[Chris Fraize]

Many thanks to everyone that helped make the 2006 M.A.D. Summer Challenge a great success.
M.A.D. Club member Carrie Hartranft inspired by her recent trip to the Dog Sports Open in St. Johns Michigan decided we should have a theme to the trial. Our first theme was a “Birthday Party”. Carrie did a great job with the distractions and props! When you see the video (link below) you will see a distinct difference in the environmental pressure levels of the trial novice through advanced. We all think she has some great ideas in store for next year’s event! Great job Carrie!

The decoys were Mike Connors - (M.A.D.), Shawn Flipp - (New England Ring Club), Megan Welch – (M.A.D.), and Richi Davis – (M.A.D.). I can’t thank them enough for their hard work. They never let us down! I would like to personally thank Mr. Shawn Flipp for taking another long drive to bring some of the best decoying in New England to the event! In addition Mike Connors for his pre-game help with our new field and organizing and then leading the decoys through consistent and safe personal protection decoy work.

Also, Shawn Flipp and Mike Connors did a skillful and SAFE job at bringing (What I believe) was the toughest courage test (Advanced) in dog sports to life. They pulled it off just the way I wanted it done. That courage test took real skill and a profound understanding of dog behavior. A tough job done very well by both decoys!

Our judges were Will McNeil (Novice Judge) David Hartranft PhD (Intermediate judge) and Mac Maclusky (Advanced judge). All did a great job and filling in for our original judge that had to cancel last minute due to a family crisis. Thank you all for your qualified opinions and professionalism. You all made what could have been a huge bump in the road look very smooth and seamless.

Competitors came from New Jersey, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Vermont. We thank you all for supporting this unique trial!

The Saturday obedience challenges saw some new faces and many old ones. These challenges were a great chance for obedience folks to compete and then take a look at what bite work is all about. Many of the folks that were there for the “obedience challenges only” now would like to learn more about bite work. Maybe we will see them next year in the protection challenges.

The protection challenges brought folks from Ringsport, Schutzhund, Belgian ring, and personal protection to the same field. These individual personal protection challenges are designed to let dogs that are working towards a title in a specific sport compete on a new field with new decoys without interfering with their current training program or current goals.

There were 14 entries in total for the personal protection tournament on Sunday. If a team has placed (1st – 3rd) in any of our competitions they have to move up at the next trial and are not allowed to compete in novice with the same dog. We also do not let dogs with titles (includes brevet) in other sports compete in novice. This way we can keep the teams training progressive. This rule can make the novice class very small at times but serves the purpose of keeping the novice a TRUE novice level. We took this rule from the DSO and it has been a great tool at keeping the competitors moving forward.

Thanks again to all that helped and competed! We hope to see you next year! Our next event is the WPBTCA Nationals in just a few weeks! Are you ready?

Please enjoy the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjz-T_10b44

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

 

[Roxy]

omg, thats quite scary that dogs out there are trained to attack in such away :shock:

JMO.

 

[Chris Fraize]

Hmmmm

I understan that personal protection work and police K-9 work can be frightening to those that do not understand it or those that are new to it. However AVERY dog in the video is a house pet that lives with families that often inclue children everyday.

Knowledge replaces fear!

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

 

[thedogmother]

These dogs are highly trained to do this kind of work... more trained than the average dog. I have been to many of these competitions and it totally amazes me as to how these dogs are really "into" what they are doing, and all of a sudden they are called out, back to their owners, and they immediately obey, no matter what they were enjoying, they obey their masters.

You'd be very proud to see how hard these dogs & owners work, so dedicated to training their dogs!

When Chris calls "out" Bronx, Bronx immediately comes back and gives Chris a smooch!

The rest of us should follow their example of training!

 

[Roxy]

I'm quite happy with my OB trianing, plus I think the above sport is banned in the UK. Guess in the wrong hands it could be dangerous.

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

omg, thats quite scary that dogs out there are trained to attack in such away :shock:

JMO.

