Dog Health Questions: In terms of dogs trained and used in a variety of things such as seeing eye dogs,etc which dog is used most?

I want to know how common it is for American Pitbull Terriers to be used as service dogs/thearpy dogs opposed to German Shepards.

I need a good website or something that will prove that APBT's are just as smart as German Shepards, and that they can do anything a german shepard can do and then some things that German Shepards cannot do. Like weight training,etc,etc

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Recommended Answer:
In the US, there is a big difference between "working" dogs and "service" dogs.
Drug dogs, search and rescue dogs, cadaver dogs, hazardous material detection dogs and the like are "working" dogs, not service dogs.

The legal definition of a "service dog" is found in the terms and definitions of the ADA, which states that a service dog is a dog that has been individually trained to mitigate the effects of a life-limiting disability of their handler.

A few APBT's are out there as true service dogs, but they are few and far between partly because of the reputation of the breed as well as the fact that other breeds are more suited to actual legitimate service work and can be trained easier for such work. While there may be a few pits that excel at service work, by and large the breed itself is not the best choice because of general temperament and prey drive issues.
Shepherds, Labs and Goldens have been used for Guide dogs and other service dogs successfully for over 70 years. There was a time when some of the Guide schools used Boxers, Dobermans and yes, even Staffordshire Terriers for guidework, but as time went on, they narrowed the lines to the best ones that were easier to train, loved to work, were more personable and temperament suited for assisting people with disabilities. That's why the Goldens, Labs, Shepherds and Lab/Golden cross mixes are used today.

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• sorry i don't have any websites but i totally agree with you


• i think there equal the differences should be noticed in overall personality i dont see as many as therapy dogs because of them being hyper and some people give them a bad reputation ive never seen a german sheperd that didnt mellow out. they usse the german shepards more now because they are use to it the dogs have been serving with their noses and teeth for years look up the difference in bite pressure and there abilities to scent .


• APBTs are used quite often as service dogs actually. The top drug dog in the US currently is a Pit Bull named 'Popsicle'. There are also a number of pit bulls working in search and rescue, and service positions.
  
  Here's some information about what makes Pit Bulls such fantastic working dogs.
  
  http://www.pitbulls-fighting-for-their-l…
  http://www.workingpitbull.com/Rescuespor…
  
  http://www.pitbulllovers.com/training-ar…
  
  Pit bulls also sucessfully compete in schutzhund...a sport where one tends to see more GSDs and Malinois than most other breeds.


• You're not gonna find what you're looking for. Labs & GSD's perform more jobs for humans than any other breeds. I have no problem with pits....I have a major problem with 99% of the people that own them...or WANT to own them. They are extremely trainable...and could definitely do more things for us.....it'll just never happen in any great numbers. If all the pitbull lovers REALLY loved them as much as they say...they would get rid of there's...because most likely, THEY are one of THEM that is at fault.