Souza's Koa
First I want
to thank Greg Souza for allowing me to profile his dog Koa his dog is a
perfect example of what a clear head even temperament bulldog can do in sport
work , while Koa is a 100 lbs bulldog his drive level equals the drive of
most smaller dogs , his commitment to the man is simply spectacular and
his legendary long bites are just that legendary , off the
field he is a lay back super stable bulldog as a good bulldog should be.
Koa is a dog that
is pretty well known in the west coast most know him for his great temperament
and ability to slam into decoys , I first saw him back in early 2001 visiting
Greg's house since I had just picked up my female pup Jayda, she is
out of Matias and Jewels both both are out of Koa , I was not
that all impressed as I saw very little of him an all while he was on his kennel
run .
I began my journey with the breed I contact Greg
about this biting 9 week old monster I had just brought home
Greg said go to Tom Riche he will help you he is the best working with Bulls , I
spoke to Tom an when I told him how my dog was bred he said I love Koa I offer
to buy him he is a great dog , Matias he is a good dog but Koa he is the man , I
attended my first training session and every one told me how nice a dog
Koa was specially his temperament I got to meet Snopes Repo
another son of Koa an awesome temperament dog an good bitework dog .
I still did not know what Koa was as a working dog Tom would hint during my
females training sessions but nothing that knock my socks off .
Than came my first bulldog show in Watsonville , Ca
I saw Koa hit the field like a maniac in full drive , he went from
ribbon chasing drive - 100 to
+100 as soon as he saw he was going to work , they sent him into the blind and he
slam the decoy past the blind while he was out of control I saw the power
this dog not only had but chose to use , the session was an
experience the crowd spoke of him dropping stories about his working
ability and his great temperament .
Koa has produce several good dogs allot of show winners and several working dogs
my personal assessment of Koa's ability to produce is he produces
good drive dogs with super clear temperament and he seems to have the
ability to put that hog catching bug into his offspring his most proven
son on hogs is Gary Fullers Petey a catching fool , his most proven protection
son is Sch1 Matias also a producer of good dogs and a dog with an
impeccable temperament like his daddy I got to see allot of him while he
was with Wade training for his Sch title in drive and out of drive just
hanging around super safe dog !
Koa has a few young guns
out there making a statement for the old man one of the best females is Hopkins Keana bst2 ,cd1 I know there are a few out there to many to name , well sorry
for my long story just want to share my Koa experience here is Koa told by his owner
Greg Souza .
| When was Koa born , where and when did he die
? Koa was born on 7/27/96, he is
still alive, and will be 8 next month. |
| Who did you buy him from or who bred him ?
I bought him from Clarence Van Hoose.
The breeders are Matt Boyd and Jon Sommers. |
| How was Koa as a pup ?
He was a very outgoing, confident, and
social puppy. |
| At what age did he get his first grip on a
sleeve, by whom? He was worked for
the first time at 7 months by Tom Riche at one of the first West Coast
Shows in Fresno. (Tom offered to buy him) |
| What drive did Koa seem to work in naturally
? Koa has always worked in Prey. |
| What were his working titles?
BST |
| At what age did Koa acquire his BST ?
I campaigned Koa at an older age, he
received his BST at 5 1/2 years. |
| What is Koa's hip score or OFA rating ?
Pennhip .39/.39, OFA "Fair" @ 49 months |
| If you were to clone one of his traits what
would that be ? His temperament.
|
| What was Koa's full grown typical weight?
105 pounds in shape. |
| What did you hate the most about him ?
He would get "stupid" when he was in drive
and drive you crazy with his barking. (so
thats were it comes from ) |
| What do you love about him the most ?
His personality. He loves everyone, and
wants to please. |
| Was he an outside dog or inside dog ?
He was both, but he is now inside 100%.
Does he have he any direct brothers or sister from the same litter?
His sister Woodchip has a Schutzhund
I.
At what age would you say Koa went on a hard sleeve? Was he a
natural full grip dog ? Koa was on
a hard sleeve around 12 months, and never had a problem with shallow
grips. |
| Would you say Koa was a hard biter or medium ?
Hard biter. |
| If you had the chance to own another Koa would
you change anything in his training? YES
! I would not "show off", and let him fly on so many long bites. It is
awesome to see him bang the helpers, but it took a toll on him, and he
had to retire due to 3 compression injuries in his spine from hard
impacts and getting stuffed. He came really fast and his speed surprised
a lot of decoys. |
| At what age did he start his bark and hold in
the blind ? Around one year. Koa is
a natural barker. I think his bark and hold is very intense and
powerful. |
| How is Koa around your family ?
Koa is a great house dog, everyone loves
him. |
| Would you say Koa was a typical Bulldog dog
from what you have seen out there ? Koa
is not a typical bulldog. I have never seen a dog like Koa. He has the
best temperament of any dog I have ever seen. |
| What was the strangest moment you had with
Koa, or an event that blew your mind or scared you ?
I was walking Koa one time. He is not dog
aggressive. A big German Shepherd jumped him and bit him on the back.
Koa had him pinned on the ground and had him by the throat before I
could even react. He let out a low deep growl that I will never forget,
and then he let the shepherd go. The dog very smartly ran away. |
| Does Koa have any offspring doing Schutzhund ?
His son Matias has a Sch I. Koa is
the only AB to have three offspring in one litter with BST's. He has
produced many titled offspring in the events offered by the Bulldog
community. |
| How many off spring does he have ?
Koa has sired 22 liters to date. He has
sired 223 live pups. |
| When trainers work him what was their most
typical quote or assessment of him? His
foundation work was done by Dave Deleissegues, but many trainers have
helped him along the way, such as Tom Riche, Mike Stone, Dave Hannah,
and Lucillano Oliva. Koa is a fun dog to work so all the trainers liked
to "play" with him. I think the most common opinions about Koa was that
he has a clear head, a great bark and hold, and that he is a "banger". |
| Do you still have sperm ? If so, what is the
ultimate goal or plans for that available breeding ?Koa
is standing at stud to approved bitches. His semen count is still quite
high for a 7 year old American Bulldog. We ship frozen and chilled semen
all over the world. We have frozen semen in two locations in the United
States, and also in Europe. Benny, Thank
you for your Bulldog Profiles, and profiling Koa. They are very
informative, and I enjoy reading them.
Greg |
