Today, as usual, I went out walking with Alex and Kingston, but we stayed close to home, meaning within a good 20 minute walk from home, because it looked as if it was about to rain.  Both of them were eager to go for a walk, yes, even my Alex, so we got our gear on: brushes, bags, extra leash, etc., and headed out the door.  We were walking for about 15 minutes when out of nowhere this beautiful long-haired dachshund comes running towards us at full speed barking as if there was a fire nearby and he needed to alert everybody.  I immediately stopped and both, Alex and Kingston, stopped as well.  Neither one of them pulled or tried to lunge at this little dog.  Instead while the little dachshund was still in a barking frenzy, they both looked at each other and then at the dog that was making all this noise as if saying, “What is wrong with you?  Why are you barking so much and so loud?”  They were both quite curious and I think even amused about this little guy.  At that moment, I hear a guy saying, “Sorry, that’s my dog.  Don’t worry, he does not bite”.  When the guy finally picked him up he said, “His name is JZ, sorry”.  I told him, “It’s a good thing that both my dogs are laid-back and not aggressive, but if your dog were to approach another dog in the way that he did, barking and running at full speed towards them, he’d have been bitten because that crazy energy in their world is not balanced nor accepted.  Please, be careful with your dog and put a leash on him”.  He then explained to me that his dog is never without a leash, but that this time he, an escape artist, got out of the car so fast that he was not able to do anything except run after him.  We said good bye and I kept walking with Alex and Kingston.

Please, pet parents, put a leash on your dog.  It’s not only for your dog’s safety, but for other’s as well.  Your dog can get run over by a car, bite another dog, or a person, and may be even cause a traffic accident.  Unless you know you have total control over your dog, like some people do, please protect your dog and put him on a leash.  Take the time to train your dog so when you open the door he does not bolt out like a crazy canine, but rather waits for your signal that it’s ok to come out.

When I put Alex and Kingston on the back of my CRV, the one that is a little crazy is my daughter Alex, but Kingston just patiently waits for me to tell him, “Out”.  Because of that, I have to wait until Alex comes down otherwise she’ll run out the door and get hurt.  I make both of them sit down so I can put their leash on and once I’ve accomplished that, then, and only then they are allowed out of the car.  They both already know the drill, but Alex sometimes takes a little longer to settle down.  My daughter suffers of selective hearing so is up to me to make sure that when she steps out the door is when I allow her to do so.

Protect your canine companions.  It’s up to you to make sure that they don’t get hurt and that they do not harm others.  Let’s be responsible about our dogs regardless of the breed and size.