Legal Age to walk a Dog?

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

My auntie and I were talking the other night and she mentioned that she lets her son (11) walk their Chow/Husky. She was going on about how it is illegal for children under 12 to walk a dog here in Surrey, BC. I think this is not fair, but I also think its a good idea. An 8 year old child walking a dog, whether aggressive or not, probably couldnt control the dog if it started running, lunging at people/dogs etc. Like for instance, there is this teen (about 15) that lives in my apartment building with his parents. They have a HUGE pitty/mastiff cross. One night, the kid was walking him and he lunged at the security guard. The SPCA was phoned and the parents were told that the kid is never allowed to walk the dog again - and if he's caught, the dog will be seized and possibly euthanized. The parents can control the dog, just not him.

Now, what about the responsible teens that CAN control their dogs? I think its unfair to them. Any dog can be unpredictable, it doesnt matter whos holding the leash. Alot of teens around here own aggressive Rotties, Pits and Dobes - all for the sake of looking *hard-core*.

Do you have a legal age for walking dogs?

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

[Miss Z]

Seriously? That is a weird law. I know some dogs can be headstrong and some do escape, but surely people can decide for themselves how they walk their dog?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I don't know if there is a law like that around here. I think it's a reasonable law though. I think a kid should be allowed to walk their dog as long as they can handle it. However, if the child is young then an adult should be with him while he is walking the dog.

[buttercup132]

What is the world coming to...? They are trying to control how we walk our dogs now?

[caseysmom]

I see the advantages to this, my neighbors have 2 goldens, one is pretty dog aggressive. Once their daughter was walking her, mom was walking the other one and another dog was in a yard and the golden took off with the 11 year old in tow, the golden bit the other dog. The dog could have gotten in a lot of trouble but luckily the people who owned the bitten dog didn't pursue.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I don't think there's any law like that here. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Quite a few 10 and 11 year olds are responsible enough and physically capable of walking certainly smaller dogs. I mean, a large, motivated dog could escape from anyone, really.

[Corinna]

I don't know how they could pass that as a law but of course you are n Canada . I would check just to make sure. strange.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I think its is because of the large amount of Pitbulls and Rotties that end up in our shelters that have records bigger than the average criminal record. I honestly think this applies to certain breeds. I would never let my daughter walk a dog unless I was with her, just incase the dog got aggressive or ran away. Impound fees at our SPCA are HUGE - $1000 to get your *vicous* breed out of there. This applies to dogs that have bitten/killed an human or an another animal.

I will look into it and see exactly what this law is about. My cousin is 11 and can handle his dog very well, but when his dog encounters another dog - he has a hard time holding him back. This can lead to someones cat or dog being injured.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I forgot to mention that alot of dogs look as children as subordinates (lower in the pack) - so you never know if the dog is going to bite your own child. Any dog can bite - I am certainly not pinning this on certain breeds.

[Alysser]

I feel it's good and bad. I walk Sassy. I have to because its one of my chores. An 8 year old walking a chi or maltese should be fine with me. The are reletavly small and easy to control. But some exceptions can be made. Like that 15 year old story. Well, I think that's really fair for them. The law should be: Only responsible teens/kids can walk a dog. I mean, I can control probably any dog. I know what to do if such an incident would to happen. Plus, if I ever get another dog it will probably be big so I HAVE to know how to control the dog in these types of situtations.

[Corinna]

I guess i have a problem with it as I started trainng and showing dogs at age 9 Springers were bigger than me. Also we live out in the country our pets went every where with us nothing to have 3 kids and 6-7 dogs around.

[sammy101]

no i dont think we do. I'm 15 and i can control my 2 great.They're both very strong dogs and i can handle them.I guess it depends if the teen can control there dog/s properly.IMO,i dont think a 10 year old should be walking larger dogs.Like you said,incase they lunge at people/dogs and if they run after something.They should be with a parent if they want to take the dog for a walk.

[Suki Wingy]

I almost wish we had that law here, I walked my fear biter when I was nine every day and I know she linged/nipped several people, just for passing on the other side of the sidewalk

[k9krazee]

Wow, I didn't know there were such laws!!

When I was seven I got my Rottie, Shadow. I would take her for walks and people would roll down there windows and always ask who was walking who because I was teeny and she was well, huge! It makes total sense though because there were many times that if she wanted to do something, go somewhere, chase a squirrell there wasn't much I could do to stop her!