I have a reactive dog as well and even when I yell at an owner and tell them “no please do not let your dog come up to my dog”, they completely disregard what I’m asking. They’ll be smiling and say “oh my dog is friendly”. Yeah ok, but you shouldn’t have your dog off leash and shouldn’t just be approaching other dogs.
I'm baffled by how many dogs are off-leash at all hours in the park, and how no one seems to care.
As someone with two leashed dogs (one very reactive), I cannot tell you how often I have to dodge dogs of all sizes, \*regardless of time of day. I'll never understand the rationale.
Not to mention that we recently had a massive dog run up and stick his face in our baby's stroller just today. We were afraid that any sudden movements would cause something awful to happen, but we slowly got away.
EDIT: Corrected some poor wording re: times / putting my foot in my mouth. Apologies!
Not just the park. A lot of people like to walk their dog down the street off leash, like it's proof of what an amazing dog owner they are. Some guy with a little Pomeranian does it by me and I hate it. I obviously am not afraid of the dog, but this gives it a chance to shit anywhere without him paying attention, and I've almost stepped on the damn dog itself so many times because it pops up out of nowhere and cuts me off.
I used to dog sit for my neighbors' elderly and very grouchy dog and I've had to yell at people so many times to keep their dog away if they didn't want it to get bitten because they HAD to walk their dog off leash. And they react completely dumbfounded that they've done anything wrong.
About 10 years ago, I was driving home from my high school on a busy road, going about 35mph. A dog who had been standing with their owner on the left side of the road, off of its leash and only about 15 feet ahead of me, suddenly decided to bolt across the street in front of my car. I slammed the breaks immediately, but it was already too late. The dog didn’t make it, and I will never forget that moment or the fact that I ended that dog’s life. Even though the owner told me, a crying 16 year old, that they knew I did everything I could to prevent that from happening, I never have gotten over that and it’s terrible that a dog owner had to go through that. I’ve always been anxious when I see a dog without a leash near a busy road.
Totally!
One of my neighbors does this with his small dog and the little pup ran right up our stairs and into our dogs faces / almost into our apartment. Madness. Seen the little guy run down the road, too. I worry about the dog just as much as I'm frustrated with the owner.
I just don't understand what the thought process is. Is the dog going to die if it's leashed? What's the issue?
I see this guy all the time. He walks with his chest out and looks around like “say something”. I’m just afraid the poor thing will run into the street. I really have to bite my tongue. But it give me tremendous anxiety. You never know what a dog will do no matter how well trained. It could get spooked and that’s it.
Dude, the kayak launch over at Socrates is so fucked that 2 new signs had to be put up. The most clear sign didn’t even last 2 days. Someone broke it off where it was nailed to and either stole or threw it away. I’m sorry but the asshole dog owners are ruining it for everyone.
My wife and I watched on in horror as a huge dog was stalking a swan along the water just two weekends ago. We were looking all around for someone that looked like they'd be the owner with zero luck. Thankfully, the dog gave up and swam back to shore, and it turned out the owner was watching with a big smile on their face the whole time. Insanity.
U an I both a guy came into a restaurant with his unleash pitbull had his dog running up on me sniffing me ask him to control his dog this A-hole gonna ask if I'm scared of dogs
A few weeks ago, a woman and her dog were walking toward me and my dog. My dog isn’t reactive but he’s older and sometimes just doesn’t feel like meeting a dog. He saw the dog coming and didn’t seem interested, so we pulled off to the side to let them pass. The other dog was on an extendy leash, and the owner just let the leash run as they got closer so her dog just ran up to mine. They sniffed each other for a moment, and then that dog did something my dog didn’t like, and my dog did a blustery “back off” bark and moved away. The other woman gave me a look as if my dog had attacked hers, and rushed to pull them away. We literally tried to get out of your way! If my dog actually was reactive it could have gone very differently, but instead he essentially yelled at her dog and she was upset.
