Chimera Kennels

A few years ago someone asked me how I was going to address lack of direction among the bandog community, BSL, the development of a working bred of bandog, etc.

The term "breed" is somewhat misunderstood by the general public. All dogs are the same species. What defines a "pure breed" is therefore simply a population of dogs that have been bred to display a high frequency of preferred traits as defined by a breed standard. A breed name and breed standard identifies and outlines the uniquely required attributes of the specimens considered worthy of genetic contribution towards future generations within the given breed. The development of a unified performance based breed standard is clearly not going to become standardized among in the Bandog world. Originally, the name Bandog (or Bandogge) described a type of working dog, not a breed. If we study history, many references to the bandog term describe a dog used for a type of sentry work, but also mention these dogs as being bound or "banded" by chain when not in use (or perhaps even when in use if at a sentry post). Other references of bandogs describe a type of dog that was released and used on various types of hunts, or perhaps at times of war. The term "bandog" however did not describe a particular type of cross bred dog, nor did it describe a specific type of pure breed dog. Regardless of the specific type of bandog one kept, one thing that is common among bandogs of historical times is that bandogs were kept because of their utilitarian roles as working dogs.

As a result, some may question why we don't just use the name Bandog for our dogs, as it is a common name among various breeders of cross bred protection dogs. Today, the name "Bandog" typically describes some type of protection dog being composed of various molossers, various types of bully breed origins, and depending upon the program perhaps even herder type breed origins; but there are many reasons we do not use the name bandog in reference to our program. First, we did not find Bandogs from other programs to meet our desires or expectations. Please don't misunderstand that statement. There are indeed certainly a few quality Bandog programs in existence today. Second, many bandog programs have different goals and simply are in disagreement with one another as to what constitutes the ideal type "bandog." Third, very few programs actually test every generation of breeding stock.

I know of no programs that have several generations of dogs that have also made demonstrations available for every foundation dog and every generation since then. I don't say this to be arrogant. I say it because it is the truth. I truly believe our program is one of the finest programs in the world when it comes to producing a dog that can be consistently utilized by civilians as a family companion guardian. Of course, not every dog has worked out, nor has every line worked out, but for over a decade now we have been using performance based selection to develop several lines that are now providing a high degree of consistent performance as family companion guardians.

Unfortunately, if you go look at other programs, what you will find typically consist of a few photos at best...and a nightmare at worst. Short muzzles cannot take any significant heat during a summer outing and such muzzle types are also prone to poor grips, something that is simply not acceptable to a functional family companion guardian. Shallow frontal bites from insecure guard dogs do not represent quality performance. Growling, hackles up, tails down, and nervous vocalization with hesitation upon engagement or type writing grips are all signs of weaknesses. Extremely overdone bone and mass that is out of proportion to a dog's height or length impedes balance and function...and is an extreme that is not seen in nature where natural selection eliminates inefficient phenotypes as a result of coming up short in the competition of survival. Yet, many "Bandog" breeders proudly display these limitations in their program because they simply don't know any better. Such people are simply attracted to aggression, mistakenly assuming all forms of aggression are one and the same. As a result, I have seen individuals boast about their protection dogs while displaying dogs that lack drive, confidence, conditioning, and/or commitment to a task. These breeders are obviously unable to decipher what drives are needed to create a functional working dog and what drives create an unstable nightmare that no one in their right mind would want to have around their children.

To verify the protective ability of a breed of dog, breeders have to be willing to test their breeding stock...and few bandog breeders actually do. If you doubt these statements, ask a bandog breeder of "protective bandogs" to provide protection demonstrations of the various generations within their program.  You probably won't get one. Instead of receiving evidence of performance based selection illustrating confident full grips, endurance under pressure, and confidence on the grip, what you are likely to receive will consist of the historical information referring to the bandog's history as a guard dog (which is irrelevant in terms of their program)...or perhaps you may receive an array of excuses as to why they do not test their own dogs or provide demonstrations of their dogs. This is all side stepping that I have seen on countless occasions. If you do the research, you will be very hard pressed to find any Bandog program in the world that is able to provide performance demonstrations of their dogs, much less do so for multiple generations. Over the years, I have come to learn the reason for this is because the Bandog community as a whole lacks professionalism, unity, education, and discipline. As a result, I have come to view many Bandog programs as limited and ultimately unsuccessful...destroying any correlation between the modern "Bandog" and the working Bandog of historical times...and therefore we have chosen not to associate our dogs with such programs.

I have owned dogs my entire life and spent a great deal of time researching them and their performance attributes. Back in the early 1990's, I became very familiar with an extinct line of dog known as the Swinford Bandog and became interested enough in Dr. Swinford's work that I eventually began my own program by utilizing many similar philosophies. As a result of this research, Dr. Swinford's program was influential on our program in many ways. Sometime later, photos and documents on the original Swinford program were sent to me from private parties (another veterinarian who was a partner in the original Swinford program) because they witnessed my accurate representations of Dr. Swinford's work...something many people involved in Bandogs have not done in the past...and therefore trusted me to continue such accurate representations of Dr. Swinford's work in the future. As a veterinarian them self, they also appreciated my education background in Animal Sciences and were able to detect my desire to maintain a high degree of professionalism in my program. It was for these reasons they sent their documents to me, which I greatly appreciate. I found their documentation on the Swinford Bandog's to be very promising not just in terms of authenticity (consisting of many personal photos, records, private letters, news articles, as well as the original breed standard as written by Dr. Swinford himself), but also in terms of meeting our requirements as a healthy and functionally active Family K-9 Companion Guardian.  Even though I have identified some minor differences between his program and my own and do not agree with every aspect of his program, overall I truly respect many aspects of his work.

