APBTs & American Sentinels bred to catch man or beast!
What To Look For In A Bandog or Breeder
Click HERE to see "protection" dogs that FAIL.
Before buying what you believe is a functional bandog, we recommend that you do a bit of research to make sure you do not purchase a poorly bred dog by one of the many fake, yet supposed, "bandog programs" that are unfortunately far too common today. "Bandogs" have become somewhat of a fad in some circles and are often misrepresented, and unfortunately many pretenders have popped up. These individuals some times believe their own nonsense, but more often than not they are knowingly misrepresenting themselves and will lie to sell an unqualified dog to a potential client. That said, do not worry. These fake individuals are easily and quickly recognized for what they really are. A little research now can save you many headaches later. All you need to do is ask for a performance demo of their breeding stock. We understand many of the people interested in protection dogs, sentry dogs, and/or guard dogs are new to the subject and do not really know what to look for, so below we are providing a few tips:
- First, if they do not work their dogs, they do not really have bandogs. Do not expect to get a working bandog from untested stock. Like horses, champions are produced from performance tested breeding stock.
- Second, if they claim to work their dogs but refuse to provide evidence of such, they are a fake. No professional refuses to provide evidence of their work, and it disgusts us to hear of supposed "bandog" breeders or supposed "protection dogs trainers" say they do not share videos of their dogs doing protection work but then expect you to fork over your hard earned money because you should "trust them." Do not believe hype. Demand proof.
- Third, playing tug-a-war with a rope or showing a dog barely gripping the end of a bite sleeve with only half its mouth does not constitute K9 protection work, yet inexperienced bandog breeders often display such advertisements because they do not have a clue about K9 protection training or breeding. Quality protection dogs should not lack commitment. Grips should be full, and a quality protection dog will direct intensity towards the bad guy, and not just the equipment. Quality bandogs are capable of sentry work, protection work, or hunting and catching dangerous game, which earned the bandogge legendary status as a gladiator. Today's bandogs should not just be mere shadows of the bandogges described throughout history. Instead, they should remain healthy, capable dogs that may live and work for 10-15 years. Review our dogs demonstrating some basic protection work here.
- Fourth, protection dogs need to be physically sound in order to be functional. Physical traits should not be grossly exaggerated. Movement should display agility and authority. Avoid "protection dogs" with short muzzles. No quality protection dog has a short muzzle. Short muzzles lack the gripping area required to obtain and maintain a secure grip and are inefficient with heat dissipation. Avoid breeders that advertise measurements of a dog's head or excessively focus on the dog's weight. Neither means anything when it comes to your family's safety. The most capable protection dogs and gladiator hunting dogs always come from tested stock, and are typically in the 80-110 range (males 90-110# & females 80-100#). I personally avoid protection dogs or hunting catch dogs that are less than 70#, but even a quality 70# dog is more than capable. Dogs over 110-120# range that work really well are an exception, and they seldom reproduce themselves. Agility, efficiency, endurance, and heat tolerance tend to suffer when one goes very large. Over-weight dogs and under-weight dogs are simply a product of owner negligence. To verify the physical capabilities of our dogs, notice that many of our dogs have caught too many wild boar to count, some of which have been over 300+ pound (catching dangerous wild game). Wild boar are armed with tusks, and fight much harder than most men ever will. I assure you, a quality and well put together 100# protection dog delivers more than enough power to handle an intruder.
- Fifth, protection dogs must have a strong desire to please their family unit and should display strong bonding characteristics; which improves their sense of loyalty and responsibility. Protection dogs should be mentally stable even during stressful situations. Dogs with a high degree of dominance are often preferred by law enforcement or military since such dogs are typically easy to train, but rank driven dogs do not make good candidates around children. Our dogs are bred to be family companion K9 guardians. Our dogs display high prey drive and fight drive with a sufficient amount of defense drive; but tend to be lower in rank drive than the dogs typically used by the police and military. One should always practice good judgement, but simply put, the American Sentinel is typically more tolerant of children than are dogs high in rank drive because American Sentinels are less interested in dominating or challenging their family unit. Review our article on animal behavior for more information about the mind of the working dog.