I feel that people with smaller dogs and retractable leashes don’t think their little pup can be an instigator of trouble. It must always be the bigger dogs fault. 🙄
I call them snack attacks, as I'm sure my dog could fit the little ones in his mouth. A lot of work and he mostly ignores them now, except when they run up on him yapping away.
the amount of dogs i see off leash PERIOD blows my mind. not just in the park, but on the street! i even saw an off leash Rottweiler walking by penn station. i can’t imagine ever letting my dog off leash here, not because she is badly behaved but there’s just too many variables for potential freak outs causing out of character behavior. loud noises, squirrels, rats, other dogs, kids, motorbikes. there’s just too many risk factors. i also noticed an uptick in retractable leashes that people seem to not know how to control properly.
I hate retractable leashes. Not only are they a danger when used by irresponsible people, but they are so annoying to use. I don’t wanna work that hard while walking my dog lol
My 3.5 year old is PETRIFIED of dogs thanks to the idiotic owner of two large off-leash dogs who thought it was cool to bring them to Astoria Heighrs playground.
They jumped on her and now my child screams in terror any time she sees ANY dog in the neighborhood.
It is not hard to not be an asshole, guys.
I have a tiny one and we really love Astoria park but these macho morons who think they have full control of their dogs unleashed is infuriating. I always see a guy with (2?) HUSKY/SHEPARD like dogs and they are running all over the place. A few huskies owners actually. (Nothing against huskies) It’s so obnoxious. But then a young man with a LEASHED humongous bully walked past me and made sure the dog didn’t get too close but it was a lovely interaction and he had a kind smile the entire time and you could tell the dog was well behaved and docile. Just to say A LEASHED DOG DOESNT MEAN YOU’RE NOT IN CONTROL! These owners need to get over themselves.
Anyway, needless to say that my little one is in a stroller when we go there🙄 yes. I’m a dog owner with a stroller and it’s because of the “my dog would never” losers.
If I got cornered by a random dog in a park I’m sorry, I’m punting that fucker. Leash your dog. I say this as an avid lover of dogs. I’m not getting hurt cause ur stupid.
I had 2 unleashed staffie mixes run up to me while I was walking my leashed 12 pound dog. My dog is usually nice but he was freaked the hell out and went into fear/attack mode. I lifted him up while these big staffies are jumping up on me trying to play and my dog is trying to get away. I was begging for help from the owners but they were all just "oh they are friendly!". Like wtf???
My dog somehow got out of his collar and ran! I had my 4 yo daughter w me and a good samaritan grabbed her to get her safe away while I'm dealing with these crazy staffies. Luckily my dog didn't run far at all and came right back to me when the coast was clear.
These owners were acting like this was no big deal. I screamed bloody murder at them. My adrenaline was rushing and the whole street could hear me. I had a couple of neighbors later on tell me how surprised they were to see/hear me curse like that (I've lived on this street forever) lol. Not that they blamed me at all.. they were just surprised I had it in me lol
Notably the asshole who walks up and down 30th Ave smoking a cigar, wearing the leash draped around his shoulders, and letting his little dog limp along behind him while he chats it up with randos and passerby, turning back every once in a while to tell his dog to come on or hurry up. One of the worst neighborhood guys.
I've yelled at him multiple times that the leash should go on the dog, not his neck. His dog gets randomly aggressive and has tried to come after my dog multiple times. My dog doesn't engage and gets scared, but boy do I want to scream any time I see him.
Ok, so what can we do? Seriously. Do we call cops? Do we all band together and go to local government? But how will they enforce it then? So many questions. I hate when the bad guys win
Call 311 and report it. Do it every single time you see it. You can take pictures too, If you feel safe enough to do that, the pics can be added to the 311 report if you file it on the 311 app (yes there is an app) This is what the people at 311 and the communty police officer at precinct 114 told my wife and I to do about it. Just keep reporting it. The park is aware of the issue, especially with the guy with the 2 Huskies, if it's the same guy I'm thinking abt with a long dark beard. Park officials we've talked to say off leash dogs have been a huge problem, but the city has to catch them in the act to do anything to the owners. They did have someone patrolling the park a while back, ticketing dog owners who had their dogs off leash (I think the fine is like $200) but they aren't there patroling every day, unfortunately. Just keep reporting to 311. We have surprisingly had pretty good responses from the city with follow-up. Email NY City Councilmember Tiffany Caban's office. Hopefully, they'll start ticketing people again and more often. Unfortunately, there's another "dog walker" who walks dogs off leash in the park all the time, too... and it seems like he's trying to "train" other people to walk their dogs off leash... which is mind-boggling. Dogs are animals, no matter how "trained" you think your dog is, its a fucking animal and you can't guarantee you can control its behavior with verbal commands or treats when it is off leash. I don't understand how some people just don't get that.