I would also like to mention that I will be releasing more information as to the Swinford Bandog program in the future, but do not plan to release the majority of it until it is properly copyright protected. My reason for this is simple. There are a few people in the Bandog community that wish to misrepresent Dr. Swinford's work...and some of these "Bandoggers" have stolen some of the photos I have released in the past years in order to present them self as if they were an authority on his program so they could then proceed with their misguiding of others about the Swinford program. I do not wish to help such people. For now though, as a measure of good faith, I will go ahead and release one more photo at this time of Bantu, an original Swinford Bandog.

Dr. John Swinford in his back yard with Bantu, one of the original Swinford Bandogs.

Even though there are some significant similarities between Swinford's dogs and our own, we do desire to take things to the next level, but I have been waiting for the right time to proceed. Well...now is the time. Details on the various desired attributes needed to be worked out. Performance guidelines needed to be established and described. More importantly, generations of working dogs needed to be produced, tested, and documented. With that said, many updates are coming...and I am excited about it. To define our goals, we chose a unique name that identifies the breed's function and origin. From here forward, we will be using the name "American Sentinel K9" to define the breed of dog we are working on because that name accomplishes five things.

1. The name "American Sentinel K9" defines the breed's purpose as a sentinel (a guardian),
2. The name defines the breed's origin,
3. The name promotes the use of a performance based breed standard, allowing the breed to be defined by performance traits and not be breed origins (which will help prevent the breed from being targeted by BSL),
4. The name allows for individuality between this breed and the original Swinford program,
5. The name puts emphasis on the dogs, not a person...which is essential for the breed's survival.
   

The name American Sentinel K9 is therefore all about the dogs.  Some of the upcoming updates on the website will include new sections on the following...

1. A breed history section illustrating the specificity & individuality of the American Sentinel K9,
2. A section on the American Sentinel K9 working breed standard,
3. A pedigree data base section containing demonstrations of each generation used in the current program,
4. A section displaying the softer side of the American Sentinel K9 including photos & videos of the dogs with their families,
5. A working section w/ photos & videos of the American Sentinel K9 working as a family companion guardian, but
6. We will still include a general section on the Swinford Bandog & other bandog type programs.

It takes education, time, work, commitment, finances, and loyalty to complete a task in order to develop a breed. For over a decade now we have worked upon the development of the American Sentinel K9. Our program has always has been about performance oriented family companion guardians, and as long as the American Sentinel K9 remains in existence that should be the case.

For these reasons describe above, the American Sentinel K9 is unique and different from other Bandogs in many ways. For one, all of our dogs are also bred in accordance to meet a unified and strict breed standard that describes the functional attributes of the American Sentinel K9 as the top priority by emphasizing the preferred physical traits as secondary to performance. Focusing on performance is an essential component to maintaining the functional attributes of any working breed. On this note, as updates are made to our website it will become clear that every generation of the American Sentinel K9 is performance tested upon developing a truly functional Family K-9 Companion Guardian.

Thank you,

H. Lee Robinson, M.S.

The American Sentinel K9...

So should I be refering to Cash as an American Sentinel K9, or is he still considered a Swinford? Makes no difference to me, I'd just like  to refer to him the way you'd prefer as he is bred from your stock exclusively. Thanks you for any response Sir.

Yes, we are going to contact all people that have recieved dogs from us, and will update their registrations at no cost to them. You will also recieve a copy of the breed standard for the American Sentinel K9. The paperwork isn't completed on the registration forms yet...but please feel free to go ahead and begin using the American Sentinel K9 name.  It won't be long before you recieve your updated paperwork. I believe I should have this done by the new year.

I have more files, documents, photos, and videos than I am able to attend to at the moment...and even the post above is a bit of a ramble that I will need to edit to improve the professionalism of the information...and I will get to all of this, but it will take me some time to complete the updates...much of this will take more time than I have at the moment...but it is coming.

Interesting. I think it is great that you are working your dogs and are working to develop these dogs into a consistent pure breed. I would like to ask though, how will this help you protect your work against BSL? BTW, I like the name American Sentinel. Nice choice.

