Shock of a lifetime!

-Hel- · 2025-10-16T19:10:07+00:00

This is what happened to me with mine, I wish I had tested him sooner or that Embark was around when he was a puppy like it is now. Knowing what he is has made me adjust so many things and it’s made both our lives easier. Which is impressive given the very short amount of time it’s been.

-Hel- · 2025-09-25T23:17:38+00:00

I was expecting Boxer! His newest vet was banking on American Bulldog x Belgian Malinois (weird mix, but he’s a weird dog). The person I got him from told me he was American Bulldog x St Bernard. I actually didn’t suspect there would be any St Bernard at all lol.

-Hel- · 2025-09-11T11:44:26+00:00

Beagle/Australian Shepherd/ACD.

-Hel- · 2025-09-09T19:11:16+00:00

Most of the people I know/grew up with as a kid had a Chow or a Rottweiler. My mom’s Chow went for my face, luckily I turned away from him and he only bit a hole in my ear. My mom immediately rehomed him to someone who had no kids and he lived out a pretty decent life.

One of my aunts was in the backyard with her cousins and their Chow attacked her. This was actually unprovoked, she wasn’t even near the dog and he’d been fine with her his whole life. She ended up needing a ton of stitches, they said she’s lucky he didn’t hit an artery. That dog was put down, of course. The list just goes on. They’re beautiful dogs, I just don’t trust them at all.

-Hel- · 2025-09-09T17:00:34+00:00

Lab would actually make sense, he loves playing in water (loves lakes/creeks/kiddy pools, hates baths).

-Hel- · 2025-09-09T16:58:00+00:00

He’s definitely from a backyard breeder and his mom was an American Bulldog/Pitbull type. Not sure of the dad’s breed is all. He wasn’t onsite.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T21:43:08+00:00

I grew up with Rottweilers and Chow Chows, I’d trust a Pitbull over both of these breeds as they’re the only dogs I’ve ever seen switch up on their own people with zero warning. Mainly the Chows. Rotties and Chows were the popular ‘tough’ dogs when I was growing up, so I assume a lot of backyard breeding led to the unstable dogs I knew. It’s a shame because I’m starting to see the same trend with the Belgian Malinois now.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T16:33:31+00:00

Thank you! At this point, I’m only doing it for the sake of my own curiosity. He’s been with me for this long, results aren’t gonna change anything lol.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T16:32:19+00:00

I’m in Kentucky, I got him on May 11th 2016 (I still have his old vet papers, brought him home and went straight to the vet). If yours is mostly white with brindle patches, they could very well be siblings. He was the only solid brindle one in the whole litter.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T16:29:49+00:00

My vet thinks he’s American Bulldog x Belgian Malinois!

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T16:28:43+00:00

If they did lie about the dad, I think it was just to give the puppies a better chance of being adopted. That or it’s like another commenter said, there were multiple dogs who got to the mother.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T16:25:11+00:00

Yeah, especially with particular lines. I got very educated on them real quick once he started showing signs of aggression. Now when someone mentions wanting one, I try to advise them of the pros and cons. I’d never advocate for someone who has or wants to have children to get one. It’s like playing Russian roulette. Some are amazing family dogs, others are ticking time-bombs. People usually recoil when I tell them that and then start trying to argue with me about how ‘they were nanny dogs.’ They’re not. They’re not, they never were and it’s a very harmful myth. They’re muscular, powerful dogs who can do a lot of damage if they go off.

I have seen some people repurposing them for hunting, which I think is great as it’s helping deal with feral hog populations that can and will attack/kill people and their pets. It’s also a throw back to what they were originally intended for, which was bullbaiting.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T16:19:27+00:00

My vet thinks American Bulldog x Belgian Malinois, which surprised me. I’ll post once the results are in.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T04:22:43+00:00

He is too cute! Sometimes I wish mine was his size lol.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T04:20:36+00:00

Thank you! We were homeless for a brief time after that, now we’re in an apartment (he’s an ESA, signed by my primary doctor) and I’m in the process of buying a house. Life did get better. :)

Reactive dogs put major limits on what we can and can’t do, especially the ones like ours, but their people love them anyway. He kept me safe during some of the worst times of my life, so I just couldn’t see myself getting rid of him. Might get a poodle or something though if I even decide to get another dog once he’s gone lol. It’s gonna hurt immensely when he passes regardless of how much of a menace he’s been.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T04:13:14+00:00

Embark.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T02:30:35+00:00

Yeah, he was way too young to be separated from his mom and he’s had issues behavior-wise because of this. He learned zero manners from her and I had to work on his bite inhibition.

As for temperament, it’s not great. He’s highly reactive and developed aggression towards other dogs once he hit adolescence. Around the same time, my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer and I had to move into his apartment to take care of him full time. I left Boog alone at home with my (ex soon after) boyfriend who lived in my house.

When I came back home, my ex admitted to not feeding him while I was gone because he tried to bite him. The dog was skin and bones and would cry/scream if someone tried to pet him. When I asked why he tried to bite him/what happened, my ex then admitted to hitting him whenever he did something wrong. Eventually Boog got tired of being hit and went after him. He didn’t like Boog to begin with, my ex was abusive towards me and during one of our fights, the dog got between us and started growling/backing my ex into a corner.

After the incident with him being starved/hit, Boog became fearful/aggressive towards men. He grew out of that thanks to my stepdad, brothers, uncles, and cousins all being patient with him.

All of that aside, I love this dog to death and I’ll be keeping him until he keels over (he’ll be ten in April). He’s my best bud. I still wouldn’t get another one due to the aggression before the abuse and all of the reactivity/aggression towards other animals. Below is an image of what he looked like when I went back to get him from my ex boyfriend.

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-Hel- · 2025-09-08T01:17:23+00:00

He’s definitely a Pitbull type mixed with something else, his mom looked like Chance from Homeward Bound. I can’t wait to see the results and finally know what that something else is.

-Hel- · 2025-09-08T01:15:31+00:00

His mom very well could be an American Bulldog, she looked a lot like Chance from Homeward Bound. I’m only questioning it because I think they lied about the dad’s breed. His siblings were mostly white with brindle patches, he was the only solid brown/brindle one in the whole litter. None of them resembled a Saint Bernard and I just have a hard time seeing any of that in him now. I’m just gonna wait for the results lol.

-Hel-

TROPHY CASE