the right thing to do. Especially for the dog involved. Thank you.

I repeat: it’s the right thing to do.

Tomorrow: Even Dog Walkers can be Dangerous

EverythingDogBlog: Beware the Jogger, part three

And, as for me, . . .

And just in the past two days, the very same things happened to me! Could it have been the same biker and jogger, or was it just coincidence, or is it more common than I first thought? My dog and I were passed by a fast bike rider and a runner on a path and on a narrow sidewalk, startling both my dog and myself. I asked both persons to please announce their presence before they get close in the future and they said they would.

But will they remember?

The Right Thing to Do

A dog can lunge when startled. . . so to protect yourself and prevent from startling others on paths and narrow sidewalks and just to be polite, please announce that you are coming up from behind. We will get out of your way. It’s the right thing to do.

Comment about this blog series on my Facebook page:

Now send it to Runners World, etc... And make sure they know I have witnessed a dog walker so startled, that the open poop bag struck the jogger when she gasped and jumped!

Tomorrow: Final Words to Joggers, and Others

EverythingDogBlog: Beware the Jogger, part two

Yesterday’s blog set the stage for people on sidewalks and paths encountering other people, some with dogs, and some running or biking and, thus, appearing suddenly, startling the other person and dog.

Yesterday I mentioned an incident that was told to me recently in which the dog was startled and could have lunged out or jerked away and become lost. Here is another incident I was told about.

Second Incident

This incident occurred on the sidewalk - too narrow, as they all are in Columbia, for safe passing. The person and dog were walking slowly, the dog happily sniffing away when they were suddenly overtaken by a jogger. Both dog and walker startled, and the jogger jogged on, oblivious. . . . again, a startled dog is not what you want to encounter. Instead of ‘startle’ you can substitute ‘frightened.’

The Right Thing to Do

Of course, a dog may bark and leap out of the way when startled! And some people startle more easily than others as well. The dog walker can drop the leash and the dog can run away, frightened. Or the dog can lunge toward the faster bike rider or jogger when startled. . . so to protect yourself and prevent from startling others on paths and narrow sidewalks and, just to be polite, please announce that you are coming up from behind. We will get out of your way. It’s the right thing to do.

Tomorrow: My Personal Startling Incidents

EverythingDogBlog: Beware the Jogger!

EverythingDogBlog: Beware the Jogger!

Columbia, Maryland, is a town well-known for its miles and miles of wide asphalt paths (wider than the very narrow concrete sidewalks) through the ‘woods’ dotted with playgrounds called Tot-Lots every so often as well as a few (very few) benches, and opening on to large fields on occasion – some with basketball courts.

These paths criss-cross into various housing areas from single family homes to townhouses to apartment complexes, sometimes along streams. It is not unusual to spy a deer or two at almost any time of the day. Paths are part of what we term, open space, and are accessible during daylight hours (not lighted at night).

People stroll these paths, as do joggers and kids on bikes and dogwalkers, but, dogwalkers, especially, must beware the jogger! (There are fewer bicycles, but this warning applies to them as well.)

Beware the Jogger!

Nowadays so many people wear earphones while driving (neither safe nor legal), walking, riding bikes and especially jogging, that doing so has become a nuisance (they don’t hear a “Hello!”) if not dangerous. Columbia’s paths are populated with joggers – enough that walkers, and actually everyone, need always be on the lookout - hard to do with earphones in, being mesmerized by music.

A Pair of Jogging Incidents

I heard of two incidents recently that I want to relate to you.

First Incident

A neighbor was walking his dog on an open-space path and stopped to pick up a ‘deposit’ his dog had left. He put his dog in a Sit-Stay (great idea!) and was bending down to bag up the poop from the grassy area aside the path when, all of a sudden, his dog jerked away when a jogger suddenly appeared without warning but within touching distance, scaring both dog and walker. It turns out neither the person nor the dog had been aware of the jogger until he was nearly upon them.  But the jogger had been aware of the person and dog and could have avoided the surprise and possible incident by merely announcing his presence from a distance.

The Right Thing to Do

Of course, a dog may bark and leap out of the way when startled! And some people startle more easily than others as well. The dog walker can lose hold of the leash and the dog can run away, frightened. Or the dog can lunge toward the faster bike rider or jogger when startled. . . so to protect yourself and prevent from startling others on paths and narrow sidewalks and, just to be polite, please announce that you are coming up from behind. We will get out of your way. It’s the right thing to do.

Tomorrow: Another, All Too Common Incident