Hmmm.... 3

Katrina,

Thanks for your input, I appreciate anyone who is willing to take their time to give their opinion.

I have never been to Australia so I have no idea what the quality of dogs in that part of the world is like, so I can not speculate on what you have seen. So on that particular subject I will simply choose not to disagree or give my opinion one way or the other. I do know that you have a strong interest in the Bandog type animal as evident by articles you have wrote on them, so I will not even claim to have seen the amount or quality of defensive based dogs that you have. This being said….

The true nature of defense is survival, this basic fact does not change. I have stated in my previous comments that there are many things that go into the overall picture concerning a dog while it is engaged in a confrontation. A few of these qualities that I feel are extremely important during a fight are Nerve and Courage. They each play a very significant role in the dogs ability to stay in a fight whether or not they are prey or defense based. Nerve in my opinion is the amount of pressure a dog is able to handle before becoming afraid. Courage is the ability to continue fighting even though you are afraid. These qualities are not prey or defense based, so correct breeding should lead to a solid foundation in either case. These two qualities add into the overall picture when you are watching a dog do bite work, yet do not change the foundation of why the dog is biting. This in itself makes the prey based animal superior as a general rule, they are engaged in a fight for two completely different reasons.

I do not disagree at all that defense based animals are able to transition between all the different drives, simply because they are. I simply feel that they can not relieve the pressure of a fight with the same effectiveness that a prey based animal can.

I do not feel that comparing any wild dog, wolves, dingoes, etc. is in any way valid to an conversation concerning working dogs is realistic. We (humans) have over many generations changed these animals in such a drastic way that their mental make-up is different enough to make the argument irrelevant.

I hunted hogs for many years as a kid in the low lands of Florida, I hunted with Black-Mouth Curs, Florida Curs, Catahoula Leopard Curs as a tracking / bay dog and bulldog mixes as catch dogs. At that point in my life I was not into working dogs, yet I see many similarities in the curs and bulldog mixes that I used, and the Mals and Shepherds that I work today, they were prey based. I see no reason at all that the herder types would not make fine hunting dogs, yet I have never tested this theory. I am getting off track here though because the discussion is about working dogs doing bite work, not about hunting dogs so I will leave this subject alone.

I agree that there are not enough good quality defensive based dogs out there, I have never personally seen one that I would put in the range of good prey types never mind your top level dog. I think this is for two reasons, first is that the average breeder does not breed for working traits and they have had their hands on them much longer then your working line prey animal. The second is that the prey animal is superior in working qualities, we no longer use a horse to pull a plow, we use a tractor it is simple advancement, so the market for high quality breeders of defensive based dogs has declined in that arena.

I think the defensive based dogs out there need strong minded breeders who are breeding for working qualities, that take in the big picture of character. I know hardly nothing about you yet I get a sense you have an honest desire to breed quality dogs so I am in turn thankful for your efforts concerning them. I hope you understand where I am coming from on the fundamental difference in their base drives though, the other qualities change the picture yet do not change the underlying reason for the dog to bite.

I would love to see an example of these fine defensive based dogs that you have, any chance that you are coming to the World Championships in November at Butchs place? I would love to get a chance to catch a good defensive dog….

Wayne