Okay…I have something that I REALLY need to gripe about. As you all know, I have two dogs: Cosmo, a 9 1/2 year old Golden Retriever; and Tara, a Border Collie mix who is almost two years old. Cosmo is very laid back for the most part (that is, until you wave food in front of his nose), whereas Tara is fairly excitable and reactive (not surprising given her age and breed).

Here’s my gripe: I try to take Cosmo and Tara for a long walk around our neighborhood every day (weather permitting). As we walk, it’s inevitable that we pass by houses on corner lots. Most people in my neighborhood have dogs, many of whom go into a barking frenzy when we pass by. It irritates me no end when we pass a corner lot where a dog is having a conniption at the window and the owner lets the dog outside so it can charge the fence and bark even more. Cosmo is not really fazed by this noisy display but Tara goes bananas–which in turn gets Cosmo fired up. Both of my dogs are leash-trained and Tara wears a no-pull harness, but this doesn’t prevent her from yowling and attempting to launch herself like one of Santa’s reindeer. Cosmo’s and Tara’s combined weight is over 100 pounds and both dogs are very strong, so I have trouble controlling the two of them when we experience one of these encounters and have been nearly pulled over on my face more than once.

Some of these dogs are frightening–and their owners seem oblivious. I had one owner tell me that her Pit Bull was a nice friendly dog as he was growling and snarling at Cosmo and trying to get under the fence. (I do want to say that I have nothing against Pit Bulls but have everything against stupid Pit Bull owners. No matter what the breed, a responsible owner understands the importance of proper training and socialization.) I am truly surprised that nobody (human or canine) has gotten hurt (at least as far as I know). I now make it a point to avoid every area where I know that a reactive dog lives.

If any of you are guilty of letting your dog out to create a ruckus, please think about what you’re doing and put yourself in the shoes of the person on the end of the leash before you ‘let loose the hounds’.