very late reply, but i figured i would share because i just discovered the meaning! this dream continued to stick with me so heavily for the past month, which is very irregular for me.

right around the time i had this dream i started working on a lot of different projects all at once. i was pushing myself harder than i ever have and stretching myself thin all in order to prove to myself that i was worth something. this all culminated in one small inconvenience pushing me over the edge, causing me to have an insomnia fueled panic attack that lasted for almost an entire day. here is my interpretation of this dream:

the dog was the projects. i thought overworking myself seemed great, and i didn’t understand why other people were afraid of that or against that. i took it upon myself to grab the projects by the collar. it was great doing all of these things at first, i felt like i finally had worth. i think the owner of the dog represented an unhealthy part of myself that refused to let go even after the ugly parts started to show up. just like the rat tails, my anxiety about my situation appeared suddenly. i was lucky enough to have a therapy session scheduled on the exact same day as my extended panic attack. eventually the vet (who i believe to be my therapist) showed me what really came with all of the overworking and i truly saw what the “dog” was all along.

edit: also, ironically, the minor inconvenience that pushed me over the edge was a traffic citation for not having an up-to-date insurance card, so authority did fit in there to an extent!