Popular wisdom would have it that those dogs that exhibit the highest degree of problem-solving and learning ability should also excel at what is known as obedience intelligence/ work intelligence.

But forgive me for I am getting way ahead of myself because if we are to properly understand dog intelligence we need to go back to the beginning; which is we need to break down intelligence into its component parts.

Most often when we think of intelligence as a parameter of measurement we equate that measurement with the ability to learn and the ability to solve problems. In fact the capacity to learn is measured in terms of the number of experiences required for any given individual to imprint an occurrence or event as a permanent memory.

Thus those individuals with above normal or excellent learning ability require few or less than average exposures to a given situation to create usable memories and associations.

Problem solving on the other hand is quantified as an individual’s ability to mentally surmount obstacles, correctly string together bits of information resulting in an accurate response or solution to what for all intents and purposes is a novel solution to their dilemma. In both people and dogs learning ability and problem solving ability constitute what is referred to as adaptive intelligence.

Adaptive intelligence thus correlates to the smarts or skills required of an individual enabling them to adapt, modify and conquer and obstacles presented within or by their environment. A simple example of adaptive intelligence is illustrated by a person improving their driving skills, typing skills or even driving skills.

Whenever problems arise during this period of learning then the resultant effective solutions are rendered to memory (in other words learned) such that on subsequent occasions when the individual is confronted with a similar dilemma they may expeditiously elicit and apply the best response.

Componential Intelligence

A Yale University psychologist called Robert Sternberg who is responsible in no small manner of our understanding of human intelligence, analyzed that intelligence and concluded to subdivide it into component parts. It was for that very reason he preferred the term Componential Intelligence to that of Adaptive Intelligence.

Sternberg posited that a number of meta-components comprise an important set of components found in adaptive intelligence. The prefix meta is of particular importance here for the fact that it is derived from the Greek root that denotes of stands for “higher level” or “transcending” pointing to the fact that such components play a significant role in controlling and organizing a vast array of more specialized behaviors.

Boerboel is derived from the Afrikaans/Dutch words of boer (farmer) and boel which is a reference to the Bullenbijter (Bullbiter) ancestry that the breed comes from. So in a nutshell the word Boerboel literally translates into “farmer’s mastiff”.

The exact ingredients that went into the recipe that created the modern Boerboel are not precisely known but what is beyond dispute is the Boerboel’s mixed African and European heritage!

The history of the Boerboel dog breed traces all the way back to 1652 when Jan van Riebeeck (the founding father of the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope) arrived in southern Africa.

Jan van Riebeeck took with him a very large and impressive looking Bullenbijter (Bull biter) to serve as protection against the real and imagined dangers found on the African continent. His Bullenbijter was a large mastiff-type dog that was more than capable to multi-function as enforcer and protector!

Other settlers followed Jan van Riebeeck’s lead and soon enough the settlements were teeming with large forbidding dog breeds that originated from all across Europe.

The British arrived in tow with their own powerdogs most of which at the time were typically a cross between the long-legged Bulldogs of the period and the large English Mastiff. The Germans and the French not to be outdone took their own canine powerdog specimens with them.

With time inevitably crossing of these various powerdog breeds occurred resulting in the genetic legacy upon which the Boerboel breed was developed. But that is just a tiny portion of the history of how the Boerboel became the dog it is today!

The Great Trek

In 1806 following the annexing of the Cape Colony by the British, a period of hardship befell the Afrikaans. In the wake of the tide of British settlers in 1820, several Afrikaan and Dutch settlers felt compelled to relocate to avoid the yoke of British rule!

And thus began the era of the Great Trek that spanned several decades and involved the migration to remote regions; a process that played a significant part in the development of the robust nature and signature character of the Boerboel dog.

The trek of the 1830s – 1840s (the Great Trek) was an exodus that involved more than 10,000 Afrikaan and Dutch families, a journey that also included theirs strongest and best dogs.  These treks into the interior unchartered regions of the heartland were relentless and unforgiving. Before the trek was over many fell by the wayside, both dog and man!

By the time the trek was over and the migrants resettled in the deepest regions of the heartland only the hardiest of dogs had survived and it was from this gene pool that the modern Boerboel gets its genetic robustness and stamina.

Due to the limited amount of contact with the outside world and with few dogs alive after the trek the settlers had little option but to replenish their dogs from the few that remained. In this manner the homogeneity of the Boerboel dog breed was fashioned.

