Bad Dog
By Sarah
When it comes to the behavior of our own dogs, I think many of us lead with our hearts over our heads. But now that my own head almost got bitten off the other day, I'm rethinking this whole Dogs Rule thing, especially when that dog's known as a Chinese Fighter.
This is what happened: I got out of my car on busy State Street this weekend - a lovely, Indian Summer day - and stepped on the sidewalk where a really interesting looking dog was resting, feet first ON THE SIDEWALK - this is important.
.....Here is a picture of the breed in resting formation.
Sam was with me and I said, "Hey, what a cool looking dog. I'm going to ask the owner what kind it is." Since, you know, we've been on the lookout for a new big dog now that Ben, our gentle mutt, has gone to the great hunting ground in the sky.
The owner was a young woman, late 20s, eating outside at a restaurant here in Montpelier - jeans, flannel shirt, just a little past college stage. She was at the table near the sidewalk, a pink leash connecting the dog to a wrought iron fence. As I passed over the dog to ask her what kind, I said to the dog, "What a beautiful pooch you are...."
Instantly, the dog was in my face. It was like something out of a cartoon. One minute it was looking up at me with blinking brown eyes, the next minute it was leaping toward my throat and gnashing its teeth, the metal choke collar being the only thing holding it back. Holy shit!
"You startled her," the woman said. Not, oh, I'm sorry. Or, down Sheila. But..."You startled her. She is, after all, a Shar Pei."
She IS after all a Shar Pei? What does that even mean? In 1978 the Shar Pei was voted the rarest dog on Earth so pardon me for not possessing working knowledge of a Shar Pei's quirks. Retrievers wander and like water and tennis balls. Labs are dumb but loyal. Basset hounds (like mine) even dumber and far less loyal though funny. Jack Russell terriers, smart. Greyhounds, fast. Bulldogs, hard to breed. Newfs, noble. These traits I understand.
But a Shar Pei will bite your head off if you say hello on a street?
Also, may I just say Montpelier has a lot of dogs tied up here and there. It's that kind of hippie place. I have yet to meet an unfriendly one and do you know why? Because people with unfriendly dogs LEAVE THEIR DOGS AT HOME.
So, back to the scene. All conversation at the restaurant has stopped. I, of course, feel like a fool because I didn't know a) what a Shar Pei looked like or b) that they're easily startled and that c) I have broken some sort of unspoken ettiquette about dog introduction.
"She's never bitten anyone," the woman continued. "She's really a nice dog."
Again...do I care? No. I now do not want a Shar Pei. I am not interested in one as a pet. Nor, do I want to hear the whole history of the Shar Pei evolution as my eyes twinkle in admiration. What I want to do is tell this woman that she should be damn glad I wasn't stupid enough to try to pet this dog on the sidewalk. Or that I wasn't a little kid intrigued by a genuinely cool wrinkly dog face.
By the way, this is the story of the Shar Pei. They are considered dangerous breeds more likely to attack, such as pit bulls. (Pit bull owners will also tell you their dogs are lovely and I sure they are --- to their owners.) Shar Peis were bred for fighting, though the Shar Pei industry claims modern ones are more for "guarding." They are also really, really expensive.
Frankly, it's hard to believe that a dog that starts off this cute could be nasty:
But to tell you the truth, I'm kind of sick of mean dogs, even if they are wrinkly or beautiful.
For example, there was a dog in our neighborhood that used to terrorize Fred. I'd be taking him for a walk - on a leash - and this dog would patrol his own property in the woods. We'd cross the road and keep to ourselves and still this akita would dash out and pounce. Once, it got Fred on his back with its jaw on Fred's throat. (Fortunately, there's a lot of skin there.) After this happened twice, I actually waited for the owners to pull out of the driveway, stood in front of their pickup truck and said, "Look. I should be able to walk down a street without being attacked by your dog."
They laughed. As did the woman who owned the Shar Pei after I walked away, hands up in disgust. (Perhaps that burned me more than anything.)
Finally - and, yes, I know this is a rant - why do people own mean dogs like this? If it's for protection, shouldn't they be behind electric fences? How horrible would you feel if your dog ran out and hurt someone, especially a child or an elderly person?
Okay...so that's where I stand on the issue. How about you? I am open to any and all enlightenment. Still, when it comes to dogs, I say let's stick to nice ones like these...there are so many.
Sarah