If we can help you, it will be our pleasure to do so. These K9 companion guardians are suitable for active lifestyles and family settings. It has taken years of research, education, and experience to produce the breed we consider to be the ultimate family K9 companion guardian. We believe our dogs are some of the finest canines in existence when it comes to being a family companion guardian. Our dogs are registered with us under the American Sentinel Canine Registry (ASCR).
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Before you purchase a dog from a breeder, please take the time to be sure you are funding an ethical breeder that maintains clean and healthy conditions for their dogs, and are not supporting someone that keeps dogs in small plastic or wire crates 24-7. Healthy working dogs need exercise and proper care. With the interest in "Bandogs" on the rise, many programs come and go, but do not invest the proper time or care to keep, develop, train, and test their dogs appropriately. My program was established in 2000, but my training began even before then. As long as the good Lord enables me, it is my intent to continue my program for several more decades and to offer them the best care I can.
A quality breeding program must maintain access to a significant gene pool of quality specimens from which appropriate breeding selections can be made, not just one or two good males being bred to average quality females. Less dedicated kennels often only keep a few halfway decent males and many females for breeding that are often of lower quality and seldom showcased as a result. They do this because they know most clients only look at the male while it is the female is the limiting factor when it comes to putting puppies on the ground. This mistake restricts breeding decisions and genetic selection. Over time, such kennels eventually fail and typically fade away after a few years. For this reason, very few kennels last even a single decade. Our program began in concept in 1990, began in practice in 2000. Our program has remained focused, dedicated, and well established for multiple decades now, and is simply getting stronger ever year.
A kennel dedicated to bettering a breed must maintain access to a number of quality of males and females alike. Very few facilities have the time, staff, and resources to do this with even one breed of dog, much less multiple breeds of dogs. Beware of programs that have two or more breeds, for when one's goal is to improve a breed, every potential kennel space that becomes occupied must help the breeder achieve their goal. When dealing with working dogs, the labors become even more compounded. Testing and properly selecting the best candidates before breeding becomes a necessity. Only after health and performance testing should we determine which specimens are to be bred. Yet, few programs test their dog's health, few test their dog's performance, few maintain a sufficient gene pool, few understand genetic principles. In fact, many breeders have not even done the first step, which is to establish clearly defined goals for their "program."
Developing an understanding of genetic principles, animal physiology, and animal behavior; being able to maintain a large number of quality specimens of each gender; and then testing and selecting dogs on their ability to perform exclusively at clearly defined and specific goals are all essential to sustaining long-term success. I keep my eye on my clearly defined goal, and I am not distracted by the goals of others. If you have different goals than me, that's fine, but understand my goal is to produce the ultimate family companion guardian, however, I must say, our dogs do excel at catching wild hogs as well.
American Sentinel K9, LLC is able to make breeding decisions that are truly in the best interest of the breed's development; therefore, we are able to solidify our success at producing stable, loyal, powerful, athletic, family companion K-9 guardians that are suitable for active family settings. Our dedication to fulfill all these requirements is why the American Sentinel Canine is the finest Bandog type program in the world. If you doubt this claim, research the various programs out there and find another such program that does this. Don't look for hype, look for facts. Don't look at claims, look at the work. Look at the education, training, facility, duration, foundation, depth, and success of the various "programs" that are out there and typically what you will find will consist of claims, but little facts and even lesser proof when it comes to displaying their bandogs work as protection dogs, guard dogs, or as hog catch dogs.
Over the years, American Sentinel K9, LLC has grown extensively and maintained a high quality breeding program in an independent fashion; however, to further our success and the future of the American Sentinel we have expanded and have developed a few "extension programs" with select individuals. This expansion allows us to select, maintain access to, train, and develop even a larger number of quality dogs, further solidifying the success of the American Sentinel program. If you are interested in becoming an extension of our own program, feel free to contact me at AmericanSentinelK9@gmail.com.