bite dog, bite bear

[donna]

bite dog, bite bear. A saying that expressed no interest in an outcome of something. In his famous Andersonville diary, Union prisoner John L. Ransom noted that he had heard rumors of a Union victory, but added: "It's 'bite dog, bite bear' with most of us prisoners; we don't care which licks, what we want is to get out of this pen." The expression came from the ancient sport of bear-baiting.

From The Language of The Civil War by John D. Wright page 29.