American Sentinel K9, LLC

A reputable bandog breeder wants everyone to win.

By working together & understanding each other, both win.

I am a biologist at heart, and I have always had an extreme interest in animal behavior. It is for this reason that I chose to own dogs, train dogs, breed dogs, and teach biology and genetics. It is part of who I am. Many of my political views and business views are based off of concepts of animal behavior as they are observed in nature...such as relationships between organisms.

Mutualism - both parties benefit. "Win:Win"
Commensalism - one party benefits, while the other is not affected. "Win:No Effect." If you can benefit from us at no expense to us, great.
Parasitism - one benefits at the expense of the other. "Win:Lose"

By studying nature, the key components of successful relationships become obvious. Stephen Covey, the author of the best seller "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," also noted the same basic concepts in business relationships and noted it as "Think Win:Win" of the seven steps in his book. To do this, one also has to as he said "seek first to understand, then to be understood." It seems what is obvious to me and many others is not so obvious to many others, for almost every week I experience a reoccurring problem...which is...someone requesting my time, my work, my money, or a dog for free. As a result, it is with great reservation I created this page, for when you tell someone "No," they often get offended. So, with that said, I chose to make a page NOT about anyone in particular, but instead about a behavior in hopes of addressing this reoccurring problem...for I do NOT wish to offend anyone. Instead, I hope to teach the lesson of "win:win" and "first to understand, then be understood" to those that wish to address me, so they too can seek a "win:win."

Seeking first to understand, then to be understood
My time is greatly limited, my work requires a skill set or knowledge, my money which is already dedicated to my obligations, and my dogs which are the foundation to our future breeding and training goals. If I give these things away without something coming back to benefit me, then I am not going to obtain my goals. My goals are important to me. I have spent over $250,000 and decades of my life to create my program. This has value, and I cannot give it away. Some lines of my dogs have taken me decades to create. If I give any of these things away, I won't be able to sustain the future decades of work and debts. I have to sustain my goal. By understanding this, hopefully those that inquire about getting my time, my work, my money, or my dogs for free will now "first understand" why I cannot give my resources away. My time, my dogs, and my family are all important to me. It is that simple. I cannot contact the vet, the feed store, or the water company and say, "can you donate your resources to me, since I donated mine to someone?" That does not work very well. What does work well is me paying my debts. I have always done this, and plan on making sure I will be able to do so in the future. This, in my opinion, is the responsibility of a business, a husband, and a father.

No free lunch. We do our part and expect you to do your part.

Think "WIN:WIN"

I seek to make trades that allow us both to win. If you contacted me for my time, my work, my money, or my dogs, then I have to assume you came to me because you think I have something that can benefit you. That is great. I am glad you think positively about us and our program. I would NEVER want to take advantage of you. While using people is fine, misusing them is not acceptable. I never want to be guilty of the sin of misusing someone. I pay my teachers. I pay my workers. I pay for the dogs I bought. If you have some set of skills or resources that benefit us, feel free to tell us about what it is you offer if you would like to make a trade for my time, my work, my money, or my dogs, then we welcome you to approach us...but when you do so, please remember that we both need to win. I do NOT want you to lose, nor do I want to lose. Often times various expenses come up. Please think about your expenses and my expenses before you approach us with your idea. I am not a young man that just started breeding dogs, and I am very familiar with many of the expenses that occur in this line of work, so if you are unaware of such expenses, please be understanding as I explain them to you. I am also aware that just as I had expenses, work, education, money, and time invested in our program...so do you...but trades cannot be made on an "IOU" basis prior to the establishment of a sound trusting relationship. If you want me to trust you, I have to see evidence in our relationship that establishes validation of such trust. Until that occurs, trades need to occur simultaneously...not based on promises such as, "If you give me this now, I will do this for you later."

Many breeders and pet owners contact me wanting advise on how to train or breed their dogs. Honestly, I do not wish to charge a "consultation fee" for minor questions, but if you wish to repeatedly contact me and take hours of my time away from my goals for your benefit, knowledge, problems, or goals...please consider the possibility that a consultation fee may be worth considering. Trainers are paid for their time. If you find this unreasonable, I recommend reviewing Google OR reviewing our website. You may find all you need to know there.

