Dogs Off Lead In Sutherland Shire

[dak07]

Just curious if anyone knows what the stroy is with the sutherland shire councils rules on walking dogs of lead, because i'm almost certain its an offence but yet it doesnt matter which suburb your in, people are everywhere walking dogs off lead or dogs are roaming out the front of peoples houses.

The part that gets me is when you see someone trying to walk their dog but are constantly being confronted with off lead dogs non of which the owner has any control of.

I know some people who are frightened to walk their dogs incase this situation arises which i think is crap everyone should be able to put a lead on their dog and go for walk without forever worrying whats around the corner

[Luke GSP]

Just curious if anyone knows what the stroy is with the sutherland shire councils rules on walking dogs of lead, because i'm almost certain its an offence but yet it doesnt matter which suburb your in, people are everywhere walking dogs off lead or dogs are roaming out the front of peoples houses.

The part that gets me is when you see someone trying to walk their dog but are constantly being confronted with off lead dogs non of which the owner has any control of.

I know some people who are frightened to walk their dogs incase this situation arises which i think is crap everyone should be able to put a lead on their dog and go for walk without forever worrying whats around the corner

I believe that in the Sutherland shire you can only walk dogs on lead in any public area unless they are in a designated off leash park. Contact the council there I am sure they will put you right. I have seen the same situations as you here and have also had both of mine charged by a great dane whilst mine were on a leash. Thankfully mine did not react.

[speedy2]

I have seen the same situations as you here and have also had both of mine charged by a great dane whilst mine were on a leash. Thankfully mine did not react.

I had mine chased by two great danes who were on lead but dragged the lead out of their owner's hand! Mine dived under a parked car to get away from them.

[Luke GSP]

I have seen the same situations as you here and have also had both of mine charged by a great dane whilst mine were on a leash. Thankfully mine did not react.

I had mine chased by two great danes who were on lead but dragged the lead out of their owner's hand! Mine dived under a parked car to get away from them.

That's the problem with people having big dogs even when they are on lead you have got to be strong enough to hold on. Obviously the owner having them under enough control so as not to do a runner in the first place is place to be in though.

[granny]

[That's the problem with people having big dogs even when they are on lead you have got to be strong enough to hold on.

Personally I disagree with this statement!

The problem is people having UNTRAINED & Uncontrollable Dogs of any size on or off lead and expecting other people to put up with their badly behaved dogs, JUST because they are big dogs does not mean you have to be big to control him/her, Just train the dog properly BEFORE you inflict it on other people IMOH.

I do sympathize with the O.P. and would suggest that maybe a walk at the usual time But without your dog and try to find out where the off lead dog/dogs lives and/or take photos and send them to the council complaining that this is a regular occurrence in this street or this dog is always roaming outside of my house. I have always found that when I have sent photos of the dog to our council and named the street or the house # that I believe it comes from slowly but surely the problem has diminished! But then I do not live in the O.P.’s Shire and our Shire is very happy to act on photographic evidence if they can find the owner. As we live in a rural Township it is not always possible to get the Ranger out in time to catch the offending dog, since one of my dogs were attacked by a dog at the off-lead park (with no owner in sight) I always have my camera in my pocket and ready to go if needed, also surprising how many folk soon find a plastic bag to clean up after the dog they are trying to ignore when it is doing its doo-doo when you just pull the a camera out of the pocket as you walk past on the other side of the road I have been known to offer a spare bag to someone that obviously hasn’t got one, it has always been accepted with a “thank you”, But my husband always tells me he worries about me doing this.. but I can’t help myself, if you want to change peoples attitudes they have to be first encouraged and helped then maybe we can all live in harmony with our dogs and other owners.

[Luke GSP]

[That's the problem with people having big dogs even when they are on lead you have got to be strong enough to hold on.

Personally I disagree with this statement!

The problem is people having UNTRAINED & Uncontrollable Dogs of any size on or off lead and expecting other people to put up with their badly behaved dogs, JUST because they are big dogs does not mean you have to be big to control him/her, Just train the dog properly BEFORE you inflict it on other people IMOH.

