Lessons from a dog fight

It's been more than two weeks since my neighbors' dog got out, and made a beeline toward me and my dog as we walked down our driveway for our daily walk. I froze, not knowing what the dog wanted. I'd never seen her loose before. I knew from walking on the path behind the dog's yard that it was a snarly, yappy little thing.

It trotted toward us, not showing any clear signs of aggression. No growlin...