GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Community members have raised concern over dogs not being on leashes and attacking people in West Michigan dog parks.
“Well, as a dog owner, I think it's your responsibility to have 100% control over your dog," said Dave Bee.
A post on the "we are west siders" Facebook page discusses the problem with unleashed dogs at parks in the area. A few parks—including Huff Park, Blandford Nature Center and Riverside Park—were of rising concern. Some dog owners and walkers have been attacked by unleashed dogs.
“But I have had that problem in the past where my former Border Collie and I were attacked by an off-leash dog where they had him by the scruff of his neck and shook them around and it was scary. And I got all scraped up. I mean, nobody around to to get control of the dog," said Bee.
Some other dog owners choose not to use leashes on their dogs when out in public. Katie Olson said she uses other methods like training her dog to combat not having him on a leash.
“Yeah, so most of the time I take him off leash, I have his shock collar Zapper, I went through a lot of training in his first two years, like make sure that he's right by my side. Typically, when we're walking, he doesn't wander more than maybe even a foot away from me. So I have a lot of practice with that," said Olson.
Olson said she uses a shock collar for her dog and keeps a leash in hand when many people, and especially kids, are around. She said this helps her keep both her dog and the public out of harm's way.
Leash laws can be different depending on where you live. It's suggested you research your local guidelines before walking.
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