The Dogo Argentino
Owning many dogs over the years, I had never heard of a Dogo until reading your book. On a whim I answered a Craigslist ad for adoption. I had a very elderly Wiemer and was looking to soften the family blow when he went down. After a long talk, with the woman describing the dog in detail, she then said there is just one catch, while the dog is fully trained, he is deaf. I told her thats ok, I would still like to meet him. Long story short we gave the dog a try even with the disability. I have to tell you, he is the most awesome creature I have ever owned. Smart, funny, extremely loving, incredibly loyal and I just dare anyone, deaf dog or not, to come into this house uninvited. Within 5 or 10 minutes he knows someone is on the premises through smell. The surprise for the intruder may be slightly delayed, but the none the less deadly. Thanks for the recommendation of an incredible animal. Oh, and the fee for adopting a AKC Canine Good Dog fully trained (sign language) Dogo? $100.00. If a hearing Dogo is 1/5 what this deaf dog is the breed is worth every penny a breeder asks.
-Anon
Congratulations and thanks for giving that Dogo a second chance!
Indeed, only Dogo Argentino owners know what its like to have one. People tend to think its hype, that people are just fans of whatever dog they own, or that its just too good to be true. You read on line about this or that dog being great for guard duty, protection or whatever, then most of them turn out to be pretty much the same, with huge variations in character depending on each specific dog.
I was talking online with a guy not that long ago about dogs, and he said that if the Dogo Argentino was that great every police agency and military unit would use it instead of using Malinois and German Shepherds. I explained that its still a very new breed of dog when looking at the big picture, and besides, its not the easiest dog to train. Still, I find it outstanding for what I want, especially as a dog with unbelievable family protection instincts while still having a cool temper, loving but not needy and capable to tearing apart and dog or person you put in front of it. I had an excellent German Shepherd once, fancy German bloodline (expensive!), an outstanding dog on its own right, but I still prefer the Dogo Argentino.
People that don’t know the breed or how it was created think its just a big white dog, another one of many. Most people, including dog experts, cant even identify it most of the time and confuse it with something else.
If you have the space, time, previous big dog experience and personality so as to handle it, the Dogo Argentino is in my opinion the best dog you can have as a family protection/hunting/companion dog.
FerFAL
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its probably too big for military and police use. Sometimes the handler needs to pick the dog up and put it through a window, or even skydive with the dog attached in a harness. Also bigger dogs die earlier, so there not so much a return on investment like a mal.
Thats a really nice story for the Dogo
There is a high rate of deafness because of a mistake that took place in the original breeding line many many yrs ago.
Dogo Argentino will protect his family to his death, if you own one you really know what I mean.
Police work maybe a hard task for every trainer when it comes to Dogo because they have enormous force and will destroy on command or not if they feel something bad is going on.
Hi,
I have a deaf female Dogo Argentino. she is six months old. She is living with my family of me my wife and two year of son, a male boxer, a miniature pincher female, Alsatian Rotti cross female and two cats and african grey parrot. I paid quite a lot for her and discovered her disability just after I bought her. But couldn’t give her back as she became the part of the family. We love her so much. Since I was a child I had many dogs, but Dogo is the dream dog.
I have no experience with a deaf dog and she is my first both dogo and deaf dog.
Is she going to be safe with my family? Can her disability cause problem?
Is she still a guard dog?
Thank you
I dont see why she cant be a good companion. She wont be as aware given its disability but deaf or not a Dogo Argentino is a dog that will fiercely protect the pack and she has other dogs to help alert regarding noises. Whatever noise catches the other dogs attention, the Dogo which is an animal used to hunt in packs will notice too. Remember she still has her sight and most important, smell. If youre happy with it, I dont see a problem but check what your vet has to say. With another dog maybe there would be a risk of it feeling scared or startled in some way by surprise, but Dogos have a very leveled temper.
FerFAL