Welcome dog enthusiasts. I've created this page as a reference for what I feel are real dogs. By real dogs, I don't mean Poodles, Golden Retreivers, Chihuahas and Pugs. I mean dogs like the Fila Brasileiro, Tosa, Presa Canario, American Pitbull Terrier and molosser dogs in general. Ever since I was a boy, I had an affinity for dogs. I remember watching the cartoon Tom & Jerry and seeing Spike chase cats up trees.
From a young age I formed the opinion that dogs should be strong, intelligent, loving towards their family, and above all loyal. I've owned just about every pet in your local pet shop, from goldfish, cichlids and pirhanas to anoles, iguanas and monitor lizards, to cornsnakes and boas to fire toads to tarantulas to cockatiels to mice, gerbils, a rabbit, a ferret, a cat and of course, dogs. Our first dog was a Black Lab, the second was a Boxer, my third was a Pitbull and my fourth and present dog is a Fila Brasileiro. Out of all of the pets I've had over my lifetime, my favorites were the dogs. There's no comparison in terms of the satisfaction that I've received from owning and caring for my dogs to any other pet on the face of the earth. They truly have been what they were supposed to be- Man's Best Friend.
Not only have I owned four dogs, but I also worked at a doggy day care and boarding facility by the name of Always There Pet Care in Arlington, VA when I was sixteen years old for nearly two years. While working there, I encountered just about every moderately popular dog breed in America. While they were all nice, I grew especially close to the Pitbulls and Pitbull mixes. Their bad rep preceded them, but they were some of the nicest dogs there. What I liked about them and the other molosser(Rottweilers, Bullmastiffs, etc) dogs was that they were fun, mentally stable and just seemed like they had their head on right in general. Some of the other dogs were just spoiled and wimpy, scared of everything and fearful of people which led to fear biting and employees being scared to play with them because of the possibility of injury. The Pitbulls and guard breeds were dominant in a good way. They were'nt scared to play and didn't cry when accidentally hit by a ball or something during play.
I've especially grown to enjoy the company of dogs like my favored breeds mentioned above. I've found that while these dogs have gained poor reputations due to irresponsible and immature owners, they have truly demonstrated to me that they can be the most faithful and loving of all. If I had to describe them in one word it would be intense. They are intensely affectionate towards their owners and intensely passionate when doing what they were bred for, be it dog fighting, guarding, cattle droving or whatever.
I've found that while many dogs may run out of fear at the hint of trouble, these dogs stay loyal and are ready and willing to lay down their lives for their master. They are a best friend to the end, no matter what.
These are the dogs I like and I don't want anyone to mistake me as an ignorant wanna be macho guy hiding behind his big bad dog as this is definitely not the case. As a matter of fact, I really hate to see idiots with Pitbulls. These breeds need to be in the hands of responsible owners and we all suffer due to the stupidity of the bad owners. They cause breed bans and most of all harm to innocent bystanders with the misfortune of living in the same neighborhood as them.
Pitbulls are naturally some of the nicest dogs in existence and I hate to see them messed up by people who train them to be vicious. They are fighting dogs, which means that they may not be good with other animals, but to people they could not be kinder. More on this topic will be written on another page.
The other dogs like Filas, well bred Rottweilers, Bullmastiffs and Presas however are guard dogs and are generally not tail waggers in the presence of strangers. They are often protective of their family and territory but are still great companions, too, when properly socialized.
My attraction to these dogs is that I can be rough with them and they won't get hurt. They are athletic and therefore love the same activities as me. I am in awe of the strength and physical abilities of these awesome animals, and it's one thing that I truly admire. Not to mention they are all handsome dogs, at least in my book.
I wish to take nothing away from the Labs, Poodles, Chihuahas and Pugs, as some of them are "cute" to some people and many of them make great companions for some people, but they're just not for me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm not knocking anyone else's choice. I just feel like I require a bit more out of my dogs.
Other Pages
My Fila Brasileiro
Page 3 - Responsible Dog Ownership
