Most respectful dog owners (yes, I know this is a crazy question) + kayaking? (Denver: house)

[Love_Traveling]

We are moving back to Colorado and looking at communities south of Denver proper (e.g. Littleton looks nice). We have two friendly, well-behaved, lovely husky-mixes who are 100% on-leash outside our property. They have been attacked a number of times by dogs off-leash. The owners are somewhere off in the distance and either don't notice - or say something like "It's okay, he is friendly!" right as their dog is chomping on my dog's head.

We have seen that some neighborhoods and parks have a higher percentage of dogs on-leash vs off and are wondering if anyone has personal recommendations or positive experiences they would like to share?

This may seem like a silly way to choose a place to live but we love our babies and it makes it stressful to walk them when you are not sure of when the next attack will occur.

Also would like to be within 20mins of a lake/reservoir to kayak, if possible

Thanks for your help!

[himain]

I live in Littleton and there's no way to tell you this information. Everyday varies

[bluescreen73]

You're going to find off-leash dogs everywhere because a large subset of the populace are entitled jackholes who don't think the rules apply to them. I've even seen off-leash dogs in wilderness areas (illegal). There are also a lot of lazy bastages who take the time and effort to put Fido's crap in a plastic bag, but then leave it on the side of the trail for the poop fairy to pick up. Entitled dog owners suck.

[mic111]

Unfortunately we are the land of idiot dog owners. The best you can do is have the non-emergency police number on auto dial and get yourself a stun gun to scare the dog with the bright light and the noise. Something like this.
https://smile.amazon.com/VIPERTEK-VT...ustomerReviews

People here feel entitled to let their dogs run loose regardless of the laws. They will make every excuse imaginable. Including saying that their loose running dog is a handicap assistance dog and you aren't allowed to ask what the disability is or what function he is performing running around loose on the trail. It is laughable. But it is very real that these idiotic owners will prevent you from safely walking your dog.

While I will ask nicely for a dog to be leashed, at the third time with the same dog I will call the police to report them to animal control. Often the cursing begins at the first request. But you should hear it when you call the police on them.

Every now and then we get a great population of people in our neighborhood who put pressure on the idiots with the off leash dogs to at least leash them us when they see someone coming. But, like right now, we have a person who moved it who spins this story about his dogs being handicap assistance dogs and just lets them run all over. He has never once called them and leashed them when asked. I don't think he can. All he does is yell back that his dogs are trained and we should train our on leash dogs to tolerate off leash dogs running up to them. The end result is we cannot walk a dog safely on the trail behind our house due to him and his dogs.

The stun gun does make a loud noise and emit a bright light. It is startling enough to get a dog's attention. It is better than pepper spray which can blow back on you and your dog. Dogs don't understand pepper spray being pointed at them as a deterrent so it does nothing to deter them. Also the dog getting the pepper spray then has to go to the vet so you need to locate an owner and tell them you have sprayed their dog with pepper spray vs the stun gun just scares them off.

[2bindenver]

Chatfield has an off leash area. Trail Mark is a neighborhood, technically in Littleton, across from Chatfield.

I have a season pass and only once in 20 years have I had a problem with a dog in that area.

Another popular kayak spot is Bear Lake in Lakewood.

Best wishes on your move.

[mgforshort]

We live in a very small town in N. California in the Sierra Foothills, and we don't have this problem. Previously we lived in Orange County ( Los Angeles metro) and I understand your concern.

My advice, in this order: carry a baseball bat, a taser, bear spray, a big switchblade, or at the end of this list, a revolver.

And evaluate the dogs coming. Shelties, mini poodles, etc. I ignore. Pitbulls, German Shepherds, I go to full alert and keep the switchblade in my right hand, ready to go. Walking deep in the woods you'd want to carry the last two.