"PEOPLE, very reasonably, don't want to be tripped, rushed at, barked at, sniffed, scratched, licked or slobbered on."
That statement by Shire of Augusta Margaret River acting-ranger co-ordinator Alison Scott was backed up by more than 18 recent complaints on social media about unrestrained dogs.
For some locals the issue is particularly upsetting as they not only have to deal with strange dogs but also received abuse from the dog owners who failed to see there is a problem.
Natalie Burgess was walking her golden retriever, Remy, on the trail to Ten Mile Brook Dam when a man rode past on his bike with his own dog behind him.
He was calling me a stupid b***h.
- Natalie Burgess, dog owner
The man's dog stopped to have a go at Ms Burgess and Remy, who immediately felt threatened.
"His dog got into a crouch," Ms Burgess said.
"The man called back and said 'don't worry, it's friendly!' but the dog was not showing overtly friendly signs.
"Remy managed to get off the lead and jogged up the trail about 10 metres to wait for me."
Meanwhile, the cyclist got aggressive and argued that all dogs needed to socialise.
"He was calling me a stupid bitch," Ms Burgess said.
She was shaken by the incident and considered turning to go home.
"Just yelling out 'my dog is friendly', whether it's at me or a child, doesn't help," she said.
"If dogs rush, it's going to frighten you."
Rina Bonner had a similar encounter in Margaret River on Monday when a ridgeback-cross bred charged at her dogs on their lead.
"I shielded them with my body.
"But it kept trying to get at them," Ms Bonner said. "The man screamed at it to come and I said [he] should put him on a lead."
The man then shouted at her, calling her "stupid".
Another local, Natalie Russell, at least had a person apologise when their over-excited dog scratched her on the walking trail near Rotary Park.
"But it's still not fair to the public," she said.
"You might know your dog and be comfortable and familiar with it, but we're not."
Ms Scott said unrestrained dogs were a big issue rangers were working to enforce, but at the end of the day pet owners needed to show courtesy .
"Some dog owners seemingly operated under the assumption everybody finds their dogs endearing and let their pet roam the streets and run off-lead in undesignated areas," Ms Scott said.
“The reality is unrestrained dogs are very often unwelcome impositions on other community members, visitors, children and other dogs.
“We ask all dog owners to please be respectful of other people and restrain your dog so it doesn’t cause fear, nuisance or attack.”
She reminded people that all dogs can react viciously when they are frightened, stressed or asserting their dominance.
Ms Burgess believed all dog owners could find value in training classes.
“Remy’s not perfect but I remedy that by improving her training,” she said.
“It’s also about us as humans being trained on how to break up a situation.”
Augusta-Margaret River has allocated dog exercise areas where dogs can be off lead. The list and more information can be found here.
Anyone with issues or concerns relating to dogs should contact Shire Rangers on 0419 902 540 or at amrshire@amrshire.wa.gov.au with as many details as possible.
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