Portions of the Ontario provincial “pit bull ban” law have been struck down;
An Ontario Superior Court Justice has struck down parts of the province’s controversial pitbull law.
The legislation, which bans the breeds outright in Ontario, has been bitterly opposed by advocates who claim only irresponsible owners are to blame for problems with the dogs.
The court ruled two key parts of the law, including the definition of what a pit bull is, are unconstitutional. And the jurist found using a veterinarian to prove a dog’s breed also violates the law.
Despite the outcome, the Attorney General – who pressed so hard to get the new legislation passed – insists 99 percent of the rules are still in place and that the vast majority of the law stands.
“This means that the law continues, which means no more pit bulls in Ontario,” contends Michael Bryant. “No pit bulls sold, bred or imported into the province of Ontario.
“People should continue to leash and muzzle their pit bulls; pit bulls are banned are in Ontario, and that has been upheld by the Ontario Superior Court.
“Pit bulls remain banned, the purebred definitions of pit bulls are banned, anything substantially similar to those purebreds are banned.”
But it appears the lawyers for the other side are far from satisfied by this judgment.
“We saved ‘pit bull terriers’ but not the other breeds,” a statement from Clayton Ruby’s law firm reads. “We made it impossible for the Crown to prove its case with a piece of paper signed by a veterinarian.”
They vow to continue to appeal until they get the law quashed or changed.
It sounds as though the judge gave at least a partial nod to common sense. In addition to the obvious problem of “banning” a breed that doesn’t have a legal definition, veterinarians are generally not trained or qualified to make precise breed identifications. There are hundreds of recognized breeds of dogs, and many appear identical to the untrained eye.
Unfortunately, the article notes that bans against the named CKC recognized breeds are still in effect. This is both ridiculous and ironic – both breeds are few in number (there were only 5 Am Staff litters born in 2006 in Canada) and to the best of my knowledge, there has never been a recorded bite by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
That said, there’s been an equally ridiculous degree of irresponsibility on the part of breeders and owners of so-called “pit bulls”. While the formally recognized CKC breeds mentioned descend from a pit fighting ancestry, a good deal of selective breeding has taken place in the intervening generations, largely stabilizing and reducing the threshold at which these dogs can be stimulated into an attack. (In fact, when the question is aggressiveness towards other dogs, most experienced show exhibitors are far more wary of Kerry Blue Terriers and Akitas, than they are the more placid Staffie.)
Despite their similarity in appearance, the more numerous (and often crossbred) “pit bulls” responsible for most of the highly publicized attacks claim a somewhat different background – their roots lie in a dog fighting underworld that continues to this day. Such dogs have no business in the hands of the pet owning public.
For many decades, that was the norm – the dog fighting culture largely kept their animals to themselves. But, with the tendency of criminal enterprises to cross-pollinate, pit bull types became the favoured status symbol of the drug culture and the floodgates opened. Puppies became a source of supplemental income, finding a eager market in the wider community of the testosterone-challenged.
A similar thing has happened to Rottweilers and to a lesser extent, Bullmastiffs. These breeds were developed, not for dog fighting, but for the purpose of “man stopping” – the mastiff family is ancient, tracing its origins to the Roman war dogs. They have “dominance” written into their genetic job description.
Given careful breeding and socialization, good training, supervision and a knowledgable owner who knows how to set limits, members of these breeds make magnificent protectors and companions – loyal, sane and reliable. But when the marketplace began driving the price of pet puppies and stud fees into the four figures a couple of a decades ago, the motivation to “cash in” rapidly exceeded the number of responsible breeders and the capacity of the gene pool. In this case, however, show breeders bear a large portion of the blame.
The registries of most breeds have been closed for decades – in some cases, for over a century. “Closed” means that no new additions of undocumented parentage are possible – all dogs registered to a breed must have registered parents. (Under Canada’s Animal Pedigree Act, no dog is legally “purebred” in the absence of permanent identification and registration papers. More here)
This means that there are a finite number of bitches of breeding age available to a breed at any given time. Of these, only a percentage of these will be judged healthy and sound enough to be considered breeding quality.
In a perfect world, the “cream of the crop” are the only bitches who will be bred from, and their numbers would determine the maximum number of puppies to be born in a year. From those, the selection process begins anew and the best retained for the next generation. Population would be controlled by quality.