I think there's a difference between a controlled attack and an actual attack. The guard breeds need to know
when it is OK to bite so they will know when it's not. This makes them reliable in not attacking people at their own will.

Don't try this at home kiddies, only go to a professional trainer who is skilled and experienced in protection training.
Attempting this yourself will seriously screw up your dog and may cause your own death. LOL.

 

[Chris Fraize]

Hmmmm

Ahhhhh ok?

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

 

[Roxy]

Re: Hmmmm

Ahhhhh ok?

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

What are u questioning...that it is banned in the Uk? That I'm fearful of protection dogs? They are a bit like a gun in the wrong hands.

I do have one question. Is it only your voice command the dog will respond to?

 

[thedogmother]

Roxy, FYI.... (for your info)

Chris Fraize is one of the top dog trainers in the USA. He has trained many a dog for police departments throughout the USA. His dog Bronx, is the most titled dog in the USA (i think). He (Chris) knows his stuff, and is well known throughout the training world, and in New England for his skill at working with "problem dogs". I know for a fact. He helped me with my ABPT/Boxer, that I was so very frustrated with. She is a different dog today, because of Chris.

Don't try this at home kiddies, only go to a professional trainer who is skilled and experienced in protection training.

 

[Roxy]

Roxy, FYI.... (for your info)

Chris Fraize is one of the top dog trainers in the USA. He has trained many a dog for police departments throughout the USA. His dog Bronx, is the most titled dog in the USA (i think). He (Chris) knows his stuff, and is well known throughout the training world, and in New England for his skill at working with "problem dogs". I know for a fact. He helped me with my ABPT/Boxer, that I was so very frustrated with. She is a different dog today, because of Chris.

Don't try this at home kiddies, only go to a professional trainer who is skilled and experienced in protection training.

Lo (Hello)

Thank you for that info, Not quite sure why you told me, but ermm Thanks

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

I thought he was talking to me.. LOL.
I'm like.. does he WANT people to try it at home?
I don't think so.. LOL.

 

[Roxy]

I thought he was talking to me.. LOL.
I'm like.. does he WANT people to try it at home?
I don't think so.. LOL.

Sad thing is that a younger member may see this vid and think hmmm I can do this with my pitty. Then what do you have ....a dog trained to attack, a teeneager ready to use his trained dog, someone gets attacked, and hello BSL.

Am I the only one that see the link between BSL and Protection sport. Why do you think it is banned in some contries and just left to the army, police etc?

Can't understand why you would train a dog to bite, one which is such a lover of humans?

 

[Chris Fraize]

Replacing fear!

ROXY WRITES: Sad thing is that a younger member may see this vid and think hmmm I can do this with my pitty. Then what do you have ....a dog trained to attack, a teeneager ready to use his trained dog, someone gets attacked, and hello BSL.

Fraize writes: You use the words “Trained to attack.” My dogs are not trained to attack. They are obedience trained. EVERYTHING is obedience! However I can see where a novice that is afraid of BSL and doesn’t really have a solid grasp of dogs and dog behavior would get that impression. (I am not trying to be an ass here it is just the impression you give in your posts.)

First you should know that I am not afraid of BSL. Why? Because my dogs are highly trained and extremely social, they are not indiscriminant biting machines. The everyday person on the street would never know that my dogs are trained in protection. In fact watch Bronx in the video below as a young man comes up to us on the street and pets and loves Bronx. See the video link below.

See the video: http://www.k9sts.com/bronxmovie/

I have a bit of news for you BSL is here. :shock: BSL came to my town here in the states. The reason it didn’t take hold in my community is due in VERY LARGE part to folks in the community seeing what my APBT’s are capable of doing with proper training. This training includes bite work and personal protection. People could not believe the control and how social the dogs were after our demo. Instead of fearing the APBT as they did before the town meeting, they became APBT fans and were cheering for the dogs to defeat the “bad guy”. We now have an entire town on our side in the fight against BSL rather than an entire town against us and the breed! =D>

Why? When BSL pops up around me I take it as an opportunity to educate folks on the fact that the problem they think they have (APBTs) isn’t really the problem at all. I show them that the problem IS irresponsible dog owners that make the breed (and any breed they own really) look like the problem. The key to ending BSL isn’t limiting our dogs from protection sports. They key to ending BSL is responsible ownership through education.

