When my dogs do something wonderful and brilliant, of course it is because of nuturing, because I have trained them so well.
When my dogs do something horrible and disobedient, of course it is because of nature, an inherited issue that can't be resolved.
Hey, works for me!
Seriously, I think it is a combination.
For example, my dog Lacie hates kids and is aloof and not at all snuggly and cuddly. She has been like this since the day I got her, at about five weeks old. I have tried and tried to change these things, but it's just the way she is. Nature.
However, there are many, many things that my rescue dogs did or didn't do when I got them, that I have since taught them to do/stop doing. Nurture.
The same is true of humans. A huge amount of what we do and know is learned behavior. However, there is a lot that is not. I don't like loud noises, crowded places, or the taste of asparagus. I like the color purple, the taste of vanilla. I am afraid of heights and insects. These are nothing I've learned, it's just how I am. Nature.
"We give dogs the time we can spare, the space we can spare and the love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made" - M. Facklam
"We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers - thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams."- P.S. Beagle
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king." - J.R.R. Tolkien
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