I was born at the tail end of the baby boomer generation and my Dad taught me how to act around and react to a strange and/or aggressive dog. He taught me how to read their body language and weather or not they could be approached and petted. (Even as a very young child I was dog crazy and wanted to pet any that I encountered.)
Its been my experience that succeeding generations haven't been taught by their parents how to behave around or read the signals that dogs give off.
Also, should my dog (who is the most people friendly dog I've ever known) ever be killed by a cop. God help him or her. I'll bankrupt this city.
Back in the sixties I owned a dog, an Airedale that didn’t really want anything to do with people because her previous owner beat the living crap out of her. The other men just ignored her and that was fine with her and me.
When I brought her out to the ranch and she saw the Border Collies working the cattle in the pens, she wanted to join in but they would growl at her because they knew she didn’t know a ramp from a gate from a pen.
After about six months she would come over to get her ears scratched or a tic pulled. Nobody else could touch her without her trying to nip them. She flat out didn’t trust people, men especially. Heaven forbid if somebody tried to touch her hind quarters. Loud growls and serious attempts to bite! I was the only one she would let brush her backside with my hand or a wire brush.
She never did get to work the herd, just follow the Collies and pretend. LOL Finally a copperhead ended her misery.