I don't allow or disallow anything here. I'm a guest on this forum, as are you. I don't know a thing about you getting prayers from people for riding a motorcycle.
Maybe you are the "Leader of the Pack" there, too?
My pits are not allowed to show any aggression, even a grunt. They are not the determiner of turf. That is the owner's(me) role as the leader of the pack.
And you never worry that your dogs will one day discern that you are not a dog?
In turn, I do not allow other dogs to be aggressive near my dogs. Any time a foreign dog growls for turf, I step to the challenge as the pack leader.
You must cut quite a figure in your neighborhood.
Despite all of the dialog about how to be a responsible pet owner, you should not allow your dog to roam free. There are way too many things you cannot control that can injure or kill your dog.
Hmmm. Maybe like the time my neighbor did something human --took a shower-- and didn't know her dogs had jumped their fence?
I really feel deeply for your pet. However, there ARE many things that can hurt or kill your dogs other than dogs. I have witnessed two dogs getting instantly killed by cars not going that fast right behind my backyard, and almost every day on the way to work I see the remains of someone's beloved pet on the side of the road. These are things no "devil dog" has anything to do with.
Not to mention all of the diseases out there, like distemper, rabies, canine herpesvirus, etc. all of which can be transmitted through any breed of dog. And then, of course, there are your sick people who would jump at the chance to torture a stray dog because they think no one must care about it, and children who "experiment" and do horrible things to "that dog that's always running around here".
And spaniels are prone to some really ugly cataracts, which can be caused by too much unprotected sun exposure. An easy fix, I know, but a costly one, and in the meantime you are stuck with a dog that can barely, if at all, see.
Then there are the smallest pests, the fleas, ticks, mosquitos, and bees, which each carry their own risks.
"And you never worry that your dogs will one day discern that you are not a dog?"
Why do you think dogs run up to you, tail wagging, ears back, wanting to lick your face? They DO seem to think of us as other dogs, and if you aren't the leader, then you get nasty behaviors like couch/bed/toy guarding, ignored commands, and basically every other out of control dog I have ever seen an owner think is " kind of trained". Dogs will occasionally challenge the pack to move up and this is natural. They do it in the wild, and the leader either puts them in their place or gives up the throne.
It may not be that important for someone with a yorkie, but with any dog that's more than 30 pounds, this has to be the goal. I am so sick and tired of people having out of control pets and then calling MY dogs dangerous, as my dogs sit patiently at my feet while theirs bark and run around like little monsters.
Your dog sees you as the leader, the hero. If you don't jump in and save the dog from a fight, it will not feel safe, and might question your role in the pack. I would do the same for my dogs, not only for their safety, but to avoid seeing them in the paper as vicious monsters.
Daschunds, according to the CDC, have actually killed more than two people in the last 30 years. They are not big, strong dogs, but in the hands of someone not willing to control them, any dog can be dangerous. 36 breeds are responsible for deaths in the United States, but that number jumps up to 52 when considering the world. And that is just what is reported. I am sure there are dogs killing people every year all over the world that just don't get reported.
I do not mistakenly think my dogs look at me as another dog. Neither do I mistakenly give my dogs human traits.
You do not need to be a six foot 300 lb full back to take the leadership position with a dog. I suggest you watch some dog training videos, you might benefit mostly from wathing the Dog Whisperer.
I am not commenting on the neighbor's responsibility because she is not on here telling us how her dogs defended their territory. If indeed she had unchained dogs, even in a fenced in yard, running unattended, she was irresponsible. But, you were irresponsible as well.
Don't condemn an entire breed for your error.