Lets clarify the bulldog/pitbull/bull terrier situation.

Well don't look at me!

I thought we could all get together and sort out the differences. They are all often mixed up and some ARE to be worried about, some arent.

Ok so we have

Staffordshire Bull Terrier - American version is big, English is smaller. Very stocky dogs, big heads and silly grins.

Pitbulls - includes American Pit Bull, Red Nose Pit Bull - these are banned.

Bull Terrier - pointy ears, long fat nose generally white or pied

Bulldogs - English bulldogs - squashed in faces, big smiles. French Bulldogs, smaller version?


Don't take any of this as gospel, just my surface knowledge.

I know for ages that Staffies were often mixed up with American Pit Bulls, my family nearly died when I got mine but they know better now.

So feel free to add, refute or clarify anything here!

My understanding is that the pit-bull and american staffordshire terrier are from the same stock but the breeds have become seperate over time. In the US some dogs are dual registered as both Pit Bulls and American staffies. I think that the Pit Bull peeps will accept dogs that are kennel club rego but not vice-versa.
There is also an American bulldog that is like a taller more athletic version of the English bulldog (which frankly has been bred to a kind of silly point).
There is also a Boston Terrier that is a lovely type of bull breed that is small and perky but they are quite rare in Australia :(

There's also the good ole aussie pig dog which is probably one of the only breeds that is still evolving - probably because they are actually bred to work and not recognised by any kennel club. Some of them are lovely some of them are dreadful.

They're all big gorgeous boofas lol.

ETA - There are some people breeding miniture bull terriers now. They are uber-cute. I wantz one.
ETA 2 - here is a picture of a mini and a standard for comparison.

I think I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that all creatures that come out of Staffordshire are charming, friendly, funny and wag their tails a lot.

BTW, I am from Staffordshire ;)

I love Staffies. My fave breed.
Then Bull Mastiff :)

My expereience with staffies are the small stocky ones and they are incredibly friendly and great with children. They are easily stolen though cause they go to anyone.
My experience with pure bred american pitbulls are good as well (this dog was papered, came from america and and it's papers were about an arm long). He wouldn't any human, my blue cattle dogs bit more people then he did :redface: Although I wouldn't trust him with another animal.

I think the problem comes from cross breeding and how they are brought up. I would hate to see what a pitt bull cross blue cattle dog would be like for instance too much power with too much brain/cunning.

When I was very little we had a Staffie and from the stories my dad tells he was the perfect dog for a small child. Apparently when I was two or three I would delight in hitting him over the head with my tonka toys in the sandpit. He'd put up with it and never threatened me. But, after I was done playing in the sandpit apparently he would ever so gently nick the back of my sandals to trip me over :lol: that was his revenge!

njd I think you make a very good point about how the way a dog is brought up affects their temperment, particularly in the case of American pit bulls. My brother in law has one, who hasn't been de-sexed (but that's another story). He's a lovely dog, who is incredibly friendly. But I am still terrified of him, mostly because of the incredible strength that is displayed with every movement he makes. But also because of the way my BIL looks after him. Being a young dog he is into everything and if left alone will destroy the house, so my BIL puts him in a cage when he goes to work or goes out. I personally think that this unacceptable.

Many people purchase dogs like american pit bulls, when they shouldn't because their lifestyle isn't suited to the breeds characteristics. When owners keep these highly active animals in cages or chained up all the time, I think they are slowly creating animals that will eventually become aggressive. I believe that like any breed, if an american pit bull is kept stimulated and shown love and affection the liklihood of it becoming aggressive is probably about the same as a labrador.

having worked in a vets / boarding /pound I have seen many a dog come though...

we had some pitties who where going though court coz the attacted someone and killed this persons dog.... but they were the sweetest dogs ever always full of love, sadly the way the owner had treaded them ( they were bred for dog fights ) they could not be near any other dogs...

I have seen so many lovely pitty's and staffy's... Its just they fact that they have lock jaw that you have to really watch them as if they do choose to turn on you or another dog ( which is normally the case and then the owners will do something silly like try to pull them apart and this is when the person gets a bite ) they can and will lock their jaw then you cant get them to let go....

to tell you the truth the only does I was every weary of were the cattle dogs they only like their owner and will bite first and think later, I personally think they should stay on the farms where they are meant to be.... and the little rat dogs, it seems the smaller the dog the more likely the little bugger would bite me.... the werid thing is if they do bite you and the owner is there they always just laugh it off almost like it didnt happen, just coz they are small, then of course the silly buggers would just pick their rat dogs up :rolleyes: giving the dog what it wanted a reward for biting me....

I have a little rat dog and she is the most amazingly gentle little person. She puts up with all sorts from my children and our vet loves her because when she boards with him she is so friendly and tolerant of other dogs.
Most fluffy whites are lovely, it is just a minority that are nasty biters.

whatsa rat dog?

I love staffies!!! They have such a great smile!!!

sorry I dont mean to say that all rat dogs are mean and nasty just that I was only ever bitten by they and never the big bad pit bulls...

sorry bad name I call them :redface: by Rat dog I mean cha ( shoot I cant spell their names to save myself hence why I call them rat dogs :rolleyes:) you know all the " IT " girls have them in a bag....

I am sure as with all breds there are good and bad just like humans really...

Tali- do you mean chawuwahs (sp?)

yep Stupid name its so hard to work out how to spell it....

Some Chi's are nice but they can be a bit over-protective. I went to scholl with a girl who owned one that scared me rigid lol.
I've always thought a rat dog was any of the small, ankle high dogs.
How did we get from boofas to rats lol?

i agree!

FWIW I think the thingg is that if you get bitten by a little fluffy dog (AKA a rat) chances are you will have some nasty scars but you will live to tell the tale but if you get bitten by a big mastif kind of dog you just might get killed.
That's one of the reasons that I got a small dog. I think that any dog will bite if it is pushed too far so I may as well have one that won't do to much harm if it is pushed beyond tolerance.
Then again bull terriers and bull dogs have high pain thresholds so their tolerance may be greater.

Aaah, I geddit. I was kind of hoping that it was a typo and you actually had a catdog. I'd like one of those.

Chi's are mental, they scare the bejaysus outta me too. DS went to pat one the other day but I collared him before he got to it - the owner didn't mind when I told him they can be a bit mental cos she agreed.

I have a female staffy named Staffy lol Im so imaginitive but Id have to say the best dog Ive ever owned would have to be a rednose Pitty named Tank. Unfortunately due to council laws in brisbane he was taken from us and given a "pitbull test" where they do allsorts of tests on him to verify that he is a pitbull and not an american staffy and when the test came back positive we had the choice of relocating him so we brought him an airfare to Sydney where he stays with family now. Staffys are from the same bloodline as pitbulls and have the same characteristics just no where near as much game.