For Sara Swanson, the lead behavioral specialist at Lenexa-based dog training company Sit Now Stay, leashing dogs is a must.
When she was a child, a dog overpowered its owner and attacked her dog. So her advice for clients regarding off-leash dog walking is simple: Don’t.
“It’s one of those things where, even if we put a lot of effort in, just for the safety of our own dogs, ourselves and those around us, it’s best to keep them leashed in a public area,” Swanson said.
In Johnson County, by and large, cities require pet owners to keep dogs leashed in public spaces, save for designated off-leash dog parks.
Still, off-leash dogs can be encountered in Johnson County. Last week, Sawyer, a 10-year-old Yorkie who lived Prairie Village, died after being attacked by an off-leash dog attack on Aug. 2.
With the fatal encounter in readers’ minds, we asked cities in Johnson County about their rules for dogs in public, including when and where they’re allowed off leash, and also collected tips for how to handle encounters with off-leash dogs.
Local trainer says dogs benefit from leashing
Swanson said dog training has been a hobby for her since she was 12 years old, though she’s been professionally training dogs for the past six years.
As a professional, Swanson said that responsible dog walking means the dog is contained, with a leash and either a harness or collar that the dog cannot escape.
Swanson said properly leashing dogs benefits the dogs more than anything.
“Even if I have a really well-trained dog that I can trust off-leash, I want to be a good example to my clients and other pet owners around me, so you’ll find me leashing them,” Swanson said. “Not only for their safety, but at the end of the day, they are animals, and that’s not to say there isn’t going to be a moment where they’re imperfect — especially with how busy Johnson County is.”
For dog owners who want to take their pets off-leash, Swanson said, a lot of responsibility comes with it.
It takes a lot of time and effort to train off-leash dogs, she added. In her own experience of training off-leash dogs, it takes until the dog is 2 or 3 years old — and that’s only if she’s worked with the dog since it was a puppy.
For dog owners who keep their dogs leashed in public and who encounter an off-leashed dog, Swanson said it is unwise to move or run away from the off-leashed dog — especially if there is a size difference and power imbalance.
Moving or running away to create distance may entice the off-leash dog to follow another leashed dog, Swanson said. The goal is instead to “stay put, but still create some distance.”
Swanson recommends to her clients, who “unfortunately … have to deal with (off-leash dogs) a lot,” to stand in front of their leashed dog and tell the other dog to go away or to go home.
Other options include using a pet corrector, Swanson said, which creates a hissing noise to deter dogs from approaching.
A look at some city requirements for pet owners
Cities in Johnson County all have rules regarding domestic pets, including rabies vaccine requirements, rules around cleaning up pet waste and, namely, leash laws.
By and large, cities in Johnson County — including Fairway, Lenexa, Merriam, Mission, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Roeland Park and Shawnee — require domestic pets to be on a leash at all times, unless it is in the owner’s home or yard.
The city of Olathe does allow dogs to be either leashed or “under voice control” in public.
In Prairie Village, where the August off-leash dog attack occurred, the requirements go beyond leashing a dog.
Capt. Josh Putthoff with the Prairie Village Police Department told the Post in a Friday email that all dogs that are off of their own property must remain leashed and harnessed or collared with both a rabies tag and city pet license tag on display.
The cities of Fairway and Prairie Village also specify that the dog walker must be able to physically control the dog in their care.
“All dogs must be on a leash when on property other than that of the owner,” Fairway City Administrator Nathan Nogelmeier told the Post in a Thursday email. “The person holding the leash must be capable of controlling such dog.”
In Olathe, dog “owners may be held accountable for injuries, property damage, or ordinance violations resulting from their dog’s actions,” city staff told the Post.
Cities typically issue citations for violators
Generally, cities across Johnson County like Fairway, Mission and Olathe issue citations for dog attacks of any kind, then address next steps through their specific city code.
This is the process Prairie Village uses, too. Putthoff said that if an investigation finds a violation of a city ordinance, then a citation can be issued.
Injuries caused by an animal in Prairie Village also trigger a rabies quarantine protocol, Putthoff said. This is when animal control tries to verify the rabies vaccination of the animal and place them on a 10-day quarantine after the potential exposure.
In Shawnee, off-leash animals are considered “at large,” including if a dog is “running at large” and harms a person or another animal, Communications Director Doug Donahoo told the Post in a Friday email.
Donahoo said the city’s process following a potential dog bite is to determine whether the animal is dangerous or potentially dangerous.
Animals that are deemed potentially dangerous or dangerous are required to abide by a set of restrictions as well, Donahoo said.
Keep reading community issues news: More than a year after Unleashed left, its old Mission space is still empty — and still complicated