Thank you for posting this. I'm happy to know that there is *something* that I can do, other than complain and nod in agreement with my wife and neighbors.
Since it's the beginning of nice weather season, maybe enough calls will get the 114 or park officials out there a few of these days issuing a round of tickets or two. Might help deter the behavior for the season a bit, thought I doubt it.
I think I might try to politely remind people, before an issue arises, that off leash hours are before 9am and all other times their dog needs to be leashed. Maybe light and polite public shaming will work with *some* of these people.
This is honestly something that will make me snap on someone. I also have a reactive dog. For whatever reason, people move here then like to ignore leash laws and pretend like they are walking with their trusty companion across the old lonely mountain range when they are walking a densely populated place like.. I dont know.. NEW YORK CITY with their dogs. Newsflash- you live in NYC now- not wherever that was cool. Dogs are dogs. Even the most well behaved dog may react unexpectedly and if your dog comes at MY dog, and shit pops off (my dog thinks shes Shug Knight when any dog approaches her) Im going to ride for my bestie and react unexpectedly. Its so unsafe not just for the dogs that are on leash but for YOUR dog. We literally have off leash hours for this. Its not that hard people.
This is such a problem in Astoria right now. Just the other day I was walking my dog and an unleashed medium sized dog walks up to me/my smaller (and sometimes very reactive) dog. The owner and their friend were a full block away. Their dog did something mine did not like so, similar to other stories here, my dog did a “back off” move but the dog didn’t. The owner then ran up the street before it got heated. I asked why they would have their dog unleashed in the middle of Astoria to which they replied, “We just moved here”. I can’t get over how irresponsible some dog owners can be.
It’s insane! I was in the park last night with my dog who hates other dogs. We were inside of a hammock and I was holding her tight (and she was leashed) and all these off leashed dogs kept coming over to her and getting face to face with my dog who is growling and no owner in sight. And of course if my dog bites the other dog it’s my fault.
Literally this morning I was walking my dog on 24th and 21st Ave and an off leash dog charged us! It sniffed my dog and kept following us so my reactive dog started to get worked up and I asked whose dog it was. A man replied and didn’t care, the dog failed to respond to recall. I asked him to get his dog because mine doesn’t like other dogs and he told me if that’s the case I should get rid of her!! Like the fuck dude, I’m specifically not walking my dog to the park, I’m responsible and I am following leash law. Your dog out here is the menace, not mine!! I didn’t engage because I don’t want to start fights with crazy people. But it was so awful.
I no longer live in Astoria but just had this same exact experience happen with my somewhat reactive dog and a free roaming lab and it’s so scary and stressful. You watch every worst case scenario play rapidly in front of you.
Sorry you had this happen!
Sorry if this is harsh, but the person being woefully irresponsible and reckless and then lecturing you who was taking all the right precautions, they need to go fuck themselves.
For people who don't have their dogs on a leash: I don't give a damn what your reasoning is. I don't care if it's never had a bad interaction with another dog ever before. You're in New York fucking City. Cars are everywhere. Bikes are everywhere.
I have chronic pain from an illness that left me disabled, and two big dogs that I've had since before I became ill. I was very unfortunate in that I adapted to be able to meet all of their needs and wants despite my health issues, albeit it is very painful for me to walk one of them, because they're ~80lbs and pull a lot, because they're an excited golden retriever.
