It's not the dog's fault

Often we inadvertently train dogs to act more like humans than dogs. Dogs do not walk right up to each other, looking one another in the eye when they meet. This is considered an act of aggression. When allowed to progress naturally, without human leash intervention, they will approach each other at angles, eyes averted. But what do we do? Puppy is taken from his littermates at 8 weeks of age or less; much too young to have gotten the full advantage of socialization with his brothers and sisters. Then for the rest of his life, we lead puppy straight up to other people and dogs for a greeting.

When does this become a problem? When someone's dog comes charging up to my dog head-on. What happens next? My dog reacts defensively to this perceived act of aggression, but the other owner thinks I have a poorly-behaved, aggressive dog. I do not. I have a rescue dog who has learned to be hesitant to trust other dogs. When we rescued Emmie at 3 years of age, she was emaciated, had been neglected and abused. What little exposure she had to other dogs was probably in the shelters she wound up in, stressed and scared. She had never been walked on a leash. She had to be taught what to do with a ball and a dog toy, most likely because she never had any. Emmie has since been in numerous settings- on and off leash; with behaviorists, in kennels, classes and playdates. She has been socialized and she has been trained. She is not an aggressive dog, and never once have I been told that she is. But even with her regular playmates, she becomes defensive when she perceives herself to be at the disadvantage; when they are off leash and she is on. Even more so when she is being told to stay. To her, that is equivalent to being cornered with no way out.

I shouldn't even have to write about the experience I had at the park today. There were multiple signs at the entrance and throughout the park reminding dog owners that their dogs must be leashed. But a girl jogs past me, leash coiled up in her hand and her Chocolate Lab running loose about 5 feet ahead of her. The Lab starts heading straight at my dogs. Then they react (my dogs' reactions are almost always completely synchronized because they take cues from each other in that doggie way that appears almost psychic): barking, fur up, stiff posture. I am frozen at the side of the path, putting them in a sit/stay even though this only adds to Emmie's feeling of disadvantage, but I am unsure what the Lab will do so I want to have my dogs under control. This girl makes no attempt to call her dog closer to her. But fortunately, the Lab is wise enough to change directions away from my dogs and continue past.

She is probably thinking in her head that my dogs are aggressive and shouldn't be out in public. Maybe you are thinking that too. But if she had followed the law clearly posted, the incident would never have happened. I have walked past an untold number of leashed dogs in the years I've had Emmie without a single problem. The only problem we have ever had is being approached by an unleashed dog. Yes, the off-leash dogs all had a friendly manner, but it's akin to someone smiling and getting right into your face at the same time. You don't know what to make of it.

Coincidentally, today I ran across this story of Brandie, a 10 year old Siberian in Broward County, Fla. This dog was involved in a similar scenario, where a dog ran loose from its front door and lunged at Brandie, who reacted in defense and bit the small dog. The bite was ultimately fatal, so Brandie has been take from her owners and is scheduled to be euthanized. Brandie's owners state that this because the ordinance “automatically assumes that Brandie was unprovoked because of the death of the dog. It does not take into consideration that the other dog may have been the aggressor. It does not take into consideration that we were responsible pet owners having leashed our dog, while the other owners allowed their dog to run around unattended. Our Brandie had been PROVOKED by the other dog running straight at her and lunging at her. Brandie has lived in our home for 7.5 years: with two cats, another smaller dog and a baby. She plays well with other neighborhood dogs and loves all children big and small.” But now Brandie will pay for the other owners' irresponsibility with her life. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/help-save-dog-from-unjust-ordinance

Let's replay today's scenario in the park with a responsible dog owner. A girl and her dog are approaching. Her dog is on a leash AND under control. If her dog looks directly at my dogs, she corrects with a “Leave it,” as do I. The dogs walk past each other without incident, heading in the same direction as the owner, not charging this way and that. The dogs look at each other sideways as they pass. Nobody has acted rudely or aggressively. Nobody gets defensive. Maybe this dog owner is looking for a socialization opportunity. The owner asks first, at a good distance. If we agree, we allow the dogs to approach each other.

I'm sure many pedestrians would agree with my best-case scenario of a dog BOTH leashed and under control. A dog lunging at the extent of its leash is NOT under control. I'm not sure if the owners of such a dog just expect that both humans and animals would welcome aggressive approaches by their dog. But this behavior would be totally unacceptable coming from another human. Why should it be acceptable coming from a dog? Perhaps the passerby has a strong aversion to dogs, as my mother does, and does not want to be approached or sniffed. Just days ago I heard a radio DJ complaining that at a recent outdoor festival, he was quite upset by the number of dogs that stuck their noses into his child's stroller.

Ironically, those off-leash owners probably pride themselves on having their dog under control. And I might agree if the dog stays within a foot of the owner, paying attention to its master and keeping in step (known as “heeling”). I do not consider the dog we met at in the park today to have been under control because he was too far from his owner and changed direction without instruction from her. I always have my dogs in a very tight heel at my side when passing others in close quarters, and only allow them to approach a human or animal if the other party requests it. This is a matter of safety and common courtesy.

It is not that I question whether my dogs are safe. I walked them in the St. Patrick's Day parade, and they were petted by hundreds of strangers, tails wagging all the while. They maintained their composure when assaulted by an inebriated reveler, who put his hand over their muzzles and shook. This is an extremely aggressive act to a dog, especially by a stranger. But this man probably knew some dog who had been conditioned to accept this kind of handling, and assumed he could act thusly toward any dog. This is a common mistake. We tend to attribute human characteristics to our dogs because they are our family members. We forget that they are, in fact, still animals who cannot tell us whether our interpretation of their behavior is correct or simply anthropomorphizing.

People need to understand that dog behavior is different from human behavior, regardless of how their individual dog may have learned to act under their care. Out of safety and courtesy, dog owners have a responsibility to have their dog leashed AND controlled in public places. Too often, dogs pay the price for the ignorant and careless behavior of those around them.