Jennymnemonic is right
It is about how the dog is trained. An owner who rolls their eyes and smiles when the dog is antisocial is giving tacit approval of their pet's behaviour. No doubt they're crap parent material too.

I know someone who has a German Shepherd / Rottweiler cross. Guess what? He's an adorable dog, he's affectionate and very obedient. The difference here is that the owner understands dog psychology.

Too many dog owners will try and apply human morals to their pet. It doesn't work, because dogs ain't human.

Dogs are hierarchial creatures, meaning they need to recognise their place in any pack structure. If a dog sees an opportunity to improve it's social rank then it'll do just that. Likewise, it'll interpret a weak owner as a pack subordinate.

My friend's dog is affectionate and happy because there's been discipline from day one. He knows his place in the family and this is reinforced to him every day. He gets his dinner after everyone else and is not allowed to touch his meal until he receives a command. In the wild, a pack of dogs operate a strict hierarchy around meals, the pack leader has first dibs on a kill, followed by the lower ranks and finally the pups. If you don't reinforce this behavior in your dog then you're effectively telling him that he's the leader of your family pack.

Which is why he'll snap at the kids.

I agree that bad pet ownership is a reflection on people's parenting skills. Laziness and lack of empathy are inexcusable regardless of whether you're in charge of a dog or a brace of brats in Tesco.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Thu 13 Dec 2007, 12:49, Reply)