Hello to all,
Jennifer can You send me that links of working american buldogs to??And if You know some working or good breeder in Europe?
Thank You Vedran

Jen W..while I can appreciate the desire for a working/protection trained dog I would simply caution you once again to do your homework.

You have only stated your desire to have a protective breed but really none of us know enough about your lifestyle to recommend any dog breed w/o knowing a little more about you. First off, you have not said whether you have children or have other peoples children in your home. This is a huge factor for me personally in selecting not only a breed but a pup from that breed. I researched the Louisianna Catahoula that was recommended and found they are not suggested for people w/children. Or if they do have children that strange children that frequent the home can be considered a threat by this breed.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/catahoula.htm

Another issue that you need to determine prior to selecting a dog is what kind of protection training you want out of this dog. There are many different styles and techniques used to train a dog. It is not a secret to those of us on the board that do train for protection that finding a qualified trainer can be something of a chore, they are hard to come by on occasion. Certain areas are more blessed than others but you might want to make sure that you have someone that you have watched work with other dogs and that you agree on general philosophies for traing before purchasing a dog that you find all of a sudden can't be trained properly. When I first got involved in PPD training I had no idea what and how much was involved and all the decisions that I was going to have to make regarding training. Each day that I show up for training I learn something new "literally". My search was exstensive looking for a trainer. I was just about to give up but got lucky and found one of the best trainers (imo) that is out there on my part of the planet. That being said, I still have to travel 100 miles round trip each session to get to him!!

I would also caution you on "mastiff" breeds. There is a wide range of mastiff type breeds out there. Some are not easily controlled, in spite of training. Jennifer Marshal's "bias" for the AB is a good one in your situation. Especially since you don't want the hair issue. The research that I have done on AB's is favorable to your situation, regardless of children.
However, all the above still applies to this breed as well as any other breed that you choose.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanbulldog.htm

Still kudos to you on getting on the board and ahead of the game collecting opinions and researching not only the breeds but also techniques. BTW, did I say "welcome to the forum?"

Well most of the info they give is pretty spot-on, at dogbreedinfo.com. None of the ABs I've been around or seen have had hip problems though - most of it was elbow trouble and they can be pretty messy in the front, bowed out with toes going easty-westy, weak pasterns, sticky elbows, they walk like ducks.

Anyhow. I agree with everything Robbin has said, protection training is a very serious thing that requires a lot of work, time, money, research, reading, and finding a trainer that actually knows what they are doing. I hadn't brought it up because you said you were not looking to get a dog any time soon - a couple years in the future. Which is great, you can use those years to look into the breeds, and also research and look into all of the above laid out nicely by Robbin

If you're interested in a "working Boxer", look at the websites of breeders on the usabox site under links. http://usabox.org/
Great family dogs and bred properly great working dogs.

If you really want a PPD getting a puppy may not be the best for you. Puppies are a crap shoot and even with working lines the pups can not be guaranteed to do the job.

They can have the genetic material to do the job, but someone inexperienced in this field can screw up a good dog. I am not an expert by any means but I believe any of the working dog people here will tell you something similar.

Also you really have to think if a real PPD dog is needed in your situation. You have to think about liability, time spent training, money, lifestyle changes etc.

A protective breed does not mean the dog from that particular breed will do the job in a real stuation. Lots to think about IMHO.

enrique