Michelle, if the decision was totally mine I would be getting an amstaff. I went to a breeder’s house and she let me play with some of the older ones and they are probably the nicest animals I have ever been around. General ideas of them are so far off its ridiculous and that is where my problem lies. My roomate(I’m in college) has a Springer Spaniel and he constantly tells me that he is afraid an amstaff would eat his dog. I have done all I can to show him that they are misunderstood but I can’t beat the “Pit Bulls are evil” mentality out of him. So I am considering a GSD instead. I’ve even said I’ll take him to the same breeder and he can hang around the dogs and see for himself and he can bring his dog, but he comes up with lame excuses and gets out of it. Its really weird, I have known him since we were in elementary school and he has always been level-headed and now this. Any ideas on how to further convince him?
Brider, thanks for clearing that up. I thought Alaskan Malamutes sucked completely b/c the only one I have been on contact with(a friend’s) loves anybody who comes inside, and she acts completely like a breed profile reads.
Well a lot of a dogs behavior depends on the trainer, From your post Im assuming you are well experienced. Mastiffs, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Great Danes, are all great dogs, just to name a few. For the most part I’d say it depends on your personallity and current living situation. I recently adopted a shepherd/beagle mix which is much like a shepherd in personallity and body comp except she is very small ( a little bigger than a beagle) since I’m in college and can’t have a larger dog in my appt she is really quite perfect for me. All I can say is go out and look at different puppies and see if you click with any. Good Luck
-Peace
First, a registered AmStaff is an Amstaff, not a pitt grin If you bring home a puppy and introduce it to his little ankle biter they will most likely not have difficulties. I know people who treat train… when the other dog comes in the room praise/reward your dog. They soon learn that the other dog is the best thing in the world to have around. Slowly stop giving treats, just give praise and you’re golden. My AmStaff/Pitt (no two people could agree on what she was) was an awesome dog, but my 16 pound Maine Coon was not afraid of her in the least. Your friend’s dog will be fine. You need to ‘kidnap’ your friend next time you go out. Just bring him to the breeder’s once you’re there - and he can’t leave - he’ll see why the ‘bull’ breeds reputation is completely unjustified!
Random Fact: Highest bite numbers in the US by breed: Golden Retriver
Just wanted to clear something up about amstaffs. They are pits. Same dog, just two different kennel clubs calling them by different names. About a hundred years ago the AKC decided it would not allow pitties into their club. So the UKC was created by pittie fanciers and breeders. After awhile the AKC realized how popular they were and decided to allow them in under the name American Staffordshire Terrier. Many lines are allowed to be registered in both clubs and in fact over the years the champion pit bull in the UKC and the champion Amstaff in the AKC have often been the same dog registered in both clubs under different breed names. If their is any difference in the breeds it is this. For the last hundred years amstaffs have been bread strictly for conformation while pitties have been bread more for performance and less for conformation. The result: Amstaffs have a more uniform look to them while pits can very in size and shape. Amstaffs are also more prone to genetic fuck ups and are not as functional a dog as a pit. Because confromation is the focus, performance is often ignored to the detriment of the dog. As beautiful as a 80lb amstaff with a monster head is, it is nowhere near as athletic and functional as a 50lb. pit. Another difference is that pits are usually a little more reliable temperment wise than amstaffs. The difference is so small as to be almost insignificant. Again this is do to the focus on conformation by the breeder. People who bread fighting pits actually put down those that were human aggressive. After all you cannot afford to get bitten while breaking up a dog fight, especially by a dog that can crush your arm with relative ease. Having said all this, I have both breeds and love them both to death. They are true angels with more spirit, courage and love than any human could ever hope to have.
