My wife and i are considering getting a female Amstaff. Our biggest concern at this point is dog aggression between the Amstaff and our neutered male, Boston Terrier. Our Boston is a big boy at 35lbs, and loves to play rough, but gets along pretty well with most dogs. We have been talking with Almaden Amstaff breeder who says with proper socialization they should be fine together. We are just looking for some more opinions or advice on this issue as we have heard Amstaffs had a tendency toward dog aggression.

Another concern I have is about Amstaff temperament. I had a pit bull mix when i was in high school and found him to be one of the most loyal, affectional and devoted dogs i had ever owned. I am a naturally assertive person, but my pit mix would have probably done fine with a novice owner. My wife on the other hand is not the most dominant handler when it comes to dogs. Our Boston terrier loves her, but definitely does not listen to my wife as well as he listens to me. The breeder tells me i should get my wife to be more assertive and consistent with an Amstaff because they are dominant dogs. She assured me her dogs are not aggressive but can be dominant.

I know most Amstaffs and APBT's are not usually human aggressive, so I would like to know how this dominance can manifest itself, generally speaking. Does someone less assertive like my wife need to worry about aggression from the dog, or just not listening as well like our Boston? I know all dogs are different but it is confusing since i often hear how great this breed is with people, which i have experienced, but then how they can be dominant with submissive owners. Any insight into this issue would also be appreciated.

We have several amstaff breeders who also started breeding Bostons here in Sweden and I have not heard of one Boston being eaten yet.

Badazz wrote:We have several amstaff breeders who also started breeding Bostons here in Sweden and I have not heard of one Boston being eaten yet.

Very encouraging!

Heeheehee, and I know nothing about training and all that, our four year old girl came to us as an adult. That said, she is often welcomed into the local small dog park. Even the teacup sized dogs gather at her feet, and she'll play puppy games for hours. Wish I had a video of her play bowing with her chest on the ground. She is almost 60 pounds but gets down nose to nose with the little guys. The only dominence she shows is pulling on walks, common with most terriers, and there are harnesses to help ya with that.

I had more to say (as far as answering your temperament questions) in your introductory post. Here are a few pics of my Amstaff and my Boston/JRT mix. They are INSEPARABLE! Bob

Nice looking duo you got there! I will have to post some pics of Magoo(our Boston) and his future sister when the time comes

Haven't been here in a while, but I have a female Amstaff and a male Boston Terrier. They get along great.

Here she is with my Boston, Frenchie and Greyhound



With my Frenchie





With the entire pack

Beautiful pictures, Tiffany! Another thing on my wish list has always been to adopt a greyhound. I guess I harbor some latent guilt, always enjoying going to the races with my dad as a child. Several of my friends have them. Bob

The only problem I have noticed with AmStaffs and Bostons...or Amstaffs and any of the smaller terriers like Jack Russells is that they all have the "in your face..HELLO" way of greeting and you have to make sure that all the dogs are comfortable with that type of play before leaving them unsupervised. I have many friends that have pits/Amstaffs that get along famously with the smaller dogs in the house. I think proper introductions and reasonable supervision and everything should be fine....and help your wife learn to be a bit more assertive with the dogs, it will be empowering for her.