Hello All,

Not to beat the fight drive thing to death, but what breed/breeds of dogs have the most fight drive.

By this, I mean, precentage wise (best chance that any given pup will develop fight drive) and the highest degree of fight drive.

GSD, Mals, American Bulldogs, Filas...

Thanks for the chance to absorb some knowledge.

Fred

I don't know if that is a fair question. Fight drive is part genetic and part training. I would be surprised if you got a straight answer on this one.

In an Unnamed city in Europe is a hospital that maintains a statistics about reported owners bitten by their dogs in the period of 3 months. This data tells nothing and allot. From the given number of the dogs 47,3% bullterriers, 21,3% pitbulls,
8% rotweilers and 23,3% all other breedss.
First of all BAD OWNERS, second only Rots capable of protection work from the lot. So the immeness gameness and drive in Bullterriers is NOT usable for protection work, they are big game hunters. Stick to Eds advice.

You must be kidding...game Bullterriers??
Of the breeds mentioned, only the pit bull would be "game".
Never been a game GSD, Mal, or Bullterrier.

My error, but does not concern the point.

As ever language misunderstanding possible.
Gameness - does not retreat, fights to death etc.
Bullterrier - gladiator among dogs, full of energy, fearless, does not retreat. Why not game? I am not an exelent english speaker so can err.
Originaly bred for RAT killing, champion in that. Today used in europe for (dont know the word) WILD SWINE MALE? controling, and hunting. Bites the beast in the head and grips firmly. Hunters use spears rather then firearms.
The point acualy was -> Every breed has its use, why too much fight drive? Exelent dogs for protection are known. Almost all breeds can be taught some of it or all, but why puting a nail in the wall with the VCR if you can do it with the hammer?

Gunner apbt stay with it not because they are game but because they lack the brain power to get out of the way.Never seen a game pit,given the right conditions they all
possess quitting streak.The type you are talking about can be counted on one hand.
Again man stopping dogs who will do it in the real world counted on one hand .
Horese for courses ,its never straight forward.

It is allways down to genetics and VERY GOOD training of a right type of the dog for the job. The question was what breed has a hardest fight drive. The fight drive is trained in dogs trough centuries. Known fact is a wolf does not attack a man (true for most healthy animals).
Also we talk almost exclusively about representative type of certain breed, and they are just like humans some good some bad and very little number good for special forces.

Originally posted by tootsie:
Gunner apbt stay with it not because they are game but because they lack the brain power to get out of the way.Never seen a game pit,given the right conditions they all
possess quitting streak.The type you are talking about can be counted on one hand.
Again man stopping dogs who will do it in the real world counted on one hand .
Horese for courses ,its never straight forward.

Tootsie Roll-

You obviously don't know much about bulldogs, except what you read in PETA books.
APBT are very smart on average, just as smart as Mals and GSD.
There are many, many game APBT.
Ever heard of Zebo, Chinaman, Mason's Hog, Bullyson, or Snooty. There is one handfull, and I could name 100 others.
Gameness is a very difficult trait to keep. It is genetic, not trained for. Any dog is tough when they are ahead, it is only when they are losing that gameness becomes evident. This is why only the bull breeds are used for hogs and other activities where power and toughness is mandatory.
Learn about the breed before you talk trash.
I would reccomend any of the books by Richard F. Stratton, if you would like to learn something...but I bet you don't care to know the real deal, you are happy the way you are.

Unfortunately, I do not have much to add to this thread being a relative novice to the sport, but it does intrigue me. I have a Boxer pup from strong German working lines. I researched and purchased her for the purpose of competing in Schutzhund. I have seen her mother do protection work (full body suit and also Schutzhund sleeve) and was very impressed with her courage and fight. She hit VERY hard and fought very strongly, even when subjected to considerable pressure. Her father is highly titled, though I have not seen him work.

I suppose the reason this thread intrigues me is that I was told by the prez of the local DVG club that Boxers can't do the work, that they do not have the jaw strength, courage, or fight drive for Schutzhund and that perhaps I should consider agility instead. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> It seems to me that each breed was originally developed for a purpose. For the bull breeds, boar and bull baiting were common uses. If the genetics are not appreciably watered down through the years as in the case of the American show-line Shepards and Boxers, how can a BREED used originally for fighting large game (and working traits continually bread for) not have courage and fighting instinct? Obviously individual dogs will vary.

As I said above, I am a novice to this sport so I cannot speak intelligently about this subject, but I'm interested in hearing others opinions.