3-grey-and-a-mutt...that is spooky! I started my email with words to the effect of,"anyone who says they trust their dog is asking for trouble".
Not to say you can't trust a dog, I do mine, I did when walking in blindfold being guided by a dog I had trained, I did when handing that dog on to a blind owner that was putting their life in trust to that dog....but you have to know your dog, understand your dog and it's limits, emotions and instincts. (Guide dogs are trained to do a job that no instinct can help them with and one of the hardest parts of the whole process is getting the new owner to trust the dog and at the same time accept the limitations of that trust.) The dog is only a dog and will behave as a dog all it's life. For all of that life the owner must be aware of the changes in the relationship from the dog's point of view. The day you stop doing that is the first day you invite your dog to put itself, you and others in peril.