New Policy on Aggressive Dogs

Lately it seems like there has been an abundance of loose dogs running around in neighborhoods all over Woodland.  When walking dogs on leash, these loose dogs can often be annoying at most and primarily because the dogs walking with us on leash can lose their concentration and want to run and play with the “lucky one” running off leash.  In most cases, we’re able to throw out a command and make the wandering soul stay at a distance.  However, there are those days when we have the blessing of running into a stubborn soul that just has to meet the new “leashed” kids on the block 😉

Now concerning walking a known dog-aggressive dog on leash, running into these “free spirits” poses a different and quite dangerous problem.  They are not seen by the dog-aggressive dog as new buddies to go meet and play with; rather they are seen as targets.  Nine times out of ten, the loose dog will stay at a distance and decide not to approach us.  On the very rare occasion, however, this isn’t the case despite the actions of the leashed dog displaying volatile behavior, i.e., lunging, growling, baring teeth and so forth.

Even though we haven’t had an incident where a dog fight broke out (thanks in large part to people having called of their loose dogs in time or having an umbrella handy on a remembered occasion which aided in keeping the dogs separate until control could be established to both fur parties) while walking a dog on leash, the potential is definitely there and increasing as more and more loose dogs are found running the streets.

In lieu of this current problem, for clients who have dogs that are NOT dog-friendly and with regards to the service In-Home Visits, we have amended our policies under section “Securing Pet(s)”.  The addition to this section concerning aggressive dogs is noted as follows:

b) Aggressive dogs will not be walked for liability purposes unless they are muzzled.  If not muzzled, all exercise for aggressive dogs will consist of playtime and only on their property.”

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!