SoTier

I read the summary and then plowed through most of the actual article. I think this is the key statement from the full article: "Behavioral factors show high variability within breeds, suggesting that although breed may affect the likelihood of a particular behavior to occur, breed alone is not,contrary to popular belief, informative enough to predict an individual’s disposition." BTW, I think my dog Gibbs might have been part of this study! When I got his DNA results back, I participated in a voluntary owner survey which asked many questions about behavior, disposition, physical traits, and health. They used the same little circle format for owner supplied photos as they used in the main article!

Today's sighting at Bergman Park -- a flock of a dozen turkey vultures apparently drinking from some large puddles in a dirt roadway at the back end of the park. I saw one swinging low over the field well before my dog and I came around the shoulder of the hill, so I knew they were there. I expected to see a carcass but there was nothing there, so it had to be the water. They were very big with huge wing spans. It was interesting to watch them fly off. They all faced the same direction -- southwest, into the wind -- before taking off when they realized I was coming their way. I guess that was the best way to get air under their big wings. They also took off in three waves as if they were in a formation rather than in a single flock like pigeons or ducks might do. Normally, vultures nest and roost on cliffs so that they can catch thermals to help lift them, so that was quite surprising!

Yes, they will -- or pee all over your house, too. It's mostly if they feel they're being ignored rather than lack of exercise. They are non-shedders, so they may be suitable for people with allergies, but not people who aren't willing to include them in the family activities. Male Airedales should hit 60 pounds or more, and some of the old-style ones top 80 pounds. Today, the breed is very good tempered, but in the heyday of their popularity in the 1920s, they were infamous for being fierce guard dogs. They were used in the 1950s and 1960s in the western US to hunt cougars and bear along with various hunting cur hounds. In fact, today Airedales compete in hunting field trials like sporting breeds like pointers, spaniels, and retrievers. I grew up with Airedales, which my dad used as hunting dogs with his pack of Black and Tan Coonhounds, and I had one of my own as an adult for over a decade. He was not a hunter, however, just fifty pounds of lap dog and hiking companion.

Irresponsible breeding does not necessarily result in dogs with bad temperaments. It mostly results in 1) oversupply of dogs and 2) unhealthy dogs. Furthermore, irresponsible breeders are not necessarily just the scum running puppy mills, but also the family guy down the street who decides to breed his unspayed female Lab to his neighbor's unfixed male Lab that has been suffering from hip displasia since he was 2 years old. It can also be the breeder dreaming of winning his breed at Westminster who doesn't care that the puppies from his/her next litter will have the same dog as 3 of the 4 great-grandsires. Boxer mixes are frequently mistaken as pit mixes. Many of the cur dog breeds that developed as hunting/farm dogs in the Appalachian Mountains in the nineteenth century and spread primarily through the Upper South and into Louisiana and Texas like the Catahoula Leopard Dog, the Tennessee Treeing Brindle, and the Mountain Cur can easily be mistaken for pit mixes as well. These breeds are about the size of pitbulls, have short hair, and are strong, muscular dogs usually with stocky builds. DNA testing is the only sure way to determine what breed mixture a dog really is because looks can be deceiving. Veterinarians, vet techs, and shelter workers give it their best guesses, but there's no guarantees on what gets passed down through the genes. My friends had a leggy, short-haired boy named Isaac that was primarily white with some black spots. He looked like some kind of Dalmation or Greyhound mix. He turned out to be Doberman and Border Collie. My boy Gibbs' mom looked to be a smallish tri-colored Aussie shepherd, but as Gibby began growing he bore an increasing resemblance to a odd-colored Dingo (he's gray/black color called a blue merle) rather than to an Aussie shepherd, and he became significantly bigger and stockier than an Aussie as he matured. It turns out he's about 40% Blue Heeler, 30% Aussie Shepherd, and 30% smattering of German Shepherd, Norwegian Elkhound, Black Lab, and "general dog genes". FYI -- the Dingo look in Gibbs' late puppyhood came from his Heeler ancestry as Heelers were mixed with Dingos in Australia. Australia Shepherds originated in Callifornia and have no connection to Australia -- or Dingos. Well said, sir!

Do Pitties set up their own fighting rings????

I'm glad you brought up mastiffs because they seem to be the favorite "guard dog" of new generation of sickos and/or criminals seeking to weaponize dogs. Lots of dog breeds have less than ideal temperaments, but it's the owners/handlers/supposed trainers who make individual dogs dangerous by their mistreatment.

