Unlike the craziness of yesterday (I blame the blood moon for all the strange behaviors, including crying and arguing students) today was a bit more mild. I’m thankful for that. I’m also thankful for the DNA results from my puppy. He was described as a pit bull/lab mix at the shelter where I got him, apparently a very common mix. Given the bad rap of pit bulls, I was a bit hesitant to adopt him. So I did some research before I took him home, and found, not surprisingly, how much the traits of pit bulls are exploited by the crappy owners who train them for malicious purposes. Pit bull terriers are extremely loyal to their families and tend to dislike other dogs. Add that to their strength and hence the propensity to train them to fight. In fact, in many articles I read, some of the most common breeds to bite people are small dogs, like the Dachshund, Chihuahua and Jack Russell. I know my parents always warned people that their Chihuahua’s may bite them, so they never let people get too close. Granted, small dogs’ strength isn’t quite the same, but their aggression tends to be downplayed because of their small size. In addition to research, I also had some conversations with other owners and people who work with dogs on a regular basis, which helped alleviate my fears. After all, he’s not a full-on pit, especially given the fact that he has a curly tail, the one thing that’s been the question mark. Even my vet was puzzled by what that would mean for his mutt mix. So, the DNA results confirmed that one of his parents was American Staffordshire Terrier and Labrador Retriever, along with some mixed breeding and his other parent was Boxer along with some mixed breeding. The mixed breeding isn’t guaranteed in the test, but the breed most likely is Shiba Inu, which would account for his curly tail. I’m glad to have my curiosity appeased on that and to know the likelihood of traits Chance has as far as temperament and size. I’ve already begun to see his personality and am glad to see he actually gets along with other dogs as well as people. Maybe the lab is more dominant there. He’s also proven to be quite intelligent, although a bit stubborn. He’s quite a sweetheart though. And as with kids, training is key, regardless of his DNA.