meleeka
Well-Known Member
At least with Staffies, IME, they're smaller...but still a little ball of muscle that I wouldn't want to fight! Granted, I've only known a few and they were all rather mild and friendly. My previous landlord had one (she recently passed, and was older) and she was so, so, sweet. She was also a thorgougly socialized dog, so I imagine that helped!
Still though, there is just something about the bull types. Whether they're labeled XLB, PB, or whatever. There are many other breeds out there with a very strong bite, that were bred to bring down large game, or to be a guardian/protector that seemingly don't have this "switch" in them. I don't know if extreme dominance was bred into these dogs for fighting and they just take everyone as a challenge in the pursuit to be on top or what. Or if there is just some instinct in them to always fight for their life.
I know other breeds with dominant tendencies, and usually as long as you nip that and make things clear from day one, they respect it. Sometimes it's just basic stuff, like following through with every command and being consistent that does it.
You do get some extremes on other breeds of course, and the individual that just isn't wired right, but it's wayyy more than that with the XLB.
I don’t think they are bad dogs at all, but purely a product of their upbringing. I’ve seen plenty of snappy toy breeds who aren’t happy dogs, but nobody cares about them because they are small and they are unlikely to kill anyone.
I’ve never met a Staffie that I didn’t like. I’ve only met one XLB type that I was nervous of, which was owned by someone who shouldnt be allowed to keep a goldfish, so not a fault with the breed.