The Swinford Bandog
The Swinford Bandog is perhaps the most popular version of the Bandog, or at least the best known. Most likely, this is due to the book "The world of fighting dogs", by Carl Semencic (1984). Although not all equally accurate he writes an 8 page section about Bandogs. Semencic write in his book that "he began a breeding program which was ultimately to produce the greatest of all protection dogs", nevertheless a bit disappointing is that Semencic, more or less, still give the impression that Bandogs mainly are fighting dogs.
He indicates that different breeds can be used to create a Bandog, however, he's not really clear about which breed is generally being used by Swinford. The book implies a gamebred Pit Bull, combined with the Neapolitan Mastiff, instead of the English Mastiff.
Swinford's main goal was to create a 'super' Mastiff. Physical deficiencies and lack of spirit of the usual Mastiff breeds made him start a breeding program based on gamebred Pit Bull Terriers and English Mastiffs. Not to improve the Pit Bull, after all, his goal wasn't to create a new type of fighting dog. He want to breed a Mastiff, physically and mentally able to do it's work as a guard dog. So in a way to improve the Mastiff, yes.
The results of these first generation cross-breeds were satisfying, great working Mastiffs with a lot of drive. The breeding program became succesful but Swinford died unexpectedly in 1972 and he's never been able to get his Bandogs purebred.
He indicates that different breeds can be used to create a Bandog, however, he's not really clear about which breed is generally being used by Swinford. The book implies a gamebred Pit Bull, combined with the Neapolitan Mastiff, instead of the English Mastiff.
Swinford's main goal was to create a 'super' Mastiff. Physical deficiencies and lack of spirit of the usual Mastiff breeds made him start a breeding program based on gamebred Pit Bull Terriers and English Mastiffs. Not to improve the Pit Bull, after all, his goal wasn't to create a new type of fighting dog. He want to breed a Mastiff, physically and mentally able to do it's work as a guard dog. So in a way to improve the Mastiff, yes.
The results of these first generation cross-breeds were satisfying, great working Mastiffs with a lot of drive. The breeding program became succesful but Swinford died unexpectedly in 1972 and he's never been able to get his Bandogs purebred.
The most famous dog of the Swinford program was a dog named Bantu, he was pictured in an article by Jack Kelly (Sporting Dog Journal, 1972). Kelly also owned Bantu's sire, Kelly's Bobtail Buddy, a 2xW, he was bred to an English Mastiff called Octavia. Bantu also appeared in Semencic' book where he basically is presented as a fighting dog. Although the story about the battle with the Rottweiler is primarily intended to show that Rottweilers are not fighting dogs, it certainly doesn't prove that Bantu is a game fighting dog either. Actually, there is no prove at all that Bantu, besides this report on the Rottweiler, is ever rolled or matched against any game dog whatsoever.
Although Swinford was the driving force behind the program, he didn't work alone. Martin Lieberman had the same ideas about the modern Mastiff breeds and they decided to work together to achieve their goals, this lasted for about 3 years. According to Lieberman, at a given moment the Neapolitan Mastiff is being used also, but the main foundation breeds were English Mastiff and Pit Bull. After Swinford's death he shortly went on with the program but due to other pursuits he soon stopped with the project. Also involved was the Grimm family but they switched to the American Bulldog; a breed that seemed to correspond with the ultimate goal of Swinfords project.
After his death the Swinford strain dissapeared, probably because of lack of quality and therefor interest. However, the concept never dies and other serious Bandog programs appeared. Some of these programs became very succesful, currently well-known are On/Off Bandogs from Greece, Lucero's Working Class K9 (USA), Andante Kennels from Slovakia and Trublue in Australia.
Although Swinford was the driving force behind the program, he didn't work alone. Martin Lieberman had the same ideas about the modern Mastiff breeds and they decided to work together to achieve their goals, this lasted for about 3 years. According to Lieberman, at a given moment the Neapolitan Mastiff is being used also, but the main foundation breeds were English Mastiff and Pit Bull. After Swinford's death he shortly went on with the program but due to other pursuits he soon stopped with the project. Also involved was the Grimm family but they switched to the American Bulldog; a breed that seemed to correspond with the ultimate goal of Swinfords project.
After his death the Swinford strain dissapeared, probably because of lack of quality and therefor interest. However, the concept never dies and other serious Bandog programs appeared. Some of these programs became very succesful, currently well-known are On/Off Bandogs from Greece, Lucero's Working Class K9 (USA), Andante Kennels from Slovakia and Trublue in Australia.