The African Connection

Shortly after the arrival of the first powerdog specimens from Europe it didn’t take long for the settlers to realize that despite their large size and strength the dogs were quickly conquered by the African heat and the buffet of local diseases. Thus it made a lot of sense to cross-breed the European dogs with the hardier African dogs that were optimally adjusted to the climate and environment.

One such local dog was the Khoi dog from which the Boerboel inherited its much greater tolerance to heat (as compared to other mastiff dog breeds), an exceptional resistance to Tick Bite Fever (amongst other diseases) as well as its intense dislike for big cats especially the leopard!

The Boerboel Dog Breed Almost Becomes Extinct!

Although the existence and status of the Boerboel dog breed today is secure and growing stronger this was not always the case! Twice during its history the existence of the breed skirted the fine line of extinction. The first time occurred during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902 following Lord Kitchener’s “Scorched Earth” policy and the next was a little more recent (as well as more subtle) and was due to the inevitable march of urbanization!

In the face of urbanization the Boerboel dog found itself in the crosshairs of a dilemma; those traits and characteristics quintessential to the Boerboel dog breed on the farm proved to be an inconvenience in the city. As a consequence Boerboel dog owners resorted to breeding their dogs “with anything that barked” to the point that pure Boerboel stock literally disappeared!

Fortunately small pockets of original Boerboel genetic stock could still be found in farms located in remote regions.

Resurgence of the Boerboel Dog Breed

In the early 1980s, lovers and fanciers of the breed pained by the seemingly inevitable demise of the Boerboel dog breed decided enough was enough! The South African Boerboel Breeder’s Association (SABBA) was duly formed with the main objective and purpose of reviving the Boerboel to its genetic purity and original stature.

In the August of 1990 an extensive search covering over 5,500 kilometers was undertaken by a few devoted individuals with the express purpose of finding and selecting those Boerboel specimens that best embodied the Boerboel breed in its purest form. Out of 250 dogs examined only 72 passed the grueling selection criteria.

More about the boerboel

Temperament of the Great Dane:

The Great Dane is often described as the “Gentle Giant” because despite its large size it has a very sweet disposition. In fact a quick glance at the table above clearly shows that the Great Dane has a very high affection level and is very tolerant of strangers.

The Great Dane was not always the gentle giant it is today. In fact it was bred as a powerful, aggressive and very fearsome hunter developed to track and kill large game.

However that fearsome dog of yesteryear has little place in modern society and would in fact constitute quite the menace in today’s world. Thus years of careful and selective breeding have eradicated that aggressive and combative nature and left in its place the gentle giant of today!

The Great Dane gets on famously with children but you must always bear in mind that this is a very big dog and thus adult supervision is imperative when the dog is around smaller children.

Although friendly towards strangers when the need arises the Great Dane will aggressively protect its family. This is a dog breed that doesn’t bark much but still makes an excellent watchdog as well as a great protector. It is only the bravest of souls (bordering on foolish) who would attempt to antagonize a dog this size, its good nature notwithstanding!

As with all dog breeds some Great Danes may exhibit strong dominance issues and be aggressive with other dogs, people and pets. That is why it is very important that a dog this size should be timely and well socialized.

Appearance of the Great Dane

According to the breed standard as designated by the AKC (American Kennel Club) the Great Dane should be square relative to its length and height proportions. In appearance its muscular well-toned body exudes a dignified strength and regal elegance.

Ears

Great Danes naturally have floppy ears but when they were still used for hunting often the dogs would return with torn and mauled ears if indeed they made it back. So it was common practice for the dog’s owners to crop their ears. Ear cropping is a simple surgical procedure where the ear leathers are trimmed and then trained to stand erect.

In the UK, Denmark, Germany and New Zealand the practice has been banned for several years but is still commonplace and allowed in the United States.

Coat Colors

Six coat colors are accepted for Great Dane show dogs and they include:

• Fawn: A fawn dog has a yellowy-gold coloration with a black mask.
• Brindle: These dogs are often described as having a tiger-stripe pattern because of their typical fawn and black striped lines.
• Blue: A blue Great Dane should be a uniform steel-blue throughout. Any white markings are undesirable and qualify as faults.
• Black: This dog should be a uniform glossy black all over and white marks anywhere are undesirable and considered faults.
• Harlequin: Such dogs have black patches randomly distributed across a white base background. The black patches shouldn’t be too large as to look like a black base background but neither should they be too small as to give a cheetah-like spotted appearance.
• Mantle: These dogs have a solid black base extending over the entire body except for the chest, collar and the black head with white muzzle. In some regions these Great Danes are referred to as Bostons due to their similar coloration to the Boston Terrier.