Your point of view is based in fear (Of BSL) and ignorance (Of dog training and behavior). If a younger or older member goes out and tried to teach a dog to do what you see on the video clip they would be irresponsible. Does this style of training look so that easy that a person would think they do not need professional guidance? Maybe so. One of my favorite trainers often tells me that the training we do looks so smooth that folks think it is easy. I can assure you and anyone that wants to trrain a dog that it can be and is a huge responsibility.

If they do attempt this kind of training or any training without the help of a qualified professional, then they lack common sense and I can’t do anything about poor genetics in humans. As one of my favorite comedians said, “You can’t fix stupid!” There are stupid folks in every place and in every breed. The best I can do is to be the best most responsible APBT owner I can and educate when the opportunity arises.

ROXY WRITES: Am I the only one that see the link between BSL and Protection sport. Why do you think it is banned in some contries and just left to the army, police etc?

Can't understand why you would train a dog to bite, one which is such a lover of humans?

Fraize writes: German Shepherds don’t love humans? Rotties don’t love humans? Malinois don’t love humans? If we have such a pride in our breed because they love humans so much and the breed is so disinclined to bite humans, why are humans being bitten by APBT’s at all? :-k If they weren’t biting folks we wouldn’t have BSL would we? The answer is that more APBT’s learn to bite humans on their own because they aren’t properly trained or socialized or because folks don’t understand dog behavior. Look at this video and tell me if you think that this dog isn’t social and responsibly owned and if I have a firm grasp of dog behavior to get this level of control from my dogs.

See the video: http://www.k9sts.com/rumblefarmmovie/

Fraize writes: It is always ironic to me when folks that own ABPTs and despise BSL what to ban bite work or personal protection training. Why? Well, if you take the words “attack training” or “Bite work” out of your post and add the word’s “Pit Bulls” in their place, you are doing EXCATLY the same thing you hate the BSL folks for in the first place. Banning something you don’t understand out of fear and ignorance because you don’t or won’t take the time to properly educate yourselves. If you fear it, destroy it. If you educate your self you won’t be so afraid. Knowledge replaces fear!

Thank you Roxy for the chance to debate you and the opportunity to let folks learn more. :lol:

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

Well, I don't think BSL has anything to do with pit bull attacks. It has to do with human fear and the media.
Truth is, there aren't that many REAL pit bulls attacks. Some are made up completely, as there was no proof
of any attack happening but the news had to fill in some slots (my dad works for the paper, trust me it happens
more than you can imagine). There are attacks where someone's own dog attacks them but they claim it was a
"stray pit bull" just to save their own ass when they go to the hospital. Then there are attacks where the dog
isn't a pit bull, doesn't even resemble one, but the media feels they'll get more attention by saying it was. then
there are the random pit haters who have either a real injury from who knows where or a fake/unseen injury
which they claim came from a pit bull. Then there are some real pit attacks, few but they are there as with any dog.

Because of all these faked stories and misindentified breeds, the general public has a fear of pit bulls. Though out
of an average 500,000 dog attacks every year, no more than 5 of those each year are actually pit bulls. They say
that more children are killed by their own parents every year than by pit bulls.

Now the point of BSL is really to try to prevent dog attacks, but that simply won't work as the only dogs they are
banning are the dogs least likely to attack anyone. There are places that have banned pit bulls, but have never had
a pit bull attack in their area. That's like perfect town USA passing a law to ban men because it was in the news about
men raping women, they've never had a rape happen but they'd ban men to prevent one from happening.

If you think about it that way, it doesn't make much sense does it?

