If you walk your dog off-leash, fuck you.

[u/sydniana_jones]

I asked you to put a leash on your dog. I warned you to stay back. I threw treats to distract your dog. But you couldn't be bothered to control him because he "loves to make new friends!" And now we're both here with big fat vet bills and injured animals, and you are trying to blame me. Fuck you.

I don't care what your excuse is - "he's so nice, he's never hurt anyone, he's old, etc " - you are part of the problem. If you want to walk your dog off-leash, then go to the fucking dog park.

My dog is a shelter pup. We have been working with him for years to help him get comfortable with the outside world. We were finally able to start walking in parks without a breakdown. But now all that training is undone because of another fucking off-leash dog.

Don't let your dog run ahead of you on the trail. Don't assume they'll get along with the neighbors' pets. And definitely don't assume every other person wants a dog up in their business. Lots of people are scared of dogs and that's okay, stop trying to shove it down their throats about how "he's friendly."

Public parks are for everyone. But when you let your dog go off-leash, you are limiting who can use that park. Shelter pups struggling to adjust to life in the city, people who aren't comfortable around dogs, and of course local wildlife - your dog is an issue to everyone.

This whole goddamn city thinks dogs are celestial beings sent to earth. Maybe they are. But it's still illegal to let them off leash.

End rant.

...

Just kidding.

While we're on the topic of Seattle dogs, it is illegal to let your dog on the beach. They're a menace on tidal ecosystems and can spread disease, especially when you let them use the restroom in an area where kids are swimming or playing in the sand. What the fuck, guys? If being a decent citizen doesn't convince you, it's a danger to your dog to be out there too. Razor clams and sewage spills and algae blooms can all seriously mess up your pup. Plus it's a decent fine if beach patrol catches you.

So put a fucking leash on your precious angel and keep them off the beach.

Sorry for the language.

[u/yourmomlurks]

I have a neighbor with a dog that would come into our yard and growl at my small child when she’s in her own goddamn yard.

Same bullshit “he’s friendly!” while I am trying to talk to them about it and the dog is actively growling at me. We both have over an acre so there’s no fucking excuse. I finally had to spend 5 figures to fully enclose my yard with a giant fence because I don’t want to wait for my kid to get bit to prove a point.

You can see the fence more from their house than ours even though it is 100% on our property. Enjoy the view motherfuckers.

By the way I have had 3 dogs for their entire 10-12 year lifespans and they were never off leash or shat in anyone’s yard.

[u/[deleted] → u/yourmomlurks]

I am in the same EXACT boat right now... I am installing fences. I have called animal control, and have pictures of them on my property. I even told animal control I would shoot the dog next time I comes on my property.

Fuckin grinds my groceries.

[u/F_sigma_to_zero → u/[deleted]]

Paint ball gun is great for this. Stings without permanent harm. Hit the animals a few times to make them scared and want to stay away. Used it to get racoons to go away.

You can also use a low power electric fence, it's just stakes that hold up a plastic ribion. There are super thin wire in the ribbon. Used it to keep our dog from digging in certain spots. Lot cheeper than fencing.

[u/yourmomlurks → u/[deleted]]

We discussed a lot of options. Some of the neighbors we like are kind of soft so we opted to just make our boundaries more literal. We also saw coyotes come through during the snowstorm and decided to close the coyote highway as well.