The Great Dane does occur in other colors but such coat patterns are not accepted for showing and are generally not pursued by Great Dane breeders intent on producing show dogs.

Having said that you should note that dogs in these colors still make excellent pets; such colors include the following:

• White
• Fawnquin
• Merle
• Fawn mantle
• Merlequin

Also it is worth noting that some breeders may attempt to charge more for these colors on the basis of their rarity. But in truth the breeding of white Great Danes is very controversial as dogs with these colors are strongly predisposed to deafness and blindness.

More about the Great Dane

African Wild Dog

The preeminent evolutionist Charles Darwin postulated that evolution took place gradually, pacing along slowly across the thread of time covering the span of multiple generations. At its most basic evolutionary change occurs as a response to environmental changes, a dynamism that makes pretty logical sense; why after all would an organism undertake the biological expense of morphological and genetic change if there was no call for it? One need only look to the crocodile to see a species that has changed little over 40 million years and yet even today is superbly adapted to excel in its particular environmental niche!

The dog too is another exemplary case of evolutionary success. Descended from wolves there are approximately 400 million dogs worldwide compared to 400, 000 wolves; in other words dogs today outnumber wolves by a multiple of 1000. In fact when one considers when dogs made their debut on earth as a distinct species (widely accepted as anywhere between 15,000 – 10,000 years ago; although the jury is still out concerning the date they first appeared) then the dog’s evolution into the more than 400 breeds that exist today is nothing short of a miracle! Fifteen thousand years on the evolutionary scale of things is no time at all!

Bred For Selectivity?

Popular opinion favors the idea that the dog evolved so rapidly because it was selectively bred by man for particular traits that defined the various dog breeds. Though there is ample evidence that dogs existed 8000 years ago, such evidence of their existence around and beyond 15,000 years ago is scanty at best. Which begs the question, how could a species such as the dog come into its own so thoroughly in the span of a mere 5000 – 7000 years?

This cannot be credited to selective breeding by mankind; Mesolithic humans certainly did not have the time, the tools, the knowledge, the intelligence or a large enough population of tame wolves with which to conduct a successful and trait-selective breeding program. There’s fairly concrete evidence though that a good number of dog breeds were in existence around 3000-4000 years ago and that by the time of the Romans many of the common breeds of today already existed.

Tameness Trait Coincided With Floppy Ears, Barking And Change In Coat Color!

How the dog’s morphology and genetic composition changed so radically from that of the wolf in such a period has for the longest time been quite the mystery. However, as so often happens in these cases, an experimental research conducted on an entirely different animal revealed the clue to how the change came about. In the 1950s, a Russian scientist called Dmitri Belyaev began selectively breeding silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) solely for tameness. The initial purpose of the experiment was to produce a fox that was more approachable and manageable by humans which would have greatly helped in the breeding and raising of those animals for their fur.

The problem the breeders were experiencing was that despite the fact the animals they were dealing with had been bred in captivity for more than 50 years by no stretch of the imagination could they be considered as tame or domesticated; certainly not in the manner that a dog is! The foxes frequently avoided their keepers, sometimes even bit them, and at other times the animals harmed themselves in an effort to evade their keepers.

Belyaev and his colleagues thus selected the foxes that exhibited the least fear/shyness of people for their breeding program; their aim was to selectively breed for a tame trait. With successive generations of selective breeding the foxes became tamer and tamer such that by the eighteenth generation they had bred a fox that exhibited all the characteristics of a domestic dog. The foxes would actually approach people, clamber over them, roll over to get their bellies tickled and even answered to their names.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the selective breeding program was that the foxes no longer resembled foxes but looked and acted like dogs. The coats of the foxes were no longer the characteristic silver fur much sought after by the fur industry but were black and white piebald instead. What is more, the foxes’ tails were curly and upward turned, their ears were floppy and to crown it all the animals even barked like dogs! Dmitri Belyaev had not sought nor bred for these characteristics but all the same they still manifested!

A subsequent investigation into the unexpected side effects revealed that breeding for tameness set off an entire cascade of hormonal changes in the animals. It was observed that the “domesticated” foxes had considerably lower levels of adrenaline which explained their tameness (reduction in flight-or-fight reflex) but didn’t explain the other observed changes. However it didn’t take long before Belyaev and his colleagues made the connection; the hormone adrenaline shares a biochemical pathway with melanin, a hormone that plays a significant role in an animal’s coat color.

