Be a Good Dog Ambassador

THE DOG OWNERS’ GUIDE TO BEING A GOOD DOG AMBASSADOR


Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer open areas available where you can walk your dog safely off leash. There was a time when it was safe to let your dog off leash most of the time. Nevertheless, with the dramatic increase in modern traffic and the increase in the urban sprawl, there are now few places left for us doggy people to let our dogs run free.



CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG!

Leave the area that you are walking in as clean as possible. Take a couple of plastic packets with you – be considerate of other people and keep South Africa clean! Many parks are currently being closed to our pets! Thoughtless dog owners give the rest of us a bad name. Be a responsible dog owner! Good manners in the park means that you should be

considerate of other park users.



Do not permit your dog to chase children or bikes, or interfere with picnickers. Joggers should also be considered.



Make sure that you teach your dog a reliable “recall” (to come robotically when he is called). Just because your dog comes when he is called at home, does not mean that he will do so amidst distractions! If in doubt, use a long line to give him some freedom, but also to ensure that you have full control and can gently insist on compliance.



WHEN TO USE THE LEASH:

• If you cannot see your dog – he is not under control! It makes sense to call your dog to you when approaching a corner if you can’t see around the bend! When walking in the park, if you see another dog and owner approaching call your dog to you immediately and put him on leash until the other person is out of range.



• Anywhere near a road, even if it appears to be unused. Many dogs (and horses and their riders) are run into by thoughtless drivers each year. Country roads give us a false sense of security and you should be prepared for the unexpected.



• While we encourage puppies to be socialised, this does not mean that your pup should run up to any strange dog that he sees. When your pup sees another dog, call him to you, have a really exciting game and reinforce this with lots of praise and pop him a treat. If the other dog is friendly and the owner is agreeable, you can permit them to greet each other in a sensible manner.



• You should then call your puppy to you and have an even more exciting game ready, a special toy, or the highest value titbit you can provide – at the same time walk or preferably run in the opposite direction (quick movements will excite him) so that when he has finished his reward/game, the other dog is out of sight.



• When on footpaths in rural or country areas, you should be vigilant for both livestock and workers – if apparent, put Fido on leash.



• Care should also be taken if there are growing crops – and do not forget that grass is also a crop! In some areas, it is an offence to allow a dog to be “at large in a field where there is livestock”. This means that the dog does not actually have to be chasing the sheep in the same field. Play it safe and keep him on leash.



• The dog is a natural hunting carnivore – so rather do not give him the opportunity to get into trouble! Remember that if the dog chases the livestock, the farmer has the right to shoot him!

Few people realise that with certain kinds of livestock, like sheep for example, suffer from severe stress even if they have not been physically injured. The trauma of being chased can cause a sheep to die of shock!



• Care should also be taken with regard to wild birds, buck, and any accompanying wildlife.