Thanks for asking. I should have specified that in my initial post I suppose. It will address BSL by describing the breed in accordance to its own breed standard instead of referring to other breeds that are targets of breed specific ignorance. The foundations for the American Sentinel K9 are INDIVIDUALS that have specific desired traits...meaning the foundation dogs will be the F1 dogs that we have had in the past (or present) that have met or do meet the American Sentinel Breed standard. The foundation dogs are not other breeds that have been targetted by BSL. Referring to individual breeds is a misnomer anyway, as that thought implies that all one has to do is go get any specimen of breed A and breed it to breed B and they end up with a final product...and that is SO UNTRUE that anyone that thinks that way is really ignorant of genetics. What we select for are specific traits. Breeds and/or lines only have tendencies to express certain traits, but there is of course no guarantee that will always be the case. This is why those interested in producing working dogs KNOWS they have to find quality specimens that they themselves display traits that are desired...and therefore are used in the selection process to produce the next generation in order to increase the frequency of that the given desired trait.

In other words, while some emphasis is obviously placed on a general phenotype, the American Sentinel K9 is specifically defined by performance oriented traits, not breed origins.

Thank you very much for the quick response Mr. Robinson, I appreciate it very much.  I'd also like to sincerely thank you for always taking the time to respond to not only my e-mails or posts, but others as well on the forum here in such a timely manner. I know that you have plenty on your plate, but you never neglect your forum or clients as far as I can tell and it means A LOT to me personally.

I had been looking for a new place to live that has an actual fenced yard for Cash, and have recieved quite a bit of unexpected breed bias because he is of Mastiff and Pitbull origin and apparently that means he will be aggressive and a liability according to several home owners and property management companies I've dealt with in the last month. Hopefully with the things you're currently implimenting this won't be a problem in the future. I am happy to say that we were able to find a very nice place with a perty good sized, fully fenced in yard that was happy to have him as well. Even though it cost me about 4k to make the move I know Cash and I both will be much happier at the new place so I'm excited.

Congrats Lee, your breed of dogs deserves to be recognized, as well as the tremendous work you've put in this.

Thanks Keith, I try.

Thanks for the kind words Nico. It has only taken over a decade, probably around $100,000 (over the years), a lot of research, some major sacrifices on vacation time & other luxuries, and a lot of hard work. No biggie. LOL. It has been fun.

To those who already read the above post...my apologies for the initial pathetic flow of content. I was basically brain storming various ideas while creating a rough draft of various things I wanted to address in the post. I was multi-tasking and should have been more thorough before making the post.

Anyway, I have since gone back to revise the post and it reads much better now. Thanks for viewing.

Sorry for the late reply with this topic (as I was one of those who was curious before about this), but, this whole "project" or "breed development program" looks and sounds great Lee.  I like the name, and I know you have put forth alot of effort in this to accomplish your goals.  Congratulations, and I am looking forward to the future updates.  As a side note, this change may in fact at some point in time help me to acquire one of your dogs, as BSL was always a factor.

Congrats on a big step forward with your program!!!! 

Thanks. I kept it quiet for about 2 years, but it has been a long time coming. I wanted to wait until I was ready, but with my schedule like it is I just didn't know when I was going to have everything done. I will have to do it bit by bit, and by announcing it I imagine some will keep me on my toes to make the updates needed. Hopefully I will have time to make many of the website updates during thanksgiving break and/or during Christmas break.

Lee. I do have a question for you.... IF I was to get a Dog from another breeder and he/ she proves out to be a working dog.... can he still get papers as an American Sentinel K9? I Am just wondering... I just got a pup from David... and he is mainly Mastiff.  I will post pics and Vids here if that is ok with you.

Thank you,

Tom Flack

And no that is not Gus in my avatar..... that is Griss... a friends dog.

David Ishi? He has some nice dogs...specifically Kronos and Achilles. As far as if I would allow outside registries, I wouldn't be against it depending upon several factors. 1. Does the dog work, 2. How is the dog bred (foundation breeds and pedigree), 3. Were the foundation dogs proven working dogs and were the parents to your pup proven working dogs.

All these questions however are just generalizations. If you are interested in discussing it, let's give your dog time to see how well he works out and forward me the above information. I am open to both Kronos and Achilles being in the gene pool as I know those two dogs are good working dogs. Although David doesn't work his females regularly, I have evaluated some of them...and while he and I do indeed have different goals (respectfully having diffferent ideals), some of his females wouldn't be exactly what I would want to use in our program , but I know he has one or two females that I like and would be open to.

As far as my comment on some of his females not being exactly what I myself might prefer, I want to be clear...this isn't a negative about the quality of his program...it is more to do with he and I simply having different goals and therefore needing different traits to bring into our program. He likes a bigger dog than me and is working on producing an improved mastiff. For the record, I am sure he would feel the same way about a few of my dogs as well (some of my smaller dogs females specifically).

You may have noticed some of the changes that have occurred throughout the website...but I really like our new home page. For those of you that come straight to the message forum, check it out our new home page. Thanks.

I like the home page as well Mr. Robinson. I really like the pic of Linebaugh with your son. Pics of dogs with kids being well behaved and watchful are my favorites.

I think the pic of conner and linebaugh is a great addition to the homepage!

Just wanted to say congratulations Lee. I've been pretty curious about the next step for your program and I'm glad to see your program continue to succeed. I haven't been able to keep up with the site and/or the forum since my last move to our new base because for some reason the entire website was blocked so I'm not sure what changed but I thought I'd give it a shot tonight and surprisingly it worked. Can't wait to see the rest of the updates.