what is your opinion........ - Page 1

 wondering others opinion on american bulldogs competing in schutzhund........... we have a couple in our club and it seems like the shepherd owners are getting jealous............. 

If they are doing well.. keep going. I do not care what breed people have if the dog is performing and all is well why not!

IF they can control them  , fine.. My experience was good and bad.   Once many years ago in Spring Valley Schutz club we had a girl who is now head trainer of a South Texas club and she had the precision of a genius of training her American Bulldogs...Tetnas or Tetnus was his name..He and she were awesome...She was the best..

Then there was the man who had an American Bull dog that took three years to get his Schutz 1 because of the hardness and his glutteral utterances which the Judges were not allowing during his trialing...SO one day when one of my germans was on field and this American Bulldog was in long down, off leash and waiting for  James Hepfler to get Sable , one of my breedings, his finish , the American Bulldog broke the down and headed  for guess who?????

Sable was hit by the American Bulldog and the fight on the field was on....Of course,, it ended immediately and the American Bulldog was ushered off the grounds and never to be seen on or in Schutz again.....that man spent years getting to his Schutz 2, but he had that quirk and the dog snapped...

So my opinion........they are not the only dog to break a down...but they are one of the few to SNAP 

Good way of putting it, YR. In my experiences with the breed some can be very sweet, but when they lose it...they really lose it.  I would in no way, shape, or form be jealous of an AmBull. They are not the breed for me and never will be.  If you have a stable one and it's a good working dog, good for you, enjoy and go get 'em.

We also have a couple in our club and one at our last trial who earned his BH. Most of the times they are goofballs. But you have to understand what a lot of them have been bred for. In many lines you will find ring fighting. As an owner you need to know your lines and be aware that genetically it may be pre-dispositioned for certain behaviors. The young male we have in our club is very well socialized and his OB is becoming really focused. I have worked him on several occasions and he is an overall nice dog. I am not jealous though, I recently had a long time owner/breeder of Bullies place his in family homes and bought a pup of mine. He loves to tell me how smart his shepherd is and how great he is doing.

That is the thing I like about the D.V.G.! It is not a breed-specific club and even a mutt can compete. It is all about building a bond with a dog who enjoys work, regardless of the breed of that dog. Working-line GSD's are the norm with the D.V.G. group, but one also sees Mals, Rotties, a small handful of Dobermanns, and the occassional bulldog.
 
I do not know why GSD owners would become a bit snooty about competing against a bulldog, but we all know there are some very fragile egos in the purebred dog world. I, just like most other who have worked dogs, have watched "grown" men turn into hissing sissies when they or their dog was bested by another. And yes, it is usually the West-German showline types who expect their dog to rule the field and find it difficult to accept that another dog (heaven forbid a working-line type) takes top points because of perhaps his ability, definitely his training, and definitely his bond with the handler.

In short - if the dog can do the work - go for it. Tell the naysayers one of my favourite replies "Oh yeah? Get over it."

Best Regards,
Bob-O

I have seen people doing SchH with Sheltie. And she did great! It is not jealousy but insecurity.
Prager(Hans)