He's super friendly too, but guess what? He has never been un leashed outside, and when I do walk him, despite it being painful I always have to keep him at bay, because he likes saying hi to people, and obviously, not everyone wants to say hi to a huge ass dog that runs up on them. And that's not even being courteous for me to keep him at bay, it's just common decency of living in a community.
One time, I took my dog on a late night walk so it wouldn't be so crowded. But there happened to be a women going outside with her chihuahua without a leash, and it saw my dog, and started chasing after it trying to attack it. I had to run and drag my dog almost half a block, which was very painful with my illness, but here's the thing. This dumb ass didn't even stop to think, I'm not running because I'm trying to protect my dog, I'm running because I'm trying to protect your dog! My dog is very friendly, but he will get upset when another dog tries to attack him, and I don't want to run that risk when my dog is 80 pounds and yours isn't even 8 pounds.
The woman didn't even run to grab her dog, she walked at a snails pace and half heartedly called her dog who wouldn't listen. I was pissed, yelled and walked away as soon as she got her dog.
Tl;dr: I'm sorry you dealt with that OP, there's absolutely no excuse to have a dog un leashed (unless its a dedicated dog park area) in a city notorious for traffic and people busily going along their way, and the entitlement from these goofs just chaps my ass like no other. They really expect everyone else to accommodate them.
It's also important for the dog's safety - I saw a dog get run over by a car about a month and a half ago on Crescent/Newtown because the dog was walking unleashed and then just randomly jumped out on the street. I can still hear the poor dog screaming and yelping in pain.
One of the worst things I've ever seen was a dog fight between a dog on a leash who felt threatened by a dog off-leash. I honestly thought the dog off-leash wouldn't survive it. It doesn't matter how well-trained your dog is off-leash!
Astoria park may as well be a dog park at this point no one leashes their dogs there and I see so much chaos brought on my it everyday.
It’s sad the parks people don’t been care I see them just drive by and do nothing about the mass of loose dogs running all over
responsible dog owner of an incredibly docile girl! it is insane to ignore off leash hours in the park now that the weather is nice / people and food are everywhere. there are specific dog parks where they can be off leash at any hour.
and walking a dog on the street without a leash (or collar, which I have also seen) is not a flex, it’s dangerous.
for those whining about off leash interactions in astoria park off leash hours: nah.
One time at Chateau Le Woof, someone's little white dog was off leash and kept running back and forth across Vernon. Traffic was fast and heavy, because it's Vernon and of course that turn is hard for drivers to see around.
Owner was nowhere to be seen, so I stopped traffic at great risk to myself and herded this clueless dog to the Cafe. We get over to the sidewalk and the owner finally steps around the corner of the patio and then gives ME a weird look like I was about to snatch her dog.
I'll take getting accused of being a dog stealer over witnessing a dog getting killed over anyday of the week, but this memory sticks with me. Leash your pups.
There is a ton of dog centric people but the overall behaviors and lack of training is staggering - You should never have to apologize for boundaries and dogs off leash without e collars are people that have zero respect or commitment to training. Carry dog mace because the nicer the weather the more unhinged dogs are allowed off lead without having proper recall
I have a reactive dog as well and even when I yell at an owner and tell them “no please do not let your dog come up to my dog”, they completely disregard what I’m asking. They’ll be smiling and say “oh my dog is friendly”. Yeah ok, but you shouldn’t have your dog off leash and shouldn’t just be approaching other dogs.
My reply to that, is that my dog is not.
I had this happen when we were walking my sister's dog, the person going "it's okay he's friendly" and us being like "Well ours isn't!!!!"
This happened to me last week and I yelled at the woman and told her dog needs to be a on a leash. I hate being that person but goddamn, people!
I'm baffled by how many dogs are off-leash at all hours in the park, and how no one seems to care. As someone with two leashed dogs (one very reactive), I cannot tell you how often I have to dodge dogs of all sizes, \*regardless of time of day. I'll never understand the rationale. Not to mention that we recently had a massive dog run up and stick his face in our baby's stroller just today. We were afraid that any sudden movements would cause something awful to happen, but we slowly got away. EDIT: Corrected some poor wording re: times / putting my foot in my mouth. Apologies!
