Quote Originally Posted by CA Jack View Post
I agree there is nothing wrong with being smarter (or better-read) than the average bear ... nor is there anything wrong with being a novice.

But all your use of %s, hyphenated words, etc. made me think you sounded like me (lol), and then it got me wondering as to who you are

In dogs, everybody needs to concentrate on looking over their shoulders ... and assessing who their company is.

So you either seem like a novice to me ... who is going to wind up doing very well (if you stick with it) ... or you seem like a cop/HSUS researcher who's wanting to gather a lot of information

I looked at your stats, and IP address, etc., and (if accurate) you're pretty young, so I guess I will be giving you the benefit of the doubt.

So, good luck,

Jack
Hi Jack, apologies for the late reply; was outta town visiting family for the weekend & was not online at all, I'm sure you know how it is.

I'm not that smart (I don't equate "educated" w/"smart"...sometimes they the same, & sometimes they ain't!). Self-education is the best kind, I have found, anyway. And I do read a lot, like I said, so that's where like 98% of it comes from. And I totally get the looking over your shoulder thing: I appreciate people who appreciate security, honestly, so I don't mind being assessed. I'm actually glad you thought enough of me to do that! B/c...please believe me...I am no cop (have been told I look like one, though...I think it's mostly the fact that I'm big!) And as for HSUS...NO! Dear God, no! Those people are almost completely responsible for the fact that we have to look over our shoulders in the first place. And I detest that. I completely agree w/the introduction in your book & also posted here. It shouldn't be anybody's business if anyone is matching dogs, so long as no one is being hurt (& I've never heard of anyone being hurt). If it's not your hobby, that's fine & I get that. It's not for everybody. But those people wanna stick their nose in & tell people how to spend their free time or dictate what hobbies are acceptable, & I just...don't like that at all. I sometimes wonder if it's too far gone anymore to return to a saner time, what w/all the media hype about the bulldog. I fear it may be.

I am a novice, & always willing to learn from those more experienced & expert, which is why I'm here. I just think it's the greatest breed on earth, & want it to stay that way. If nobody could test for gameness, where the hell would the dogs be? Glad you think I'm young too; I'll pass that along to my wife, she'll be thrilled, lol.

Thank you for the benefit of the doubt. If I ever make you, or anybody else on here, uncomfortable, in any way, I will never darken your doors here again of my own volition. You have my word on that. It's not what I'm about, at all. I just like talking about this stuff w/people who are expert in it. And I hope that it will lead me to make very good decisions about the dogs in the (hopefully near) future, learning something useful from those who have gone before. Nothing more sinister than that, I assure you.