Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Walking Past a Dog Walker
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Old 01-09-2025, 12:35 PM
Two Bills Two Bills is offline
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It is the dog owner's responsibility to have the dog under control at all times, and I may add, they are not under control on an extendable leash which seems to be the default choice these days.
However, discretion is advised when you spot a dog obviously not under control.
When/if you are passing any dog, continuous eye contact is not advised, the animal could perceive this as a threat. Look, but glance away between eye contacts, it shows you are not a threat, and respect their space.
A casual, neutral, early greeting, will usually put owner and dog in non-aggression mode.
Any dog worth its keep, will go into defense mode if it thinks it, and especially its owner, is under any threat.
I have never been in fear of any dog, wary, respectful, definitely.
I do worry about many owners though!