Etiquette and Daycare on Long Sands Beach

Long Sands Beach in York Maine is a great spot to take your dogs for long walks.   There is at least two miles of beach there at low tide.   Most of the day, there is plenty of room for your dog to run and play. Very often Mannerly Mutts of York Beach Maine takes their client's daycare, boarding, and training dog to this beach.   All dogs need to be exceptionally well trained and responsive, however, before we can manage this.   Many of our dogs are electronic collar trained, just in case an emergency situation pops up.   You never know when you might find something the dogs are not used to on the beach, like a moose or a horse.   Our current crew, however, is pretty used to the horses at least.  None of us got to view the moose that came to cool off in the ocean this summer. In addition to emergencies, there are some rules at the beach, as long as just plain proper etiquette, when bringing dogs out and about around the public.   Official off summer season rules are that dogs, which are under voice control, may be off leash.   By under voice control, this means you should be able to recall your dog before they get under 10 feet from someone or something.   Additionally, your dog may not go up to a human or another dog unless specifically invited.  Furthermore, owners must be carrying poop bags, clean up after their dogs, and be carrying leashes in case they are not obeying. Personally, I know there are a lot of people in York Maine that would like to ban dogs off the beaches altogether.  This year, there has already been a restriction to eliminate walking off your property without your dog on a leash, whereas before dogs were allowed under voice control only.   Apparently, a lot of people were not following that rule.   I, personally, feel that the new law is not feasible to be enforced either.   Dogs were not allowed "at large" ever before, and voice control would be preventing the "at large" part.   Dogs were still at large a plenty around York Maine, which is an enforceable offense that comes with a penalty.    As usual, those people who were abiding the law will be restricted, while those that were not will stay as they were.  There has been a wide spread trend of un-friendly dog legislation nationally and internationally. This got off track a little bit, but my point is that I try to be an example to the extreme of what responsible care and training is when out in public.  One of my protocols (which is pictured) is to put the dogs in a stationary position whenever approached by another person or if they walk closely by.   There are way too many people that will exaggerate the slightest infraction, or become scared easily by dogs as they are not used to them.   At Mannerly Mutts, we try to show the public the example of dogs that can and should be on the beach around people. Please be thoughtful that the freedoms responsible dog owners have to bring their unleashed dogs in public is a privilege.   The best way to keep our privileges in tact is to demonstrate responsible dog ownership, handling, and training. MANNERLY MUTTS DOG TRAINING WEBSITE MAINE DOG TRAINING BLOG E-MAIL MAINE DOG TRAINER).