can/could the pittbull handle military work... - Page 1

why dont they use the pitbull for military work ?? i know in some areas of the us PD's use pits and they excel in it the reason im asking this question because there's a lot of pits in shelters or couldent the military use shelter pits would they breed there own ??

 

clint

IMO, no.  They don't have the athleticism, intelligence,  and trainability of GSD.  They have been selectively bred for one thing, fighting.  GSD (and Dobermans and Malinois) have been created and selected for intelligence, etc.

I'm not saying pits can't be intelligent or athletic, so pit fans don't go jumping on me.  I'm saying that, AS A BREED, they have not been bred for that.  AS A BREED, German Shepherds have.

Also, all those pits in shelters (and where I live it is 80-98% of the dogs in my local shelter are pits) are there for a reason.  Could be they're not fighters and so they got dumped, but it is a simple fact that most of them are unstable.  You see kennel after kennel - "No children," "Must be only dog," "No children under 12," "No small animals in house," etc. etc.  Of course in a military position there would be none of these things,  The point is that the dog's temperment is an issue and the military would have no interest in placing such temperments with our soldiers.

i understand the intelligence side of it but trainabilty i dont ..the pit can be trained very well iv seen on youtube and othersites pitbulls working as poilce K9's and pitbull's to work with are great also its just some are bighead ,highstrung in the right hands they could make it and do the job well and it would stop all the false crap about them

Trained for what in the military or police?  And how would that stop the "false crap"?  Seeing pits chasing and biting suspects with the police is going to improve their image?  I don't think so.

Dog people talk all the time about how herding breeds still have the instinct to herd, even though so many haven't seen a sheep for many generations.  And retrievers still love to retrieve, and love water.  And beagles and other hounds still follow their noses even though so many have not  hunted in dozens of generations.  And on and on.  Very common discussions. Yet the fighting breeds, bred to fight for generation after generation, this doesn't apply to them? They alone of all breeds, have lost in a couple generations what all the other breeds have kept for hundreds of years?  I don't buy it.

Clint, pit bulls definitely have the intelligence and athleticism. However, they were trained for generations to fight DOGS, not humans. Most of them have a very poor civil side, so although they can handle detection work and some other things, they do not reliably bite people...not as reliably as GSDs. Pit bulls aren't a so-called "guarding breed." 

Sure, I agree that, as you say, some can be trained and do well, but overall, AS A BREED, I think police & military have a number of other better-qualified breeds from which to choose, and their first order of business is not rehabbing some breed's reputation, but getting the job done, so it's logical to me that they'd choose GSD or Malis or other more suitable breed for their work.  The reputation of the GSD as a hero dog in many situations, police, military, and private home, is justified.

I think some individuals may be able to do it, but i have to agree with others here and say as a Breed no....  I have seen many Pitbulls do some amazing things but this is not indicative of the breed.
Look at society as a whole and ask yourself, has there always been a need for good dogs in LE/MIL, and the answer is yes. This point in time is not the first time there has been such a need. However, in our history, look at the various breeding stations that have been set up to supply dogs to the Police and Military. Why do we see so many of these stations using the GSD and Malinois? With great success in many different climates and terrains, you see the German Shepherd.

With the need for cheap dogs that don't cost as much as some imported European sources, I think a Police Department or supplier would have thought about it to use Pitbulls for this puurpose and be able to supply at a lower cost in comparison to others. But I am not aware that it is a succesful practice on any medium to large scale.

I have seen their ability to handle stress above other breeds as a whole in the GSD. Climate changes, Diet, Heat, Psychological and of course physical stress. And remember as a breed we are looking at the average. We are also looking at consitent reproduction of these traits.... And this is a mjor issue I see with the Pitbulls as well, the ability to consistently produce certain traits- other than fighting- for Law Enforcement and Military.

Exactly what do you mean in terms of Military work? What aspect? Single Purpose- protection? Detection? Bomb, Narc?

I am sure there are aspects that you will find individual dogs excelling but I don't think as a breed right now it is so probable that they can 'handle military work.'

On a recent breed specific program on I think Discovery Channel about the St. Bernard the commentary actually stated, that the breed gets less work as avalanche dogs because of the German Shepherd. Can you believe that the GSD has somewhat discplaced a breed, in the very endeavour it was bred t do?  The reason the GSD is so popluar is because of their versatiltiy. They can do many tasks. And all though it may not be # 1 at any, it could easily be #2 at all, and that makes its overall average #1

I like the Pitbull Breed very much and hope that owners would be more responsible and get to enjoy this breed for a long time to come.

They don't have the athleticism, intelligence, and trainability of GSD


Are you kidding me? You oviously haven't done much with Pits. They are athletic,agile,intellegent,and very trainable. If someone can't train a Pit then I would say they aren't a good trainer. There are GSDs that lack the above as well. It all depends on the breeding and how it is raised and trained. I think with the certain Pit and proper training they could be a great working dog.

They are not as athletic, intelligent, or trainable as a German Shepherd Dog.  They just aren't.  Of course you could find invidiual pit bulls somewhere that are more intelligent than certain individual German Shepherds.  Heck I could find some dog of any breed somewhere that is more intelligent than some dog of another breed.

And read for comprehension.  I never said pits could not be trained.  Any dog can be trained.  You yourself say "with the certain Pit" - that's right, you'd have to find that certain pit.  You could also find that certain Labrador or Standard Poodle or Collie, but overall, other breeds are more suitable. 

It's not an insult to pits, for god's sake.  Certain breeds were created to be guard, companion, and police dogs, so of course they have an advantage over breeds created for other reasons.

And yes, I'm quite familiar with pit bull breeds.  Yes, they can be wonderful dogs.  But they simply cannot hold a candle to the German Shepherd Dog when it comes to police and military work.

Pits are one HECK of a lot more athletic than GSDs. However, they have an unfortunate image...the cops would look like just another gang if they had large barking pits hanging out their windows. That's a shame, too!