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One of the problems with leash laws is that dogs don't get socialized. I know, but I'm not kidding. All dogs, in the real world, bluff, charge, sniff, posture, snap, display, mate, and protect their owners.

Dogs as Pets or trophies and not companions are the problem. Folks put large dogs in fences or on chains and they never socialize with other dogs. Other than those in the fence. Their territory becomes strictly defined. They become very territorial. I could go on. And will.

When we were growing up and had dogs there were dogfights all the time. They'd make a hell of a lot of noise. You'd think they were killing each other. But they never did. Never even drew blood. They were doing what dogs do. But when they are isolated they have no way of knowing what their supposed to do.

But anyway, I could go on but I'm sorry for your dog. But it's only what dogs will do when they have no outlet for their nature. That's what folks have caused cause your neighbor raised hell cause someones dog shit in their yard.

How bout this. Unless you live in the country and have plenty of room for your dog to roam, how bout not keeping an animal "slave"? Or if you have to, keep control of your animal.

My dog was half german shepard, half labrador. He drew blood on some dogs, but only on the ones who were too dumb to run. Sometimes they ran, other times he ran. A good time was had by all.

A cute little toy poodle was led on a lease by an elderly lady across the street. She felt it was her duty to have her dog crap on other's yards. My dog was laying out in the front yard, and came over to get his "sniff" and the little poodle snapped at him. He grabbed the little thing, and shook him, and walked away. Her dog bit her as she tried to pick him up.

Small town politics: NY State agriculture and markets act at that time permitted sentencing dogs as "vicious" if they attacked people or domestic animals. Domestic animals were defined as domestic cats, rabbits, Cows, sheep. ectera, but did not include dogs.

There once was a lawyer named Rex,
Who had very small organs of sex.
When asked of the function,
He said with compunction,
"De minimis non curat lex!"

It was a good law, to not have dog fights covered by law. The Justice of the Peace made up his own law, and so old Rusty spend the rest of his life confined.

I agree with everything you say. My Dad hunted. I grew up around sporting dogs. Every dog in the neighborhood knew how to behave and take care of their own business. But no one owned dogs that were capable of harming humans. It wouldn't be tolerated.

I've asked myself, "What would Grandpa do?" .22 bullets are real cheap.

Dang, saleman, your #21 is THE MOST sensible thing I've seen on any dog discussion yet. When I was a kid, nobody had dogs on leashes except old ladies with yap dogs. Dogs that belonged to my friends ran with us to the parks, accompanied us to the beach, hung out in the driveways of their homes, and never caused anybody any serious trouble that I recall.

Cities really are a lousy place for a lot of dogs. It's so sad. I have a kooky vegan big-city-bred acquaintance who lives on a quarter square acre in a San Fernando Valley neighborhood made up of tract homes from the 1950s. She's had a series of poor damned labradors and retreivers over the past 25 years that have lived most of their sad lives in that tiny quarter acre. Worse, and this is criminal in my opinion, she makes those poor dogs be vegetarians to the best of her ability. With visitors, they will jump on your lap, lick your feet and your hands and try to lick your face, snif intently in embarassing areas of your body, and generally make pests of themselves with forceful abandon. I hope she never switches from labs to pit bulls.

Inside the house, she has owned any number of large and exotic snakes, who live their lives in closet-sized warmed aquariums and are fed live mice every few weeks. She had a couple of large turtles living indoors, year after year, in a trunk-sized glass aquarium.

She genuinely thinks of herself as a compassionate animal lover -- the main reason she's a vegan. *sigh*

You nailed it square on the head. Trophies.