But in the less-than-perfect world in which we inhabit, demand sometimes exceeds the supply – and purebred dogs are not widgets. You cannot simply conjure up more good bitches to breed from because they have sales waiting. This is when profit-motivated breeders begin pressing the second, third and fourth rate into service – the itchy, unsound, dysplastic and unstable. To complicate matters, the time available to screen potential customers, socialize litters, and provide follow-up after the sale is inversely proportional to the number of dogs housed and puppies produced.
It’s a phenomenon that occurs whenever a breed (large or small) becomes popular with the mainstream – a surge in demand produces a surge in price, followed by a surge in population and in turn , a surge of health and temperament problems.
In the case of breeds created to fight man and beast, it also leads to a surge in serious attacks.
I don’t have any easy answers. The genie is out of the bottle for many breeds, and they’ve suffered greatly for it – Cocker Spaniels, Toy Poodles, German Shepherds were permanently compromised decades ago. The Doberman saw a popularity explosion come and go in the 70’s and 80’s (reality proved to be more docile than television and movie portrayals suggested), and the breed is still struggling to recover from the cascade of genetic health issues that emerged in the aftermath.
There are some partial solutions. Breed clubs could do their part by easing up on the propoganda glossing over difficult temperament traits, and stop promoting large guard breeds as being suitable for the average family.
Obedience and training clubs absolutely need to expand their horizons beyond today’s politically correct world of “positive motivation” and learn techniques tested and proven by the police and military. Methods developed to control dogs in combat are highly useful for the owner who is struggling with that 80 pound puppy developing a disrespect for authority.
Legislation does have its place – safe fencing and leash laws go a long way towards preventing tragedy. The practice of chaining dogs should illegal under any circumstances – there are fewer situations more dangerous than a strange child approaching a chained dog in its own yard.
However, like gun laws, breed bans do little more than punish the law abiding for the failures of the irresponsible. And bans can have unintended consequences. For every popular large breed declared verbotten. there are plenty more dangerous ones waiting to take its place. Already the Fila and Cane Corso are moving quietly into Canadian cities and neighborhoods to replace the easily identified Rottweiler. For the creative, experiments in cross-breeding will always be two steps ahead of any legislative attempt to define “dangerous” on the basis of size, appearance or registry. (Give me an Australian Cattle dog, an Akita and a Silky Terrier, and I’ll make you a 25 pound wolverine that answers to “Fido”.)
Like the car accident or accidental shooting, dangerous dogs will remain a public safety reality so long as the hopelessly inept continue to seek them out. In the final analysis, the “root cause” is always the same and the solution ever elusive – for the law has yet to be written that’s been proven effective in curbing stupidity.
(So you think you know your dog breeds? See if you can identify these six – share your answers in the comments.)
Update: the answers
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Ah,Ontario.The only place that you can get bit not by a dog,but by a lottery ticket checker.
Interesting to say the least. I remember as a kid having a cocker spaniel as a family pet. True, loyal and faithful to the end (14+ years), she was like a four legged nanny. We got a replacement of the same breed (or so we thought) but that crazy thing decided to try and take my mother’s hand off for no apparent reason and earned itself a oneway trip to the vet. Being city folk the 22 cal. solution would have been too noisy.
I don’t really blame the dogs as they are only animals. It’s the people who try to make a quick buck, make up for their lack of testosterone or drive up the market for “Disney dogs”. You know what a disney dog is. Those dalmations, St bernards, collies and other breeds that TV or Hollywood has made so popular that everyone has to get one and then dump when the fad is over.
BTW, the pictures all show canines, probably from the same family line way back when. Other than that, I haven’t a clue.
The six dogs are:
Man’s best friend!!
I think D is a Boxer? I’m lost on the other five.
(E) is the closest to what I as a lay person would call a ‘pit bull’
Kate:
Is it true or false that the “pit bull” family of dogs are not “natural” but that they are man-made breeds specifically “designed” to be the most ill-tempered and ruthless killers possible?
Maybe it was propaganda (I don’t claim to be an expert), but I remember reading many years ago that the range of dogs known as pit-bulls were essentially experiments-gone-awry where breeders were trying to create the ultimate guard dogs – and weren’t ready for the result.
As you are obviously a dog lover, I can understand why you would be opposed to eliminating an entire breed (or just banning them outright). But, is it not reasonable to say that animals like these should only be in the hands of professionals?
