Off-leash interactions can turn dangerous for dogs and their handlers
One weekend evening earlier this month, I was on a typical outing with one of my charges -- a shepherd mix -- in her neighborhood. Dinner was a few hours before on that gorgeous spring afternoon, then a walk, and now, she was getting tucked in for the night. The weather was still hard to pass up at that hour, and the sun would be dipping low soon, so off we went for a walk before bed. Walking my charges in neighborhoods, as I’m sure my colleagues will exclaim, can be a challenge: too many humans thoughtlessly staring into the blue screens of their handheld devices, one [is] too many dog s hitched up to a retractable leash , and far fewer humans on the other end of any leash who understand canine body language and behavior. That imbalance of mindfulness has led to more unwelcome and tense, off-leash approaches between the dogs in my care than I care to think about. Thankfully, most instances can be quelled quickly with the training I’ve sought, and the fact that most handlers get...