American bulldogs

[deedler]

just curious...does anybody else out there have one of these worthless mutts?

I had never even heard of them until my now long-distance hubby brought one home. He had the good sense to leave the dog with me. Mine isn't the brightest bulb in the package, but I don't think anything could best him on love. In my
opinionated opinion they're the tops.

[Corgitails]

I've worked with a couple. Like any breed, they've got their good and bad points. Very strong, bull-headed, excellent hog dogs. I know some folks who use them on cattle, or so I've been told. Definately great at killing possums, coons, stuff like that. The ones I've worked with have been pets and these traits have been negatives rather than positives- ie, dog aggression, territoriality, high energy level.... I think they're great for the right sort of people (like any other breed- but like most of the working breeds, they need a much more specialized 'sort of people' than easy breeds like a lab or a toy poodle). In the hands of the wrong people, the breed will end up in the same straits as the pit bull- automatically euthanized at many shelters, banned in many areas, and bred by far more people interested in making a buck off the biggest, meanest dogs they can breed rather than anything else.

Cait

[diane greene]

We love our AB "Lulu', she can be a big sweet goof, but she is very powerful and more working dog than family dog. She has been cart trained and we use her to pull plants in our nursery. We also have a kick sled for her so she can keep in shape during the winter. She can easily pull twice her weight on snow (she weighs a little over 100lbs). You must have the proper harnesses so the dog does not get hurt.

I have to admit AB's are not the brightest light in the history of dog brains. My SO is an excellent dog trainer and even he has thrown up his hands refering to Lulu as "a special needs dog". It took her weeks to learn how to give her paw - it became a joke like "remedial paw giving class starts at noon". What our other dogs learn in a couple of days takes Lulu weeks, and due to her stubborn nature she is not consistent. However, the pulling is inbreed, she just does it and loves it. Forget about teaching this dog to heel, when you attach anything to her she insists on being up front and pulling.

This is not a dog I would recommend if there are small children around, they really don't know their own strength and they play rough. As Corgitails correctly states- they can be aggressive, especially if they have been poorly breed. I would not trust them around other dogs that are small. AB's are very protective, but since they are not very bright they cannot always tell friend from foe and you should be careful when letting new people into the house.

[diane greene]

Here is a site in case people don't know the breed:
http://www.pcwebsites.com/americanbulldog/gallery/

[beaglady]

My son & daughter in law have two of them. They are nice dogs, and are pretty well behaved. Both are rescues & the older male had taken years worth of obedience classes before ending up in rescue. He's pretty well behaved, although a cat killer. The younger female was born at the rescue, & they have had her since she was a puppy. She's less than year old and still silly, forgetting manners unless reminded continuously.

They were lucky in a way, since both dogs came form a dedicated rescue & they knew ahead of time what temperament they were getting. They both still take a lot dedication and attention.

I can see where the breed might be good with large livestock, but not poultry.

[Little Quacker in OR]

Just a sidebar here...the Star of the remake of "The Incredible Journey" is an American Bulldog.

Obedience classes are a must as is a consistant, firm "pack leader".

Enjoy your dog....LQ

[TedH71]

Actually they can tell who's enemy who's not but the problem is when they're puppies they're still learning..they don't mature til they're about 2 to 3 years of age and when they do..watch out! Some have temperment problems while some are dog aggressive and some have physical problems..alot of them can't stand the Texas heat which takes them out of the breeding population if they can't stand the heat while catching wild hogs.

Ted

[deedler]

I'm enjoying the input!! My "puppy" is 3 yrs. old and came from a reputable
breeder who raises them for hogs. P.W. (peewee) was the runt of 13 and they had just about given up on him; all he needed was clear access to the food bowl!
I've had 3 Rotties before this and they used to be my fav. breed, but I'm not so sure anymore. Anyway, I'm used to being the Alpha female and am pretty
stubborn myself, so manners aren't a problem.
I've thought about making a halter for him to pull garden stuff since I have a
bad back and he doesn't have near enough to do. You're right about the energy
level, but he entertains himself quite a lot.
Thanks for the website info, Dee

[Corgitails]

Dee: if you get interested in draft work, drop me a PM- I've got hoardes of dog links. My newest dog-related obsession is scootering with my boy Skye, who is a collie....