I’m not sure what breed the dogs are but they all remind me of Hillary Clinton.
All the dogs in photos appear to have “pitbull”in them..not sure tho.I was the owner of a dumb as doorknob pitbull many years ago,before all the hoopla…other than being dumb (in the housebreaking area) she was extremely good-natured,loved to pull..would haul my boys all over town on their skateboards.She was never aggressive,and always happy to play with my boys,and all their friends.As for aggression,I have seen American Cockers,with a far worse attitude than my pitbull ever had..snapping at kids,and other dogs…and very territorial.also,had an Akita/cross,that was fine..until she had a litter of pups.she lost her mind,and turned incredibly mean,almost overnite.I love dogs,am now proud “Mom” to three boys..2 mixed breeds,and a Newf..all gentle boys.
I thought I knew my breeds, but nice test, there, Kate. Is B an American Boxer? And F a mastiff? I’m truly stumped.
A, C and E are Staffordshire Terriers, B and E look like Boxers and F may be a Bull Mastiff. Just a shot in the dark.
I’ll post the answers this evening.
The question of the origin of the modern “pit bull” was touched on in the post. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out what sort of dog a drug dealer is going to select for. It’s one of the reasons there are so many in city shelters – they aren’t tough enough to satisfy the owner’s expectations.
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/thoughts.html
To expand on it – the formally recognized breeds (Am Staffs and Staffordshire bulls, bull terriers) were originally bred for sport fighting and betting, but when this was outlawed many decades ago, some breeders continued on with the formally recognized bloodlines and instead of fighitng, concentrated on the show ring and home companion.
As it did with the Doberman, this change in “job description” necessitated the selection process favour a calmer, steadier, less “sharp” dog – while still potentially dangerous with other dogs who invite them into battle, the modern recognized show bred bull terrier breeds require a great deal more challenge and stimulation before those instincts engage.
I recognized the boxer because I had one as a kid. They are a wonderful dog with children.
I’m conflicted about banning entire breeds, but, I’ve seen enough menacing pitbulls on the loose years ago when we had a city townhouse that bordered a bad neighborhood. Too many little macho gansta punks buy pitbulls with the intention of making them mean. So you have these slobs, their irresponsible anti-social attitude, their killer dog and innocent children sharing a densely populated area. I have to agree with banning pitbulls in urban areas.
Also – all pure breeds are “man made”. Some are just older than others.
Just remember ‘Bryant’ ordered a holocaust on pitbulls… he should know better.
Well B looks like the little bugger that took a chunk out of my leg last summer (my fault not his) but that is as far as I can tell. I felt like hell when I had to tell the owners, but they saw me limping and asked.
bryceman. I am only the vaguest follower of dogs but it would seem to me that all of the domesticated breeds are not “natural”. All seem to have been bred to a specific purpose within our cultures. That is why a sheep herding dog is usually a lousy apartment pet.
“…for the law has yet to be written that’s been proven effective in curbing stupidity.”
Darwin’s law will always work. If we quit coddling the weak links through our nurse-nanny statist laws!
By diminishing the chances of the stupid to survive and procreate we can improve the overall quality of our own well being in many areas!
Some good places to start:
Youth Justice act – let all criminals pay the full price for the miscreant tendencies.
Education – Let the capable be rewarded and the incapable be re-routed into more productive pursuits than filling seats in out educational institutions.
Prisons – Let the career criminals earn their daily bread by productive labour that benefits the honest and law abiding taxpayer. Shovel snow in winter, sweep streets in summer, pull trash and deadfall from streams and river banks, beaches and lakes. Weed ditches and roadsides. Separate recyclables from other waste at landfills.
A. Pit Bull
B. Am Staff
C. Cane Corso
D. Boxer
E. Brindle Am Staff
F. Mastiff
My favourite experience recently with a dog-as-lifestyle-accessory debacle featured the purchase of a Lowland Polish Sheepdog. Why did this uber-wealthy woman want one? Cute and hypo-allergenic. And for the most part they are until they get to be about six months old. They stay cute physically and the don’t shed their “hair” but they have notoriously poor eyesight; this works really well if a predator enters the flock (in Poland ideally, in a lowland) – anything strange will be chased away with a harsh, grating bark, a pronounced charge, and a desire to wound if not kill. Unfortunately these same impulses play out in exactly the same way in wealthy south end Halifax.
