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[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

So you seem to be a firm believer that it's genetics, not upbringing, 
that makes an animal.  Maybe Jews are more suited to owning stores, and 
blacks make better teachers, by this model.  I think you must have never 
seen a dog to imagine that their genetic code determines a taste for food.

My Audubon guide to North American mammals says that the southern red 
wolf has crossed so much with other dogs that this fact alone has led to 
its undoing.

Aren't the stats you love quoting highly dependent on the situation?  In 
the vast majority of wolf moments, there are no dogs or people to 
interact with.  It's much like the "Catch-22" ruling that the California 
Community College cannot exclude non-speakers of English from any 
courses, despite the statement in the by-laws that enrollees must "be 
capable of benefitting from instruction".  The judge ruled that no one 
had proven statistically that people who don't speak the language stand 
to do poorly in a course.  That's because none had been allowed in 
previously, to base any statstics on.  So likewise, data that no wolf 
ever did such-and-such are so meaningless when there are so few wolf 
sightings.  Why not construct an actual experiment?  That won't happen 
because you know that wolves eat anything.

Bill

Lynda wrote:

> 100% German Shepherds aren't kind and gentle to sheep.  Why would you expect 
> one 50% or 25% to be kind and gentle, part wolf or part anything else?  GS 
> dogs are the most likely to be found running lifestock than most other 
> breeds.  Not a very good example.
>
> BTW, most hybrids are husky and malamute crosses.
>
> And, if your dog catcher isn't some rube who only got the job because he 
> took a generic county employment test, s/he should be able to tell the 
> difference between a wolf, a hybrid and a German Shepherd.  If not, he 
> should get into another line of work!
>
> Lynda
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bill Jones" <billj AT harborside.com>
>
>
>  
>
> > Translation:  I've hit the nail on the head.  When the dog catchers
> > arrive, no one will have the slightest idea who the Canis X in question
> > really is, will they?  Explain to us how exactly dogs that are 1/4 wolf
> > and 3/4 German shepherd are less kind and gentle to sheep than a 50-50
> > mix.
> >
> > Bill
> > S. Oregon coast
> >    
>
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