Looking for reputable apbt breeder
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Hi. Welcome to the forum.
While I understand the allure of getting a dog for personal protection, especially as a woman, (and believe me, I do understand) it's not the best idea. Why? Because a dog doesn't know the difference between an attacker trying to do you harm, and a paramedic, firefighter or a policeman trying to save your life. And if your dog attacks an innocent person, or worse, someone trying to save your life, you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law, and your dog put down.
Guardian breeds have the instinct to guard, of course, but in order to be safe around the general public, those instincts have to be refined and honed by training. And I'm not talking about the general dog training group in town which teaches your dog to walk to heel and sit on command. I'm talking about specific protection training, and as per the first link, not all dogs have what it takes to be a protection dog:
Protection Dog Training
Training costs (USA)
APBTs aren't protection dogs. They were bred to fight, so I'd be surprised if reputable owners would sell to someone hoping to keep one of their pups as a guard or protection dog.
Much better, and safer all round, to invest in a personal alarm, CCTV for your home, and mobile phone apps that can alert the emergency services for you if you are attacked.
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As above. This was written by a poster on our sister forum and is shared with their permission.
First of all, you want a dog that is balanced in the head and confident. No dog aggression and, honestly, no people aggression. Genetic Dog aggression and Human aggression usually mean dogs that are also unstable. If the traits are genetic based you cannot train them to be reliably un-aggressive.
If you want to have a protection dog you need a dog that has balanced drives and you want to find a trainer who is good at training personal protection dogs (and believe me there are a LOT of bad trainers doing this out there so be careful). It is NOT something you train at home. Period. Exclamation point. It is very specific training and you need to be involved in that training with the trainer and the dog. There is a reason that a good personal protection dog costs $25,000.
The right dog (note I said Dog, not Breed) will be trained to behave neutrally unless turned on. The dog should be tolerant but stand offish with strangers. If you have a dog that does this remember, it is like carrying a gun. It does no harm unless cocked and the safety is off and it is pointed at a target. A gun that will fire randomly is dangerous as is a dog that makes the decisions on when to be protective. This animal will likely be bonded with you and no one else and needs to be with you most of the time. It is not a pet for your kids to play with.
Dogs that bark and carry on with their hackles up are NOT PROTECTING YOU. That dog is in full defense and is protecting itself. Reactive dogs are often thought to be aggressive or protective. They are neither. They are SCARED and so they get all big and tough looking to try to make the threat go away.
KNOW what you are asking for when you say you want a dog that is protective.
First of all, you want a dog that is balanced in the head and confident. No dog aggression and, honestly, no people aggression. Genetic Dog aggression and Human aggression usually mean dogs that are also unstable. If the traits are genetic based you cannot train them to be reliably un-aggressive.
If you want to have a protection dog you need a dog that has balanced drives and you want to find a trainer who is good at training personal protection dogs (and believe me there are a LOT of bad trainers doing this out there so be careful). It is NOT something you train at home. Period. Exclamation point. It is very specific training and you need to be involved in that training with the trainer and the dog. There is a reason that a good personal protection dog costs $25,000.
The right dog (note I said Dog, not Breed) will be trained to behave neutrally unless turned on. The dog should be tolerant but stand offish with strangers. If you have a dog that does this remember, it is like carrying a gun. It does no harm unless cocked and the safety is off and it is pointed at a target. A gun that will fire randomly is dangerous as is a dog that makes the decisions on when to be protective. This animal will likely be bonded with you and no one else and needs to be with you most of the time. It is not a pet for your kids to play with.
Dogs that bark and carry on with their hackles up are NOT PROTECTING YOU. That dog is in full defense and is protecting itself. Reactive dogs are often thought to be aggressive or protective. They are neither. They are SCARED and so they get all big and tough looking to try to make the threat go away.
KNOW what you are asking for when you say you want a dog that is protective.
I would reach out to the American Staffordshire Club and ask them if they have breeder recommendations in your area. https://www.amstaff.org/contact-us.html. When dealing with a pit bull you definitely want one with a good, stable temperament. The AmStaff club should have an idea of which breeders are working with good lines and be able to direct your towards one.
Plenty of large dogs are capable of being intimidating; you don't need to limit yourself to pit bulls. Of course if you want a big, block headed goober of a dog, that's different. There's nothing like getting a kiss from an adoring pitty while being simultaneously clubbed with that powerful tail. There is no doubt you feel the love, LOL. For what it's worth, my standard poodles are very protective, and they don't cause me problems on my homeowner's insurance. They have definitely backed unexpected visitors into a corner and held them there by barking furiously. They have also inserted themselves between me and people they thought were sketchy. I was once rescued from an attacker by my schnauzer cross, and a co-worker was protected by her Catahoula.
Plenty of large dogs are capable of being intimidating; you don't need to limit yourself to pit bulls. Of course if you want a big, block headed goober of a dog, that's different. There's nothing like getting a kiss from an adoring pitty while being simultaneously clubbed with that powerful tail. There is no doubt you feel the love, LOL. For what it's worth, my standard poodles are very protective, and they don't cause me problems on my homeowner's insurance. They have definitely backed unexpected visitors into a corner and held them there by barking furiously. They have also inserted themselves between me and people they thought were sketchy. I was once rescued from an attacker by my schnauzer cross, and a co-worker was protected by her Catahoula.
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I was going for personal protection just in case of anything but I would be open to do sports instead. And there’s a dog trainer near me that trains apbt in personal protection he’s a great trainer. But I understand
Keep in mind that you may find it impossible to get homeowners or renters insurance with the double strike of having a pitbull with protection training. You may also find that owning a pitbull limits your housing options. One of my relatives had to rehome her pitbull after her landlord sold the house she was renting. She couldn't find another landlord willing to rent to a pitbull owner.
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I'm in California and State Farm insured my home and I've since had 2 Pitbulls and a Dogo Argentino that they are well aware of. They don't breed discriminate, at least that's what my sales lady told me. She even has photos of my Dogo Argentino. I can't speak to a dog that is specifically trained for protection.
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I will have pitweiler puppies of working quality, perfect temperament, mom and dad are both pure. You pay shipping plus 1500 which includes all needles, all deworm, microchip and 30 free health insurance.
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Selling dogs is strictly against forum rules.
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