Is it really so hard to leash your dog?
An update on unleashed dog drama, the reign of French Bulldogs, and lagging medical research for cats
Good evening, and welcome to everyone who’s joined Tail Mail as an early subscriber. I’m so excited to see how this newsletter and community grows. Drop me a note at clara@readtailmail.com if there’s anything you’d like to see me cover.
Last month, Eddie Huang (Fresh Off the Boat author, chef, and Doberman dad) wrote about a neighbor who refused to leash his dog outside their luxury Manhattan apartment building. As Eddie told it in on his Substack, he and his Doberman were sitting on a bench outside the building when an unleashed dog approached them, spooking his dog. When Eddie spotted the owner, LIV Method CEO Matt Sauerhoff, about “30 feet away” with a leash in hand, he asked Sauerhoff to leash his dog. Sauerhoff refused multiple times and proceeded to go on an expletive-filled tirade as the conversation moved into the building lobby. I’d encourage you to read Eddie’s whole post and watch the videos.
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The story got picked up by major outlets and gained steam on social media, so I messaged Eddie for an update to see if Sauerhoff ever apologized. “He has not. Has run into my wife and I several times [and] never apologizes. Real piece of work.”
Part of me wants to pull my hair out when I see videos like these because, really, how hard is it to leash your dog? But these interactions also show just how much people hate being told what to do. The request for a dog to be leashed somehow becomes interpreted as a personal attack on the way a dog has been raised or trained. I see this play out in parenting today, too: You might be fine scolding your own screaming child on a plane, but if a stranger were to go up and ask you to do the same, a boundary is crossed. Mind your own business, is the unspoken rule.
The difference with off-leash dogs, however, is that someone—human or dog—could get physically hurt, no matter how trained or “well-behaved” a dog is.
In other news…
French Bulldogs are the most popular breed in the U.S., according to the American Kennel Club, which looks at dog breeds registered with the organization. Frenchies have taken the top spot for the third year in a row, beating out Labrador Retrievers.
French Bulldog
Labrador Retriever
Golden Retriever
German Shepherd
Poodle
But more people own mixed breed dogs, followed by Labs and Goldendoodles. Rover took a look at the millions of dogs registered on its platform, and French Bulldogs were listed as the seventh most commonly owned breed. (Disclosure: I offer dog walking services on Rover.)
Mixed breed
Labrador Retriever
Goldendoodle
Golden Retriever
German Shepherd
Medical research for cats is lagging behind in comparison to dogs. “Historically, many veterinarians essentially treated cats as small dogs, borrowing tests and treatments developed for canine patients to care for feline ones,” Emily Anthes writes in The New York Times.
We might actually suck at interpreting our dogs’ feelings. Researchers found that people are more likely to interpret a dog’s emotions based on perceived context, rather than how the dog is actually reacting. In one example, participants thought they were watching a video of a dog being shown a leash. As a result, more participants interpreted the dog as having a positive reaction, when in actuality, the dog had been reacting negatively to a vacuum cleaner.
There are a few days left to recycle old collars and leashes at Petco. In exchange, customers will get 40% off a single collar, leash, or harness until March 29. (Would be nicer if this recycling program was open year-round!)
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you later this week with a reported piece on bird flu.
