Quote: enrique muniz

 Quote: Jeff Cambeis

I am not GSD expert but if I was approached by a bear in the wild I would rather have a Hunting Lab then a Shutzhund GSD.

And if was approached by a thug in a dark alley I'd rather have a working GSD than a lab...

And I would rather have a mal... ...in both cases

Funny...

I know that this post has been over for a while (but I have been studying for my finals and professional engineer's exam lately), but If I remember correctly I have read in "Schutzhund, Theory and Training Methods" that they do state that there was a SCH III Lab (pg 88).

So I guess that there can be a SCH Lab, but few and far between. My lab has really good prey drive and OB but I wouldn't even think of putting the type of pressure on her to do it in a sport SCH type of situation.

The dog was "Reggie", the SchH III lab.
He was ok, but he didn't exactly burn up the field with his work. His recall was a riot.....you could just see the dog thinking "Yeah yeah....I heard you the first time....I'm coming..."

The Chessie's that I've seen doing SchH were far more focused dogs, and I've seen exactly *two* get titled in 25 years + of SchH.

Still, there's no harm in trying to start off by getting a BH with your lab, most of us enjoy the "off" breeds and you'd likely get a lot of support if you're in the right SchH club.
Good luck!!

 Quote: Jeff Cambeis

I am not GSD expert but if I was approached by a bear in the wild I would rather have a Hunting Lab then a Shutzhund GSD.

And I'd rather have a pit bull. They were once bred for bear baiting.

I know this is an old thread, but since I now have a lab/pit bull mix (at least that what he appears to be, he's a rescue), I thought I'd chime in with my personal opinion.

The lab part of my pup is very obvious. It's also what makes him goofy, silly, clumsy and a bit lazy. I know that b/c my brother trains champion retrievers who do real work during duck season, and LJ is just like them as a pup.

On the other hand, the pit bull shows through too. He has very strong prey drive (most of the time, lol) and his bite & grip are massive - when he wants to.... again, the more laid-back lab temperament showing through.

My hope for LJ as a PPD is more on the family pet side, I want a dog that will alert me to potential trouble and give me time to react, most likely with my .22 pistol. When we're out with the family, LJ will be along as a "presence" to keep people at bay. Most thugs look for easy targets, and a big, barking dog drawing attention will help keep them away.

Specifically, I want to teach him to stand between my children or me, and strangers, and to growl and bark on command. No expectation of fighting or aggressively defending us, however. I personally think the lab/pit mix will be a good combination for us.

If you just want a display from the dog...you could use markers to get him to target a person and then bark at them. Most people don't know the difference between an aggressive dog and a barking one. The real defense would be your .22, anyone willing to try your dog is a crazy bastard and should be shot.

Just a reminder, replies to old, inactive threads are generally not productive. Many of the principals are either no longer around or no longer interested.

Paula hasn't been active on the board since 4/20/2010 and has likely 'left the building'. Matt hasn't been active since 11/2009. In fact, all the people on that last page of the thread, with the exception of Will (a long-time moderator), haven't been active for a few years now and are probably no longer reading this board.

Paula replied to a thread that had been inactive for a year. The person she replied to had also posted a reply to a message that was over a year old at the time.

The date and time a message was posted in the tan area at the top of the message on the right side.

It is generally more useful to start a new thread.