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I am not sure what the laws are in other countries/areas, but on most of the local beaches where I am dogs are allowed down at the beach (in summer) only in the mornings and evenings. Before 10am they are allowed off lead, and they are allowed on the beach but on lead after 7pm. As it was going to be 45 degrees (about 113 degrees fahrenheit) today I dog-sat for my sister and took both Jesse and Abby to the beach at about 8am for about an hour and a half
While we were down there there were heaps of other dogs, but also quite alot of other people swimming/sitting/playing etc. There were quite a few kids among them. Neither of the dogs has much interest in approaching people or annoying them thankfully so that's one thing I don't have to worry about, and both come back quite reliably. But, one thing that concerns me is that they will knock someone over as they run and chase each other ALOT. Today a lady (who I assume is scared of dogs since I have never seen someone react like this) started screaming as they ran towards her and she lost her footing in the sand and fell. The dogs weren't that close to her (they passed her with about 3 metres to spare and were never going to run into her) so I assume she just got a fright and over-reacted, but I still felt bad.
My question is - what's the etiquette in situations where your dogs are allowed off lead to run around, but there are also quite a few other people around? Should I be trying to limit the amount they run and chase each other? I am torn between thinking that they have the right to run around and enjoy themselves (since they only get a few hours in the morning when they are allowed down there) and obviously not wanting them to accidently frighten or hurt someone. What are your thoughts?
While we were down there there were heaps of other dogs, but also quite alot of other people swimming/sitting/playing etc. There were quite a few kids among them. Neither of the dogs has much interest in approaching people or annoying them thankfully so that's one thing I don't have to worry about, and both come back quite reliably. But, one thing that concerns me is that they will knock someone over as they run and chase each other ALOT. Today a lady (who I assume is scared of dogs since I have never seen someone react like this) started screaming as they ran towards her and she lost her footing in the sand and fell. The dogs weren't that close to her (they passed her with about 3 metres to spare and were never going to run into her) so I assume she just got a fright and over-reacted, but I still felt bad.
My question is - what's the etiquette in situations where your dogs are allowed off lead to run around, but there are also quite a few other people around? Should I be trying to limit the amount they run and chase each other? I am torn between thinking that they have the right to run around and enjoy themselves (since they only get a few hours in the morning when they are allowed down there) and obviously not wanting them to accidently frighten or hurt someone. What are your thoughts?