# Anyone ever have a Poodle and a Bully breed living in the same house?



## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Hi I am just curious. Has anyone here ever had a poodle and a Bully breed living in the same house? How did it work out? What extra precautions did you have to take?

Best way for introductions and things to be concerned about?


Okay I ask because in the next few years we plan to bring in most likely an American Bulldog Puppy (unless I can convince my husband on my true doggy love the American Pit Bull Terrier, but he isn't as fond of them as the American Bulldog)

Anyways my biggest concerns are the size difference (Both my dogs are small, under 25lbs) and dominance issues.

My current 2 dogs will be around 9 years old when we bring this dog in, ideally. My daughter will be 7. 

Out of my two current dogs, I see Zachary having the most problems with a new addition especially at age 9. Zachary has the more dominent personality of my 2 dogs. He has a hard time getting along with dogs that are larger than him, UNLESS he has known them from when they were puppies. Then its usually not a big deal. Sasha my Terrier mix has the more submissive personality and seems to get on with every dog she meets.

Even though we are about 6-7 years away this is something we are wanting to think about and consider and start researching early. This dog is kind of our Daughters dog ( well....its the family dog but we are going to let her think its her dog and she will participate in training classes with us and the dog. I know that the sole responsiblity will most likely fall on me, it always does)

We will be getting a female
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A little more info for you to sum it up:

Okay I want an APBT but Hubby wants an American Bulldog.

These are just 2 breeds of dogs we are looking into.


Anyways we will get the dog as a puppy. The dog will start obedience classes as soon as vaccines are all given. The dog will be spayed (we are getting a female regardless). The dog will most likely get 3 long walks a day and offleash playtime in the fenced in yard.

living situation. Small/Medium size house with a large yard. Will be living with 2 other smaller older dogs. And an 7 year old child. (who will be involved in the training and has been around dogs her whole life)

I personally prefer the APBT, hubby just doesn't like their look (he likes many things about them but he doesn't like their look) I like their size, personality, loyalty, energy level and look. Hubby prefers American Bulldog all around.

We understand these dogs need a leader and a leader that will be consistent with training. We also know that both these breeds can be prone to dog aggression so we will be getting the dog as a puppy.

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Other breeds we are looking into (though my heart belongs to the bullys)

Old English Sheepdog
German Shepherd
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Siberian Husky
Standard Poodle (I just don't know though that I want another poodle, but I have the most experience with poodles)

the only real reason I see us not going with an American Pit Bull Terrier or an American Bulldog would be if BSL comes into our area. And being that we are still a few years off its possible.

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Anyways has anyone done this successfully and how did the dogs do together and adapt?
Any tips and Advice
Thanks.


(Again this is just the beginning of a very long process of finding that perfect 3rd dog, I always wanted 3 dogs. At my moms house growing up the rule was 1 dog at a time, and at my dads well he had 6 dogs at one point. So I come from two extremes...I feel 3 is the perfect number)


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Again as I said we are a few years off from bringing in a 3rd dog. But I am a planner and like to have a good concrete plan before I do anything and like to know what I am getting into.

Plus I would like for us to be in our house for awhile before we get one. We have just started looking at some land to build on. But once we have the land, we may not build on it right away


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## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

I don't have any advice, but I wanted to applaud the way you're putting in the time to research everything.


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## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

I think you should maybe contact breeders of both the APBT and the american bulldog and see what fits better..remind your husband that it's not always about looks and more about temperment.

From my understanding both can be great around other dogs and children when introduced properly. I love pits myself as well as the american bulldog but i also know they dont fit right with me as a breed..but I do have two standard poodles and two german shepherds without any problems at all!

I think it's great you are planning ahead, but also take this time to contact breeders, most would be happy to help you with the decision and answer any questions you might have about the individual breeds.


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Also I'm not sure if we are going through a breeder yet or a APBT or Bulldog rescue. I am all about adoption but at the same time I do have a child to think about.

