Dogsey

Very sad. I do worry sometimes about walking Dillon as I am getting older a reason why we would not consider another large breed dog after Dillon.
I did walk him not long after we moved here with one hand when it was bandaged because of the burn and managed. But he is on belt and braces as he has a habit of wanting to see any cat he spies.

I can imagine, even when I was in tip top shape Sophie used to pull me flat down on the pavement. I can totally understand how a disability could make things difficult with any size dog.

If caught off guard or off balance even the smallest dog could in theory cause a person to fall or stumble.

I do worry when older people choose large dogs. One lady in my area has a false leg and walks with a very unsteady gait. Her dog of choice? A GSD now about 18 mths old which she has no control over and it pulls her along the road so if I see her coming I go the other way.
Another man in his 70's with a rottie cross who has been pulled over a couple of times by the dog but cant be helped because the dog is aggressive to anyone who gets near.

Typical cases where owners didnt think before getting their dog.
Of course thats not always the case, people can become ill after buying a dog and thats a very different situation.

I'm in my mid 70's with two, 2 year old dogs who's combined weight is 25kg. I'm not disabled but do walk with a limp and I'm very aware that I'm not nearly as strong as I used to be which is why I take them to training each week. Fortunately both mine are well behaved, and I can take them anywhere, but having said that I'm always aware that the unexpected can happen causing one or both to act out of character!

Total agreement Chlosmum, the unexpected can happen and often does, but if a lot of people indulged in just basic training a lot of "accidents" could be easily avoided.

I can control both of my dogs at the same time. One is 42 kg and the other is probably about 23 kg or so. The smaller dog is a puller, but the bigger dog is not. I leash them together and I'm well strong enough to control them as this keeps the puller in line. My big dog goes all over with me as he's extremely well behaved, but it isn't necessary or practical to take him to training classes each week. Dogs don't forget their training so long as it's applied every now and then. A dog pulling into the road is really something that should never happen... but then, I'd never walk my dogs near busy roads anyway.

Just a simple scenario. You are walking along a pavement (sidewalk) and someone, perhaps someone pushing a wheelchair is coming towards you. You step to the side (nearer the road) and step on your dog's foot. Your perfectly well behaved dog jumps away into the road. A car is coming, the dog panics and so do you.

So easy and just one scenario off the top of my head whereby a well behaved dog and an owner who controls the vast majority of the time can be caught off-guard with disastrous results

Never say never

Sad story.

Such a wee dog but it's perhaps a heads up for anybody that allow children to hold the lead.

We are speaking of walking a dog that can pull you over or not being strong enough to truly control your dog under normal circumstances. We are not speaking of falling down or some other accident. The two really are not comparable. It's like comparing someone who habitually speeds in a vehicle to one who hit a patch of black ice and saying the resulting accidents were equally as preventable. Not the case, and not the point that was trying to be made.

I've let a dog go once when he behaved out of character and it turned into a disaster so I know it happens. It was all my fault though, not just an unfortunate circumstance and could have been prevented by me holding his leash properly. I've NEVER let it happen again. But this dog is a PUG, he should not be strong enough to pull anybody no matter the circumstances. If you can't control a Pug, it's arguable that you're even fit enough to be walking alone anyway.

Not really Myra. The story is about a pug and a man in his 60s.