I’ve got a half Golden Retriever / Half Border Collie. I got her at the animal shelter for $45 and she is has become the most beautiful dog in the Universe. She’s 65 pounds, white feet, white chest, white star forehead, white tip of tail. The rest is light golden. No black or brown. Very very smart, protective, loving and exceedingly entertaining/funny/playful. Where do dogs get their sense of humor anyway? She has broken up more household arguements by interupting with her antics. When she senses that someone is getting the short end of a conversation…she will aways go to their side to protect them. It’s pretty funny. She’ll defend whoever is getting picked on. She’s also got a “MANLY” bark that doesn’t really match her appearance. It makes people afraid. HaHa…(She’s a sweetie pie) Can you tell I LOVE MY DOG? Hope you find one you enjoy real soon.
The thing I don’t like about the large breeds is that they only live eight years or so. I am a huge fan of American Pit Bull terriers. They have got to be one of the most affectionate dogs out there. I would never recommend you to bring an adult bulldog into a home with other grown dogs though. If you got one it would have to be a puppy. The only bad thing about these dogs is that they can never be trusted of the leash in the city. If you want to get one go to www.petshelternetwork.com/ there are many homeless APBTs.
If you are buying form a breeder do not buy an amstaf. They have been bread for all the wrong reasons, Looks and Conformation. If you want a real BULLDOG get a game bread American Pit Bull Terrier. People breeding Bulldogs for the wrong reasons is one of the causes of all the discrimination against the APBT. By the way APBTs have no confirmation it is what’s inside that makes a real BULLDOG.
My two cents, boxers,boxers,boxers.Short-haired,which makes them good inside dogs.Excellent watch dogs.Smart and easy to train,They love to play and are great with kids.Also very affectionate.
Also you didn’t say in your previous post, but I am assuming that the dog that went loco was your dobie, as that is a very prevalent occurence with that breed.Any way my condolences because I know how hard that is and know that there is nothing that can be done to detect it or correct it.
You want a huge, tuff, friendly dog, look no further then the almighty mastiff. The king of all dogs not to mention the worlds biggest breed. (According to GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2002) I own a Fila Mastiff, which is a very loyal and protective dog. One last tip for future mastiff’s owners: Mastiffs are generally lazy dogs and require exercising.
Magnus - yes, they are the same, and yes they are different. grin It all depends on who you ask. Anything bred for looks is inherently less functional, and usually has genetic problems because of it. Mix breeds are usually more intelligent and more athletic than a purebred, because the mix of genes helps eliminate genetic defects.
I DO NOT condone dog fighting, but the Pitt dogs were a much better breed when they were fought. Human aggressive dogs were destroyed immediately and only the strongest, most courageous, obedient dogs were bred. The breed flourished because of the rich mix of genes and the wide spread focus on functionality instead of worrying on the ratio of eye width to nose length (or whatever) I remember someone telling me about their pitts being in pulling and agility contests, and breeding the champions together. This is much better than breeding for looks, which has destroyed most breeds.
From the game bred APBT’s perspective I do not think that the act of dog fighting is inhumane. I have not and would never fight my dog. But I do know she loves to fight, so I could argue that it is inhumane to not let her fight. Like a Labrador loves to hunt or a Shepard loves to herd it is in the APBT’s nature to love to fight. They live and would die for that love.
Boxer or Great Dane, have had both and have nothing but great things to say about them. Boxers tend to be hyper and high maintainance, but are truly loyal and smart dogs. Great Danes are smart and loving.
Gen a bull terrier. Very intelligent and affectionate. Lots of fun too. Great companion. I cannot go anywhere with him without getting compliments. PS chics absolutely adore him. Teach him some cool tricks like playing injured (drag a leg when walking) or playing dead. Cracks paople up. And, he looks like a T-Dawg. Nothing wussie about him. 50 solid lbs of muscle on a samll/medium frame. Quite a beast.
