WAY NE!

Hey how ya doing? I hope your back is OK!

Anyway, yes the vast majority of dogs doing real street work, are, as you say, prey based. Of course they are. The vast majority of dogs doing real street work are military and police dogs, meant to apprehend, to chase down and basically subdue. But then, I'm not a military or police handler, just an average Joe who, if he ever needs to employ his dog, had better not be sending said dog at a guy 50 feet away and possibly fleeing.

Let me ask a question, how often, as a ratio, do you suppose LEO and military dogs are used in an apprehension, as opposed to a 'protect the handler within leash range' role? I ask because I think the two roles are quite different, and require different qualities in the dogs, too achieve exemplary performance in each. I think that a dog with the right set of qualities for the one, can do the job of the other, just not as well. I've seen this on the trial field. I have seen dogs that excel at PPD blow at Patrol, and visa versa. It seems to me, and I could be way off here, that the more defensive dogs do better at PPD (as long as they get through the courage test) while the more prey oriented dogs excel at patrol. Now, as you know, I'm no guru and go by gut more than 'learned knowledge', but something tells me this is somehow related! (of course, you also know I like to stir things up and play Devils Advocate as well!)

I feel... obligated to argue on behalf of defensive dogs not because of some emotional attachment, but rather because the entire freakin' world seems to argue for prey based dogs, and the most common justification given is that they are the ones used. I have never been one to do something because it's what everyone else is doing, and nobody has yet been able to convince me, using logic and fact, that a prey based dog makes a better family protection dog (unless you prefer your couch be eaten ;p) I mean, WHY are they the superior breed type? Because everyone is using them? What are these myriad qualities? Do they not exist in defense based dogs? Easier to train? Well, they definitely adhere to training methods that were developed with prey based dogs in mind... I don't know. I just feel that by pronouncing one the winner, so to speak, not only has an entire realm of possibilties been closed off for those with very different needs than LEOs, Military, and Sport, but much history has been forgotten.