The biggest challenge for me in walking Prophet through the park every morning is negotiating the parade of personalities -- canine and human -- that we encounter. There are dogs who are Prophet's great playmates and dogs who he walks alongside companionably. There are dogs who he greets with respectful affection and those who he nods to and brushes shoulders with. And then there are his nemeses.
For one reason or another Prophet holds long-term grudges with a few dogs. They are, interestingly, not those who have hurt him. One longhair Shepherd, who he met when he was a pup, tolerated his presence until the owners got a new puppy. When Prophet went to greet the puppy the older dog opened up Prophet's forehead. The next time they met they fought again, but this time Prophet was prepared and wasn't hurt. I detoured around those two for months but they have now reached a modus vivendi. The older dogs nod, Prophet barks at the younger one, and they go on their separate ways.
One dog who always tried to bully Prophet when he was small now enrages him. We run into her on the weekends and I have to either lead Prophet on a long detour or leash him. Another, who we see most mornings actually went after a seven-year old who was with us one day. Prophet seems inclined neither to forgive nor forget, but as long as we don't get to close, my voice commands are enough to keep him away.
Then there is the Great Dane we see a few times a week. Prophet tried to hard to make friends the first few times they met, bowing, wagging, making himself small. But this Dane just gave him the hard eyeball and stood aloof. After that, Prophet barked at her from a distance, but -- per instructions -- did not approach.
A few weeks ago I saw that Dane approaching so I leashed Prophet and led him down a very steep embankment. Didn't that unleashed Great Dane come straight over with the angry eyes and the menacing bark. I tried getting between them but the dog went after Prophet anyway. I gave Prophet an extra foot of leash and the Dane eventually backed away.
This morning the first time we saw that dog Prophet started jumping around and stepping forward as if he were going to go after her. I called him and continued on a tangent, so he barked a couple of times more and then followed me. So when we saw them a second time on another path about thirty yards across the brush I leashed Prophet and instructed him to follow me. But the Dane was still off leash and bounding toward Prophet. I was considering releasing him, but the attack never got serious enough. She was snarling at Prophet and jumping at him, but still avoiding his mouth. Prophet grabbed her jacket, but let go when I told him to.
Meanwhile, the owner was yelling and pursuing her dog. When she got close I realized she was yelling at Prophet! The gentleman I was with, whose little dog was watching with interest, chuckled and asked why she was giving orders to Prophet instead of her own dog, particularly since Prophet was on leash!
After Prophet concluded that he was not under attack he agreed to step away. I looked back and saw this woman carefully checking her dog for the injuries Prophet hadn't given her. My dilemma is this:
It is so easy for me to see other people's blindness to their dog's aggressions and to their own complicity. It is impossible for me to see my own blindness. I try really hard, but I know that if they are that oblivious, I must be at least a little oblivious. I can always keep Prophet away from dogs he doesn't like, sometimes with voice, sometimes with leash. I cannot prevent him from disliking those dogs, or from expressing those emotions, and that contributes to drama. With some owners it has been possible for us to reintroduce the dogs after conflict and have them be okay. Others seem to think that Prophet is a ravening beast. But they also seem to think that it is entirely incumbent on me to avoid them. It's fine if I can lead Prophet on a long detour. It's less fine if their dogs pursue us anyway.
I don't know what a person who really knows dogs would do. I think I will pursue a professional consult.
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