I am happy with either breed the APBT or the American Bulldog, in my experience with the breeds, they have a lot of similarities...but I almost feel like the APBT has the better personality and temperment overall, plus they are a bit smaller. Most APBTs I've known have been between 45 and 55lbs, where I have known american bulldogs to be close to 100lbs.

My husband however likes everything about the APBT except their bad reputation and their size mostly, he wants something a bit bigger. But sadly the American Bulldogs rep isn't much better. He just always like the American Bulldog better and feels they are a better family dog.

Both dogs are prone to dog aggression so I know a sound temperment is key. Which is why I am considering going through a breeder.

Anyways though I plan on talking with our local bully breed rescue soon just to see what they have to say, and I know a local reputable APBT breeder that I will be talking too.

Then again if BSL passes around here, all this is moot

By the way if I didn't mention my current dogs are Minature Poodle (Zachary) and Terrier mix (Sasha)


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## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

Well if you want help finding a real apbt breeder lmk.

If you are still living an apt a lot of reputable breeder will not sell to you. I think even the american bulldog breeders might not sell to you either. 

If you think you will be in a house by then , then don't worry about it lol

I think either breed can be fine with a poodle, My bf has an amstaff and boxer mix with pit bull and we have Enzo.


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

roxy25 said:


> Well if you want help finding a real apbt breeder lmk.
> 
> If you are still living an apt a lot of reputable breeder will not sell to you. I think even the american bulldog breeders might not sell to you either.
> 
> ...



We won't have another dog until we are in our house. And we won't have another dog until our daughter is atleast 7 years old. I won't have a 3rd dog in an apartment (and most apartments don't allow more than 2, ours allows 3 and are pretty lenient but I can't do 3 dogs in an apartment, that is crazy)

Our house plans have temporarily put on hold, we are still going to buy the land but its going to be a year before we start building. so we will be in the house a long time before we get another dog


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## Purple Poodle (May 5, 2008)

I think you would be fine bringing is a puppy with older dogs.

One thing to caution about Bull breeds are the breeders. You have to really dig deep and find a breeder who has extremely stable temperament dogs, among other things. 

I would suggest meeting a few Pits and Am.Bulls to see what ones you all get along better with.

If you go the rescue route, find a place who uses foster homes so you know what the dog has been introduced to. If you do go this way you will most likly end up with an adult dog.

Where are you located?


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## Mister (Sep 10, 2008)

I used to live with my sister and i had Mister (standard) and she had two Am Staffs. It is entirely possible to live with a poodle and a pittie. Both are high energy so it works lol.


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Purple Poodle said:


> I think you would be fine bringing is a puppy with older dogs.
> 
> One thing to caution about Bull breeds are the breeders. You have to really dig deep and find a breeder who has extremely stable temperament dogs, among other things.
> 
> ...



We won't bring in a dog older than 6 months old. That is just my preference, typically I don't even like to go that old. We adopted our Terrier mix from a rescue (where all dogs were fostered) when she was 12 weeks old


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Purple Poodle said:


> I think you would be fine bringing is a puppy with older dogs.
> 
> If you go the rescue route, find a place who uses foster homes so you know what the dog has been introduced to. If you do go this way you will most likly end up with an adult dog.
> 
> COLOR]




I think this is a great idea. There are many different scenerios in fostering - and people that do it, do it for the love of dogs and the best interest of them and the right family.


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

Kaden's very best friend is my boxer/bulldog/pit mix, Duchess

Duchess doesnt pull his hair, and keeps him moving most of the time. Duchess can't play with the other standards, because they surround her and take turns picking on her. 

She does well one on one, or two on one. 

Shes only 47 ish pounds, and though she weighs the same as Kaden, she is about 6 inches shorter both inheight and weight


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

Secreto has a Spoo and at least one AmStaff/APBT. (She may have one of each, can't remember.) My brother and SIL have a Chihuahua, a Spoo and a pitbull. They take precautions, but haven't had any problems. They lost their male Chi early last year and he was a very dominant dog. The pitbull showed a temendous amount of patience w/ the little brat.