I am often asked about my kennels, leashes, collars, posts...if I make them. The answer to all these is, "Yes, I did." That said, I am not a licensed contractor. My kennels were designed by me. I designed them the way I did to address the husbandry requirements I need met. That said, I do not have drafting plans on them. I had a vision, and put it together. If you want me to explain the set up to you, I would have to draft it out for anyone to follow. My collars, leashes, back ties...etc...those are available on my website under the "Built2Last" tab on the left.

I have actually had people ask me if I would finance their kennels or dog purchases...saying they would give me monthly payments to pay off their debt. No way. I am not in the banking business. If you need a loan, take that up with people that loan money. I have my own bills and financial goals. I cannot be responsible for yours.

I am often contacted by people asking for a free dog, many times...

...promising me a puppy. To them I say, if wanted to expand my program with new blood, I would contact someone with exactly what I wanted.
...promising a title. To them I say, buy a dog. Get a title. If the dog was good enough to title, you got a good dog, which is what you paid for. After you get a title on one of my dogs, then I may give you a discount on a second dog should you want one...but that depends on a few things. Was the title you got a respected title with significant demands that help validate our program? Is there video of it? If so, then great...we can entertain this. If you have never titled a dog before, then I cannot even consider such requests. If you have titled a dog before, then you know the value of a good dog.
Deposits can only be listed after some type of "win:win" terms have been met...be a deposit, a legitimate title meeting the requirements, or a replacement of a previous dog as per a previous contractual agreement.

We may be able to provide you with some type of service with minimal "out of pocket" expense should you have something else worthy of trade besides financial payment. Whatever it is you seek from us, we hope we can provide you with what it is you are looking for, but we ask you to also seek a "win:win" agreement. If either one of us feel like they are getting the "short end of the stick," then neither of us should enter any such agreement. We do not want a "lose:win" or a "win:lose." We want "win:win." As a reputable breeder, we want success for everyone...you, me, and our dogs as well.

You have a problem and need help?

ASC's Preacher-Man - a family companion American Sentinel K9 bandog guardian.

Seek Professional Advise

I get contacted by a lot dog people seeking advise...most often by other so called "breeders" seeking free breeding advise, or owners that often times got a "bandog" from someone I do not know and now they are having problems, and they reach out to me asking for free counseling on how to deal with that breeder, seeking free medical advise, or free training advise.

If you got a dog from us, we invite you to contact us when you need help. Dog owners should to contact their breeders for assistance when necessary. We want to help our clients. Surprisingly though, many people that contact me for help never done business with us and are people I do not even know, and unfortunately, I do not have time to discuss issues with their dog(s). So, please do not contact us to discuss problems you had with another self proclaimed "bandog breeder" that did not meet any of the requirements listed on our "find a reputable breeder" article. If you did your homework ahead of time, you probably would not be in this situation, but now that you are, contact that breeder and work something out with them.

I do not have a magic wand, and odds are...EVEN IF YOU PAID ME, I still would probably not be able to fix your issue over a computer or phone, for there is no way for me to know if you are assessing or diagnosing the situation correctly. In fact, if you are not able to fix the issue yourself, then it is most likely that you are not able to diagnose the cause of the issue correctly either. Without proper diagnosis, it is impossible for someone to provide an appropriate course of corrective action.

WITHOUT OBSERVING YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH THE DOG, THEN FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU MAY BE CAUSING THE PROBLEM.

What type of problem do you have?

MEDICAL TIPS- If it is a medical issue, don't get advise online or over the phone. Take the dog to a vet to get a proper diagnosis and an appropriate course of corrective action...and expect a bill.

BEHAVIORAL TIPS- If it is a behavioral issue, find a qualified trainer in your area to get a proper diagnosis and an appropriate course of corrective action...and expect a bill.

BREEDING TIPS- If you are seeking to breed your dog(s) and need advise, find a qualified breeder (myself or someone else) to get a proper diagnosis and an appropriate course of corrective action...and expect a bill.

ASC's Preacher-Man - American Sentinel K9 bandog

Hire a local professional.

Stop being cheap. Your animal's well being depends on you. Seeking professional advise is a good thing, but seeking free advise is a good way to make a problem worse. If you really want good results, go to a professional in your area when professional assessment is required for a situation. If proximity is not required to assess the situation, then online advise may be appropriate. In any case, expect to compensate professionals for their knowledge, experience, and skills when you need them to resolve your problem.

APBTs & American Sentinels bred to catch man or beast!