The neighbor’s dog (Gunner) escaped from their house yesterday. It was actually fairly fascinating because my neighbor was out there calling the dog and he was running through the neighborhood totally ignoring her.
While the dog was running through the neighborhood, two ladies were walking their little pit bull. It’s a nice little dog, and friendly as far as I can tell. About two weeks ago, I pulled into the yard and opened the car door and Sampson bolted out and charged down to the street to greet the two ladies and their little dog. I apologized because I didn’t even see them; if I had I would never have opened the door because I know how Sampson is.
Flash forward to yesterday and the two ladies and their little dog. The ladies walk the dog on a gentle leader, which as you know is not my favorite type of dog ‘collar’. I guess the woman was nervous about her dog and Gunner because she kept yanking up on her dog’s leash. Chet was out there and he kept telling her to relax but she wouldn’t. Apparently what she did do was to take the end of her leash and smack at Gunner with it while she repeated, “Go home Gunner.”
I’m not really sure what I would do in a situation like that, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be smacking at somebody else’s dog; especially if the dog wasn’t aggressive. To my way of thinking, this would be a situation where a dog would bite in defense; but then of course it would be the dog’s fault; (at least according to the legal system.)
When I was a child we had a German Sheppard that was a bit aggressive, particularly with strangers. One day the dog got out of the house and he bit the paperboy on his shoulder. The paperboy, was a really tall boy and he was riding a bike; a 10 speed. My father’s argument (that saved the dog) was the paperboy had to have kicked at the dog because otherwise the dog would have bit him on his leg. I don’t think that argument would ever fly in today’s society. In today’s society we are too quick to blame the dog instead of the owner or the ‘victim’ that messed up.
What that means for us as dog owners is we need to find a way to control our dogs and give them boundaries and limits, while still allowing them the freedoms that make them happy. It is at times, a fine line we walk but the love and devotion we receive more than makes up for any balancing act we perform.
Look at that sweet face; I WOULD walk a fine line for him!
Dogs do require so much responsibility but they are oh so worth it! : )
How big is Gunner? If it’s a big dog and it was coming at me walking my little dog, I would be none too pleased; it’s happened to me in the past and I am always fearful for my dog’s safety.
That IS a sweet face!
Kathy,
Gunner is a big dog; but he was not being aggressive, he was just walking alongside the ladies.
I have to agree – smacking a dog is not exactly a great way to make him stay friendly towards you.
I hate the way it is automatically assumed that it is the dog’s fault in every situation. If a dog that has been abused and teased and generally mistreated bites his owner (or anyone else), it is the owner’s fault, not the dog’s fault. And if you poke and prod at a dog, and get bit, it is definitely not the dog’s fault.