PossumCorner Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 On 28/12/2017 at 10:33 AM, sarsplodicus said: .... Just wondering what others think. Is it dangerous? .... Re the photos from overseas, no. Bears no relation to Australian systems/methods. New York dog walkers are experienced, not some random from down the street (cheap labour, no idea etc). And the dogs from the apartments are as experienced as their walkers, they know the drill from puppyhood. You just don't see dogs mucking up or being difficult, because the walkers train them well, and are 'one jump ahead' if there is an issue. Australians don't on the whole employ competent dog walkers, and the inconsistent life style (walkers are usually just a short term need, holidays and long weekends: not daily year-in-year-out) makes what we think a little irrelevant. It's like comparing cheese and Volkswagens. If a group being walked in New York is approaching it hardly registers, just normal street traffic: if a group of 4+ in Australia approached me I'd be the one crossing the road. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 15 hours ago, sarsplodicus said: One of the photos in the OP is local not overseas. I do think it is dangerous, and as others have said if I see someone coming with more than two dogs I am going the other way as fast as I can. LOL. I’ll bet I can pick the local. Shouldn’t LOL, actually. Quite sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Over the years, there have been hundreds of these sorts of photographs on social media showing many dogs being walked together in NYC. Totally different situation as these dogs being walked are, as Dogsfevr says, apartment dogs. Comparing this practice to dog walkers in Australia is akin to comparing chalk and cheese ...... sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 47 minutes ago, Dame Danny's Darling said: Over the years, there have been hundreds of these sorts of photographs on social media showing many dogs being walked together in NYC. Totally different situation as these dogs being walked are, as Dogsfevr says, apartment dogs. Comparing this practice to dog walkers in Australia is akin to comparing chalk and cheese ...... sadly. Exactly ,i often think Australians are snobs about what they think is right compared to other countries & the fact is dog ownership in this country is no where near the likes of many overseas places . Some consider a 10 min sniff a walk & an outing & will say what these dog walkers do is not right .There getting out,there trained & i would walk past these dog walkers any day compared to most in the burbs with one dog on an extender lead that head straight for you because there dog is dragging them over & they believe there dog is entitled to say hello .You can pick the dogs who have been to a crappy puppy class a mile away 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 5 minutes ago, Dogsfevr said: i would walk past these dog walkers any day compared to most in the burbs with one dog on an extender lead that head straight for you because there dog is dragging them over & they believe there dog is entitled to say hello . Sad to say, you could not be more spot on. Extender leads should be banned. No doubt a lot of people would jump on me from a great height, but I make no apologies for saying this. I’ve seen too much of what Dogsfevr describes and also had heart in mouth when I’ve seen people incapable of using them and their dogs on the road in danger. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 17 hours ago, Her Majesty Dogmad said: Having volunteered at a shelter where i was the only dog walker, i sometimes took 2 larger dogs walking and believe me, it was very hard to hold on to some of them at times, Which is hardly the dogs’ fault and this situation cannot be compared with dogs who are being walked by their owners. If you felt you couldn’t control two dogs, you are not doing yourself, the dogs or others you might meet during your walk any favours. Shelter dogs are generally kept in confined conditioners and given very little chance for enjoying themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 I tried to find photos of dog walkers walking heaps of dogs and it going wrong. So far no luck. Found this instead and was pretty impressed. Although it could have gone horribly wrong! http://www.fox26houston.com/news/dog-walker-lines-up-16-dogs-for-photo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Of the original photos one is from New York, two are from Argentina, and one is Australian. I do not wish to identify the Australian one but I am seeing more and more of these dog walkers and I am concerned for their safety. Having multiple leads in your hand that you could easily let go is not so bad but having dogs attached to a belt is just asking for trouble. Some more photos here https://www.google.com.au/search?q=dog+walkers&rlz=1C1CHWA_enAU620AU620&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjl2_nznbPYAhVBEbwKHYm8C6QQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=769 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Regards retractable leads, I believe the Brisbane council rule is dogs have to be no more than 2m from their owners. Never see people pulled up for breaking that rule though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 (edited) 12 hours ago, karen15 said: Sorry, Karen, not reacting to you. I can't seem to delete the quote box. Ban, ban, ban, ban! If I remember right, in WA there's a 180 cm limit on leash length, almost never enforced. That's the same attitude that produces BSL and all the stupid rules regarding dog breeding. I use a retractable lead for my old girl, who is deaf and a little demented, when the others go off lead in bush, because I'm afraid she will wander off in the bushes and get lost. Should this be banned as well? Do you think banning a handful of people who walk multiple dogs in an unsafe manner is going to do anything to cut down the multitude of idiots who muck up walking one or two dogs? How's about a little tolerance? As Grampa used to say: "You can't outlaw stupidity." Edited December 31, 2017 by sandgrubber Last thought 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 3 hours ago, sandgrubber said: Ban, ban, ban, ban! If I remember right, in WA there's a 180 cm limit on leash length, almost never enforced. That's the same attitude that produces BSL and all the stupid rules regarding dog breeding. I use a retractable lead for my old girl, who is deaf and a little demented, when the others go off lead in bush, because I'm afraid she will wander off in the bushes and get lost. Should this be banned as well? Do you think banning a handful of people who walk multiple dogs in an unsafe manner is going to do anything to cut down the multitude of idiots who muck up walking one or two dogs? How's about a little tolerance? As Grampa used to say: "You can't outlaw stupidity." Sorry I can't see where anyone has talked about banning anything. