A new friend's breed choice - ?

am staffs can sometimes be intorlerant of other dogs. this may not show up until the dog is well into adulthood.

i would recommend a dog with a good warning bark and an alarm system for your house.

edit: this site gives some of the pros and cons to owning an am staff/pit bull....
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/owning.cfm

this site is a good resource for anyone wanting to own or have more information about pit bulls...http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.cfm

What about adopting a fully adult Am Staff (preferably of the opposite sex) that has lived with other dogs and done well. I know several that do just fine with other dogs over many years. The only problem is that they also tend to ut out a welcome sign for humans complete with wiggly butt. You will also want to check your home owners insurance if adopting a bully breed, German Shepherd, Chow, Rottie, or Doberman.

i agree with stacita...pitbulls are bred to be human friendly and dog aggressive...i wouldn't think they would be a good watchdog choice

Thank You so much, dear friends! Will think over a German Sheperd Dog. Hope they will do better with our lab.

I have to agree with the others. Amstaffs/APBTs are not good watch dogs. The only way that they are a good deterrent is that they look intimidating, but once they start to wag their tails and flash their bully smile, thats where it ends!

Amstaffs/APBTs are not good watch dogs. The only way that they are a good deterrent is that they look intimidating, but once they start to wag their tails and flash their bully smile, thats where it ends!

 
I dunno, Butter's tail is pretty deadly.

i disagree with the "pitbulls/staffies dont make good guard dogs" idea....
i have seen more than a few that would change your mind.
but then again, these days people are NOT breeding true to type. they are morphing the pit bull types into manstoppers, which is why we see so many dog bite fatalities involving this breed. they are no longer quite the people friendly Petey's that they once were. they are still dog aggressive, and they are man aggressive now as well. i read an article in the news about thug types training their pits and staffies as weapons to intimidate and mug people.... which was another cause for the Dangerous Dogs Amnesty.

bad breeding, bad philosophies, these people should have left well enough alone. the pit bull types have enough problems to worry about.
I will agree to not recommend a staff for a guard dog, but for different reasons.
good luck in your search.

they are morphing the pit bull types into manstoppers, which is why we see so many dog bite fatalities involving this breed. they are no longer quite the people friendly Petey's that they once were. they are still dog aggressive, and they are man aggressive now as well. i read an article...

I have to counter your statements...

First of all, yes, they are morphing "pit bull types"... by breeding them with other dogs.

American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers (not mixes) are people friendly dogs.

The dog bite fatalities you see are probably not APBTs or ASTs, they are probably dogs misidentified, or classified as "pit bull type dog" which is not a breed, it is a type of dog with a very broad description that encompasses many different breeds.http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

As far as the article goes, stories are botched and misrepresented by the media. If this is where you are getting your information, I suggest that you spend a day or two with an APBT, or pop into a breed specific rescue.

**ETA: I just came across another post of yours and understand that you have experience with bully breeds. I must, though, stick to my guns about APBTs being people friendly (for the most part). The state that the breed is in right now is terrible with breed mixing, overbreeding, etc. Its very sad, but through it all, pitties are great great dogs and I can't just sit back and let them be called "man agressive" without defending them. I am sure you understand.

I apologize if I came across bit**y, but its a sensitive issue, and one that I care very much about.

No sweat, Alie, i was about to defend myself, i've lived and breathed bulldog breeds my whole life and trust me when i say i dont like seeing their name tarnished with breed types. But i also have to stick my own guns when i say that some are just not people friendly - at least towards strangers.

Meet Z -


he's a great companion, loves his family to death, but i dare you to walk in their house while everyone is asleep. It was when i met THIS dog and a few others that changed my mind about the man stopping ability of pit bulls.
However when i say man stopper i dont mean man aggressive. a labrador can take a man down, so can a standard poodle (i've actually seen one enrolled in shutzehund) but that doesnt mean they will tear off the mailman's leg just because he's a stranger.
 I just think its against better judgement to bring in a pit bull type for the purpose of it being a guard dog. If in the event that he DOES bite someone, even if that person intended you bodily hard, its still another pit bull bite statistic in the eyes of the media.

I just think its against better judgement to bring in a pit bull type for the purpose of it being a guard dog. If in the event that he DOES bite someone, even if that person intended you bodily hard, its still another pit bull bite statistic in the eyes of the media.

Agreed.

there are plenty of breeds out there that are specifically BRED for guarding.  i would start with one of those breeds: dobermans and mastiffs come to mind...
 
amstaffs and pits have dog aggression in their blood, and it can be hard to manage them with other dogs.  most people crate their amstaff/pit when they can't supervise, and a crated dog doesn't do you a bit of good as a guard dog..
 
i WILL say that my goofballs are the sweetest, moooshiest, babycakes you'll ever meet, but when they are standing "at attention" staring out the window at you, you're not coming in unless you know better.  the trick with these dogs is to just walk right in like you own the place; my neighbors and a few good friends have done this when we're not home with great success, but my maintanence man doens't believe me, soo.... i guess they can be "guardy" but are generally not good guard dogs.

i've noticed that about the breed too.... as well as with other breeds come to think of it. some bully breeds respect an authority type. Z, the dog in the picture, absolutely loved my husband, but couldnt stand my aunt. she went to her grand daughters house one morning and thought she would just walk right in while grandaughter was still sleeping and Z rushed right at her before she could get over the threshold.. of course given the reputation pit bulls have for causing extreme damage my aunt was more than happy to slam the door in his face. My husband and i came and went as we please and all Z cared about is if we let him come with us.....

Of course my brother had a german shepherd that was a complete weirdo.... If you came into the house through the front door, Max would not let you of the back door. their front and backyard was split by a privacy fence.. Max used to snarl at people through the sliding glass doors. He would even bow up at them, smashing his face against the glass if they even tried to open the doors.... But if you came in through the back gate he didnt care. he would run to you and greet you like an old friend. Maybe the difference was he couldnt tell who you were through the glass... just saw shadowy figures that he didnt recognize... Max was a police dog drop out.... my brother was a police officer and wanted to join the K-9 unit.... but Max never made the cut. i'm not sure how far he took his training, but Max was a little over the top protective.

Thank You once again, my friends. I'll formulate my question in a bit another way to make it clear:
I'm loking for a dog that will be:

1) loyal and friendly to my present lab (3 y. o.)
2) love my family members and be clever
3) a great watch/guard dog for my family and my house (not friendly to strangers, of course)

My friends now advise me either cane corso (they say cane corso is not even dribbling, which is a certain pro and I've failed to find any contras)
or Perro De Presa Canario (aka Dogo Canrio). Haven't met either of the breeds so need Your help. [8|]
With kindest regards,
Anthony.

I don't know here's my[sm=2cents.gif]
 
You have a family so I'd (personally) avoid those two large and potentially aggressive and difficult breeds to own that you mentioned above. 
 
I'd probably look into something more like a cattle dog or something like that, a dalmation maybe. Something a little stand offish like you said but something not tending to be a loose cannon either. 
 
I mean your description describes a well bred chow chow to a tee.  But, with a family I'd be leary unless you were really dog savvy to teach the kids how to interact.