who owns a bully breed?

[jpond83]

"aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable."

*According to the American Temperament Testing Association, APBTs have an 85.3% passing rate, compared to a passing rate of 81.9% for all breeds on average.

[justahobby]

First up is Ellie (APBT)
l_0429eede412a0fa708bb422498fc0211.jpg

This is Christmas Day Ellie, Zoey (chi mix), and Kong (APBT)
l_e7978ebdd2dd76ba32667ec83ad85f44.jpg

Ellie was an amazing dog. I literally ran out of tricks to teach her. I had dog trainers stop me asking where I took her for obedience (taught her myself).

And now Jaderade (English Bulldog). Stubborn ADHD, but loves people and attention like no other...

l_2f192c7ca8a1bff451a68e0af8d80247.jpgl_6badabf6497ba4b451d1323d2b239c68.jpgl_8fdd8331c8bd72f83d8ed78da1adff24.jpg



I'll have to dig for more pics of Ellie and other APBT's I have rescued in the past.

[justahobby]

To further jpond's point (and slightly disagree,.... slightly) and ramble a bit....

Even back in the viscous pit fighting days, these dogs were family pets and had to be handled by the owners. A human aggressive dog would have been put down. Now, foolish backyard breeding and the underground dog fighting circuits have led to animals w/ human aggression. That is why it is important to be selective when buying (AND breeding).

First and foremost is parenting skills - you have to know how to handle/ read a dog that has shown human aggression. It can be corrected. And the majority do not know how to do this. That is why so many toy dog's yap, snap, and growl at their owners. I love the excuse "he/she just doesn't like to be picked up" or "I moved too quickly and it startled him/her"... NO that is human aggression, plain and simple, and should be handled as such.

I think the Dog Whisperer is a great show, but you can lead a horse to water....

[jpond83]

i always wanted an english bulldog. I think they are cool little dogs. Is he really hyper and playful?

[justahobby]

Yeah... you want her?









JK! She used to drive me crazy, but now I have a huge, lazy lap cat to balance her out.

Funny thing is just about any breed description lists them as almost lethargic after puppy hood, but I have many a people tell me their E. Bulldog is ADHD too. And the ones that do say their Bulldog is lazy.... they are usually obese!

[jpond83]

my abpt puppy is hyper and the one i had before him was hyper as an adult. my staffordshire bull terrier is lazy. but when she does want to play she goes nuts. She is the only bully i owned that wanted nothing to do with the spring pole. She loves to see new dogs though.

[jc]

This is Ziggy. We've had him for about 4 years now. I've heard him called a pit bull and a Staffordshire terrier. There seems to be a lot of confusion about how this breed is classified. Either way he is a great dog and has never shown any sign of aggression towards my son. Before the baby came home I did all my research and prepared the dog for a new family member. I can't say they are best friends, but they do have a mutual understanding. The dog lets the baby climb all over him and in exchange the baby tosses his food onto the floor.

Sadly, today we had to put Ziggy down. He was diagnosed with lymphoma a few weeks ago. He tried his best to carry on but the cancer was aggressive. When we came home from the vet I was so hoping he would be there to welcome us when we opened the door. I know he never will again. So long buddy. We miss you already.

[BSJF]

So sorry to hear that jc. We lost our Ziggy last year. It was the saddest day of our life! We still miss him dearly! He was only 4 years old, an AKC Champion Staffordshire Bull Terrier. He fought a tough 8 month battle with IBD that starved his body of all protein and made his abdomen spetic. Hard to believe that such a healthy dog with a strong zest for living the first 3 years of life could suddenly turn so sick.
playtime005_edited3.jpgP1020546-siggy_7-07.jpgplaytime011_edited2.jpg playtime007_edited2.jpg playtime002_edited2.jpg

[BSJF]

We have had and shown staffies in conformation and obedience since the 1980's. Here are a few pics from the good old days with our foundation dogs.
B_W Goldie_Used for Sketch.jpgCh. Cresstock Our Lady Goldberry, CD_sm.jpg
Ch.Cresstock Our Lady Goldberry, CD, CGC (Goldie) - Top Girl Dog 1990 (AKC) - Owner Handled by Me
Ch. Cresstock Necromancer CDX.jpg
Ch. Cresstock Necromancer, CDX, CGC (Chesty) - #1 SBT 1988 - Owner Handled by my hubby, but trained by me

[BSJF]

And now for our current stars Buster and Stella. Both are AKC pointed, but mostly just spoiled.
Stella-4_edited_sm.jpgstella_portrait_sm.jpg


DSCN1345.jpgDSCN1230.jpgP808033503.jpg

The hardest part about coming to Texas was finding a place that would allow us to rent with our dogs.