#i have personally witnessed overexuberant gun dogs in training who are usually best buddies nearly get in a fight

[gendernewtral]

first of all, if you want to do your utmost to protect wildlife and the environment, you should never willingly let your pets harass wildlife. that’s a pretty basic concept.

secondly, why do you think there are a number of places that outright prohibit off leash dogs? it isn’t just because owners often don’t clean up after their pets, or because the dogs are a risk to humans and other dogs (both things are completely true, though). it’s because they can very easily cause harm to an ecosystem that would otherwise not be disrupted by a predator. shorebirds DO abandon nests if they are frequently harassed by predators because they simply don’t have the energy to keep caring for their chicks without the fear of being killed.

if this common sense thinking isn’t enough, here’s an article calling dog disturbance significant enough to consider them invasive species. here’s another showing that anthropogenic disturbance (including off leash dogs) affects shorebird nesting more than environmental factors. and in case you don’t like reading the abstracts of scientific articles, here’s one from popsci meant to be accessible to non-scientific audiences. it specifically addresses the fact that shorebirds expend extra energy when disturbed by off leash dogs.

and to acknowledge the argument that chasing birds is okay because it’s ‘enrichment’ for dogs: that’s the same as the argument for allowing outdoor cats to kill 2.4 billion birds every year in the US alone. figure out another way to provide your dog with enrichment, or don’t own a dog.

not to mention, allowing your dog to get that worked up around other dogs is a good way to start a dog fight. you don’t want that kind of energy when there’s a lot of other unrestrained animals around. this is why gun dogs aren’t generally allowed to chase birds after flushing them out if they’re hunting cooperatively.

please use common sense and understand that dogs are seen as predators to shorebirds. having to flee from predators is always detrimental to prey animals, and if we can easily prevent the detrimental impacts on an ecosystem, we should.

As summer is approaching, I’d like to share this bird-friendly beach etiquette reminder. A lot of people let their dogs roam freely on the beach, but dogs that chase wildlife can have a detrimental effect on the animals that have no choice but to share the shoreline with us. Please enjoy the summer with your pets and make sure to give wild animals plenty of space!