Boldog Dirk, SchH III, FR Brevet
62 pounds - Pure Sorrells breeding
"Can't grip harder than that."
Boldog Hellboy, AKC
"Tracking Dog", SchH TR3, FH
Rescue dog; breeding unknown
UKC Ch. Bandog Dread, SchH III, IPO III, U-CDX, CD, TD, WDS, STD-d/s B, WH, my first American pit bull.
IWPA Silver Medalist Bandog Grip, SchH I, WDS,
(Gr. Ch., U-CDX, Hanson's Jo-Mite, OFA Ex X Cheek's Red Baroness, SchH III, U-UD, U-AG2, OFA G)
She was a good little pull dog.
Boldog Maulie, IWPA WDS
(Sarona Special Forces X Bandog Grip, SchH I, WDS, OFA G)
3/4 Sarona bred, she was a beautiful girl.
Boldog Yeller, SchH I, IPO I, Article Search I
(Sarona Special Forces X Bandog Grip, SchH I, WDS, OFA G)
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TRAINING
I titled my first sport dog in 1975. From my early teens on I worked in the guard dog industry then became a certified Police K-9 Trainer/Instructor in 1979. I was a NASA and USA schutzhund trial decoy from 1980 to 1986. I enjoyed my time as a professional trainer and decoy, but my true love was working my own dogs.
In the mid-80's I got my first pit bull, Dread, and
settled on the kennel name of "Bandog", being something of an Anglophile
and canine historian. The term "bandog" was used in the Middle Ages
to denote dogs used in the British Isles as home guardian dogs. However,
I reluctantly changed the name to "Boldog" ( a play on words "Bold-dog")
in 2003, to avoid confusion associated with those who produce American
pit bull mix breeds and call them "bandogs". I got tired of people asking
me if I bred my American pit bulls to cur mastiff dogs to make them
"bigger and meaner". There are those who disrespect the American pit
bulls in this way - I'm just not one of them.
My personal dogs and I have earned over 70 training
titles to date, in everything from sheep herding to schutzhund. My favorite
dogsports are French ring, schutzhund,
tracking and weight
pulling.
I prefer pure positive methods.
This "hands-off" method has brought me fantastic results and the dogs
and I have a blast! I have a very specific philosophy when training:
I have no interest in national wins or doing really well with just one
dog. My pleasure comes from bringing on young dogs, so I prefer "quantity
to quality" so to speak. I want to enjoy titling as many bulldogs
as I can before I poop out, for each one is such a pleasure to work.
I just like to have fun with my dogs and showing off the performance
side of my favorite breed. (Note: as of 2011 I have
had to stop almost all training due to physical disabilities brought
on by arthritis)
BREEDING
After a quarter century with the breed, I feel confident now that I have learned enough to start a small breeding program. The past 20 years has seen a tragic proliferation of "junk bred" dogs - many young fanciers have never even seen a real American pit bull! I feel strongly that the historic American pit bull must be stewarded into the next generation by a handful of serious students of the breed. I intend to do my part.
I breed responsibly. All stock is fully health tested
(OFA hips, elbows, heart and CERF eyes) and titled. I breed performance
dogs, starting with a combination of "best to best" and inbreeding and
now relying entirely on line and inbreeding. I believe in culling and
cull heavily as I set my line at this time. I do release a pup now and
then to the LawDogsUSA program and to friends who need a sportdog. Serious
sportdog people are welcome to contact me, but I DO NOT OFFER
STUD SERVICE OR PUPS TO THE PUBLIC. Thank you for understanding.
A Word About "Attack" or "Protection" Training...
I feel it is important to make clear the difference between sport training for legitimate sports such as USA/DVG/GSDCA-WDA schutzhund trials and NARA/Mondio ring trials and the training and promoting of the pit bulldog as a "personal protection", "street ring" or "attack dog".
When a person commits to training and trialing a dog in schutzhund or ring - if the club they train with is legitimate and ethical - the dog will be highly trained in obedience and (in the case of schutzhund) tracking, as well as bite work. It takes thousands of hours to produce a SchH I or Brevet/Ring I titled dog. Legitimate clubs do not tolerate those who show up for bite work only. In schutzhund trials, a dog must pass a temperament/obedience test before it is allowed to trial. This in itself discourages the wrong type of owner from pursuing schutzhund or ring training. Most importantly, in ring and schutzhund the dogs work OFF LEASH during all bitework exercises, showcasing the control and level of training necessary.
Currently, there is a disturbing trend with
some to train, promote and showcase the American pit bull, not
as a highly trained sport dog but as a "protection",
"street" or "civil" dog. Even more disturbing is the proliferation
of "backyard" organizations which offer "protection dog" titles,
and the United Kennel Club's giving out titles for dogs which
will lunge at the end of a leash! This, in
my opinion, after 35+ years in the guard dog, protection and
police K9 training industry as well as the schutzhund and ring
field, is deleterious for the breed.
It is damaging for the breed for the following reasons:
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It causes some people to select
dogs for breeding based on high defense and other drives
associated with - and more appropriate for - people aggressive
guard breeds.
-
Pit bulls presented or showcased
as "attack trained" present a negative image to the public
in most cases.
-
The training of pit bulls for "attack" work
attracts the wrong kind of owner to the breed.
-
The current proliferation of "protection dog" titles by certain registries sends the wrong message about this traditionally people friendly breed.
I am proud to have competed in dog sports including schutzhund and ring since 1981. My dogs and I have always presented a positive image to the public, and my overtly friendly dogs have made friends for the breed on and off the field. Their protection scores have represented how well a pit bull can compete when trained in pure prey (no defense) with most scores in the mid to high 90s and both Dread and Dirk earning High In Trial awards in schutzhund.
I am not familiar with clubs and trainers across the US, and cannot recommend trainers or clubs (other than to say pit bull owners will generally fare far better in DVG clubs than USA in schutzhund and that training a pit bull in bitework using "defense" or "civil" methods is pure idiocy). With legitimate sport titles readily available, please think long and hard about supporting "backyard" titles which do not have built in "safety" measures. |
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