Seems a mixed bag of opinions out there
I did come across
Those pretty much agree with the others.
They do assert that genetics are the main contributor to the dogs' appearance, and go on to say that genes "might" define some basic behaviours (spoiler: there's no 'might', they
definitely do!) such as herding, chasing and other behaviours that define what jobs they're bred for.... But still they agree that the vast majority of the personality comes from environment and upbringing.
If it's most cases, it's not definitive they won't ever bite. I have a friend who brought a dog back from Cyprus, a country notorious for treating dogs badly. It's a very cute dog, which as you would expect, attracts a lot of attention. A gentleman went to stroke it when my friend was stood with the dog, on a lead, and it went for the guy.
My friend's (incorrect) response when the guy challenged that he was nearly bitten: "Shouldn't have tried to stroke him then"
I always told him the dog should be muzzled if he knew it could bite, which he did know because how the dog's bad upbringing in Cyprus made it untrusting of people. He didn't seem to understand that what I was saying was best for him and the dog, because the authorities wouldn't see it his way if it did eventually manage to catch someone with it's teeth.
Not at all definitive, no - It's more a case of knowing (and later recognising) the circumstances under which your dog likely will bite someone... but that's because every dog has its limits, just like every human does. It's no different to a friend of mine knowing when I will have had enough **** and decide to ******* deck the lairy drunken **** getting in my face down the pub, really... while hopefully dragging me away before I do so. Dogs just have different body language, is all.
In the case above - No, the gentleman should
not have just gone up to a strange dog and tried to stroke it. I dunno what modern kids are taught, but even from primary school everyone was taught how to behave around dogs, especially other people's. Everyone I grew up with and around knows you should always ask before approaching someone else's dog.
However, your friend should also have known it could happen, known how likely it was or wasn't, and have kept a closer eye on the dog under his control. Muzzling may not always work with certain dogs and going through socialisation training is always challenging, especially for new owners. You cannot be inattentive with a dog in such situations.
They normally like to be left alone when eating and if they don't it's because it's been trained out of them (not necessarily purposefully) and they now accept it's safe to have someone near at dinner time. If you have more than one dog they will usually leave a respectful distance from each other during feeding time. However, you do have to be careful such instinct doesn't morph into more generalised guarding behaviour where every treat/toy is protected the same way as that can develop into a real problem. I've owned one dog like that and never did manage to get rid of guarding to the point I would never giver her a bone to chew, but she was absolutely fine otherwise.
