[Bridgester]

However, don't be fooled by the "loyalty" bit. A dog will be loyal to the hand that feeds him and primarily for this reason. I should add that your assertion regarding a dog's 'loyalty' is pure horse hockey. When I was about 10 or 11 our family got an English Shepherd shipped to us as a puppy from an English Shepherd breeder. Laddie was a great dog. After much turmoil in our family my widowed father remarried and moved from the farm into the city. I remained on the farm with Laddie. I didn't formally train Laddie, but he had routine things he would do on command. I got pulled off the farm (literally kicking and screaming) and stuck in the city living with my father and my wicked stepmother. Laddie got dropped off with my evil stepmother's parents at their place in the country (my evil stepmother had a place for her miniature Schnauzers at our house, but not for Laddie). When I went off to college and points beyond Laddie was finally brought into town to live with my father and wicked stepmother in another house with a larger backyard. This is where Laddie was further isolated. Sure, he was fed and watered, but he essentially got ZERO affection. I came back to visit for Christmas and found Laddie 'abandoned' in the backyard. In his old age Laddie was overjoyed to see me after not seeing me for years. He IMMEDIATELY began doing his repertoire of the things I had taught him, and as he did my heart was broken since I knew that he didn't have anyone loving him at the end of his life (I cried as I typed this).

So with respect to your assertion about a dog's loyalty you apparently don't know shit from fried lettuce.