Re: Dog psychology 101

>There were packs of dogs that lived in those bushes in those planters.

Well, since you were here the east side of the Capitol has been pretty
much extensively renovated.  A very high security Visitor's Center
is there now.  Sort of tasteful.  In a way. A post 9-11 way.

I've never seen an actual pack of dogs in DC proper since 1990 or so,
or even individual dogs running loose with rare exceptions.

Political ones, yeah, but not the four-legged kind.

The planters are everywhere, still, as vehicle barriers.  Even more so 
now.

Out in the rural surrounds (and what's "rural" has moved out a bit 
since you were last here, quite a bit) you'll still encounter the typical
free running farm type dogs and so forth.

The whole area has been paved and "developed" quite a bit in the
last couple of decades, I'd take a dog over the cars anytime...