Three strangers were bitten within a four month period at the onset of adolescence. The owner didn’t realize that the dog was now taking over household security.
A local dog trainer – a positive feedback ideologue – labelled the dog “angry.” I simply labelled him a dog doing what he was bred to do. Thousands of dollars in training bills later…
Well, at least he doesn’t bite as hard as he used to.
Actually OMMAG, what you are describing is not Darwinist but that fave of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: eugenics, which is a sort of applied yet heretical version of Darwinism. And don’t worry, eugenics wasn’t just the purview of fascist anti-semites, the Women’s Christian Temperence Union in Canada was a big proponent – pre WWII of course; science kind of pointed them in different drections. (You might remember the lawsuits settled in Alberta about 15 years ago; the government there was sterilizing the mentally handicapped without permission or consent until the early sixties. They thought that might “cleanse” the population. What it did do was deny people their dignity.)
I own a registered Boxer. I saw a pup and decided I wanted one, then researched for 9 months until I decided to get on a waiting list. I purchased a puppy from a very reputable breeder after an interview and a cooling-off period. The breeder has one, sometimes two litters per year, one litter only per bitch lifetime, only breeding when there are people waiting for each pup (mine was not taken by the original intended owner.) My pure-bred exactly matches the breed standard temperament. No surprises. This is the best way way to get a dog, especially in an urban setting.
During the research, I discovered many interesting bits about the industrial production of pet dogs, about responsible breeders, about propaganda from animal rights groups (the truth is bad enough).
The simple fact is that some people shouldn’t have dogs, and a great many breeders shouldn’t be allowed to produce mystery mutts with endless disorders (personality and otherwise) for fun and profit. (Although the general indication is that if you are managing to make a profit breeding dogs, you are running a puppy mill and are causing harm.)
I have decided that prospective owners need an owners license to prove that they know about the target breed, the costs of ownership, and their responsibilies, before being allowed to purchase a dog. Of course, that would be in a perfect world where politics couldn’t use such a system to defacto “ban” breeds.
Pitbulls: An electrician friend was called out to a rural site to install some yard lighting and discovered on arrival that it was a pitbull farm run by a biker. The guy was line-breeding the same group and always bred the females to death. Lovely family pets.
A. Staffordshire Bull Terrier
B. American Bulldog??
C. Cane Corso
D. Boxer
E. American Staffordshire
F. Bull Mastiff
Best guesses.
Great article.
As a vet, the dogs that I watch out for are American Eskimo (land sharks), Shiba Inu, Chow Chow, some Shih Tzu, German Shepherds, Dalmations (can be crazy), some Rotties (but you can usually tell by the look in their eye), and Chinese Shar-Pei.
That has to be the longest post about dogs in the history of the blogosphere.
I don’t need to know. i just know that if any one of the six got too close to my kids they’d get a snoot full of pepper spray.
My dog SWMBO says:
A) Pitbull
B) American Staffordshire Terrier
C) Cane Corso
D) Boxer
E) Staffordshire Bull Terrier
F) Neopolitan Mastiff
I disagree on F which I think is a mastiff photographed at a bad angle; but then I know little about dog breeds. I just get any dog all worked up and rambunctious, making me unpopular with the owners.
they are all pitbulls.
a staffie bull
b american staff
c no clue, bad picture ugly boston terrier?
d boxer
e american pit bull terrier
f brindle coated bull mastif bad picture angle
Bad breeders! All you need do is look at any SPCA website and find the links to backyard breeders and puppy mills, see the seizures, and the terrible filth. Any puppy in a pet store comes from a puppy mill – no reputable breeder sends puppies to stores. When you spend $500 dollars on that cute cocka-schnitza-poo all you’ve done is reward some schmuck for breeding whatever he had at hand. I’d love to recommend a shelter dog to everyone but the fact is many, if not most, shelter dogs are there for a reason. Unfortunately, today’s culture sees dogs as the new “children”, only disposable.
Foobis,
“some people shouldn’t have dogs, and a great many breeders shouldn’t be allowed to produce mystery mutts with endless disorders (personality and otherwise) for fun and profit”
I think the same could be said about children and I am only half kidding.