Yes it’s true that pitties love to fight and yes there is no better dog than a game bread pit. However do not kid yourself, allowing pitties to fight is absolutely inhumane. Ya, I’ve read about how all the old time dog men took great care of their fighting stock and loved them to death. I know that fighting for a pit is a self rewarding activity. But this is not something that occurred naturally. Pathetic human beings created this genetic disposition. I realize in the process they created the best dog in the world who just happens to be the ultimate glatiator, but that doesn’t make it right. The truth of the matter is many beautiful dogs have died in the pits. Those deaths are almost always slow an horrible. They often died from things like crushed sinus cavities, or bled to death from major, multiple lacerations. No dog deserves this fate no matter how bad it loves to fight. If you buy into that old “dog men”, fight is right, mentality then you are a moron. I don’t want to make this a personal attack but if you truly believe pit fighting is o.k than you need to visit a few rescues and see a few videos on dogs pulled out of fighting operations. Old time “dog men” were simply a pathetic bunch of red necks who never had the balls to step into a ring themselves and lived out their tough guy fantasies through their dogs. I’m fucking sick of hearing pit fanciers saying how a true pitbull lover would support old time pit fighting because it’s what the dog loves to do and to not let them is “inhumane”. They are just as happy channeling their energy into pulling, agility, and many other acceptable activities. In fact a pittie is happiest simply being with his person. Do you really think if your pittie goes through life without ever having had a fight he will have somehow missed out on something? I would love to see all the old game lines preserved.(corvino, chinaman, budreau, ect.) These lines produced some of the best animals to ever grace this planet. To bad the people who produced them were pieces of shit! There are some good breeders now who have maintained the integrity of these lines and channel their dogs into acceptable sports where their gameness can still shine through. You are right on the one point though. A responsible pit owner keeps his dog away from the dog park no matter how friendly he/she appears to be with other dog’s. No matter how well socialized he is, if another dog instigates something, you better have your break stick.
Getting back to your original post about which breed to choose out of Rotties, dobermans, neopolitans and mastiffs. Of these four I would be inclined to go with the mastiff. I love all four breeds but I have seen fewer genetic glitches in mastiffs than any of the other four mentioned. I rarely see rotties without some sort of hip or knee problems. Same goes for neopolitans. You really need to find a reputable breeder for these two. Even then I have seen some dogs with messed up hips coming from good breeders. Dobermans are great too, but I seen many with bad skin problems, and a few who have gone insane. With mastiffs however I’ve rarely seen problems even from back yard breeders although I would never support this practice. My wife has a dog grooming business, specializing in large breeds that many other groomers don’t want to groom due to size. Most groomers are women and simply can’t lift the large breeds into the tub for a bath. Many are also often intimidated by large dogs. Between that and our pit rescue, I’ve had the opportunity to see thousands of large dogs over the last ten years. I hope this is of some help.
I was thinking about the post you wrote me and I have an argument to make. I believe that if we were to totally abolish the dog fighting practice that the game bred APBT would go extinct and we would end up with a dog that resembles the APBT but would not be the APBT. Unfortunately the best way to test gameness is to fight two game dogs. So what I am saying is dog fighting is a double-edged sword with the practice in place many dogs are hurt and killed. With it gone the APBT will slowly fade away into what the AMSTAFF has become. Dog fighting perpetuates the existence of the APBT.
Tate
You stated “If dog fighting were discontinued the apbt would eventually fade away and become the same as the amstaff”. 1)I disagree. If game bred lines were continued and channeled towards pulling and activities in which a high degree of determination is needed, gameness could be kept in tact. Yes you would never no exactly how game a dog is without testing it, but so fucking what. 2) Even if you did lose a bit of the gameness of the breed, again, so fucking what. If there is no dog fighting then there is no need for an extremely game animal. Bye the way it would be next to impossible to totally wipe out the gameness of pits. 3) Even if I’m wrong and apbt were to go the way of the amstaff, don’t kid yourself into believing that amstaffs are not game. I have 1 amstaff, 1 gamebred pit and 1 red nose pit with unkown ancestory. My red nose has no interest in fighting whatsoever. My amstaff and gamebred girl are both game as hell. My point is that amstaffs have not been bred to fight for close to a hundred years and only bred for conformation. However I still see many, many amstaffs that are game as can be. Lastly, I want to reiterate that their is no possible justification for dog fighting. It is absolutely a cruel, pathethic and cowardly pursuit.