Thank you everyone who commented on Scully and the Bulldog (W). Interestingly I never take Scully onto next door. She goes there with her owner (T) when T drops in for coffee and I have noticed then that although Scully dotes on the Ridgeback like he's a big brother, there is friction with the Bulldog.
The friction is all Scully. The bulldog (bitch) is like the poor kid no one wants to play with.
When we pass their gate on walks and I stop to pet the dogs, I make sure Scully behaves while I give attention through the gate to W. They aren't the best of friends but there is no aggro.
W is very sweet natured but as Mr B pointed out, it takes a bulldog fan to love that face and the image the whole physique conveys and to perpetuate all the health problems that go with the breed. W seems to have more than her share. There are the breathing issues (which come with most of that breed), that terribly overshot bottom jaw which needed teeth removed, she has had a series of tumours removed and, possibly the worst blight of all, she gets some kind of brain seizures.
I don't know if she is medicated for the seizures but if so it might explain why she presents (to use a word my mother favoured) as gormless - not very bright, blundering about unaware of social cues.
Social cues are important to dogs too.
Scully's bone defence was a warning shot, not a full-on attack like the German Shepherd made but even so it wasn't acceptable and I fully agree with the neighbour: Scully should not be in the one place that W feels safe, her own territory.
Their yard is fully fenced to prevent W escaping so it won't be a difficult task to keep Scully out. 98% of the time she has no interest in going in and will even crunch her bone on my path close to their fence, totally ignoring W on the other side. The combination of bone and the road gate being opened triggered something much more defensive than any of us expected.
On a lighter note, the Ridgeback wandered out an open gate one day when his owners were engaged in a difficult building project and momentarily looking the other way. Scully and I encountered him standing on the public walking track down by the sea and I figured we'd better shortcut and take him home. To see Scully bounce and run along beside him looking up ("my big brother" adoration), and dash into the bush a little as if to show him the exciting stuff, was delightful. He's old and a bit arthritic but he started bouncing too. He's the size of a small donkey so it was a bit hard to calm him down knowing this was probably going to hurt a lot later on.
Oh heck let him have some fun - he's never allowed outside the gate except in the car. Maybe he just wanted to feel mud between his toes too.
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