Chimera Kennels

Mojo is a littermate brother to Linebaugh.

Ya, I like him too...and the Robertsons LOVE him. He has a great home.

I noticed in the first photo that it looked like he was drooling and I thought that's odd...my dogs normally have very dry mouths and I didn't remember ever seeing any drool. Then when I looked closer at that photo I could see it was actually sun light reflecting on his neck and the reflection just happens to be in line with his flews. If one looks close, you can tell. I only mention it because I didn't want people to think they are droolers when they tend to not be.

It will take a little while to tell. He is just getting started with his training.

chimerakennels at April 5, 2011 at 10:41 PM

It will take a little while to tell. He is just getting started with his training.

A very nice, solid, imposing looking American Sentinel Canine!!

I should have mentioned something else about him...while he is just getting started in his training, he did show good protective instincts...displaying appropriate levels of openess to strangers (when I acted appropriate, he was even social with me). He also displayed good suspicion when I gave him reason and defense when he was confronted. And, he displayed good prey drive as well... which will help in training. I think there will be some good things to come from this dog in the future.

The "hurdle" we will have to overcome is getting the dog used to the flat collar and the post. In fact, even though I don't normally use harnesss, IMO, Mojo may be a good candidate for one when doing PP work. I prefer to use the equipment my dog will have on should I ever incounter a situation in which the dog will be expected to be protective.  If you go back to the first photo, you can see he is only wearing a prong in that photo. Mr. Robertson has had some issues with his knees, so he has always used a prong collar when walking the dog and the prong allows them to correct Mojo without him pulling too hard as Mojo is VERY strong. For this reason...I plan on using a very strong but short bungee with Mojo until he is used to the post. I prefer a dog that has respect for their master, as these dogs are too strong to have personal domestic issues with...so their submissive temperament to their FAMILIES is essential for a family companion guardian. What we are going to do with the bungie is to teach the dog he is no longer being correcting for lunging or reaching out...at least not for now...when we are working him on the post. 

When working a dog that is submissive to their master, it is very important to be aware of HOW the dog communicates with their owners. It is important that the owners can send the message that "we approve" of letting you doing your thing. Once they acknowledge that, the drives in these dogs can be very very strong...but given their power IMO, that submissive nature is necessary. It is a reliable and safe "off" switch that maintains respect for the master and pack. It is that trait that makes them safe with their families. That is why my kids can tell Preacher to "Chill out" without me having concerns about how he will respond. A non-pack member though...be it a decoy, helper, or bad guy...will not be able to tap into the dog's submissive nature as they are not part of the group. This pack instinct is somewhat of a primitive behavior that is very popular among mastiff breeds...and without understaning it some trainers have a hard time with molosser breeds for that reason.

Because Mojo has never been permitted to lunge on a leash (due to Mr. Robertson's knees), I only did a brief bit of suspicion work to evaluate his defense...and I did that when when Mr. Roberson was sitting at the table. I didn't want Mojo to get hard corrections by the post...so we left him on the leash during that...and since Mr. Robertson was holding him on that line, yes, Mojo did have a prong on (which isn't normally used when working a green dog). Since he had a prong on, I did not do much work in that setting as I didn't want him to be corrected for doing what he is supposed to do.  I only did enough to get a taste of how he would react. Once I saw his potential, and I liked what I saw as he was forward, alert, and warning me, "Keep it up and you will regret it." He was calm, but direct and forward. That is all I wanted to see until we get him used to a backtie. I had some photos of that, but they were all blurry as I was holding the camera myself while doing that work...and I was paying attention to the dog, not the camera.

So, then we put a flat collar on him and I did some prey work. He was into that too. I am confident he will progress nicely. In the end, every dog and every situation has to be evaluated on a case by case basis.

He is beautiful!!!!  He looks like a tighter version of my Remington.

Lee, if Mojo were to become a truly great dog (not that he is not already) after he has been worked and evaulated a bit more, would you ever desire to use him in your breeding program considering you already have his littermate Linebaugh?  Just curious, thanks for any input.  Just as a side note, it is always amazing to me how different IMO an ear crop makes similar dogs look so different.  NIce dog!

Absolutely. In fact, since Linebaugh is his brother and is producing well, I am even more interested in Mojo. I would also like to hear how Roger Abshire's dog has turned out now that he is mature.