[Freeholder]

Corgitails, could you post your dog links? Or PM them to me, too, please? I've got a farm collie (3/4 English Shepherd, 1/4 Collie) who needs something to do, and I've been thinking about draft work.

Kathleen

[Corgitails]

As requested: oodles of dog links (not about poodles) (I'm sorry, no more caffine for me.)

A brief selection of dog-powered-stuff links, in no particular order

For store-bought harnesses, I like:
http://www.nooksackracing.com/harnesses.html - for x-back (sled style) harnesses (this is what I use for scootering. It tends to get tangled if you don't keep a certain amount of tension on the back of it, so.... I haven't gotten mine from them yet, but the one I used that a friend had was excellently made and 've hear nothing but good stuff about 'em.

Here's a link to a page with patterns for making your own harnesses:
http://uberpest.50megs.com/harness.html

DogScootering - http://dogscooter.com/

How to Train page on dog scootering, but nearly all of it applies to any kind of draft work: http://dogscooter.com/HowtoTrain.htm

Wayah Siberians & Malamutes' page about their adventures while carting: http://www.wayeh.com/aboutsleddogs/lessons.htm

A historic carting page:
http://hometown.aol.com/thedancingje...88dogcart.html

The really nice already made carts:
http://www.fidogear.com/

Actually, just check out dogscooter's links:
http://dogscooter.com/dogscooter/links.html (it covers most of my faves. )

http://www.dogpatch.org - is the mother of all useful dog links.
http://www.wonderpuppy.net is the big sister of all useful dog links (but is more oriented towards humor and a section about solving problems with dogs rather than re-homing them; it's got sport links but not as many of them as dogpatch.)


http://dogworks.com/ is another carting site with wonderful products, associated with the Newfie club of America. Beautiful carts!


Weight Pull Training
http://www.pulldoggies.com/weight_pull_training.htm
is another basic instructions site about how to teach a dog to start pulling in a controlled manner. Especially if you intend to ride behind him (rather than leading the cart that he's pulling), control is REALLY important.

BlueJuniperFarm, my Skye is a farmcollie (Are you on the farmcollie list?) or at least I consider him one- he's a very oldfashioned rough collie who is incredible.

[deedler]

Originally Posted by MARYDVM

The American Bulldog is suffering as a fad breed at present. Everybody wants to breed their Huge Bone! Block Head! dog and make lots of money selling puppies. If you get an AB from a breeder that actually works/titles their dogs, whether it's hog hunting, weight pulling, or protection sports, you will be much more likely to get one with a functioning brain.
My AB is out of hog hunting parents. She learned her on and off lead obedience as quickly as any of my previous dogs. She gets along fine with other dogs. Great maternal instincts, even though she is spayed. She raises litters of orphan kittens. When I got chicks and poults I showed them to her and told her they were "babies". She has watched over them ever since, would put herself between them and my Rottie if she thought the other dog was getting too close. She really wants to lick their butts like she did for the kittens, but they don't appreciate that. She's a great all around farm dog - what the AB was originally supposed to be.

yep, you're right about fads-SOME people in this area call them "red-nosed pits"
and really screw up the breeding. I've tried a couple of times to set 'em straight, but what does a girl know about dogs? OK,OK, I'm deep in the heart of
"Bubba Country". I'm not trying to pick a fight, guys, just stating a fact. :haha:

[diane greene]

I guess my feelings that our AB, Lulu, is not too bright comes from the fact our other dogs are a lab (Sadie) and a border collie (Simon) . Sadie and Simon figured out that Lulu was an easy mark for their schemes early on. They play a game where one of them will distract Lulu while the other runs off with her chew toy or favorite tug rag. Lulu will fall for their tricks over and over to the point I feel sorry for her and I'll sneak her an extra dog cookie or two. Lulu was well breed from a well known breeder in our state, but that bulldog brain just can't beat a hunter or a herder.