Dogs, like people, are individuals with different temperaments and personalities. Some are stubborn, some are very smart, some are possessive, etc. Most dogs in the US are the descendants of dogs purposely bred to do certain jobs, and that human intervention in their ancestry often shapes their behaviors. Some of the traits that are useful for a breed's original purpose can make a dog a difficult pet when they no longer have real jobs. Working dogs like border collies and aussie shepherds, etc are notorious for getting into trouble because of their high energy. Small terriers can sometimes be aggressive because they were originally used to hunt rats and mice around homes and farm buildings. More importantly, when some breeds become popular, puppy mills and backyard breeders get into the mix and frequently fail to breed for good temperaments. If the dog is the right "look" or size or color, they breed that dog to make money. People tolerate small dogs like dachshunds and chihauhuas that have bad temperaments. They don't tolerate bad temperaments in large dogs, however, Great Danes, Newfies, and Leonbergers are among the gentlest of dogs. Unfortunately for pit bulls (officially American Staffordshire Terriers), their strength, tenacity, and loyalty attracted criminal elements involved in dog fighting and drug trafficking back in the 1980s, and the breed became synonymous with viciousness. It's important to keep in mind, however, these facts: All dogs have a prey drive, some significantly stronger than others. Even golden doodles can chase and attack what they perceive as prey, especially small furry things like cats and smaller dogs but sometimes small running children. All dogs are territorial, again some individuals more than others. They also express their territoriality in different ways, most notably by barking at intruders to their space, but jumping at windows and fences are common, too. Dogs are pack animals. They need a "family". Most dogs, especially in one dog households, bond to their humans. In multi-dog households, the dogs bond to each other as well as to their humans. Dogs that regularly go to dog parks or are walked often with the same group of dogs may form packs with their besties. Like teenagers, alone each is good but two or three or four together can breed real trouble. The same with dogs in a pack. Any dog that's mistreated or frightened or "mistrained" can bite or maul a person. All breeds have a range of temperaments, too. How a dog is raised and treated has much more to do with its behavior than its breed. It's the responsibility of owners to train and socialize their dogs to make them good citizens. Dogs need to respond to basic commands. They need to come when called, walk on a leash, not jump up on visitors etc. Socializing dogs gets them used to dealing with other people, other dogs, new situations, etc so that they behave in situations outside their homes or yards. Not all dogs have temperaments or personalities that enable them to go to dog parks or doggie day care, but they still need to have some new experiences. Keeping dogs locked in a yard or tied on a leash, and only taking them to the vet maybe once a year can reinforce territoriality, pack mentality and fear aggression.

More importantly to the idea that the Bills need 2 legit TEs, when Knox was injured this past season, the offense struggled, including Kincaid. When Knox came back, the offfense improved significantly. The Bills want to run a lot of 2 TE sets so that they can run or pass with the same personnel on the field, making it harder on defenses. They need to have two legitimate pass catching TEs.

Or, maybe, the Eagles are suffering from "Super Bowl loser syndrome": the team that loses the Super Bowl struggles the next season, frequently even not making the playoffs. Of the last 10 Super Bowl losers, only the Seahawks and Chiefs made the playoffs the season after their SB loss. XLVII - Broncos XLIX - Seahawks L(50) - Panthers LI - Falcons LII - Patriots LIII - Rams LIV - 49ers LV - Chiefs LVI - Bengals LVII - Eagles

Generally, DTs like Oliver take longer to come into their own than DEs simply because the learning curve for interior linemen tends to be longer than for the edge rushers; there's more to learn in the pro game than in college. That doesn't mean that Rousseau can't improve his sack numbers, but it seems that he's not real likely to do so. However, that doesn't bother me much because he's a good DE against both the pass and the run.

I can still remember those words and the hockey stick flying into the air as the buzzer sounded. After that, the final game, a few days later (when Team USA actually won the gold medal), was anti-climatic. Beating the Russians in 1980 was like the UB Bulls beating the Bills, and to do it in Lake Placid, their "home ice", was magical.

I have always loved raptors, going back to when I was a kid growing up in the country and would hear screech owls in the nearby woods. They're my favorite birds.

The Bills use a DL rotation so their best Dlinemen don't get as many reps as the best Dlinemen on teams that usually only sub when necessary. That can certainly impact sack stats, especially for guys who miss a couple of games or who play hurt for several games. I don't know which philosophy is best, but the Bills system works for them with the players they have and seem to like; they had a sound defense this past season despite suffering key injuries on defense. It may be that Beane and McDermott envision a defense where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. As for the draft, I doubt that the Bills draft a DE in the first round simply because the edge rushers with 1st round grades will be long gone when the Bills get their shot. I wouldn't be surprised to see them use a later pick on one, however. When they realized that Edmunds wasn't going to be the guy at MLB they drafted him to be, they drafted Bernard in the third round in 2022.

While walking my dog this morning in Bergman Park, I spotted two hawks (possibly red-tailed hawks) hunting over a large grassy field of 4 acres or so. Their calls alerted me to look up. Just as I located them, a crow showed up to harass them. Mr Crow was soon joined by 3 compatriots and the hawks departed. The behavior of crows and other smaller birds harassing raptors is called "mobbing".

