Training a dog to go off-leash responsibly also increases benefits on bigger groups of people. For those that walk at a slower pace when trekking about, a dog could hang in the back. Even if its owner has gone ahead, the dog would be able to smell the route left by its caretaker & prevent people from getting lost.
When one gives a trained dog more leeway into taking charge of its instincts responsibly, countless lives have been saved this way. That’s because greater freedom to be up & about increases satisfaction & confidence. Besides, it augments the sense of responsibility on a dog, even if instinctually learned.
Telling people all the time that the rule, instead of the exception to it, is to keep dogs on leashes, could also increase irresponsibility. More often than not, being able to have a dog off the leash comes with the expectation of a higher level of accountability.
What would be the use of training a dog if it’s still expected to be on a leash? A human is more likely to be more complacent & lazy in not teaching a dog ‘good manners’ if there’s no inherent incentive to do so.
Let’s not forget; a bad dog is bound to come from a bad owner. In order for legislation to be more reasonable towards domesticated pets, it falls on caretakers to interact with its animal appropriately. First step? Train your dog. & yes, the poop; pick it up.
Hey, while we’re at it, why not blame cats? Not only has it been shown for them to already ‘take care’ of 33 species of bird. They’ve also been known to kill about four billion animals just in America. (& that’s just the reported ones.) So yeah, let cats be the enemies.
