I’ve noticed a definite increase of dogs with summer homes at the shore.  And the local municipalities have eased the beach walking restrictions to accommodate this trend. 

However, 2 basic rules still apply:  pick up after your pet, and the dog must ALWAYS be on a leash.

I am not a dog owner, but as a mother, I can relate to the emotions.  Letting an unleashed dog run up to a stranger walking along the beach is the equivalent of a mom saying “Isn’t my baby cute…do you want to hold him?”  In that case, the stranger can politely say no.  But with a dog, it’s not that simple.

Watching the Dog Whisperer has helped.  I avoid eye contact with the charging dog, keep my pace, and hope for the best.  My Cesar Millan skills worked this morning with an energetic black lab.  Yet in the past, I have been chased, jumped on (knocking my iPod to the ground), growled at, etc.  A reasonable request to leash the dog is often answered with “don’t worry, he won’t hurt you”.

Okay- that’s my rant for the summer.  See you on the beach!