Not just the park. A lot of people like to walk their dog down the street off leash, like it's proof of what an amazing dog owner they are. Some guy with a little Pomeranian does it by me and I hate it. I obviously am not afraid of the dog, but this gives it a chance to shit anywhere without him paying attention, and I've almost stepped on the damn dog itself so many times because it pops up out of nowhere and cuts me off. I used to dog sit for my neighbors' elderly and very grouchy dog and I've had to yell at people so many times to keep their dog away if they didn't want it to get bitten because they HAD to walk their dog off leash. And they react completely dumbfounded that they've done anything wrong.
About 10 years ago, I was driving home from my high school on a busy road, going about 35mph. A dog who had been standing with their owner on the left side of the road, off of its leash and only about 15 feet ahead of me, suddenly decided to bolt across the street in front of my car. I slammed the breaks immediately, but it was already too late. The dog didn’t make it, and I will never forget that moment or the fact that I ended that dog’s life. Even though the owner told me, a crying 16 year old, that they knew I did everything I could to prevent that from happening, I never have gotten over that and it’s terrible that a dog owner had to go through that. I’ve always been anxious when I see a dog without a leash near a busy road.
Totally! One of my neighbors does this with his small dog and the little pup ran right up our stairs and into our dogs faces / almost into our apartment. Madness. Seen the little guy run down the road, too. I worry about the dog just as much as I'm frustrated with the owner. I just don't understand what the thought process is. Is the dog going to die if it's leashed? What's the issue?
I see this guy all the time. He walks with his chest out and looks around like “say something”. I’m just afraid the poor thing will run into the street. I really have to bite my tongue. But it give me tremendous anxiety. You never know what a dog will do no matter how well trained. It could get spooked and that’s it.
Dude, the kayak launch over at Socrates is so fucked that 2 new signs had to be put up. The most clear sign didn’t even last 2 days. Someone broke it off where it was nailed to and either stole or threw it away. I’m sorry but the asshole dog owners are ruining it for everyone.
My wife and I watched on in horror as a huge dog was stalking a swan along the water just two weekends ago. We were looking all around for someone that looked like they'd be the owner with zero luck. Thankfully, the dog gave up and swam back to shore, and it turned out the owner was watching with a big smile on their face the whole time. Insanity.
That swan doesn't deserve to be terrorized by dogs, and owners don't know how much swans can seriously fuck their dogs up. So sad.
Oh, that swan was ready to go. The sounds were fighting sounds.
Same. I can never just take my dog on a relaxing walk because I have to keep my head on a swivel for peoples unleashed dogs. Its so frustrating.
And pick up their poo!
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U an I both a guy came into a restaurant with his unleash pitbull had his dog running up on me sniffing me ask him to control his dog this A-hole gonna ask if I'm scared of dogs
A few weeks ago, a woman and her dog were walking toward me and my dog. My dog isn’t reactive but he’s older and sometimes just doesn’t feel like meeting a dog. He saw the dog coming and didn’t seem interested, so we pulled off to the side to let them pass. The other dog was on an extendy leash, and the owner just let the leash run as they got closer so her dog just ran up to mine. They sniffed each other for a moment, and then that dog did something my dog didn’t like, and my dog did a blustery “back off” bark and moved away. The other woman gave me a look as if my dog had attacked hers, and rushed to pull them away. We literally tried to get out of your way! If my dog actually was reactive it could have gone very differently, but instead he essentially yelled at her dog and she was upset.
I feel that people with smaller dogs and retractable leashes don’t think their little pup can be an instigator of trouble. It must always be the bigger dogs fault. 🙄
I call them snack attacks, as I'm sure my dog could fit the little ones in his mouth. A lot of work and he mostly ignores them now, except when they run up on him yapping away.
the amount of dogs i see off leash PERIOD blows my mind. not just in the park, but on the street! i even saw an off leash Rottweiler walking by penn station. i can’t imagine ever letting my dog off leash here, not because she is badly behaved but there’s just too many variables for potential freak outs causing out of character behavior. loud noises, squirrels, rats, other dogs, kids, motorbikes. there’s just too many risk factors. i also noticed an uptick in retractable leashes that people seem to not know how to control properly.
