Reply to If my leashed dog attacks an unleashed dog on a park trail am I at fault?

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[quote=Anonymous]My dog is friendly with all people. With other dogs I see a wide range of responses. Some he immediately really likes, there's tail wagging and sniffing and bowing and play gestures. Others he's sociable with but after the tail wagging and sniffing he's no longer interested in them. And then there are some where there's initial tail wagging and sniffing and then he just does not like them, growls and snaps at them to tell them to go away. And when a dog is on a leash, things are dicier because if the dog feels any bad vibes from the other dog, he knows he is restrained by the leash and likely feels more vulnerable and needing to protect himself.

When someone with another dog does ask if mine is friendly, I say he is but with another dog you just never know. Also, the presence of humans does weird things sometimes. My friend visited me for an extended period of time with her dog. I had 4 dogs--these were all outside farm dogs where I lived at the time. Her dog and one of mine would get into huge fights if we were outside, had to use the hose to separate them. When it was just the dogs on their own, they were fine.

I lived in New Mexico at a time when leash laws were on the books but totally not enforced. It was interesting because there were dozens of dogs around my neighborhood, but they had their politics worked out. They'd hang out near the sidewalks, sometimes venture into the street and bark at each other, but never saw fights. There was one old big dog who used to sleep on the sidewalk and anytime it seemed like things might get physical between other dogs, he'd get up, shove his way in between the parties, and basically tell them to cut it out and go home. Then he'd go back to his spot and back to sleep. But the way humans live with dogs generally doesn't allow them to establish their own rules. [/quote]

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