badrap
Posted : 6/24/2008 1:26:12 PM
I guess the most important part of these posts is the "in the right hands" bit...
I think we all know that there are very few "right hands" handling our breed out there.
You all know how I feel about these breeds. I have sealed my fate arguing against BSL here and everywhere else in my life. My dogs are the best dogs on the planet and nobody is going to take that away from me. That said, there are some things that I don't ever want them to do, and one of them is bite, or attempt to bite, a human being, even if on command, and even if they feel threatened- if they feel threatened, they can darn well outrun most threats. One of my main arguments against BSL is that a well bred APBT or AmStaff should never bite human being, and that most attacks are provoked by extreme mistreatment, neglect, or illness. Teaching bite work to these breeds is asking for a whole world of trouble, and probably a good way to feed the fire of BSL.
We have gone round and roung on this forum defending APBT and their cousins, and to my knowledge, we have pretty much all agreed that they are not designed to be guard dogs because they are supposed to be submissive to the human being under any and all conditions. It's really part of the breed standard, quite frankly.
I have a great deal of respect for the people and dogs involved with guard work and bite training. It's a terrifically delicate balance and I mean no disrespect to anyone involved in it. I don't know a lot about it- it's a little too intense for me. Perhaps the whip is appropriate in specific situations, but I have a gut reaction to a dog that looks like mine straining to attack someone who has as whip in his hand... it just doesn't feel right.
**EDIT TO ADD- this is just my opinion and I realize how off topic it is, so sorry. I can't stress enough how this is just my OPINION**