…this is hard to overcome.
And an e-mail:
Rich:
Your reader’s standard Poodle may be aggressive toward strangers. But that dog is submissive to his master, only aggressive per master’s rules, and by golly every Poodle in the world is prissy. Not to mention the elephant-in-the-room: the dog is French!!
Meanwhile, if you want an American canine model, I suggest the Chesapeake Bay Retriever(very much not a Lab): tough, loyal, uncomplaining, dedicated to his genetic tasks of fetching and defending, a little rough on the edges, and damned hard-headed. Reminds me of a President I like.