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

oops double post!


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## poodleholic (Jan 6, 2010)

I had a male Standard Poodle puppy (15 wks. old), a female flatcoat retriever (10 yrs. old), and a male wolf hybrid (5 yrs. old) living in the same house. Very interesting! It worked very well, once Abbe felt comfortable that the wolf hybrid wasn't going to hurt the puppy! They were buds, and got along great.


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## Purple Poodle (May 5, 2008)

PoodlesRforever said:


> *We won't bring in a dog older than 6 months old. That is just my preference, typically I don't even like to go that old.* We adopted our Terrier mix from a rescue (where all dogs were fostered) when she was 12 weeks old


Why?

Like I said you should be fine, I have a three poodles and Pit Bull who live together just fine. But I trust Cici with anything and everyone.

Also I know you said you are going to take obedience classes but Pits and other Bully breeds need constant training and can be quite stubborn.


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## Ladybug (Jan 2, 2010)

I have a friend that had a Bull Terrier, two Chihuahuas, a Chinese Crested, and a Jack Russell (she may have been a glutten for punishment ) and they seemed to all get a long fine. She got the Bull Terrier as a 6 month old puppy. She found a great breeder with dogs that had impeccable temperaments. 

I can see why this would be SO important. Just last week, on Friday I had just picked my kids up from school. We were driving to the store 3 blocks away to get a treat (they both got 100's on their spelling tests) and I witnessed two Pit Bull's cross the street right in front of my car and attack a golden lab that was in her own yard, being walked on a leash by her little girl. One Pit grabbed the dogs face and the other grabbed her rear. The owner came running, but it took him a few minutes to get the one off the face. It was HORRIBLE! The little girl was screaming and screaming. My kids were freaked out too. I guess I won't be walking my dogs down that street!! Temperament is KEY!


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## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

frostfirestandards said:


> kaden's very best friend is my boxer/bulldog/pit mix, duchess
> 
> duchess doesnt pull his hair, and keeps him moving most of the time. Duchess can't play with the other standards, because they surround her and take turns picking on her.
> 
> ...


omg she soooo cute !!!!!!!


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

Why on earth would any parent let a little girl walk a large dog, like a Lab, by herself? That's just asking for trouble! How many times do people have to hear "never leave kids and dogs alone" before they finally listen? If an adult had been there, they could've very easily prevented the attack. 

Also I've heard many experienced pitbull people say you can't really know how a dog will do w/ other animals, until it is an adult. If a dog is inherently DA, you can't train that out. I don't understand insisting on 6 months or less, especially if you're thinking about rescue.


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## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

Harley_chik said:


> Why on earth would any parent let a little girl walk a large dog, like a Lab, by herself? That's just asking for trouble! How many times do people have to hear "never leave kids and dogs alone" before they finally listen. If an adult had been there, they could've very easily prevented the attack.
> 
> Also I've heard many experienced pitbull people say you can't really know how a dog will do w/ other animals, until it is an adult. If a dog is inherently DA, you can't train that out. I don't understand insisting on 6 months or less, especially if you're thinking about rescue.


That is True HC but there are some lines that are not what breeders call hot. 

I think getting an amstaff would be a better fit since most amstaff breeder are breeding DA out of them not saying there are no DA amstaffs but I have notice a big difference between a amstaffs drive and a apbt drive. 

Most UKC apbt have amstaff in them so you just have to do you research on bloodlines. 

I think a rescue or shelter dog is good idea BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND AN EXPERIENCE BEHAVIORIST come with you. I picked out a amstaff mix or pure amstaff ( she has no papers but she looks to be amstaff) and she is the best dog ever. I observed her for a month before we adopted. I asked the AC officer how did she react to the other dogs while he was walking her out he said she did not pay attention to them. 

