Dog ownership has increased significantly due to Covid.

Unfortunately, this has also led to an increase in irresponsible dog owners/walkers allowing their dogs to run wild off their leads. I understand this may seem like a blanket statement because some dogs are well-trained and will recall when asked by this is rare.

I have a beagle that is walked on a lead due to being a scent hound (if he catches a scent he likes... he's gone). On multiple occasions, I've had dogs run up to him, bark at him, try to bite him and cause us to stop our walks until their owners arrive because they will just continue to follow us. 

I've seen dogs spooking horses and tripping up runners by running straight up to them. Perhaps, the worse of all, I've seen dogs run up to little children knocking them over.

Every time this happens, it's a meaningless "sorry, my dog's friendly" comment. If you press the dog owner any further to say that actually it's not ok and their dog should be on a lead if you can't recall them, it becomes your fault.

I'd like to see the U.K. government look more into dog leash laws to provide a suitable solution. Perhaps investing in dog parks where dogs can go run around off lead together, and bring in leash laws requiring dogs to be on leashes outside of dog parks. People shouldn't be worried to go on a walk with their kids or walk their dogs at unsociable times in an attempt to avoid untrained dogs.