I personally DON'T see a reason to bite train a pit bull, a correct one won't bite, they were never allowed to bite,
they were never guard dogs for anything so they never had a reason to bite. I think teaching a pit bull when to
bite is ruining it's stability. Any guard breed, I think it's a great idea. But teaching a breed something it wouldn't
normally do and that's been bred/culled out of it for generation just seems to pointless and wrong.

It's like getting an innocent child and teaching them how and when to shoot a gun, why would you?

BTW if your town seriously banned pit bulls,your community wouldn't be able to fight it. It would be law.
I'm sure there are plenty of neighborhoods in Denver which love pit bulls, are they able to fight the city?

So yes, every owner and lover of the APBT should be afraid of BSL.
It's something the entire town/state/country needs to fight, not just one neighborhood.

 

[PeterC]

Knowledge replaces fear........

Exactly.

What if you are blind to see and do not want to hear? :wink:

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

Who is that meaning toward, peter?

 

[Chris Fraize]

sad

Pitbullroyalty,

You are misinformed. With a screen name like pit bull roaylty I assume you know alot and have done much with the breed. Could you please list your credentials so I can have a basis for your comments? Thanks in advance.

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

 

[Roxy]

Re: Replacing fear!

Fraize writes: (I am not trying to be an ass here it is just the impression you give in your posts.)

Safe training,
Chris Fraize

You sounded a complete ass

We don't have the BSL here in the UK, nor do we have pit bulls. Too many ppl back in 1980 trained their pits to be agressive and got them banned

We do however have DDA, and protection sports is banned for the average Joe Blogg.

Your reply was very nicely laid out and must have took some time, I appreciate that.

 

[PeterC]

Roxy........

I will agree that people who MAKE THEIR DOGS aggressive towards humans without the proper foundation and imprinting (proper knowledge) are the ones that cause BSL. IT IS NOT THE DEDICATED DOG PEOPLE THAT TRAIN WITH THEIR DOGS EVERYDAY. It is the people who cannot control their dogs from running off into the field. It is the people who let it off leash. it is the people who think THEIR pit bull is a bundle of joy.

the majority of bites from pit bulls come from family pets that have been UNDERESTIMATED (behavior read incorrectly).

I promise you this, and this is an open invitation. Come to our club. SEE what you are blindly comdeming.

It is called prejudice. When you see........THEN you will understand.

 

[Nelson]

DOGS THAT BITE

All protection dog breeds do NOT always have the ability to do bitework training. Some working dog breeders are lucky if 50% of their litters are "workable".

Yet all breeds of dogs are capable to produce a sound, clear-headed, stable protection dog. APBT's and all other fighting breeds, because of their heritage, have a higher percentage of producing very good, stable protection and sport dogs.

Dogs have 2 very strong instinct. They are territorial and social creatures. Those two traits alone are enough to produce an individual with the genetical make-up to bite anyone or anything in defense of his pack and/or home.

To see APBTs with such high desire to please, intelligence, drive, stability, happily working and soundness (as seen in those videos) should always be comendable ..... NOT criticized.

I've seen obedience competition where dogs worked with roached backs, stiff tucked tails and all stressed out. That would really lift my nose in disgust. But to see dogs eagerly obeying and doing so, so happy and merry ... is a sight to behold.

My hats off to all those trainers out there who put our breeds in the limelight, showing off all of their natural qualities in agility, obedience and bitework. Be it protection and/or other dog sports. Not saying but showing to all just how stable and capable the APBT is.

We're always under attack by those who fanatics who deem our breed as psychotic killers. Yet none of thoses fanatics have ever seen what out breed is all about. If they did, the recent history of our breed would be different. And right here we can read how damaging to our breed can fanatics be. The ones who most severely criticize bitework are the ones who know the least about it.

Knowledge should replace fear. But you need a special type of person with the intelligence and will to shed their coat of prejudices. For those who have shed their coats, my deepest congrats. For those who haven't, I urge you to open your minds and find the balance missing to be able to free yourself of the negative.