You might not believe it whilst crossing London Bridge, but London is one of the greenest cities on the planet. Indeed in April a global survey voted it second grassiest in the world, due to its 78 parks .
As a Londoner forever in pursuit of a higher step count, I find myself in a park daily. And during my tenure as the custodian of an energetic rescue beagle-pointer, Monty, I practically lived in London’s parks, greens and gardens.
During all my many expeditions, I’ve come to notice a nascent menace: the leash-less canine. And their proprietor: the dog-walker who determinedly refuses to put their charge on a lead in areas where they absolutely should be on one, either because a sign says so and others in the space reasonably expect that to be the case, or because it’s just good sense.
Along with their untethered dog, such careless Londoners are often accompanied by an attitude, a confident strut and defiant stare that suggests that they consider their dog and their dog alone a little less a dog than the others, that is to say that their dog and their dog alone does their bidding without wavering, that their dog and their dog alone doesn’t warrant shackles of any sort.
They take their dogs and their don’t-you-dare-make-a-comment glare into areas where others are adhering to the rules, prompting anger and, sometimes, outcomes far worse.
I have witnessed ungodly horrors. Kids being bowled over by a vigorous dog. An unsuspecting bystander being humped enthusiastically (though not consensually) by a dog on heat. I even saw a dog dart across a road after a cat to be run over. Many of my friends tell me of bad experiences with dogs, leaving them intimidated.
In my case, an infraction happened courtesy of a woman perennially flanked by two hench hounds off their leads. One day, while Monty was sweetly licking up some repulsive bin juice, one of her dogs did that thing dogs often do by nature and bolted when it saw a squirrel, squarely hitting Monty in the ribs. Vet visits ensued, the damage was significant. And, yet, no apology followed when I shared this story with the reprobate owner. Her response? “Dogs will be dogs.”
My point precisely. Dogs being dogs, they need guidance. And if you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe an expert. Dog Behaviourist Louise Glazebrook explains: “We as owners simply need to understand that our dogs require us to help them make decisions, in the same way my children do. So just as we should stop kids from cycling into a road, or running across a car's path, we should do the same for our dogs. A dog being off lead is not about how capable they are and proving this, it is about preventing any harm coming to our dog or anyone else.”
Owners need to understand that dogs are not little people in a furry suit
Behaviour and Nutrition Expert Anna Webb is similarly aggrieved by owners who think their dogs walking off the lead is a display of mastery: “Owners need to understand that dogs are not little people in a furry suit, and that some breeds like sight hounds and terriers have a tuned innate prey drive.” Those urges dogs harbour aren’t ever fully controllable because, as Glazebrook explained to me, the nature of being an animal (humans included, BTW) means that 100% reliability simply isn’t possible.
It’s worth remembering that dogs aren’t even slightly to blame for their irresponsible owners. As an avowed cynophile I too would like more spaces to exist where dogs can run freely, to tucker themselves out before tucking into Lily’s Kitchen’s finest - but ultimately keeping your dog – and everyone else – safe should be the priority.
I’ve yet to come up with a satisfactory response to encountering these swaggering owners, generally opting for something woefully British and painfully pointless: a tut, a muttered “your dog should be on a lead”, maybe the odd cross stare.
While I may dither over what to say, the law is unequivocal: the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 considers a dog “dangerously out of control” if there are “grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person” – an apprehension that must be staggeringly commonplace if, say, your kid is playing in the grass in the park and a dog charges towards them.
Perhaps next time I encounter one I’ll forgo the look of disapproval and instead suggest that if their dog is as well behaved as they think it is, it will walk alongside them anyway, lead or no lead – so why not bloody well just use one?
Maddie Spencer is a freelance writer
