So, does anyone have any experience or opinions on using Pit Bulls as personal protection dogs? I know that Diane Jessup does not support this idea. I really like what I have read of her material, so I tend to want to err on the side of agreeing with her, but I am not sure of her reasoning. Is it because she believes the dogs are un-suited to the work? Does she not want to worsen their reputations? Does she believe the desire and training to bite humans is too dangerous in a breed capable of causing such massive damage? Is she worried because game bred pit bulls often want to bite the head and face (that's a bit worrisome to me, I must admit

What made this idea pop into my head today was reading another thread on PPD's. The experienced trainers seem to be in consensus , of all of the dogs being bred and trained for police and protection work, very few of them actually end up having the necessary fight drive. I wondered if pit bulls would be more likely to have that fight drive in a higher percentage of the dogs.

So, what do you guys think?

she feels that way because to her a "proper" bull breed won't fight a man, but to be honest, a "proper" bulldog will do what you tell it to do, including bite whatever you tell it to bite.

you will find die hard bully workers, those dead set against it and many people in between. generally, those who believe bullies shouldn't do the work also think that only gsd's/mals/dutchies should be doing it.

talk to people who actually work bullies in protection work and sports. some organizations are also much more bully friendly than others. i have seen some AMAZING american bulldogs work....

I've seen Pits and AmerBulldogs doing some nice work but it's the "rep" and all the bad press that makes me shy away from them.

"I wondered if pit bulls would be more likely to have that fight drive in a higher percentage of the dogs."

They do not.

I trained Pits for protection work and they are way more difficult to control than lets say a malinois. They tend to "forget"

Other thing i noticed is that they are really easy to choke out. Even unintentionally.

And for the decoy. Wear protection underneath the suit. Not for a hard bite but their mouth is so short that with each bite they pinch the skin. Last year my arms were black for months in a row.

Greetingq

Johan

The OP was talking about Pit Bulls- not ABs. Not the same.

I am going to agree w/Will but take it a step further. I agree that they do not have superior fight, as he said. I will go farther and say I disagree that they do not have superior fight WHEN DOING WHAT THEY WERE INTENDED TO DO. They were not intended to take on men. But in this instance, Will is totally right; if anything, they are far less committed to a bite than a breed meant for protection.

I don't know what Johan means by "forget" but I have seen some w/such mental conflict over what they are doing that they kind of go "blank." They are doing it b/c they are trained to, and granted, most of the time it's just a game, but for a proper Pit, conflict exists in man-biting just the same.

Not to say Pits can't ever be protective, but protection training and an instinctive protective spirit are two very different things. IMO, a properly bred Pit should not have the qualifications to make a good PPD. Sport dog, sure. Maybe. True PPD- nope. I agree that they are easy to choke out; their hearts typically aren't really in it. Get them in a real fight w/an animal, and good luck choking them out.

I also disagree that they do whatever they're told. While they are highly biddable dogs, their innate nature is not to be people-aggressive, and they still have a hard time w/it, provided they are properly bred/kept. Now, when you allow a pack of several to roam together freely, totally uncared for...all bets are off. When I talk about proper Pit Bull temperament, I am assuming proper care and under "normal" circumstances. Most incidents we hear of involve neither.

 Quote: Jenni Williams

I agree that they are easy to choke out; their hearts typically aren't really in it. Get them in a real fight w/an animal, and good luck choking them out.

While I agree with the majority of your post, this stood out to me. One has nothing to do with the other. It is a mechanical thing that has to do with blood flow and whether they are in a true fight or not, the blood will stop.

May seen insignificant, but Rob had to choke out a APBT the other day that was attempting to kill a police dog. Drug raid gone bad. It worked just as well on this dog as it has on any other, and both dogs survived (although not for long in the APBT case ) Point is the choke worked. I probably would not have said anything if this incident had not just occurred...

Johan was talking about UNITENTIONALLY choking them out. Not actually, physically, choking them, I don't think. He did say "unintentionally."

Of course you can choke them out. If they can't breathe, they can't breathe! I am well aware of the effect blood/oxygen loss has on a living creature. But you won't get them off until that point. You can't start the motions of choking out and think they will stop like many breeds would, before actual physical changes take place forcing them to.

That’s fair.

From the way I read Johan’s post, he meant either intentionally or “even unintentionally” they are easier to bring to this state. From your post I got that once they are in the fight, it was near impossible to do so. I knew that was not always the case, and mentioned it.

And for the record, the APBT was the easier to get to release; he was able to get the dog to out well before the effects of the blood loss caused him to black out. The GSD on the other hand was a little more, tenacious.

Anyway, I was just pointing out personal experience that was different than yours. Not really a big deal one way or the other.

The GSD had proper genetics and training and was doing his job at the start of the fight. He had passed a fairly rigorous battery of tests to get where he is today. Glad he's ok. The poor Pit would, no doubt, fall under my disclaimer at the end of my other post:

 Quote: me

When I talk about proper Pit Bull temperament, I am assuming proper care and under "normal" circumstances. Most incidents we hear of involve neither.

Drug raid gone bad...my guess is that dog was not what I'd call a properly-bred APBT. Could be wrong...but seems to be true more often than not. If the idiot had him as a guard dog...he's not my idea of "proper."