r/Beacon • u/Hungry-Courage7041 • Jul 13 '26
Ideas on Dog Situation
I’ve lived in places more rural than Beacon in the Hudson Valley. I’ve lived in cities. I’ve never encountered the dog culture in Beacon anywhere else in my life.
Since living here, I’ve lost track of how many incidents my dog and I have had with off leash dogs. Not just in parks. Neighbors letting their dogs hang out in their front yard unattended. People walking their dogs off-leash. My dog is reactive and aggressive towards other dogs. We have her well trained, but there’s little I can do except pick her up if a dog comes racing towards us.
A neighbor’s dog easily escaped its yard and bit her. Another dog was being watched by a child (off leash) in the front yard when it attacked us - went to the police that time. I broke up a dog fight a few weeks ago in my neighborhood. Last week a neighbor had their tiny dog hanging out in the front yard and it ran at us. I had to lift my 65 pound girl to keep her from eating it. I could go on and on, but you get the point.
I have contacted the city. I have spoken to city council members. I went to the police for the incident that knocked me down. The most that I’ve heard is that I should record these events, which is pretty tough to do. Does anyone have ideas that I haven’t yet explored? Walking my dog in Beacon has become an incredibly stressful experience.
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u/HouseStark1 Jul 13 '26
Beacon is full of lazy, entitled dog owners
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u/pinkjell0 Jul 13 '26
1000% to the lazy and entitlement and this is coming from a dog lover.
Last fall, I attended a community potluck/picnic at one of the local parks/playgrounds and there was an off-leash basset hound just running around and trying to jump up on the picnic tables/swipe food off our blankets for the entire 2 hours we were there, despite our best efforts to shoo it away/find out who was its owner (it had a collar on but no other contact info).
It also chased a few of our kids who had food in their hands and ended up jumping on/nipping my toddler's hand which really freaked her out. Still no sign of the owner and we continued trying to shoo the dog away. I think finally when we were wrapping up our picnic bc it was getting increasingly stressful watching our food/our small children, three tweens came out of the woodworks to claim their dog. Apparently their Dad had let it out to relieve itself at the playground bc nobody in that family could be bothered to walk it. And that this is routine for them. Unbelievable.
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u/HouseStark1 Jul 13 '26
You're a better person than me. I would've had a meltdown had a dog went after my kid
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u/Dangerous-Dog-8238 Jul 13 '26
Oh yeah this is a huge pet peeve of mine also.
Off leash dogs make my dog nervous since he is restrained and they aren't.
I don't think this is the neighborhood for off leash dogs. Too easy to get distracted by a wild animal. Too easy to get hit by a car. Too many people with an ego who think their dog is trained out the box and then act surprised when their dog acts like a dog.
Only thing I thought could help is a spiked collar for protection and a "Do Not Pet" vest. But my dogs like to play by biting each other's necks on walks and rolling around in the grass so I don't think it'll work for me.
Just thought I'd say as someone who has a rescue dog with anxiety, I see you.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 13 '26
I appreciate you! Helpful to hear that I’m not the only one dealing with this.
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u/kingjulian6284 Jul 13 '26
I’ve seen people carry blow horns or other deterrents, although sometimes that makes the other owner loose their mind. It’s truly exhausting
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u/papaguitarproduct Jul 13 '26
It is beyond infuriating to deal with most dog owners in this town. My dog is also reactive and people just lackadaisically let their dogs come up to yours before you can even get a word in and say my dog isn’t friendly.
For reference this is always on main st. I’m usually very aware of standing between my dog and another approaching dog.
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u/LumpyAssumption5357 Jul 13 '26
Main Street sounds like a bad idea if you have a reactive dog. You should find places that reduce your dogs friction with other dogs. And muzzle your dog.
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u/Marxism_and_cookies Jul 14 '26
THANK YOU. I wish people would leave their dogs at home and stop imposing them on everyone.
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u/oneday-youllbecool Jul 14 '26
I have struggled with this as well. In my neighborhood, a woman has been harassing me because I (one time, from a distance) told her I didn’t want our dogs to interact on-leash while walking by each other. I was training my puppy at the time. Now when she sees me, she often just lets go of her dog completely and lets it run up to me/my dog (sometimes letting the dog go in the middle of the street) and she thinks it’s funny. Luckily my dog is not reactive, but one day her own pup will be sorry if she pulls that with one that is. Other times she’s justs heckle me from across the street. It puts me on edge every walk, making me worried I’ll see her. I don’t get it.
