| Why thankfully? An unleashed dog comes up to you where its not supposed to. - What are its intentions? - Is it aggressive? - Is it rabid? Its no different than if a coyote came up and accosted you. Worse, because dogs are socialized not to fear man. My neighbor had an aggressive dog (german shepherd) and every time my kid was outside in the backyard I made sure to carry a weapon to kill it if need be. It didn't really matter, my kid was too scared of it to play in the backyard. I was planning on calling the city to have it destroyed but she moved out. And for all you down voters... yes I talked to her. It was obvious talking with her where the dog got its attitude from. |
Dogs have tells too, and there's common ones that most dog owners will know:
- ears backed with tail tucked or quick wagging
- cowering / laying down (in a non-relaxed posture)
- deep growls and a leg spread defensive stance
And there's tells that occur far before the above. Dogs are domesticated animals (with millions of years of domestication, as opposed to cats), so comparing them in your head to a coyote is a false dichotomy from the get-go.
Your situation and GPs are very different. GP has specifically framed a dog that walked up to them off-leash. You are talking about having to potentially defend a child's life. There's a massive chasm between the two both legally and ethically.