Comment to American Bully
-
I think the dog above looks very impressive, but you need to bear in mind that looks aren't the be all end all. Physically, the dog certainly has the tools to be a manstopper, but that doesn't mean it has the mental attributes to be one. Here's the issue I see us facing as molosser owners. In one word... Denial. Just because a dog looks very impressive and is physically very strong doesn't make them a personal protection dog, a working dog, etc. I hear over and over again from molosser owners (and pet owners in general) that make excuses as to why their dogs fall short. I'll give some examples from my personal experience so hopefully I don't offend anyone. I have cani corsi. My male is very althletic for his size and honestly one of the healthiest dogs I've ever had. He's 130 lbs and easily runs 4-5 miles at a time. Aside from the occassional diarrhea and skin acne, he's rarely been sick. We did Penn Hip on him and he's in the 80th percentile for the breed (.45 and .48 DI if i remember correctly). He's a great pet and I love him dearly. I bought him as breed quality, but in my opinion, he's not a breeding prospect. We did some protection work with him, but he's very lacking in prey drive. He does have defense and has been through a few protection sessions. However, he doesn't have a lot of aptitude for it. He'll bite a sleeve, but isn't overly comfortable doing it. He's strong as hell. In fact, I couldn't physically hold him back during agitation. Do his shortcomings mean he's a bad dog? No. Does it mean I'm going to dump him in a shelter? No. I got him as a pet. I don't know much about working dogs and I didn't get him to be one, so I don't think it's fair to expect him to be one. My wife married me when I was a geeky analyst. Should she dump me because I'm not a Green Beret? I sure as shit hope not. Do my dog's shortcomings mean I won't breed my dog? Yes. I grew up with herders. My whole life we had GSD's. The last one's mother had a Schutzhund title and his father was a search and rescue dog. He had so much drive, he drove us nuts. I'm well aware of the difference between herders and molossers, but I'm asking you one thing. Will you focus on function over form, performance over legend? They're laughing at us right now. Go to any Schutzhund, PSA, or Ringsport club and tell them you own an LGD, AB, APBT, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino, Fila, or anything aside from a GSD, Malinois, or Dutch Shepherd. Watch the look on their face and their body language as you listen to their response. If they're polite, their posture will tell you all you need to know. If not, their words will. Saying your dog would do better in a real situation because the test is artificial and designed for someone else (herders) is like saying you could be an MD or PHD when it really mattered. There are molossers out there that will work and perform, but us all having our heads in the sand won't help our chosen breeds. I issue a challenge to myself and all of you reading this. Will you improve your breed of choice? Will you set objective breeding (performance and health) criteria that all dogs in your program will satisfy without question? Will you washout a dog regardless of the lines behind them or how much you paid for them if they do not satisfy your critieria? Will you test your stock for health, nerves, and stability? Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?...