American Bulldog

[rottiegirl]

Bull terriers are not used as fighting dogs any more, so most of them dont have fighting instincts. Bull terriers are not less friendly than pit bulls. In fact, there are more reputable bull terrier breeders than pit breeders out there. Bull terriers are loving, friendly, and goofy. That is how they are supposed to be.

 

[DogLover4]

Yeah but there fighting insticnts have not gone away.. that is said to be the dogs biggest fault becuase like pits if put into the wrong hands they can turn out to be disasters.

 

[rottiegirl]

Any working breed put into the wrong hands is dangerous. Remember that dog aggression is way different that human aggression. Bull terriers love people.

 

[DogLover4]

good point, any of the bully breeds were bred to be companions with people... bullys and dogs is another story

 

[SpeedWagon]

its suprising how many "nasty" breeds have cats as girlfriends..lol - heres my couple that get on great

 

[Amstaffer]

what dog would you say is naturally more friendly pitbull,bull terrier or american bulldog

Pitbull...Natural people lovers, never met a people agressive pitbull and I have met a lot of them. (Including Amstaffs)

Bullterrier... haven't met a lot but the ones I have met, a little more reserved that pits and amstaffs but not aggressive.

American Bullys...I have met a couple who were very reserved with people but I have never met a mean one.

You might want to check out a English Staffy Bull Terrier, A lot like an American Staffy but smaller and stockier and crazy friendly.

All of these breeds need special care in dog socialization but if trained they can be just fine with other dogs. My Male Amstaff loves 99.9% of the dogs he meets but there is this one Collie at the dog park that he really dislikes.....lots of growling no biting but it sounds scary and we keep them apart.

 

[Amstaffer]

Most defiantly I would! My reasoning comes from working in a vet clinic for 5 years and interacting with all 3 breeds on a regualar basis. The pitbulls were by far the best patients we treated. They were the ones that were always wagging their tails and flopping over for a belly rub. They never tried to bite us. The American Bulldogs and Bull Terriers were a different story! LOL! I believe all 3 are great breeds and I am fond of all of them, but it has been my constant experience that a pitbull is overall the nicest with strangers/humans if raised correctly.

My vet says the same thing, he told me it no comparison. When it comes to giving shots, trimming nails, removing stitches etc.... the Pits or Amstaffs that come to his office never complain. Even after he causes them pain they still love him...lol. I think it has something to do with their higher threshold of pain or something.

My Amstaffs are the only dogs I have ever owned that look forward to seeing the vet. My rotts hated the vet...not saying any about rotts just comparing, my rotts were sweethearts too.

 

[rottiegirl]

Bull terriers have high pain tollerance too, not just pits. All breeds are supposed to be friendly when bred and trained properly.

 

[Amstaffer]

Bull terriers have high pain tollerance too, not just pits. All breeds are supposed to be friendly when bred and trained properly.

Two things here-- First off, some breeds like people (especially strangers) more than others. My Amstaffs have never met a person they did completely love. My Rotts, GREAT DOGS, but were much more reserved with some strangers...they were better judges of character than my amstaffs are. If you look at the history of breeds like the Pitbull, it was very important for them to be people friendly so they could be handled after fights and change owners fairly easily (because the scum who fight dogs trade dogs like cattle).

second-- Pitbull are usually still good with people even if the have poor breeding. I see rescued pits all the time that are still extremely human friendly. I can't say that for several other breeds. When pits get human aggressive it is usually the result of abuse and/or training. I have seen some terrible cases of abuse to get pits to be mean. I read a case where this guy had sown bottle caps under the skin of the dogs neck to make it mean. It is just unreal the abuse some pitbulls are put through. At the shelter where I volunteer we get pitbulls that have been abused and still love people, I just think it is amazing what they (and many other dogs) can snap back from.

 

[doberkim]

something else to consider is where you live - with the advent of BREED BANS in ontario, can you ever GET some of the breeds that you are speaking about and legally keep them?

 

[DogLover4]

I don't think so, you see thats my big problem, I live in london ontario and just recently they have put an ban in that bans pitbulls,amstaffs,and staffordshire bull terriers. before this banning i planed to get an amstaff from a breeder than I changed my mind becuase they were getting banned. Then a friend told me that a should get a bull terrier beuase they are like pitbulls and were not included in the ban, I started to think of my aunts bull terrier who??... Well put it this way when ever I went to visit they would hold the dog so he could see me then put him in there basement, he wasn't friendly

this list is of the dogs i would like to buy but don't know which dog to get (i need opinions)

1. Bull terrier

2) doberman

3)rottweiler

4) american bulldog

5). german sheperd

 

[doberkim]

but what are you looking for in a dog. what do you want the dog for, what sort of dominance level do you want, how much experience do you have training dogs, who will be in the household with the dog, what other animals, how much time will you have to devote to training, etc.

its not so easy just to throw a breed out - and the breeds you list are different in their own ways.

 

[Whitedobelover]

Doberman

Okay people my dog search is almost over, and i have norrowed it down to 2 dogs bull terrier and doberman

now which dog do you prefer

 

[Whitedobelover]

i would also agree with kim here but my personal prefrence is doberman hency the two in my pictures

 

[AmberwayGSD]

Dobermans and German Shepherds are the best for me out of your list.I find Bull Terriers are way too Stuborn.In fact I am buying another GSD puppy January for Showing in Conformation and Rally O.Down the road I also would like to breed.That will be after her Hips and Elbows pass and she has a Championship or a Title.The breeders would like to show her but I plan to owner Handle her myself.Just think about what you are looking for in a dog and than make a decision.Go buy a Dogs In Canada Annual magazine.You will learn alot about each breed in that.Plus there are breeder listings in it for each bred as well.

 

[Amstaffer]

I am suprised they ban pitbulls and not American Bulldogs, most idiots who believe in breed bans can't tell the difference.

 

[AmberwayGSD]

They havent banned them yet but now they can add any breed they want to that list.All breeds are at risk.Iclusing the GSDs which upsets me.

 

[DogLover4]

I want i dog that that is protective but not aggresive, a dog I can trust around kids, a dog that is big and can have a dominant but i should still be able to handle.. my only experience raising a dog is my 10 year old jack russel terrier.

 

[doberkim]

youd be hard pressed i bet to convince anyone that an american bulldog is not pit enough to be included in the ban...

im just curious why are you picking these typically thought of as "working" dogs --

ANY dog can be protective - your best bet for a protective dog is to take the dog, bring it into your home, and allow him to make himself part of the family. most dogs will, when push comes to shove, protect what they think of as theirs. ANY breed can do this --

going from an elderly JRT to a young doberman is quite a leap, and some of these dogs will not be so easy to handle while still being dominant. most dominant male dobermans (that are truly dominant) end up in rescue unless with experienced owners because they are SO challenging.

 

[DogLover4]

I don't agree with that at all.. i have raised my jack russel terrier since she was 7 weeks old and it was a challenge, anybody will tell you a jack russel is no pushover and is very difficult to train. they are a big dog in a little dogs body. trust me with there terrier instincts and the true gameness makes it hard to find another breed more difficult to train than a JRT.

So yeah After my experinece with a jack russel i do believe i could handle a pitbull or a bull terrier.. becuase really they are just a jumbo JRT.. especially a bull terrier