Without detracting too much from the original intent of this post, there were some valid points raised regarding dogs of different breeds and their associated behavioral characteristics. Because math is a universal language and easily applied to this discourse, let’s look at some statistical probabilities….. Pert near everything follows a statistical bell curve. For example, one would arrive at a bell curve for the number of days fished in a year if a reasonable sample of PP members were plotted. Guys like Bob, Vedder and stam would be at one end, and the usual cast of PP wind-ups would be at the other, with the bulk of us that actually wet a line rounding out the curve. The same logic could be applied to dog breeds that bite and of those that result in serious injury. The same could be extrapolated to people but we’ll stick with dogs. A simple search shows that the majority of serious bites are at the business end of a pit and not a Pomeranian…. Why is that? The same search yields some factors such as males are 6x more likely to bite than female, nearly 3x more bites from intact dogs vs spayed/neutered and the same for chained (no exercise/high stress) vs unchained. One could also look at the statistical sample itself. When ankle biters have a snit or draw blood, most are inclined to laugh it off for various reasons. When a large breed dog does so, it isn’t a laughing matter and the worst make the news.

When one takes ownership of anything, there are inherent responsibilities that are assumed to varying degrees that would also plot a bell curve. Sticking with canines and *their* perspective, one who owns an ankle-biter may elect to pay the mortgage but irresponsibly allow little Cuteness to run the household in a dominant/aggressive role. That behaviour is oft tolerated and supported by everyone involved. It is also likely the reason that most of us here lean toward working dogs and their partnership afield rather than their annoying brethren.

When a dog owner irresponsibly fails to assume and maintain the calm/assertive dominant role, and provide adequate exercise and discipline with a goodly dose of affection, it is a dishonoring of the gifts that a balanced dog of any breed will unconditionally bestow on that owner, their home and neighborhood. An ankle-biter will let an owner slide on such responsibilities. A pit will not afford one such a luxury but the rewards of such a willing partnership are manifold. It is in that spirit I proffered this post based on my experience with both pits and working dogs….