Attacks on Guide Dogs - What's the Lesson?

Today I was reading through news feeds and saw dog guide groups are seeking legislation and penalties in cases where guide dogs are attacked by other dogs. To train dogs for service work requires tremendous time and expense. If you do a search for stories related to guide dogs being attacked by other dogs, you'll find it isn't too uncommon.

Videos of attacks on a guide dogs typically show the guide dog taking abuse without much (if any) fighting back. Is there something wrong with guide dogs that they won't defend themselves when another dog is attacking them? Are they too friendly and easy going? My answer is no, but perhaps there's a lesson here that we should be learning as a society.

I've mentioned in the past how attentive trainers are beginning to question whether dog parks and other rough play between dogs might be adding to the increasing aggression problems seen internationally. In most neighborhoods, what do you see when dogs are out walking with their owners? I would guess most would see many dogs that are reactive around other dogs (barking, charging, lunging, etc.). In my experience, these reactive dogs almost always have a history of dog park visits, rough housing with other dogs, or other adrenalizing activities in their present and/or past. Reactivity is learned behavior IMO, and I don't believe we're making that connection.

Guide dogs, on the other hand, learn other skill sets. They begin training and bonding with humans at an early age, and generally have little interaction with other dogs. There are no dog park visits, or rough housing with canine 'pals' as part of their weekly routines. In contrast, these dogs are calm and well behaved when other dogs are nearby - even to the point of taking abuse from other dogs without fighting back.

So please excuse this round-about way to make a point. Perhaps our societal concept of allowing or encouraging play between dogs, especially rough play, is actually creating problems. How much better behaved would all dogs be, if time spent with other dogs was instead spent working and training with their owners?