Township dogs

I came from suburbia and worried how my property- and leash bound dogs would adapt to a different lifestyle. My worry was based on ignorance.

Our house (and most of the homes around us) have no perimeter walls. Homes are at most five to ten meters apart. Each house probably has a dog or two - ours has four.The vast majority of dogs in this area are well cared for. In one or two isolated cases there are dogs kept on long chains, probably because they are vicious or serve to appear vicious.

Every dog has an invisible perimeter around his property and no other dog would ever dare to cross that perimeter. The little Dachsy from next door makes sure he walks all around the edge of that invisible perimeter around our house when he passes on his way to somewhere.

The beach belongs to all the dogs, but few go there without their owners. They largely remain within their (invisible) property boundary.When they do go to the beach (never on a leash) and encounter another dog, they simply sniff each other and go on their way. Not once have our dogs or any of the other local dogs had a fight. They have their own rules of engagement.

On occasion we encounter people who come to our beach with a dog on a leash. That dog then strains to meet our dogs. The owner tenses up in anticipation of a fight and the growling starts. A dog on a leash is a sure recipe for disaster in our area.

I feel so sorry for dogs from suburbia - locked up behind high walls and fences, confined to yards where they encounter the same smells day in and and day out - year in and year out. Of course it is necessary given suburban constraints.

In townships, dogs are not stressed. It is the exception that an incident, such as made headlines last year, happens. I am convinced that something attracted those dogs onto that property. There are very many children in our village who play in the streets and on the beach all day. They aren't afraid of dogs and the dogs never harm them.

You might say that one potential incident would be one too many. I say that I bet there are more dog biting incidents in suburbia with dogs confined to their yards and leashes, than in townships such as ours.

Our border collie trying to herd seals!

The two bouviers enjoying the beach and sea

I accept the generations' old wisdom of our community which dictates that dogs roam free and without constraints. It works here and has done for the two years I have lived here as well as over the hundreds of years our villagers' ancestors have lived here before us.