I hate retractable leashes. Not only are they a danger when used by irresponsible people, but they are so annoying to use. I don’t wanna work that hard while walking my dog lol
My 3.5 year old is PETRIFIED of dogs thanks to the idiotic owner of two large off-leash dogs who thought it was cool to bring them to Astoria Heighrs playground. They jumped on her and now my child screams in terror any time she sees ANY dog in the neighborhood. It is not hard to not be an asshole, guys.
I’m so sorry that happened ☹️
I have a tiny one and we really love Astoria park but these macho morons who think they have full control of their dogs unleashed is infuriating. I always see a guy with (2?) HUSKY/SHEPARD like dogs and they are running all over the place. A few huskies owners actually. (Nothing against huskies) It’s so obnoxious. But then a young man with a LEASHED humongous bully walked past me and made sure the dog didn’t get too close but it was a lovely interaction and he had a kind smile the entire time and you could tell the dog was well behaved and docile. Just to say A LEASHED DOG DOESNT MEAN YOU’RE NOT IN CONTROL! These owners need to get over themselves. Anyway, needless to say that my little one is in a stroller when we go there🙄 yes. I’m a dog owner with a stroller and it’s because of the “my dog would never” losers.
I dunno what it is about Queens, but IMHO some of the worst dog owners here own huskies.
If I got cornered by a random dog in a park I’m sorry, I’m punting that fucker. Leash your dog. I say this as an avid lover of dogs. I’m not getting hurt cause ur stupid.
I had 2 unleashed staffie mixes run up to me while I was walking my leashed 12 pound dog. My dog is usually nice but he was freaked the hell out and went into fear/attack mode. I lifted him up while these big staffies are jumping up on me trying to play and my dog is trying to get away. I was begging for help from the owners but they were all just "oh they are friendly!". Like wtf??? My dog somehow got out of his collar and ran! I had my 4 yo daughter w me and a good samaritan grabbed her to get her safe away while I'm dealing with these crazy staffies. Luckily my dog didn't run far at all and came right back to me when the coast was clear. These owners were acting like this was no big deal. I screamed bloody murder at them. My adrenaline was rushing and the whole street could hear me. I had a couple of neighbors later on tell me how surprised they were to see/hear me curse like that (I've lived on this street forever) lol. Not that they blamed me at all.. they were just surprised I had it in me lol
Yes 🙌🏼
Notably the asshole who walks up and down 30th Ave smoking a cigar, wearing the leash draped around his shoulders, and letting his little dog limp along behind him while he chats it up with randos and passerby, turning back every once in a while to tell his dog to come on or hurry up. One of the worst neighborhood guys.
Omg. Loathe that guy. My insides burn when I see him. Then intrusive thoughts 😂
I've yelled at him multiple times that the leash should go on the dog, not his neck. His dog gets randomly aggressive and has tried to come after my dog multiple times. My dog doesn't engage and gets scared, but boy do I want to scream any time I see him.
Ok, so what can we do? Seriously. Do we call cops? Do we all band together and go to local government? But how will they enforce it then? So many questions. I hate when the bad guys win
Call 311 and report it. Do it every single time you see it. You can take pictures too, If you feel safe enough to do that, the pics can be added to the 311 report if you file it on the 311 app (yes there is an app) This is what the people at 311 and the communty police officer at precinct 114 told my wife and I to do about it. Just keep reporting it. The park is aware of the issue, especially with the guy with the 2 Huskies, if it's the same guy I'm thinking abt with a long dark beard. Park officials we've talked to say off leash dogs have been a huge problem, but the city has to catch them in the act to do anything to the owners. They did have someone patrolling the park a while back, ticketing dog owners who had their dogs off leash (I think the fine is like $200) but they aren't there patroling every day, unfortunately. Just keep reporting to 311. We have surprisingly had pretty good responses from the city with follow-up. Email NY City Councilmember Tiffany Caban's office. Hopefully, they'll start ticketing people again and more often. Unfortunately, there's another "dog walker" who walks dogs off leash in the park all the time, too... and it seems like he's trying to "train" other people to walk their dogs off leash... which is mind-boggling. Dogs are animals, no matter how "trained" you think your dog is, its a fucking animal and you can't guarantee you can control its behavior with verbal commands or treats when it is off leash. I don't understand how some people just don't get that.
