I’m old enough to say that now.
I recently read a bit of advice from a friend and dog trainer I respect very much (https://www.facebook.com/groups/240519452955105). She discussed the difficulties of undoing instinctive behaviors once they’ve been triggered in a dog. Primarily, she pointed out the wisdom behind choosing a dog bred for the job at hand over dealing with an escalating Malinois and poorly behaved neighbors.
Back in my day human/dog etiquette was simpler. There were rules and expectations that made dog ownership much easier and interactions with others safer.
When my dad decided it was time for a hunting dog he thought long and hard about the type of dog he needed. He had six dog-hungry children, a group of guys he duck-hunted with, and occasional hunts in the field. He chose a Golden Retriever. Jud proved to be a tireless, gentle playmate, a great water dog, and earnest in the field. He was a decent example of his breed and performed as expected. We adored him.
He chose a dog bred to fill his needs for his family.
When a friend or acquaintance had a dog, nobody else touched the dog. If the person offered to let a dog crazy kid pet it, then the child would pet it. Visiting dogs sat or laid on the ground by their owners, not barking, straining against the leash, or jumping on others. They didn’t expect attention.
Petting someone else’s dog without permission was as out of the question as petting the person themself.
Dogs that behaved off-leash were off-leash. Dogs that did not, weren’t.
Aggressive and reactive dogs stayed home.
Everyone knew not to enter a dog’s backyard unaccompanied.
If a dog was in a kennel there was a reason and everyone knew not to stick their fingers in the pen.
Everyone knew not to approach a tied dog.
Everyone knew not to approach a dog while it ate.
If a child was bitten by a dog the child was asked, “What did you do to the dog?”
If an adult was bitten by a dog they were asked the same.
There was a three-bite law. If a dog was reported to the police for biting they spent an automatic 10 days in quarantine. If a dog had three bite reports filed they were destroyed. If a dog mauled, maimed, or killed a person there was an automatic quarantine and then the dog was destroyed.
If a dog regularly fought with other dogs they were kept home.
Beyond the three-bite law, these weren’t rules written in stone. It was just how it was. There weren’t dog parks. There were kids and dogs at parks, schoolyards, and in the street after dinner.
Hunting dogs hunted, terriers ate hamsters, GSD were police dogs, boxers were the closest to a pit/bully/booboo I ever saw. They were silly, wild dogs (the boxers). The first herding dog I met was at a ranch. It was…you guessed it, herding. We weren’t bitten or mauled. Owners were responsible for their dogs, parents for children, and kids for themselves. I rarely heard fault for poor behavior aimed at a dog.
It made sense to me then and it makes sense to me now.