[IJF1]

Originally Posted by jazzking1971

They have courage/confidence issues when put up against a decoy/helper. Pits are dog and animal aggressive but not aggressive with humans despite the countless stories in the news.

To me courage, confidence and aggression are all very different things. Aggression is certainly not a pre-requisite for high level Schutzhund work. Having met many examples of bull breeds, I know many dogs that are not short on confidence or courage.

These dogs usually have no issues with biting and gnerally need very little bite training but just because a dog will bite a sleeve or a suit does not mean he is confident in his work. I'm assuming you've worked a pit before, how many have you seen snarling and growling on the sleeve? A sign of insecurity. Pits just can't handle stress in the way a GSD or Mal can.

Confidence on the bite comes from correct foundation training. By the way, many people say the same thing about Rottweilers growling on the bite!

The pits seem to be be purely offensive animals and lack balance by having a uneven defensive drive. Another issue with Pits in bite sports is the quick trigger and immediate rage/frenzy they seem to get set in. This rage is why pits can take more punishment than just about any other breed, I'd say they're truly unmatched in that area. I've heard stories of pits taking .38 shots to the side and they still don't quit.

I'm a bit confused. Are you saying Pits are all prey or that they have too much defensiveness?

A good foundation in bitework should eliminate these problems. I know many Staffs who are super calm on the bite.

SchH requires control and for that sport it's better to have a thinking dog like a GSD, Mallie or Rott rather than a reactive dog like a Pit. When a bull breed like a pit gets locked on it's hard to get them to out; and we know that's an easy DQ on the field.

In my experience of Staffs, they are very handler responsive and there are handlers working them in many avenues here in the UK. Sure they are different to the herding breeds.....

I think pound per pound a well bred Pit Bull is the most impressive looking dog on the block. I'm no expert on Pits or any other breed for that matter but one has to ask, if they are such great dogs for biting sports why aren't there more of them out there doing schH or Ring Sports?

I don't think anyone said they were the best dog for biting sports - just questioning why someone would say that they should not do them.

I happen to like Pit Bulls and have considered getting one on several occasions but I always end up coming back to the Rottie mostly because I like they way they look.

I like Rotties for their temperament.