Responsible dog walking in Mallorca: The importance of leashing up when asked

Firstly – it was a carpark, which means… well, cars. And actually coaches. Secondly – signs up clearly stated all dogs must stay on leads. The bigger dog makes a beeline for us, and despite me calling to this woman to leash her dog, call her dog off, get her dog, etc, she couldn’t have cared less.

Fortunately, my dog was having a good day and decided not to bark at this poor uncontrolled lump, but was clearly unhappy about having this beast’s nose all up in her business. Now here’s the thing: that situation could have gone horribly horribly wrong. I don’t know that dog – what if it attacked us? What if my dog reacted and caused him to attack then? What if I shout and the dog spooks and runs in front of a car? Urgh.

None of this is the dog’s fault – it’s the owner. So, let’s spell it out, and I am sure 99% of dog owners here will agree with me: if you have a dog, and you see another one on a lead, put yours on a lead. Especially when the owner is asking you to. It’s irresponsible, and you could cause a serious incident.