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 2 hours ago, sarsplodicus said: Sorry I can't see where anyone has talked about banning anything. :-( DDD: "Extender leads should be banned." and various posts seem in favor of banning multiple dog walking. I'm all for banning wide access to assault rifles and banning guns in schools... but the history of bans in the dog world is not a good one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 17 minutes ago, sandgrubber said: DDD: "Extender leads should be banned." and various posts seem in favor of banning multiple dog walking. I'm all for banning wide access to assault rifles and banning guns in schools... but the history of bans in the dog world is not a good one. Sorry it has come to this. I don't want anything banned. I started the thread because I was talking with a friend the other day and she mentioned dog walkers with multiple dogs and how cute they are. When I disagreed ( I had visions of a walker trying to hold on to, or even being attached to, several dogs who were all wanting to go in different directions as a couple of loose dogs were bounding towards them) she laughed and I just started thinking about why I had my reservations and I thought I would come on here to ask for others' opinions. I have learnt that it is quite common overseas where it seems to be done safely. Some posters think Australia is different and maybe it is not as safe here. Then it was mentioned that dogs need to pooh etc which I also had not thought of and then I wondered why we take our dogs for walks anyway. Then someone mentioned the belts the walkers wear which do alarm me. There were a few other issues raised but 'shrug' this is DOL after all. I have changed from my original position. I now believe that it's probably safe for people who know their dogs to walk them in this way, and my original reaction was probably just me being anxious which I am prone to and possibly also because my dogs have twice been attacked when they were on lead walking by my side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 I originally thought that being attached to the belt thingo would be bad but then I considered that when lunging an unruly horse I did use to put the lunge rope around my hip area which gave much better stability. I think you had horses too Sars? I can understand your initial worries. I get concerned if I see a smallish lady walking a biggish dog that looks like it could pull her over. And I don't like walking past kids walking large dogs. Had a lady wrap her dogs lead around a fence once as I approached. That was alarming but at least she knew she needed extra reinforcements to hold the very, very large dog! But as others have pointed out these pooches seemed to be trained to walk this way. Good discussion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 4 minutes ago, JulesP said: I originally thought that being attached to the belt thingo would be bad but then I considered that when lunging an unruly horse I did use to put the lunge rope around my hip area which gave much better stability. I think you had horses too Sars? I can understand your initial worries. I get concerned if I see a smallish lady walking a biggish dog that looks like it could pull her over. And I don't like walking past kids walking large dogs. Had a lady wrap her dogs lead around a fence once as I approached. That was alarming but at least she knew she needed extra reinforcements to hold the very, very large dog! But as others have pointed out these pooches seemed to be trained to walk this way. Good discussion! Thanks JulesP. I did think about horses and how big they are and once upon a time I felt quite comfortable leading three of them. Maybe it is because I am becoming unsteady on my feet. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Relate to that Sars, I used to handle multiple horses on the ground, or ride one and lead several roadwork - wouldn't even think about it now - can't trust a crook leg and a crook arm to be right there when they are needed. And I used to walk my own three dogs on a tri-lead (they were all obedience-trained and did dog sports, so controlled and sociable) but I would not consider it now. I still muck about with the ponies and have two horses, but knowing my own limitations avoids accidents. I'm totally with Sandgrubber's take on this issue: probably stronger on ban the guns - but you can't legislate on stupid behaviours down to such a twee level, there wouldn't be enough resources to police it - sheesh they can't even police texting while driving, which causes accidents on a daily basis - who is going to police walking dogs? The dogs would be the greatest losers by being left home with zero exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 On 12/31/2017 at 12:25 PM, Dame Danny's Darling said: Which is hardly the dogs’ fault and this situation cannot be compared with dogs who are being walked by their owners. If you felt you couldn’t control two dogs, you are not doing yourself, the dogs or others you might meet during your walk any favours. Shelter dogs are generally kept in confined conditioners and given very little chance for enjoying themselves. Which is why I took the dogs out in the first place - no walker and it was 24/7 in an inside kennel. No other dogs were ever met on walks, it was a country lane environment with nothing around for miles. No dogs ever escaped my control. My point was that it is hard for most people to hold onto two larger dogs IF they see something they are interested in and not completely trained. I know of very few owners who have dogs that are completely under control and that's why I say it is risky to walk two large dogs under those circumstances. I've seen a man pulled over by a Shepherd cross, another pulled over by a Malamute - in both situations their dogs had seen other dogs but the guys managed to hold on to them from a flattened position luckily. If they had been holding 2 dogs worse could have happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 3 hours ago, Her Majesty Dogmad said: ... I know of very few owners who have dogs that are completely under control ... So true, and also most owners are in complete denial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 7 hours ago, PossumCorner said: So true, and also most owners are in complete denial. Complete control is a big ask. I walk three Labs in our small town. They are good most of the time. The exception is encounter with loose dogs. I know they COULD pull me off my feet if a loose dog came bounding up to us. I also know that I can prevent this from happening by sitting down. Has happened a few times. I scream bloody murder. Sometimes someone comes out and collects the loose dog or the dog goes away .. one time no one responded and I had to let go of my dogs. The approaching dog turned tail and ran. I do wonder how those dog walkers would respond to approach by a large, off leash dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 On 12/31/2017 at 10:49 AM, Dame Danny's Darling said: Over the years, there have been hundreds of these sorts of photographs on social media showing many dogs being walked together in NYC. Totally different situation as these dogs being walked are, as Dogsfevr says, apartment dogs. Comparing this practice to dog walkers in Australia is akin to comparing chalk and cheese ...... sadly. Yep thats my understanding too. Given Australia is the most backward country on the planet when it comes to dog socialisation (which of course creates its own problems) so I suspect other countries do it far better than us so can have different rules and expectations. Loved the UK and taking my friends dog to the pub with us who sat quietly under our feet all night. Here? There would be pandamonium! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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