Not sure of a thru F, but this makes mincemeat out of any of them all: http://security-dog.org/dressura/chempion/chemp_04_09_05/foto/tamerlan.jpg
I’m the proud and happy owner of two well-adjusted Shih-Tzus. As for the other dogs, I don’t really know squat about breeds; the six you referenced all look like variations on “dangerous if provoked” to me. None look like “companion animals” per se.
B and E look most like what people seem to refer to as Pit Bulls in the neighbourhood. I just know to keep my pup away from them unless they and their owner demonstrate that it should be otherwise. My wife and I are goddogparents to a great Rotti-Lab cross -a total softy (it helps he’s known us since we could hold in in one hand) – but he’s scary looking enough to keep his owner safe when they walk at night.
WeBe Darwin…
I’m pretty sure that holding people accountable for their actions instead of encouraging and supporting or rewarding anti-social or negative tendencies is NOT eugenics.
I’m saying let nature take it’s course and quit subsidizing stupidity!
We would all benefit later on.
In fact our nurse-nanny approach is an inverse form of the eugenics concept and a practice that is NOT helping to make our society any better.
Just look at the results of the ignorant mouth breathers who think raising vicious dogs is FUN!
I’ll bet you’ll find that almost to a person these are social rejects and miscreants who at one point or another either were or should have been in jail.
At least the ones I’ve come across fit the bill.
My kids want a dog. I live with a shepherd/husky cross for 11 years (his entire life) and found him to be a boon companion and good friend, especially when traveling by car. Not the best dog with kids, though, especially when he was old and a bit arthritic. Not a biter, but certainly plenty of what my wife and I called “the crocodile smile” when kids approached him from behind.
I’d like a dog, too, but I’m leary. In Ottawa, the Humane Society brings dogs in from Iqualuit (and, after Hurricane Katrina, had dogs from New Orleans). This is cute and nice, but it suggests to me these are full-grown street dogs with no social skills with people and probably with other dogs. I would rather get a full-grown small or, at most, mid-sized dog, one that’s house trained and not insane.
What are my chances these days? Where should I go?
Pit bulls are statistically proven to be dangerous.
I like the idea of ethnic profiling when looking for terrorists, I’d have to agree with the idea of breed profiling as well.
km
Mark, send me an e-mail off-line and I can give you some advice. I have some small experience with shelter dogs.
Mark, about the only way you’re going to find a dog that’s full grown, healthy, housetrained and available may be through a breeder looking for a good home for a retired breeding bitch or older pup that didn’t quite make the grade.
Check out the sporting breeds – German shorthair pointers and the Brittany are among those I often recommend as good all round companion dogs for families. Labs are also popular for a reason. Be warned, though that hunting lines tend be more high energy (and maintenance) than show lines.
Pay attention to the purpose the breed was bred for. Dogs who nip at cattle heels are more likely to nip at kids heels. Sledding dogs like to run. And run. and run.
And always start with a search for the recognized national breed club and their membership lists – not individual breeder websites. You’ll usually find info on the health screening and guarantees considered appropriate for the breed.
Otherwise, you’re out of luck. Healthy adults are almost always given away for a reason, and you end up inheriting a health or behavior problem.
I don’t know Kate,,, but I sure as heck wouldn’t want to meet E in a back alley chained to a couple of spare tires.
,
KM:
“Pit bulls are statistically proven to be dangerous”
Last time I looked, German Shepards and Toy Poodles had the highest number of recorded bites in Canada. Consider that the Shepards are used extensively in law enforcement and that any bites by a police dog on duty (subduing a suspect) is included in the bite total.
A Staffordshire Bull Terrier
B American Staffordshire Terrier
C Cane Corso I believe, tough from the angle. Could be a cropped Persa Canario
D Boxer
E American Staffordshire Terrier
F Bull Mastiff
I’ve had good luck with pound pups with the caveat that they have all been black and mixed Labs(my eye). I’ve rescued a few and found them good homes. I got lucky one day at the pound and found Andy, a purebred Lab(age one maybe?), scheduled to be euthanized, sweet, a dufus. He’s living large on a New Mexico ranch with a 9 year old boy.
I’m all for purebreds for who and what they are when it comes to attactiveness and characteristics that are desired, but, you can’t beat a pound pup as a grateful orphan that seems to inherently know that you changed their fate.
Any advice on my next dog, I need a small one, it can’t be a yapper. The grandsons are age 3 and 5. For my husband and I, the sporting and big energy dogs are behind us. I don’t have a big yard anymore.