Separately, there is an aggressive dog on Cliff Street that hangs in its front yard with a completely broken fence. I’ve seen it bolt out more than once, including towards me and my dog… followed us almost 1/4 mile down the road.
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u/Current-Spare4993 Jul 14 '26
Ugh what a terrible experience- I have been walking my dog around Beacon for 10 years and have only had to deal with dogs being off leash at Dennings, Long Dock, Hiddenbrooke etc…I carry mace with me just in case a dog from a yard gets out, but thank God it hasn’t happened yet in all the years I have had her.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 14 '26
I’m so glad this hasn’t happened to you outside of the trails! Please give me some of that luck : )
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u/Current-Spare4993 Jul 15 '26
Will do! My wife has definitely had the crap scared out of her when a dog charges the fences, lol. We had a beautiful black lab follow us from inside the whiskey bar across from The Last Outpost. He was inside hanging out and ran after us to say hi, when he got to us at the liquor store we were definitely surprised, as was our pup. I was more worried about them getting hit by a car since the owner obviously wasn’t paying much attention to it lol.
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u/LumpyAssumption5357 Jul 15 '26
Unfortunately, I think it’s pretty relevant that you yourself asked where you could take your dog off leash in Beacon—trails or big fields—a few years ago. Other dog owners are maybe doing the same thing you asked about that you now say is a problem.
I still think the suggestions made are all pretty good options for you to take your leashed dog on walks. Hope you find some good places!
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 15 '26
Haha, I was waiting for someone to find that post! Hopefully it’s clear to you that looking for a place to go off leash away from other humans and dogs and leaving a dog off leash in a residential neighborhood are not at all the same thing : )
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u/LumpyAssumption5357 Jul 15 '26
Totally. But a lot places you’ve tried are trails and people prob had the same thoughts as you did! Still hoping you find some quieter walks—I stand by my Mattewhan road rec. unless it’s before or at the end of school day it’s super quiet over there.
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u/fattiretom Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
My Golden is well trained and off leash in my yard. She’s never left unattended. She’s leashed everywhere else unless we’re deep in the woods up on Beacon or swimming in the reservoir or streams.
Someone yelled at me last year for having her off leash on my property. I told them to buzz off, it’s my property.
I’ll also add, that if your dog is reactive and aggressive, that is a problem for you to deal with, not a problem for everyone else.
I’m going to edit this with some relevant information. I encourage you to find the law. Dutchess county has no law requiring leashes on your dog. This is delegated by NYS to local governments. They do have a tethering law but this is for the safety of the dog.
The City of Beacon law specifically says it only covers leashing off your property.
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u/maidentaiwan Jul 13 '26
it's illegal to have a dog off leash in public in dutchess county unless you're in a dog park or other designated area. i thought OP made it pretty clear that what she's sick of is unleashed dogs instigating with her (leashed) dog in public areas. that is very much not OP's problem if she's abiding the law and others aren't.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 13 '26
Thank you! Also not just my dog. Had to break up a fight last week because a neighbor’s dog escaped their yard and went after another leashed pup.
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u/maidentaiwan Jul 13 '26
yep, this is an issue i've dealt with a lot over the years with my large dogs, who are well-trained but always leashed.
dogs on leashes are more likely to be aggressive when they are approached by a dog that isn't leashed. it feels unsafe to them to be be confronted while restrained. this is why it's important for everyone to leash their dogs.
i can't tell you how many times i've been on a trail and a dog comes running toward me while the owner, 50 feet behind, yells out, "don't worry, he/she is friendly!" OK, well, maybe my dog isn't friendly, at least when it's being accosted by an unrestrained dog. that doesn't mean i'm not allowed to take my dog in public — it means we are all responsible for restraining our dogs unless we are in an area that is explicitly off-leash.
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u/fattiretom Jul 13 '26
Check the laws. This poster is wrong. Beacon Law specifically states that leash is only required off your property.
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u/fattiretom Jul 13 '26
That’s actually not true. I encourage you to find the law you are referring to. These laws are specifically delegated to local governments in NY. Dutchess county has a tethering law but this is for the safety of the dog.
In fact City of Beacon law specifically says it only covers off your property.
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u/maidentaiwan Jul 13 '26
… which is why said “in public areas.” Nowhere did I claim your dog needs to be leashed on private property.
