insomniachollie wrote:
You don't sound like a dog hater! You're not wrong either, ownership is not the only factor in play (though I certainly think it's a major one which people too readily discount when writing off entire breeds).

And no, I'm not saying that all breeds are exactly the same, just disagreeing with that particular strand of reasoning. I know what you were trying to get at and I don't disagree with it - some measure of personality is indeed hereditary, you can see that with humans too - but extrapolating out from an individual case rarely stands up whether it's dogs or whatever we're talking about. Watching one lab and one pit bull react wouldn't support any conclusions about the breed as a whole, given how many other factors are involved (one of which is indeed their treatment by an owner).
I can understand what you're saying. All of this makes me even more nervous for a pet. I love the hell out of dogs. It's just such a big decision for me because of my fear of being someone who is thought of as a bad owner.