Jasmine is not DA and she is now living with my bf other dog frisco who is DA only to other DA dogs and dominate dogs. You have to pick our dogs wisely according to the pack you have at your home already if you want to get a bully breed. If your poodle is yappy and always jumping at another dogs face I think this will cause problems down the line because a apbt will only tolerate such behavior for so long until they will just control the situation themselves.


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Purple Poodle said:


> Why?
> 
> Like I said you should be fine, I have a three poodles and Pit Bull who live together just fine. But I trust Cici with anything and everyone.
> 
> Also I know you said you are going to take obedience classes but Pits and other Bully breeds need constant training and can be quite stubborn.


I just prefer raising a dog from a puppy, and with my poodles aggression toward larger dogs, I have to get the dog when its roughly the same size as him. Or as a pup. He is fine with any large dog he has known from the time the dog was a puppy, but he isn't good with any dog that comes around that he hasn't known as a puppy. So we need a puppy. I just prefer to have a dog from puppyhood though. thats just my preference, I hate missing the puppy stage, I feel a stronger bond with the dogs I've had since puppy. I have had a few older poodles that I had and the bond wasn't as strong

Again its purely my preference. I mean I even work rescue so I know that its harder to adopt out an older dog, but I just prefer to start off my relationship with a pet as a puppy. I don't like missing that puppy stage (Maybe I'm nuts but I love the puppy stage, and the training, all of it. Don't get me wrong I'm glad my two are grown but its so worth it to see them grow from a rambunctious pup to mature well behaved adult dogs)


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

I wasn't dissing your choice at all, I hope you didn't think so. Like Roxy said, if you're buying from a breeder you can get some idea what a puppy will be like. I understand wanting to have a puppy. I have one dog I got as an adult and one that was a puppy. While I'm just as, if not more so, bonded to Bailey, Harley was soooo much easier. I won't discount rescuing another adult in the future, but I, too, look forward to having another puppy this time around.


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Harley_chik said:


> I wasn't dissing your choice at all, I hope you didn't think so. Like Roxy said, if you're buying from a breeder you can get some idea what a puppy will be like. I understand wanting to have a puppy. I have one dog I got as an adult and one that was a puppy. While I'm just as, if not more so, bonded to Bailey, Harley was soooo much easier. I won't discount rescuing another adult in the future, but I, too, look forward to having another puppy this time around.


Oh no I didn't think you were, I was just clearing up and trying to answer the question.

I don't know if everyone caught about my poodle having some dog aggression issues or not.

I met with a woman at a local bully breed rescue today and she gave me some wonderful resources to look into. She did suggest going through a good breeder though being that we are wanting a puppy and with the two dogs and a child. Mostly she fears the two small ones might set off the larger ones prey drive. (And she does rescue so I guess she feels a pup from a breeder would be a better fit)

She said when the time comes they could suggest some very good breeders of both breeds. So that was good. But again we are still pretty far off from getting another dog. I just wanted some resources to start looking into.


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## Ladybug (Jan 2, 2010)

Harley_chik said:


> Why on earth would any parent let a little girl walk a large dog, like a Lab, by herself? That's just asking for trouble! How many times do people have to hear "never leave kids and dogs alone" before they finally listen? If an adult had been there, they could've very easily prevented the attack.


The "little" girl was about 12 and in HER OWN yard. The other dogs came from across the street and entered her yard. The mother was in the garage. I wouldn't have wanted to be the one holding the leash. From what I've heard it is NOT a good idea to get in the middle of a dog attack, so I don't see how an adult could have "very easily prevented the attack". These dogs were in it for blood. Their owner was hot on their heels and could NOT get the one dog off of the labs face. It was a sight. I was just sharing because she asked and it's what I saw! I know these breeds of dogs sometimes just don't get along with other dogs. 

My Aunt has had a few Pitt Bulls. She has tried to have 2 at the same time a few times, but they usually end up fighting, A LOT. So she has given up and just has one. Don't get me wrong... she LOVES her Pitts.


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## 814 (Jul 3, 2009)

Thanks for all the info, advice, and stories. I'm a bit more confident about it now.


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