Ask Amy: Should I intervene in my friends’ dog park dispute?

Dear Amy: I am a retiree and one of my daily pleasures is taking my pup to a neighborhood off-leash dog park.

Over time I have developed friendly relationships with a few fellow dog owners. Recently “Friend One,” one of my closer park buddies (a professional dog walker), arrived with an air horn. She claims it’s for the safety of the dogs in the event of a pup scuffle.

It does seem to work, although fights are very rare at this park. The problem is that it scares the heck out of another friend’s beloved (non-aggressive) pooch.

Friend Two nicely asked Friend One to refrain from honking while her dog was present. Now Friend One won’t show if Friend Two is on-site.

I enjoy the company of all involved, and this little fracas has made my daily outings awkward. Should I intervene?

Caught Up in a Dogfight

Dear Caught Up: Air horns are an effective and non-invasive “safe” way to distract dogs and break up a fight.

I assume that being near an escalating dog fight could be at least as traumatic for a shy dog as an air horn would be.

But Friend One is respecting Friend Two’s nicely worded request and is steering clear of the park when the “non-aggressive” dog is present. To me, that seems like a solution. You might feel better if you saw it this way, too.

Regardless, dog owners are more intractable and harder to train than the canines they care for. Should you intervene here? Not even with a 10-foot leash.

Dear Amy: I am a 60-year-old conservative Catholic male.

I believe that gender is determined by physiology, not psychology. I don’t believe transitioning to another gender is the answer to gender dysphoria. My views about transitioning and giving puberty-blocking drugs to youths are in line with my very conservative perspective.

My best friend’s child (born male) is transitioning to female. She’s 25. Since I value Martin’s friendship, I refer to his child as “your daughter,” and I use his daughter’s new name and refer to her with female pronouns.

The only advice I have given is to get a second opinion before any surgery (which is advice I would give to everyone before any surgery).