I’ll pass on the quiz since I have a copy of the source around here somewhere and I’d just cheat anyway.
It’s good to see at least some progress being made with regard to this asinine legislation. The vast majority of vets simply aren’t exposed to a large variety of breeds in their practises. I very well doubt they’d be able to distinguish many breeds apart let alone identify the parantage of a mix.
Although it’s never happened with a vet, there have been dozens of instances where people have stopped and asked if my Rhodesians were pitbulls. Given the law of the land here in ON that’s damn scary. Sure their registration papers should be enough to prove they aren’t “pitbulls” but just having to deal with the headaches because of some superficial resemblance would be a royal pain in the posterior.
Rat, I don’t have your e-mail.
Kate: Thanks for the good advice. I have clipped your comments and will sit down with the kids and explain this all. I don’t want to be browbeaten into getting some dog that is stupid or dangerous, and I don’t really want to take on anyone’s dog troubles.
PB – why are legally blind people asking you about your dogs? Seriously, I am no breed expert but a Rhodesian Ridgeback is a totally different dog.
We be Darwin’ said: Actually OMMAG, what you are describing is not Darwinist but that fave of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: eugenics, which is a sort of applied yet heretical version of Darwinism.
Rather than being a heretical form of Darwinism, eugenics would seem to be logically consistent with Darwinism. Darwin foresaw the extermination of the undesirable members of the human species in his writings, so why would it not be consistent to actively go down this path?
“At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes … will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as now between the negro or Australian [aborigine] and the gorilla.” Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1874 (2nd ed.), p. 178.
Trivia note: the term eugenics was coined by Charles Darwin’s cousin, Francis Galton
(sorry for following the rabbit trail, couldn’t help myself)
PB: Your dogs are very effective. I’ve noticed that Ontario is remarkably lion-free.
Penny,
We recently got a Shitzu Bichon cross. She has a great temperament and doesn’t bark much (I was very relieved as I don’t like yappy dogs). She is good with the kids and seems to be a good fit for our small city home. And, for the men out there, nothing says ‘I’m a MAN’ like walking one of these cute little dogs around – with a pink leash to boot!
We also had a basset hound in the past and I have nothing but good experience with that breed as well. My wife on the other hand got a bit tired of the drool issue, but loved her temperament & personality all the same. But they’re on the larger side – they just have small dog legs 🙂
What amazes me about all the places with restrictions on “large biting dogs” is that the Bull Terrier is never included. I bought a brindle and white, pure bread Bull Terrier in Belgium while I was in the military. Great dog with family, no matter what age. The only problem that I had with him was other dogs. At 52 lbs. this minature beast took down an overly aggressive Rottie before my eyes! At least if I saw a dog approaching me, I could easily pick him up.
I have also had numerous people say to me “oh, a pitbull.”
Pitbull? Maybe he looked like a rat on steroids or an evil version of “Toucan” from the Fruit Loops box, but a Pitbull?
D looks like a Boxer. Boxers are truly wonderful dogs, lots of fun, very gentle and very friendly.
Multirec,my son also owns a brindle,white-faced”bullie”.He is great also with the toddler,all friends/family,but you cannot let him anywhere near another dog,esp.a non-neutered male.He is the homeliest,horse-faced looking thing,but a clown at heart,and my son waited years to get him,loves him dearly.
Sammy, they’re sooo ugly that they’re cute. Mine is 12 years old now but really hasn’t slowed down too much. Now if he runs too much, he gets gimped up and walks on his forepaws, I’m not making this up! The power in their upper body is amazing.
Chihuahuas are some of the nastiest tempered dogs I’ve met.
As a child I had a miniature poodle who was very fierce & protective of me (no one could raise a hand in my vicinity without having to answer for it, usually with a bite, or at least a growl).
I currently have a very blonde golden retriever who is the sweetest dog in the world, although there is something called ‘retriever rage’ which can affect them when startled by loud noises.
Additionally, in the book “If your dog could talk… A training guide for humans”, pg 64, discussing coat colour and temperament, states ‘The underlying theme is that black-coated individuals withing a breed are more relaxed and reliable than golden-, apricot, or yellow-coated individuals of the same breed.’ This apparently is a result of differing pituitary and adrenal hormone levels associated with differing coat colours.