THE dreadful story of a dog that savaged a baby seal to death over the weekend does not surprise me in terms of what a dog will naturally do.
I used my own two dogs, slightly tongue-in-cheek, to illustrate our Saturday story on dogs biting posties. But it would be of no surprise to me if they did make a nuisance of themselves, were I to let them roam the front yard. The pair would be getting wound up by passers-by, and having a great time charging back and forth. It's entertainment to them, and defending their territory, but probably quite alarming to a walker on the sidewalk.
On Saturday, while I waited for the train to Wellington from Featherston, two labrador-cross dogs roamed the station, eager to say hi. As a dog owner, I recognise when dogs want to be friendly. The pair, who had found an enormous puddle to splash and lie down in, in the manner of water dogs, wanted to say hi to everybody. Apart from being in danger of mud on my jeans, they were harmless, and I knew the growls from one of them was jealousy because the other was being fussed.
But not everyone knows this - and I could be caught out one day if I misinterpret the signals. There is often talk about licensing owners, not dogs, and I understand that to a certain extent because if a dog is in a bad situation, it's because a human has put it in that situation, even inadvertently. A good dog owner might be able to recover their dog from a bad situation, but it's a better owner that doesn't let their dog get into that situation in the first place.
Dogs are predictable in many ways, because they follow their instincts. They'll chase cats and bark at people who approach their territory. But on other matters, there's no telling what they'll do. They're animals, operating on instinct and self-preservation. They also need fuss and attention and will do some pretty daft things to get it.
