Hello,

My husband and I adopted a pit bull from a shelter almost four years ago, he is about right years old right now. For a while now we have been thinking about getting a pup and I was hoping to get some input from others familiar with the breed. A little about Duke:

He gets along great with other dogs as long as he is inside or off his lead, friendly with others at the vet etc. While walking on a lead though, if he spots a large dog on the other side of the street he barks and wants to lung on his leash. I was fortunate to speak with his previous owner though and she told me that she had encouraged this behavior in him because it made her feel "safe" when walking, I wanted to yell at her but anyway....she actually said she would take him to dog parks and let him run free and he was fine, I however will absolutely NOT take him to dog parks. Anyway, the only dogs that he hasn't gotten along with is another male pit his same age and twice his size, and another male pit our neighbor had who was un-neutered.

He gets very excited to play with other dogs though. Some friends of ours have a one year old shepherd who towers over him and they play great even though Magnum will try to mount him. Duke will jump around and put his mouth over Magnums and then they're off again. Magnum never lets up though, but Duke has never growled or snapped at him. My vet told me that if Duke was very dominant he would have tore into Magnum, instead he's just letting him know that its not okay. Our neighbor dog is his absolute best friend, a four year old husky. They get along unbelievably and Duke will jump into the back of their truck to be will him when they pull into the driveway. He will roll over on his back when they play and Uka will have him by the throat, then they run around again and Uka will roll over and Duke will have him by the throat. They both also try to mount eachother, and the other never gets upset. Its been confusing as I'm not sure exactly what their relationship is. Uka has even run into our house, taken one of Duke's bones and growled at him when Duke came running in and Duke just shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

Duke is also fantastic with puppies, he plays and plays and then tires out and will lay down and the puppies will jump around him biting and he just lays and thumps his tail. We had one pushy little pup over and when Duke went to drink out of his bowl the pup came over and they shared the bowl, then when he was eating the pup decided he was hungry too and Duke actually backed aways from his food and waited until the pup left. Duke also loves cats. I spent a summer with my in-laws who have two golden retrievers. Duke tried to mount the oldest one who is about two years older than him and she let him have it, after that I could tell from his body language when he was around her that things were tense and would keep an eye on him. It got to the point where she would immediately turn away from him whenever he came around and he would get very stiff. We made sure then to keep them separated. The other is about two and I don't believe actually has a brain in her head and very goofy, Duke has always enjoyed playing with her, the time he acted aggressive was after we had been there several weeks. If Lilly sees you petting one of the other dogs she comes flying over and barges inbetween to get petted, this went on for several weeks and one day she barged between me and Duke and Duke issued a growl her way. I think he had just tolerated it long enough and was tell her to knock it off, although I wondered why he had waited so long.

We recently moved though and he only has one playmate now but doesn't get to see him very much. Since we've been thinking of another dog and now that we are all settled in we decided now would be a great time. We are looking at a female staffy pup. My concerns are if after he realized the puppy wasn't going anywhere that he would become sad, although I have never observed that behavior in him, of course whenever he has lived (with us at least) with other dogs for an extended period of time it has been him moving into the other dogs territory. The other, while I am pretty sure he isn't greatly dominant he won't back down if challenged. We are looking at two pups, the one is very laid back with a go with the flow attitude, not very rowdy. The other while not overly dominant is much more outgoing and "in-charge" than her sisters, but still very cuddly and loving. My biggest concern is if the pup grows up and wants to be top-dog. Do males and females generally live in harmony? Would it be wise to pick a less-outgoing pup? The other is that he is getting older although one certainly wouldn't know it! He is in excellent health and hasn't slowed down since the day we got him. If a pup did become dominant and as Duke became older try more and more to be lead? Or if this did happen is it something that I shouldn't feel sorry for him because it is a natural way?

I realize that this is an extremely lengthy post and I appreciate anyone who has taken the time to go through it! He really really enjoys being around other dogs and animals, we just want to be sure we're making the right choice. Thank you.

hi adriaCH and welcome!

well very few people on the forum will be able to give you pit specific advise- the breeds been illegal over here for 17 years now, however plenty of staff people about!

from what you've said appart from the lead lunging your boy seems to be fine with other dogs (i'd focus on trying to fix that- maybe try a halti and additional training?). basically you know your boy best and you know if he'd like a companion... do you get the impression from the times you;ve been with other dogs that he would get jealous? essentially its the same as bringing a new baby into a family, you need to make sure the current kid gets attention as well.

as to sex, if you did decide to get a pup female is probably the best bet. i've a bull breed myself and they can take against their own sex when they reach maturity. if its a girl you get there is likely to be less of a dominance issue (to be honest its always been our bitches that were top dog, the boys just step aside)

you'll get a bunch of staffie folk along soon to give you specifics

Welcome adriaCH - this is a UK based forum and, as Astarte has mentioned, the breed is not legal here so replies as to the breed specifics of APBT's will probably be rather limited.
Didn't want you to think nobody was bothering to answer your questions :)

I know that some people if they own a dominant breed that will not back down from being challenged find it far easier to get a breed that is very easy going and unlikely to challenge your existing dog. 

Something that is not easily roused (long fuse) which will prevent any squabbles.  So not a Terreir, guarding or herding breed which tend to be reactive.  Also a lot of the Toy, companion breeds are very big dogs in small packages, adn quite capable fo Napoleon syndrome, adn woudl chalenge a much bigger dog.

So for a start I would advise a bitch of a sociable breed, to have the best chances of them getting along well.  It would need to be something fairly robust though if ti is to be a playmate for your dog..

I think getting a staff bitch will be good for your dog. I worried before taking on a 6 month bitch she is a very active lab/staff+patter dale [like jack Russell type] with my 7 year old bull terrier snoop. My dog knew the pups when they were born but acted like their Dad even the boys he was gentle with . You mentioned he can be dominate well even though my male dog is very dominant he backs down with her over silly issues like a ball or his teddy its only around food that he naturally becomes the leader. I have let him be this way as there as never been a bad situation ever with them only time he as growled at her is when she lies right on top of him on his back he's 9 now so she must be hurting him I just tell her to get off. You said you never take him to the park as your paranoid he might go for another dog well just use a kind muzzle the sort that they can pant with rather than the cloth wrap around types so if he does look as if he will then no one will be hurt. I'm sure it is yourself who is worried so at least you know everyone will be safe? AS he used to play off lead with other dogs I'm sure he will be that way for you too. More than likely the reason he goes for dogs across the street is because he feels he is protecting you as mine does i get mine to sit down and turn his head away from the oncoming dog. funny because when my son takes him out he is good as gold and has sniffed butts so i think he thinks I'm is bitch some day's !!:)

We are on our 3rd set of two dogs, always kept two together, usually a slight age difference. This time we have a border collie and a cocker spaniel with 8 weeks between them.
I would recommend two anytime even if it only makes you feel better. Mine play well, and if 1 is with me and 1 with OH when they get back together its s rushing around time to make sure the pecking order is maintained. Spaniel on top!! Border secondary dog.