Simply put, selective breeding for the tameness trait set off and stimulated an entire slew of genetic changes within the animals in a surprisingly short period. It is now widely believed that the wolf underwent a similar transition to eventually evolve into the domestic dog.

This is also a good time for the trainer to talk about what exercises need to be done at home in order to continue to condition the dog into better obedience. The owner needs to know that consistency throughout the dog’s day – and not only when in class – is what will bring about the desired results.

The beginner’s group of a dog training class will most often be divided into two parts: one group who is interacting with their dogs, another group who is sitting nearby to watch and learn. You can gain a lot of knowledge just by watching how another person’s response makes their pet act! Sometimes you might learn what NOT to do; and this is valuable information as well.

The basic format of an effective dog training class would go something like this: one dog owner would pose a question or concern; then the trainer would demonstrate the basic steps with two or three untrained dogs in the class. So that the group can see a comparison, it would then be followed by a short exhibition with dogs that are already trained. It will be great to see how quickly results may be achieved.

A question-and-answer session will benefit the entire class, as usually one person’s concern is relevant to the problem that other members of the group might have. A good instructor will clearly repeat the question, then give his answer so that everyone in the class can hear and thus learn. Having this Q&A time will lead to informative discussion sessions, and will avoid time-consuming repetitions of a subject.

Some other basics to be covered this first meeting are: reminding owners not to feed their dogs for several hours before the class, making sure the dog has had proper exercise before coming to class. This eliminates the need for excessive pooper-scooping during the class, and allows for pets to be less hyper active. Participants should be told what to expect the following week when they arrive with their dogs. They should be shown the basics of how to stop excessive barking by keeping the dog on a short controlled leash, as well as what to do if a fight between dogs occurs.

Written by Jake Peterson from: Oh My Dog Supplies - your source for luxury dog carriers online

Your local grocery store is not always the best supplier of your dog’s food. Most grocery stores carry the least expensive dog food brands, these brands usually advertise a great deal on television and will seem very familiar to you when you’re looking at them at the grocery store. But if you talk with your veterinarian regarding what food is best for your Labrador they will most likely not refer you to your local grocery store to make your purchase.

The three types of food that your Labrador may use in any combination for their diet include: canned, semi-moist, and to dry. Another type of food that your lab may receive is the leftover food from your table; these should only be an occasional treat. None of these types of dog food should be used exclusively as they can present nutritional problems for your dog. A balanced combination of all these types of dog food will work best for your dog’s digestive system and their overall health.

Dry dog food is often recommended by your veterinarian, you can use this type of food and combine it with a little bit of table scraps or canned dog food to make a balanced and delicious diet for your dog. Too much table scraps will defeat the purpose of buying a balanced well-made dry dog food as will too much canned dog food. Table scraps are made of very high caloric fatty foods usually and will not add much to your dog’s nutritional diet. Canned dog foods are made of mostly water and will also not add much to your dogs diet.

At your next veterinarian appointment discuss your ideas for your dogs diet. Your vet should be able to help you decide on a nutritious and delicious diet that will keep your Labrador retriever healthy and happy. Although your veterinarian may recommend a brand of dog food that they sell in their office, be sure to ask them what brand they would recommend you buy from your local dog supply store. Most dog supply stores will carry a variety of types of canned and dried foods ranging in qualities equal to that of the brand your veterinarian is selling. Take your time and do your research to find the dog food that works best for your pet without causing increased stomach problems or other digestive issues.

Feel free to test a variety of foods but always use one main food as the base. For instance once you choose the dry dog food that you like you can add small samples of canned food to see which one your dog enjoys the most. But do not change your dog’s whole diet at one time, that will cause digestive problems for your lab.

Written by Jake Peterson of Oh My Dog Supplies – your source for sturdy wooden dog steps

First introduced to the West in 1907 the Afghan Hound’s roots date back to the pharaohs of Egypt and is derived from the ancient sighthounds of the Middle East. The Afghan Hound eventually made its way to Afghanistan where it exists in three varieties: short haired; fringe haired and the long thick haired much favored in the West and a darling of dog shows.