I do sympathize with the O.P. and would suggest that maybe a walk at the usual time But without your dog and try to find out where the off lead dog/dogs lives and/or take photos and send them to the council complaining that this is a regular occurrence in this street or this dog is always roaming outside of my house. I have always found that when I have sent photos of the dog to our council and named the street or the house # that I believe it comes from slowly but surely the problem has diminished! But then I do not live in the O.P.’s Shire and our Shire is very happy to act on photographic evidence if they can find the owner. As we live in a rural Township it is not always possible to get the Ranger out in time to catch the offending dog, since one of my dogs were attacked by a dog at the off-lead park (with no owner in sight) I always have my camera in my pocket and ready to go if needed, also surprising how many folk soon find a plastic bag to clean up after the dog they are trying to ignore when it is doing its doo-doo when you just pull the a camera out of the pocket as you walk past on the other side of the road I have been known to offer a spare bag to someone that obviously hasn’t got one, it has always been accepted with a “thank you”, But my husband always tells me he worries about me doing this.. but I can’t help myself, if you want to change peoples attitudes they have to be first encouraged and helped then maybe we can all live in harmony with our dogs and other owners.

That's why I wrote

"Obviously the owner having them under enough control so as not to do a runner in the first place is place to be in though." as the second line of the post that you are quoting.

Another issue is the definition of "effective control" as I see it as one of those legal definitions like "reasonable force". For instance, If your dog, whilst on a lead, sniffs someone as they walk by. is that having your dog under effective control? To most this would appear effective control but My ssister had an issue with her local council when one of her huskies motioned to sniff a passing child and the child freaked out and was screaming and crying. There was no actual contact in any form and the dog didn't walk up to the child it literally moved it's head 45 degrees to look/sniff the childs general direction as it walked past. It took several discussions with her local council to get that little fiasco ironed out. It is a very difficult subject.

[granny]

[To most this would appear effective control but My ssister had an issue with her local council when one of her huskies motioned to sniff a passing child and the child freaked out and was screaming and crying. There was no actual contact in any form and the dog didn't walk up to the child it literally moved it's head 45 degrees to look/sniff the childs general direction as it walked past. It took several discussions with her local council to get that little fiasco ironed out. It is a very difficult subject. confused.gif

Yes Luke I can see where you are coming from.

I just wish some parents put as much time and effort into teaching their Kids how to behave as most of us do our dogs. I suppose there are good and bad among all of us and the good ones get put upon because of the bad ones and as you said it is a very difficult subject.

Glad your sister got things sorted in the end, it must have been a very hard time for her. I know if it had been one of my Grand-Kids they would have wanted to know why the doggy didn’t give them a kiss :rolleyes: assuming they had first asked if it was OK to approach the dog.

Some what!

This takes me to something I heard on the radio last week about the 4 rights of kids, Food, Love, Education, Safety! Now I do believe the word discipline should be in there some where! I think far to many parents are trying so hard to be their kids Best Friend and forgetting they are Parents, But I could be very wrong.

[Luke GSP]

This takes me to something I heard on the radio last week about the 4 rights of kids, Food, Love, Education, Safety! Now I do believe the word discipline should be in there some where! I think far to many parents are trying so hard to be their kids Best Friend and forgetting they are Parents, But I could be very wrong.

Don't even get me started on this one granny. Humans are, to me, very similar to dogs, we need to know where we stand and what is and is not acceptable. Whenever people talk to me about raising children I find myself sounding like Cesar Milan "Rules, bounderies and limitations" which I believe are taught through consisteancy and planning rather than making the parameters up as you go along. The difficult thing for most parents IMO is that all children are very different, for instance my son gets very hurt if he believes you are angry with him where my 5 year old daughter can look you square in the face and smile whilst being told off. Obviously the smiling could be a sign of disobedience/defiance but you could also see it as a diversionary tactic such as some people develop ie some people laugh while under stress whilst others cry. Either way we find that a time out works wonders with my daughter where it would have little effect on my son. Alot of people want one size fits all parenting (and puppy training) and you simply cannot do it. All children and dogs are different the art is to work out what avereries work for the subject in question and apply it at the right time, in line with the severity of the "wrong doing" whilst making sure that the subject understands what it is being punished for. I do not believe that purely positive (ie ignore negative or try to divert or distract away from negative behaviour) is a healthy way to raise kids or dogs as the world does not work that way. If a human or animal makes a mistake in the big wide world they may well be penalised, whether that is hurting or being hurt physically or mentally. It's what nature does, it presents us all with choices and once we make those choices their are outcomes, some are nice and some are not. I try and teach my children this as I believe that the earlier you teach someone to think before they act the smoother their passage through life will be. :D Told you not to get me started

[granny]

[ Told you not to get me started :D

Yep I know what you mean And agree whole heartedly.