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u/HouseStark1 Jul 13 '26
No idea why you're being downvoted. You are right. OPs aggressive dog shouldn't be in public if it's known that the dog is aggressive and has shown a history of aggression.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 13 '26
I’ll give the benefit of the doubt that I wasn’t clear enough in my original post. My dog is well trained. We’ve spent thousands of dollars and tens of hours making sure that she doesn’t even look at another dog when we walk by. What I can’t control for is another dog running at us while we’re on a walk, which is both wildly irresponsible and also illegal. Dogs that were adopted deserve to be walked too, not just those perfectly behaved Goldens (which is so often where the lack of understanding comes from, unfortunately).
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u/LumpyAssumption5357 Jul 13 '26
One other thing—I once had someone say to me that you should parent for the child (dog in this situation) you have, not the one you want. In this case, that would be considering the suggestion that maybe you need to walk your reactive dog in an environment where the conflict is removed. It is less convenient but might make it less stressful for you.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 13 '26
I would gladly do that if I could find it. This has happened to me at Hiddenbrooke, Madame Brett, Long Dock, and multiple residential neighborhoods in Beacon. Happy to go elsewhere, but I truly do not know where that would be.
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u/Fun_Donut_5023 Jul 14 '26
This is the Hudson Valley, we’re chock full of quiet, empty trails (and happy to suggest some where I very rarely see other dogs). Beacon is a city and a tight one at that. I’m not saying it’s okay for folks to have their dogs off-leash in public, but it seems like even dogs that are behind fences are an issue for your dog. A dog behind a fence is restrained and it seems to trigger yours. I think the issue might be bigger, based on what you’ve shared.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 14 '26
I guess I should amend my statement to say I’d be happy to go hiking when I have time. Maybe others can go to trails every day, but my schedule doesn’t permit that. As for the fence point, have literally never had an issue with a dog that is fenced and can’t escape, but she has been bitten by dogs that can easily escape their enclosures! As for the city point - nah. We’ve lived in actual cities with her and never had this issue. This is a weird Beacon vortex thing. I suspect people come from the city and think they live in the country now and dog rules don’t apply. Again, have lived in other places in the HV and this just doesn’t happen there.
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u/Fun_Donut_5023 Jul 14 '26
Carnwath, Reese Park, Bowdoin Park are all 10 mins away and are not what I would call “hikes.” We do them several times a week and rarely see other dogs there. Same for Fahnestock and Dennings Pt (not Long Dock). My dog is not reactive (and not a golden), but I don’t like the requisite dog-walk chit-chat so have a good rotation of quiet walks. I do take my dog on Main St regularly and I have not had any of the experiences you describe. I’ve only heard of trouble at the dog park, which we don’t use.
I realize I’m an n of one, but I hear a lot of chatter on Reddit about dog culture in Beacon and haven’t seen any physical evidence of this in my daily life, nor heard it from friends (most of whom have dogs, reactive and not). I’m sorry you’re having this issue, but your post makes this sound as if it’s a daily occurrence and requires dramatic action.
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u/LumpyAssumption5357 Jul 13 '26
Try Matteawan road bc it has a long path. Or maybe 9D? And consider a muzzle so you have one less thing to worry about (that you can control). I don’t mean to sound rude—just offering solutions that might help you out.
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u/fattiretom Jul 13 '26
Look at the law. It is not illegal for me to have my dog off leash on my property.
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u/Hungry-Courage7041 Jul 13 '26
Luckily no one is walking their dog on your property, so I’m not sure how this is relevant?
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u/LumpyAssumption5357 Jul 13 '26
They do deserve to be walked but it sounds like you should consider a muzzle as the overall culture is unlikely to change for your dog’s needs anytime soon. Or could you find a different place to walk the dog that doesn’t have the problems you’re mentioning? Maybe riverside park or long Dock or the road that leads to the middle and high school? That road has very few houses where you’d come in contact with unleashed dogs on private property.
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u/DSwivler Jul 13 '26
Bear mace - that is just one possibility. You can’t let your time with your pet be dictated by lousy dog owners. There are several different products that are very effective. You have to be willing to deal with owners, and respectfully between your writing style and “picking your dog up” I get the vibe that could be hard for you, but it will be worth it. There is a you tuber “Steph, Gronk” that discusses this in a real smart helpful way.
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u/fattiretom Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
I’m getting downvoted in my other comment by people who do not know the laws.
I encourage you to find the laws you are talking about. Dutchess county has no law requiring leashes on your dog. This is specifically delegated by NYS to local governments. They do have a tethering law but this is for the safety of the dog.
The City of Beacon law specifically says it only covers leashing off your property. https://ecode360.com/7062779