Although the records no longer exist, the Afghan Hound made its debut to the western world around the late 1890s. The Afghan dog breed was initially met with little enthusiasm until the appearance of an Afghan Hound named Zardin in 1907 (belonged to Captain Barff) which dog fanciers in Britain were much taken with and felt epitomized how the Afghan Hound breed should look. By the early 1920s the Afghan Hound’s foray into the West was cemented much in part due to the passage of returning British military officers and their families (India-Afghanistan Border Wars)to and fro from Afghanistan with specimens of the breed.

The lineage of Afghan hounds in existence today generally hails from two variants of the breed; the more common line being described as the Bell Murray Afghan Hounds. The Bell Murray Afghan Hound strain are so designated because they were bred by Major and Mrs. Bell Murray in Baluchistan a then independent state south of Afghanistan. After eight years of breed development, the Bell Murrays returned to Scotland with their Afghan Hounds.

Over the course of its history, the Dalmatian has worn many hats of occupation which include: retriever, bird dog, ratter, war dog, shepherd and more. But it was as a coach dog in Victorian England that the Dalmatian found its true calling; a coach dog. As a coach dog the Dalmatian served both a practical and aesthetic purpose.

The practical function of the Dalmatian as coach dog was to ward off marauding dogs and any other like animals from harming or disturbing the horses drawing the coaches. As for the aesthetic aspect, well let’s just say it looked cool to have those spotted dogs trotting by the carriage and most likely it was probably a distinction of affluence to have such dogs accompanying one’s carriage. From the 1880s the Dalmatian was selectively bred for its fondness to run beneath horse drawn carriages, the ideal dogs being those that ran close to the hooves of the rear horses.

However with the rise of the automobile the Dalmatian lost its prominence in society though it continued as a coach dog for horse-drawn fire engines, a tradition that transitioned into the Dalmatian being adopted as the contemporary fire dog. The Dalmatian was formerly recognized by the AKC in 1888 but due to selective intensive breeding for its characteristic spotted pattern this dog breed was plagued by genetic urinary problems; namely a predisposition to uric acid stones (kidney stones). To correct this problem the Dalmatian dog breed was subsequently crossbred with various Pointer breeds!

Dalmatian Dog Article By Kayye Nynne

If you are a dog owner you’re probably aware of the recent pet food scandal that has rocked the nation, resulted in several pet deaths, hundreds of animals falling mysteriously ill and the nationwide recall of 60 million packages of dog food products (and counting) as well as other pet foods!

The Culprit

Melamine: This is the substance at the center of the pet food poison scandal. Pure melamine is used to make plastics and fertilizer so how the heck could it make the transition into dog food? Well the story begins in China…kind of.

Animal feed producers in China have apparently for some time routinely supplemented their feed with melamine to artificially boost the protein content (which translates into more profit). Protein readings are done by assessing the nitrogen levels of the feed and guess what? Melamine has a high nitrogen content!

Unfortunately this sordid tale gets worse. As if adding poisonous melamine to your dog’s food was not bad enough another toxic ingredient is routinely added to Chinese animal feed products. This substance is known as cyanuric acid. In the United States this stuff is commonly used to disinfect swimming pools!

Investigators looking into the hundreds of pet food poison related deaths now believe that the combination of those two ingredients in commercial dog food and other pet food synergistically elevated the toxins to the point where they became lethal to pets.

The Dirty Secret Close To Home

Although American food safety regulators are pinning the blame on pet food contaminated with Chinese animal feed products, the alarming truth is that dog food manufactured in the USA is also toxic to your pet!

Commercial dog food manufactured in the US contains no less than 6 deadly chemicals that have been banned as unfit for human consumption because they cause:

Hair Loss (fur loss);

Kidney Disease;

Liver dysfunction;

Stomach cancer;

Blindness;

Leukemia; and

Skin cancer, to name but a few! The substances that cause these problems are found in preservatives…

Oh But I Always Use Preservative Free Dog Food!

You may think that your dog is safe and healthy because you only insist on buying preservative free dog food. Well dog manufacturers have found a legit way around that too! Many dog foods labeled as preservative free in fact contain preservatives because the manufacturers exploit a loophole whereby they do not have to list any preservative that they themselves did not add.

And unfortunately many preservatives are added to pet foods at the rendering plant well before the meat is ever sent to the manufacturer. One of the most widely used and most powerful preservatives also happens to be one of the most toxic! It is called ethoxyquin (EQ) and you aren’t going to see it listed on your dog food label anytime soon (even though it is in that “preservative free” dry pet food you love to buy) because the manufacturer has no legal obligation to list it.