Sacks aren't the only measure of a DE's pass rushing ability. Rousseau does get after the QB. He not only had 18 QB hits in 2023, but he also disrupted passing lanes, forced QBs to hurry passes, and knocked down passes. More importantly, Rousseau is a good all-around DLer who plays the run well. Teams need those kinds of DEs as well.

Why do fans have to be "concerned" about Greg Rousseau at this point? He's a good young player with 2 years left on his rookie contract at a bargain price for the level of his play if the Bills pick up his fifth year option (which they would do if he continues to play at his current level). If Rousseau improves, then the Bills will extend him. If he doesn't, then they'll let him walk so somebody else will overpay for him. That's exactly what they did with Edmunds -- and i don't see how that can be seen as a "problem" since the Bills had Terrell Bernard ready to replace him. FTR, most first round draft picks don't become "difference makers", especially those drafted late in the round. Getting a good starting quality DE at the end of the first round who plays for five seasons is not a "miss", especially for a team that has to pay a veteran franchise QB.

I totally agree, which is why I didn't participate in the poll. Having the Bills always being a serious contender for the Super Bowl is infinitely preferable to having them struggling to win even half their games. Losing in the playoffs hurts terribly for a little while, but it's not the soul-crushing misery that came from watching the Bills regularly miss the playoffs season after season because the ownership and front office didn't make winning football games their highest priority. Been there, done that too much in my 60+ years as a Bills fan, so I will continue to enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts, even if it each season eventually ends in disappointment.

I remember the moment I heard the news from Kent State just like I remember the moments I heard that Kennedy had been shot, that the Challenger had exploded, and that a plane had slammed into the World Trade Center.

Some other memories of the 1970s ... - on May 4, 1970 four students at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, were killed when National Guardsmen opened fire on a crowd of students protesting the US bombing of Cambodia. The US interference in Cambodia led directly to the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot ruling the country and the death of more than 2 million Cambodians. - Secretariat's magnificent 26 length win in the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1948. Time Magazine featured him on their cover as "Super Horse" in June, 1973. - the resignation of Richard Nixon as POTUS on August 8, 1974, in order to avoid impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal - the chaotic scenes of the last US helicopters departing Saigon in April, 1975 - the Blizzard of 1977, infinitely worst than our recent blizzards IMO because of the breadth, strength, and duration of the blizzard conditions as well as the extreme cold (Blizzard of 1977). Surprisingly, 23 people died in this blizzard in all of WNY -- in an era before 24-7 weather, storm warnings days ahead of the event, weather alerts, cell phones, etc -- compared to about 50 in the 2022 storm. The Bills were 0-for-the-1970s against the Fish. When the Chuck Knox-coached Bills beat the Fish 17-7 in Rich Stadium on opening day, 1980, the fans tore down the goalposts. The celebrations for the Bills making the Super Bowl a decade later probably wasn't as great as that moment.

You know this how, exactly? Even if you were a black person, how can you claim to speak for all blacks who have lived in both places? Aside from that, most states are large enough that there are huge differences between various regions within each state. My guess is that the Gulf Coast is significantly different from the Delta just as Long Island is almost an alien world compared to the Adirondaks.

As long as Purdy can play for Shanahan or a Shanahan disciple, he'll probably do well. I'm not sure he would be very good playing for many other coaches.

Didn't Bortles derail his career with too much partying? I thought that was the story going around when he failed so miserably in several spots after looking so promising early in his career.

First round QBs who bust generally have the physical tools to be good NFL QBs but lack the " intangible" talents/skills that even adequate NFL QBs need to be successful. They frequently fail to make good decisions, process what they see fast enough, learn to read defenses etc. They keep getting chances, however, because they look so good in practice that coaches are convinced they can do the same for short stretches in real game time. Mitch Trubisky is a good example. So is Gabbert. Successful backup QBs tend to be less physically gifted but make up for that with being better with intangibles. Frequently, they learn the nuances of the game so that they know what to do in most situations. Just as frequently, though, they don't have quite the physical talent to play consistently. Some are good enough to even making low-end starters -- at least for a while. I think QBs like Case Keenum and Brian Hoyer are examples of this. The Bills don't need a backup QB to inspire anyone. They need a reasonably priced backup QB who can come into a game on short notice and not lose the game with stupid plays. I'm not sure that they will be able to find one.

Gabbert or Jones, just say no to first round QB busts.

When I lived in the Town of Colonie outside of Albany, the Skunk Capital of the Civilized World, in the 1990s, the tried and true solution was Scope mouthwash. I cannot speak to its effectiveness as my German Shorthaired Pointer was way too smart to mess with skunks.