Has anyone had experince with their pit bulls being protective? I know that(human)aggression is Totaly out of line with the breed standard. on the other hand, while they arent good guard dogs, I realize that I dont know anything about whether they are protective or not. I feel certian that they are not protective to the extent that a GSD might be but what is acceptable?

does anyone have any stories?

P.S. I know that there are individuals of the breed who are involved in schutzund but I think its safe to say that they are few and far between.

Mary,
You'll get plenty of stories about < insert dog breed here > protecting their owners - what you won't get is hard data or proof of the encounter, so I'd take stories with a grain of salt ( no insult towards posters of this forum, I've found them much more honest then on *any* other dog-related forum, period )

I mention this because I did research for a book about real world dog protection encounters, but I'd only accept an encounter if it had been reported to law enforcement or the media.
I reviewed over 700 encounters, and that was after I had rejected several hundred other encounters that were obviously bogus.

The numbers of actual protective encounters after I sifted through the data and did *hundreds* of phone interviews was pitifully small.

Wellll, there is that dog that did the hiemlich (sp) on his owner and saved her.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry, but it WAS in the news....

(I know....rates right up there with the Twinkie comment...sorry )


When I was young, there was a BIG GSD that lived across the street named Thor. Owners name was Bjorn.
Thor followed me all over the neighborhood, not the other kids, just me. Bjorn or his wife would see me outside and let him out because he would see me and whine.

Well, I was in my backyard playing and my Dad was picking up grass cuttings and asked me to do something and I smartmouthed him......ooops.....Dad came over and picked me up by my arm (I would say jerked, but it was not abuse at all) to spank me (ahhh the good old days) and Thor opened him up from the elbow to the mid-forearm......

Dad never got mad, and would not let Bjorn pay for the stitches. I just remember him telling Bjorn and his wife to keep letting that dog hang out with me (and that he would remember to punish me when the dog was not there)......

Edit to say: Not sure if it was protective or possessive, but for a 7 yr old it was COOL

That was funny Carol, I was suprised by the heimlich story . I wonder if they could be taught mouth-the-mouth.........

and that is cool about the shepherd, I had somehting similar happen with the neighbors DOberman. I loved that dog but we couldnt afford to feed that horse...

well, im talking about anything, not just attacking. (oof--eek)

I ask because I had an interesting experience today and I want to know if I should be on the lookout.
Buster, My Pit (see first black cutie below)and I were out on the bike. My pants got caught in the chain in such a way that I had to sit on the bike and try to work it freeI was sitting on the side of the road in a fairly deserted area for a couple of mintutes before two men approached me and asked if I needed help. As they got within a few feet of me Buster moved forward and with no hackles he barked once or twice while looking hard at them but moved back when I told him to hush.
Now if it were Lady I would think nothing of it but, and not to be racist against his breed, I just want to know if this is normal and OK.
I was a little suprised at myself for not knowing but one is always learning....

I think that is a good dog you got there. May not ever bite, which is fine, but he definitely was not afraid and made his presence known to the men....which is good.

Deterrent, that is the word I am looking for.

Thor was a great dog, and not mean at all. He would position himself between me and strange adults.
Geesh, I have not thought about that dog in a long time and I realize how much I miss him and how I used to wish he was mine.

I have an APBT that behaves in a protective manner when it comes to strangers and an Am Staff that could care less who approaches her. I am always aloof when it comes to strangers as I never want to put either of my dogs in a situation where someone could say the dogs caused them harm because of their breed.

In the research I have done and the trainers I have talked to, Pits appear to have a difficult time competing with the guardian breeds in the protection sports with the bite work. I have been told the Pits are softer, theorized to be due to an aversion to biting people as part of the correct breed temperment.

I am not an expert but this is what the research I have done has indicated.

Both of my dogs are good alert dogs.

I suppose posturing in the face of a threat and acting against the threat are two very different things......

my nine pits have very even temperament,and there are two that do not get along but the others have no dog on dog aggression here in the pack. Now take any one of them on a car ride or on the bike where I have it rigged so they can pull the bike and rider, and they are totally different dogs. They are consistently on guard but the degree of aggression changes from circumstance to circumstance. Example.. They are excited by the gas attendant or toll taker, but nowhere near as aggressive as with say a stranger approaching with no regard to their presence. Sounds like you have a pit with a sensible temperament to me.

I agree with Georgio. I've been luck enough to have grown up with that breed since I was about 6 yrs old. I had been around them often up until the ban. I've seen many who were dog aggressive but very very very few that were human aggressive.

As you already said Mary, Pits make really bad guard or attack dogs. They do however make fabolous family dogs and decent watch dogs. For most people who don't know anything about the breed though, a Pit's visual deterrance is plenty enough.

I'm relatively new to the breed myself (a couple of years exp) however the reading I've come across indicates a bull breed of good temperment will make a good watch dog/ visual deterrent however in the commission of a 'real' crime they would sooner help you remove the tv from the house or at the very least go lay back down and watch from a distance. So few are in PP because over their genetic history they were bred for animal gameness (bulls/boar/dog). Due to their use as fighters it was imperative to have a dog that was extremely handler soft (as I've heard it referred to) - however due to poor breeding/ignorance that can no longer be a 'trusted' standard unless you are going through a breeder w/ a stable verifiable history.

Molly sounds HORRIBLE when someone comes to the door but immediately turns to wiggle butts and licking when the enter. That being said - she's still a dog, and I am very careful.

We had a German Shorthair when I was growing up who was a very typical if small (runt) picture of the breed. Good ole' hound dog type that loved to run and was very pleased to be with people HOWEVER when my dad wasn't around she went into 'protective' mode only w/ men. My neighbor came over one day to chat w/ my mom and he made a move towards her (not in THAT way, just in her general direction) and Candy made it clear that it would not be happening again.

Molly hasn't exhibited any behavior like that as far as I've noticed - but I'll watch and see.
Sorry if I'm telling you things you already knew - just sharing what info I have.