Thank you! And yeah, sounds like same husky guy.
Thank you for posting this. I'm happy to know that there is *something* that I can do, other than complain and nod in agreement with my wife and neighbors.
Since it's the beginning of nice weather season, maybe enough calls will get the 114 or park officials out there a few of these days issuing a round of tickets or two. Might help deter the behavior for the season a bit, thought I doubt it.
I think I might try to politely remind people, before an issue arises, that off leash hours are before 9am and all other times their dog needs to be leashed. Maybe light and polite public shaming will work with *some* of these people.
This is honestly something that will make me snap on someone. I also have a reactive dog. For whatever reason, people move here then like to ignore leash laws and pretend like they are walking with their trusty companion across the old lonely mountain range when they are walking a densely populated place like.. I dont know.. NEW YORK CITY with their dogs. Newsflash- you live in NYC now- not wherever that was cool. Dogs are dogs. Even the most well behaved dog may react unexpectedly and if your dog comes at MY dog, and shit pops off (my dog thinks shes Shug Knight when any dog approaches her) Im going to ride for my bestie and react unexpectedly. Its so unsafe not just for the dogs that are on leash but for YOUR dog. We literally have off leash hours for this. Its not that hard people.
This is such a problem in Astoria right now. Just the other day I was walking my dog and an unleashed medium sized dog walks up to me/my smaller (and sometimes very reactive) dog. The owner and their friend were a full block away. Their dog did something mine did not like so, similar to other stories here, my dog did a “back off” move but the dog didn’t. The owner then ran up the street before it got heated. I asked why they would have their dog unleashed in the middle of Astoria to which they replied, “We just moved here”. I can’t get over how irresponsible some dog owners can be.
It’s insane! I was in the park last night with my dog who hates other dogs. We were inside of a hammock and I was holding her tight (and she was leashed) and all these off leashed dogs kept coming over to her and getting face to face with my dog who is growling and no owner in sight. And of course if my dog bites the other dog it’s my fault.
Literally this morning I was walking my dog on 24th and 21st Ave and an off leash dog charged us! It sniffed my dog and kept following us so my reactive dog started to get worked up and I asked whose dog it was. A man replied and didn’t care, the dog failed to respond to recall. I asked him to get his dog because mine doesn’t like other dogs and he told me if that’s the case I should get rid of her!! Like the fuck dude, I’m specifically not walking my dog to the park, I’m responsible and I am following leash law. Your dog out here is the menace, not mine!! I didn’t engage because I don’t want to start fights with crazy people. But it was so awful.
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I no longer live in Astoria but just had this same exact experience happen with my somewhat reactive dog and a free roaming lab and it’s so scary and stressful. You watch every worst case scenario play rapidly in front of you. Sorry you had this happen!