Although ethoxyquin is permitted in pet food, workers exposed to this substance showed symptoms similar to those of people exposed to agent orange (poisonous herbicide used by the US government in Vietnam War that caused cancer and other diseases).

Your Dog Is Eating Dead Dogs And Dead Cats!

Perhaps the sickest part of this sick tale is that euthanized (put down) dogs and cats are recycled as chow for your pet! The city of angels (Los Angeles) is known for the devilish practice of recycling approximately 200 tons of dead cats and dogs each month into pet food!

Arrrgghh…disgusting huh?

Still it gets worse; poisonous disinfectants and denaturing chemicals are used to treat those recycled dead animals and “render them safe” for your dog’s consumption, not to mention the fact that the toxin used to kill those animals (sodium pentobarbital) can withstand the heat used in the denaturing process.

Bottom line: If you love your dog and want to see him/her live to a ripe healthy old age, perhaps it is time you considered alternative means of nutrition!

Click Here For More On Healthy Dog Meals

Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) are a select group of dog breeds that have been bred over several generations to accentuate the most desirable traits best suited for the activity of protection. These dogs are expected to watch over the livestock quite often unattended by the shepherd; in other words they were bred to be independent which explains their apparent aloofness to human overtures in comparison to the other breeds.

This all tends to suggest that those dog breeds which have been bred over several generations (in some cases spanning thousand of years) for selective traits best suited to the protection of livestock should naturally exhibit such qualities. Unfortunately this is not the case! Remember earlier I mentioned that the true Pros found in this field maintain that timely socialization and optimized training play a far greater role in the development of a good protector dog than genetics; well it is true! This is not to say that genetics plays no part whatsoever, because the fact remains it most certainly does!

Breed Inherent Behavior

Most purebred breeds of dog typically exhibit stereotypical behavior inherent to that particular breed for the simple fact those characteristics have been accentuated over time through selective breeding. Gundogs for instance are inherently inclined to retrieve because they’ve been bred to accentuate such a trait (practical application of this trait is: retrieval of hunted game). This genetic inheritance also explains why certain dog breeds (Labrador, Golden Retriever, to name but a few) find the game of “fetch” so engaging. However, were you to attempt the game of “fetch” with a canine from one of the livestock guardian dog breeds you would in all likelihood be very disappointed! The dog would probably stare at you with an expression that says “what’s up with this moron” before indignantly sauntering off to more productive activities.

It shouldn’t be unreasonable to presume that a gundog would be naturally tolerant and unafraid of the sound of gunshot but to make such an assumption would be quite incorrect! If such a dog were not introduced to the sound of gunfire as a puppy (within the critical period of learning and before the onset of fear) then that dog would thereafter forever perceive the sound of gunfire as something to avoid; in other words the dog will be gun shy. This is a classic example of nurture at play; behavior being influenced by external factors such as socialization and training rather than genetics. In the same vein, a livestock guardian dog from so-called excellent stock that has never been introduced or socialized with livestock whilst a puppy (within the critical period of learning), cannot, nor will it ever be, able to properly perform livestock protection duties. Why? Because its puppy brain never developed the necessary neuronal connections.

The Pit Bull And The Sheep

Thus the question of which livestock guardian dog breed makes the best shepherd protection dog is moot if the influence of nurture (socialization and training) is not factored in! Which brings us full circle to that nagging question of whether a Pit Bull can actually make the cut as a livestock protection dog?

Keep in mind that there are two important factors at play here: nature (genetics) and nurture (socialization/training). So if a Pit Bull pup is raised with sheep early on (from 4-16 weeks of age) it is conceivable that it could perform the role as protector. The early association with sheep will ensure that the Pit Bull regards sheep as its primary companions. However that Pit Bull still has to overcome one major hurdle…the role of its genetic heritage!

Pit Bulls are a dog breed that were originally bred and developed to fight. In other words they possess an innate aggressive streak as a result of multiple-generation selective trait breeding encouraging and accentuating such characteristics. (I know I’m going to get a lot of flak for this from Pit Bull owners and fans but the fact remains folks… Pit Bulls were originally bred for fighting!)

Verdict: A Pit Bull could, in the face of timely socialization, act as a livestock guardian dog but the legacy of its heritage would greatly increase the probability of such a protector attacking the animals it was entrusted to take care of!

Article on pitbull written by Kayye Nynne