your article needed to be said. the problem, of course, is not dogs, but people.

people should not get dogs unless they are willing to put in the work to train them. Same with kids, actually, and I find untrained kids to be even more annoying (toddler screaming in a restaurant, pre-teens talking during a movie - OK, this is pre-covid, but still). this is one reason I prefer Europe - both the children and dogs are better behaved.

I have a dog. He almost never barks, except when someone comes to my front door. if he is out in the back yard and the neighbor's dogs start to bark at him, he does not respond in kind, though he will go over to look through the fence at them. then the neighbor has to go get her dogs - because people have complained about them and the police have issued a warning. and in my area, this actually works because the law has teeth.

BTW, my dog is a german shepherd. They are great dogs and very trainable. your neighbor needs to train those dogs. they should NOT be barking at every little thing. that ruins the whole point of having a watch dog. it's like the boy who cried wolf. if the dog is always barking, you have no idea when there actually is an issue.

as I said, my dog is typically silent. he only barks when there is someone at the front door. the ONLY time I heard him growl in a scary manner - someone had broken into my house. the person was standing frozen while my dog kept him at bay.

however, aside from that ONE incident, my dog has never acted in an aggressive manner. while I keep him on leash in town, I let him off leash in parks. (I only take him to parks where dogs are welcome).

He stays close to me and avoids people. If a child wants to pet him, he'll tolerate it calmly. He likes to play with other dogs, but if I call him to me, he comes, even if it's obvious he'd rather keep playing with his new friend. He has never been aggressive with dogs or cats. He will chase rabbits and squirrels though.

I keep a leash on me at all times. the last time I used it in the park, a woman with a baby in a stroller was walking towards me. I figured she would feel safer if the dog was on leash, so I called him to me, told him to sit, put him on leash, and had him remain in a sit until she had walked past me.

My dog has excellent recall. I have called him (when he was only 15 months) as he started to chase a squirrel, he came to a complete halt, turned around, and ran back to me. I rewarded him with tons of praise. Passersby commented on how well trained my dog was.

I always clean up after my dog. He is never allowed to roam free.

I do spend at least 2 hours a day interacting with him. because he is a high energy breed, he needs plenty of exercise and I also work on obedience throughout the day. if you are not willing to do that with high energy breeds, you should not get them. if you can't train your dog not to bark all the time, not to bite people, etc., you should not get a dog.

(Note, since I was diagnosed with cancer, a friend has been keeping my dog for me, though I still have him come visit as much as my health allows.)

And I agree with you - dog owners need to be aware of other peoples' comfort and not idolize their pets or baby them. dogs especially need to be trained or they can be a real pain.