Protection Bouviers

[Sue]

Howard, I'm surprised that you're not aware of the Bouvier k9 in CA some years back... Icky... I've met his handler. There was another Bouv (can't remember the name) who worked security at a large hospital in WA. I've heard that there were a number of working Bouviers in the Detroit area in years past as well.

You said " I agree that if it is not "safe" around the general public, you should not set the dog up for failure."

I'm less concerned about the dog failing than I am about some innocent person ending up with undeserved punctures in his body. I've seen it happen and I know people who ended being up on the wrong end of some Bouvier's teeth when the owner failed to socialize, train, or even control their dog.

My neighbor for many years was the master K9 officer in this area and I got to know many of the K9 officers that he trained, along with their dogs. The dept naturally had GSDs. The vast majority of the K9s I knew were approachable, social, petable dogs. PDs can't afford the liability of suits filed by perps or citizens who are bitten without good cause. These dogs did their jobs, taking down perps or decoys with their tails waggin' a mile a minute, but they were not likely to bite someone who just happened to reach out to pet them or someone who touched their handler. I had a Springer Spaniel in those days who had a very convincing bark and hold as well <which was a real hoot to watch for anyone who knew what a sweet doggie he was>.

In talking with folks I know who are involved in police work and K9s, my gut feeling is that they really don't want to deal with Bouviers, partly due to coat issues, but mainly because they want dogs who will blindly obey commands rather than using their own initiative.

How many show line Bouviers have you actually spent time with Howard?

Cheers,
Sue