Dogs in Copenhagen

Loads of people in this city have dogs, especially small or medium-sized ones since a lot of people here live in smaller apartments. One thing that I've noticed and am quite fond of is that dogs here are treated and behave in a totally different manner than dogs back home.

First of all, dogs are frequently off the leash in Copenhagen. I think that most dogs in America would run off to the nearest interesting smell or person, but all of the dogs I've seen here without a leash have followed closely beside their owners, and if they did happen to get distracted then it wasn't for long. The owners rarely stop to ensure that their dogs are following; they seem entirely confident that they are. I did see one woman with a puppy who seemed to be training it to walk without a leash. She kept looking back to be sure it wasn't getting distracted, and if it did she simply picked it up, carried it a couple of feet away, and then put it down and kept walking. She never got angry at the puppy for getting distracted, and it seemed to be working. For the most part, he toddled along behind her trying to keep up with her fast pace.

Owners will also leave their dogs outside the store unattended. Now, this crosses the Danish mentality for dogs with the Danish trust for others. I have seen people leave their babies unattended in their stroller while they pop into the store. Everyone just seems to know that the baby will be safe, that no one will do anything to it. I'm from small town Midwest where we leave our doors unlocked out of trust for others, but we don't trust others that much. Anyway, back to the dogs. Each and every dog that I I've seen outside of a store has been sitting outside patiently waiting for their owner to come back. They don't excitedly bide for the attention of other people or go looking for smells. I've even seen one waiting outside in the rain, and he seemed totally unbothered.

I've never seen a Dane go up and pet another person's dog, which is a common thing to see in the states. Because of this, I thought for a while that the Danes didn't like it when someone approached them and asked to pet their dog. However, I've learned recently that dog owners don't mind if you do because they take it as a compliment to their dog. There have been a couple of dogs that I found too irresistible not to go up and pet, and they each seemed very happy about the attention. Danish dogs just seem to have their excitement about other people more in check than American dogs do. Whereas an American dog may smell your feet or even try to get your attention when you pass it on the street, a Danish dog is very content with ignoring you. Perhaps this is because they receive less attention from strangers than dogs in America do. 

I've found the differences in the way dogs are managed to be incredibly interesting. At least in Indiana, there are usually strong leash laws and you will rarely, if ever, see a dog waiting alone outside the store. I think it can shed some light on the interesting differences in personality between a typical Dane and a typical American. Among the Danes, there seems to be this deep trust for both other people and their dogs.