I have never met a Komondor I liked. All two of them. I have met many Pit Bulls that I liked. Two of the best examples of my work in my entire career are Pit Bulls. However, if every Pit Bull on the planet disappeared tomorrow it wouldn’t bother me all that much. Komondors too… and rescued racing Greyhounds…and a rather long list of dogs I don’t fancy for a variety of reasons. It’s not that I wouldn’t work with them or think they should be banned or actually removed from the planet – they simply aren’t my favorites. Pit Bulls are stigmatized in public. Whether that is justified or not isn’t my point. Their reputation can make my job more difficult. Racing Greyhounds are often very quiet dogs that are not as dynamic as I prefer. The only Komondors I worked with were both dangerous dogs. Making a determination about a breed from two dogs is stupid – so call me stupid. When I see that third one I will treat it objectively and have my spidey-senses on high alert until it proves it’s a nice doggie.

If you are already getting your hackles up, I understand. Having preferences about breeds is the rule – talking about your dislikes is taboo. I’m supposed to love all breeds of dogs. To make a criticism of a breed draws the immediate anger of that breed’s aficionados. In reality I am indifferent to their breed of choice. I don’t like cilantro, either and get flack whenever I say that. I have my own breed of choice, they have theirs. The two may coincide or not. For those of you who love a specific breed, that is something you likely have difficulty getting your head around. How can I not like Brussel’s Griffons or American Hairless Terriers? (I intentionally used two breeds I like for that example.)

I personally love Queensland Heelers. I love Dalmations, a foundational breed of ACD’s. I especially loved one named Dottie – who died far too young of heart failure…another characteristic of Dals. Gosh, do you think there is a pattern there? I also love Corgis – another heeling breed. I have come to love Boxers because of my wife’s family, even though one terrorized me every time I walked to the school bus when I was nine-years-old. You may not love any of those dogs. That doesn’t bother me. I will never tell you that secretly I forgive you for your lack of perception to know that Heelers are the best of all possible dogs. I will never say that to your face, although I know you feel the same way about me. So I smile half-heartedly as someone gushes over their Tervuren and tells me why it is so much better than a Malinois or a Dutch Shepherd.

Now we can speak plainly. I can’t care about your love-breed as you do. You can’t care about mine the way I do. I’m down with that. We all have characteristics that we love in our favorite breed. Most people never live with more than a handful of them in a lifetime. Trainers, groomers, shelter workers, vet staff and day-care people have an edge. Most people have a myopic tally-sheet of those half-dozen individuals they’ve known and assume that they are all like the ones they had as kids. If a dog of that breed is a jerk, they chalk it up to bad ownership. Surely, the Bichon that bites people is an anomaly. Many people just love oootsy-cutsey Dachshunds, never knowing that dachs in German means badger and that these little tubular terminators are intended to go down a hole and kill one of the nastiest mammals on Earth. That cute Rat Terrier got its name from being the best dog in the world at killing rats in a pit, for sport. (The record is 107 rats in 7 minutes in a London betting parlor and rat-pit in the early 20th Century.) Schnauzers – a breed I grew up with – are often called “Hitler’s Revenge” and the legend goes that they were created in secret laboratories to work as air-raid sirens. When the noise became unbearable, they decided to give them to returning soldiers to plague America for 1,000 years. Regardless of the legend, I do some of my best work with Schnauzers and I am as guilty as the next person – I keep thinking of Tina, Johann of Orange, my childhood buddy as the template for the breed.

So, I truly love dogs. I do not love every dog. Don’t be offended if I don’t come to the aid of your breed. You can have my honest opinion or you can have a doctored, defensive statement, like when some woman with an incredibly ugly baby says, “Isn’t he cute!!!!!” Oh, yes, he’s cute – if he was a baboon.

So, if you own a wolf-hybrid, Pit Bull, Cane Corso, English Mastiff, Bull Mastiff or any other breed that draws attention because of its inherent behaviors or physical characteristics, don’t expect anyone to tell you other than “Oh, yes, I’m sure your dog is the best dog on the planet”…as ½ quart of drool rolls out of the dog’s mouth on their leg. (St. Bernards fling saliva all over walls and ceilings. It has a slightly sicky-sweet smell that after 35 years I have never come to like or ignore. If the ceiling of your house is dotted with stains from Saint drool, I’m going to nod my head, smile, and find a way to make the visit as short as possible.)

In case you missed it, there are hundreds of breeds on the planet because people have different desires and there is nothing stopping someone from creating Wolf-a-Doodles. In fact, that has already been done for a scientific research project. Intellectually I think that might be a fun combo. If you have one and need it trained, give me a call. Don’t expect me to love it, but that may happen whether I like it or not.