In a message dated 1/17/2007 11:17:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx writes: Everyone keeps offering up stories of dogs lunging or attacking or frothing at the mouth.....OBVIOUSLY....these dogs have bad temperaments........are these the only examples of dog bites we can think of? ATTACKS are one thing, a dog biting you because you stepped on it's foot and then looking apologetic afterward MIGHT be quite another..... Cindy cinosamgsd.com Geeze Cindy, you are a lot more forgiving than I. I can't Imagine owning a dog that would bite if I stepped on it's foot. I step on feet and tails all the time. Sometimes they get out of the way and other times (like when I'm loading the dishwasher and they want to "help"), they look disgusted and don't move. What happens when you quick a nail? Or when something hurts them and you have to have a look-see (like say when Justin ate a bunch of bees this summer and I needed to "see")? Or when they have to behave for something unpleasant that might sting? What happens when you are struggling to assist with a breech birth? Do you excuse it if your bitch bites? Or do you have nylon muzzles and help around when you perceive they aren't going to like something? My dogs are around small children. (Other peoples', I don't have any.) They get tread on, bumped into on a routine basis. I've had both OB and breed judges trip and fall into a dog on the ring. What then? I won't feed a dog that's too dumb to distinguish a real threat (intruder) from a perceived threat (an "ouch" from being tread on.). That's not to say I'm heavy handed, in fact quite the opposite. But I've lived with too many good ones to make excuses for a dog that isn't. I can understand reading some bozo in a newspaper thinking the St. Louis dog might be ok to live out his life in a pen on its own. After all, he's some bozo in a newspaper. What boggles my mind is perceived "dog people" on a dog list make excuses when it comes to temperament. It's black and white to me. If you step on your dog's foot, it shouldn't bite. If someone else steps on your dog's foot, it shouldn't bite. Kathy member GSDCA, DVGSDC three generations of Dual Titled TC'd Champions live here! visit _Pine Hill German Shepherd Dogs_ (http:// www.geocities.com/pinehillgsds/) ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================