I've trained/had 2 pitbulls now. My sister has one as well (she now lives back at home). Her pit lives with 5 cats now. All of which she was introduced to later in life, so she wasn't used to having them around. My sister has pics of her pit with 2 of the cats laying on her...funny as hell. She's nothing more than a big (very big at 80 lbs.) baby.

Pitbulls have a bad rep. but in reality, they're very smart lovable dogs (why do you think they are the only breed that can smile? ). When looking for a puppy, I would take the one you're considering, roll it on it's back and rub it's stomach. If it won't allow you to do that...on to the next one. Puppies that won't lay on their backs like that are showing a sign of aggression and will be a real pain to train. That doesn't mean that you can't train them, just that it'll take a lot more work. They require A LOT of attention. Both of my Pits (1 R.I.P., 1 lost to the ex ) were both easier to train than my German Shepard, and much much more loyal. But, that may have just been that 1 GS. Don't flame me GS lovers...lol.

And all 3 of them are awesome with kids! I have a story about one of mine with a little girl, but my post is already too long. Needless to say, I freaked out, the girl and her Mother laughed theirr a$$'s off. My pit had never seen either of them, but was still gentle as could be.

Guard dogs? My first choice for another guard dog would be a pit bull! But, the wife is a cop, so it looks like we're getting a "Pre-Trained" German Shepard.

Oh yeah, and it's American Bull Terrier for NikePenguin

 

i got a pit mix. great dog. listens to everything i say. never attacked anybody except cats. he's 11 years old now. still jumping up and down. personally, i think boxers aren't the greatest looking. besides, pit bulls give you that "whoa" factor. and if he's obedient, that's dope.

 

Boxers are lovely little dogs with a good temperament. Of course not all pitbulls are bad but they don't have a bad rep for nothing. There have been so many pit bull attacks over here (often leaving children severely scarred and disfigured) that they are now banned in some places.

A friend of our family (an elderly woman) was attacked and killed by a pit bull. Whilst they can appear perfectly friendly to their owners they can be unpredictable when it comes to other people.

I'd go for the boxer.

(No offense meant to pitbull owners BTW )

 

This is well-said. Not all Pitbulls are aggressive all the time, however, their temperament is unpredictable, causing them to be dangerous. One minute, they can appear to be nice and friendly, but the next, they can turn into a Mike Tyson on steroids and psychotic medications. And training such a dog is not an easy feat either. In three words: very very hard!

 

American Staffordshire Terrier (American Pitbull)

Staffordshire Bull Terrier (English Pitbull)

 

I'm not even sure if the Mike Tyson analogy is completely accurate. Certainly the media is more likely to report a "pitbull" attack than the everyday dog bite. I believe the toy breeds are actually more likely to bite a child than a pitbull or larger breed. The big difference, of course, is that a pitbull bite is going to be much more severe than a small dog bite.

Don't forget, before pitbulls, the German Shepard, Doberman and Boxers were the much maligned breeds.

 

I don't know anything about pit-bulls, but I can tell you that boxers are awesome dogs. Great with kids because they simply never get pissed off. They are incredibly affectionate and quiet.

The only downside I can see - and it's a big one - is that they have a short life-span of 8-10 years on average. They are prone to cancer.

 

A somewhat off-topic question (sorry) for someone who knows about the breeds.

Are Bull terriers similar in temperament to the English pitbulls? They're both bull terriers, but the American pitbull isn't a bull terrier??

FWIW, I'm strictly a cat person, but I have a bf who wants a bull terrier and I don't know anything about them.

And between a pitbull and the Boxer, I'd go with the Boxer. The one Boxer I've been around was a great dog.

Edit: Beautiful dogs, Woodson.

 

Pitbulls can be loving dogs if raised right. My problem with them is that they all have an agressive streak in them somewhere and it could come out at the wrong time.

I had a boxer before and he was the greatest dog. He was tall and muscular and beautiful. He was strong enough to scale a 9 foot fence. He was never agressive towards people and the only scary thing about his is the danger of being licked to death with his spade shaped tongue.

I for sure would get the boxer.

 

Gen. George S Patton had a Bull Terrier!

The biggest cause for the pitbull having such a bad reputation is that some have been bred to fight. Boxers and Bull Terriers (and a number of other breeds) were once very aggressive dogs too but breeders bred the trait out. This is why it is important to know the breeder of the dog and its lineage.

Don't forget that the biggest reason a dog will bite is because it feels threatened. Larger dogs tend to be less threatened by children and can usually tolerate the rough play/handling of children better than small breeds.