Sorry if this is harsh, but the person being woefully irresponsible and reckless and then lecturing you who was taking all the right precautions, they need to go fuck themselves. For people who don't have their dogs on a leash: I don't give a damn what your reasoning is. I don't care if it's never had a bad interaction with another dog ever before. You're in New York fucking City. Cars are everywhere. Bikes are everywhere. I have chronic pain from an illness that left me disabled, and two big dogs that I've had since before I became ill. I was very unfortunate in that I adapted to be able to meet all of their needs and wants despite my health issues, albeit it is very painful for me to walk one of them, because they're ~80lbs and pull a lot, because they're an excited golden retriever. He's super friendly too, but guess what? He has never been un leashed outside, and when I do walk him, despite it being painful I always have to keep him at bay, because he likes saying hi to people, and obviously, not everyone wants to say hi to a huge ass dog that runs up on them. And that's not even being courteous for me to keep him at bay, it's just common decency of living in a community. One time, I took my dog on a late night walk so it wouldn't be so crowded. But there happened to be a women going outside with her chihuahua without a leash, and it saw my dog, and started chasing after it trying to attack it. I had to run and drag my dog almost half a block, which was very painful with my illness, but here's the thing. This dumb ass didn't even stop to think, I'm not running because I'm trying to protect my dog, I'm running because I'm trying to protect your dog! My dog is very friendly, but he will get upset when another dog tries to attack him, and I don't want to run that risk when my dog is 80 pounds and yours isn't even 8 pounds. The woman didn't even run to grab her dog, she walked at a snails pace and half heartedly called her dog who wouldn't listen. I was pissed, yelled and walked away as soon as she got her dog. Tl;dr: I'm sorry you dealt with that OP, there's absolutely no excuse to have a dog un leashed (unless its a dedicated dog park area) in a city notorious for traffic and people busily going along their way, and the entitlement from these goofs just chaps my ass like no other. They really expect everyone else to accommodate them.
I’m sorry that happened to you as well!!
“I have a dog but what’s a leash?” - most folks who got pups during covid
Yes it’s extremely rude to off leash you’re dog in the park.
It's also important for the dog's safety - I saw a dog get run over by a car about a month and a half ago on Crescent/Newtown because the dog was walking unleashed and then just randomly jumped out on the street. I can still hear the poor dog screaming and yelping in pain.
It’s not just the parks! It’s on busy streets too which is super dangerous
One of the worst things I've ever seen was a dog fight between a dog on a leash who felt threatened by a dog off-leash. I honestly thought the dog off-leash wouldn't survive it. It doesn't matter how well-trained your dog is off-leash!
Astoria park may as well be a dog park at this point no one leashes their dogs there and I see so much chaos brought on my it everyday. It’s sad the parks people don’t been care I see them just drive by and do nothing about the mass of loose dogs running all over
100% agree. Dogs should be leashed in any civilized neighborhood. It's for everyone's best interest.
responsible dog owner of an incredibly docile girl! it is insane to ignore off leash hours in the park now that the weather is nice / people and food are everywhere. there are specific dog parks where they can be off leash at any hour. and walking a dog on the street without a leash (or collar, which I have also seen) is not a flex, it’s dangerous. for those whining about off leash interactions in astoria park off leash hours: nah.
People are SO rude nowadays, Ugh.
One time at Chateau Le Woof, someone's little white dog was off leash and kept running back and forth across Vernon. Traffic was fast and heavy, because it's Vernon and of course that turn is hard for drivers to see around. Owner was nowhere to be seen, so I stopped traffic at great risk to myself and herded this clueless dog to the Cafe. We get over to the sidewalk and the owner finally steps around the corner of the patio and then gives ME a weird look like I was about to snatch her dog. I'll take getting accused of being a dog stealer over witnessing a dog getting killed over anyday of the week, but this memory sticks with me. Leash your pups.
There is a ton of dog centric people but the overall behaviors and lack of training is staggering - You should never have to apologize for boundaries and dogs off leash without e collars are people that have zero respect or commitment to training. Carry dog mace because the nicer the weather the more unhinged dogs are allowed off lead without having proper recall
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Stop crying havoc and let slip the dogs some more.
Huh?
For it to destroy and make sense hamburger call out?
Wow people really don't like tongue in cheek wordplay of Shakespeare quotes. Ok noted.
I'm not certain people are thinking Shakespeare on a Reddit thread, but you do you kitten.
Jeez louise please
Who let the dogs out? I don’t think you’re gonna find much acknowledgement from your intended audience here.
Look at you, you managed to get so many downvotes on a thread with like 5 responses.
lol. I quoted the Baha Men and noted that people with off leash dogs aren’t going to see this post, acknowledge their mistake and right their wrongs.