I ran across this on the net, and thought I would post a link here for discussion. It's a long document, but you can skip some of the middle examples without losing too much.

The basic premise is summed up here:

My experience has been that it is owners of breeds considered non-aggressive that cause
the most problems in dog-to-dog interactions simply by being unaware that their dog is
rude. To the owners of non-aggressive breeds, there doesn't appear to be any thought
that rudeness can take many forms. Anyone can recognize that a dog lunging and
snarling is being rude. Far too few folks recognize that simply getting into another's dog
space - however sweetly and quietly - is just as rude in the world of dogs. Owners of rude
dogs do not perceive their dogs' actions as rude; they see only "friendliness," as if the
behavior for greeting people is the same as greeting another dog - it's not! Thus the
classic line, "He's only trying to say ‘hi!'"


http://www.livingwithdogs.us/article...-to-say-hi.pdf

The author presents a reasonable argument that a lot of what is considered "aggressive" dog behavior is perfectly normal canine responses to dog rudeness, and that the owners of rude dogs are often excused from being responsible for instigating the situation. I found it interesting, and thought it might help others.

tickle

Thanks for that wonderful article, Froggy. I do get the point of the article.

I have never met an aggressive greyhoud, borzoi, scottish or irish deerhound and in my neck of the woods these are common breeds to run into. I think the term 'gentle giants' is appropriate.

froggy7

You know, yesterday when I took Trink out for her morning potty break, there was a woman with three chihuahuas in the street. She had them all on leashes, but was only holding one of them (which I don't get in the least). Trink was happy to greet the one on leash, but when the other two ran up all yappy, she did her usual, which is to walk away from the situation. Of course, since they weren't being restrained, they followed her. I eventually stepped between her and them and stared them down (not hard to do with chis), and she relaxed. And I thought to myself, as the owner was assuring me that they were friendly dogs, ... you know, these are exactly what the author meant by rude dogs.