Absolutely love the breed. Had a cross breed boy (with springer spaniel) years ago but he was hugely reactive to other dogs and this made for a stressful existence for both us and him. This was despite socialisation as a puppy. Perfectly well trained and affectionate dog otherwise. In hindsight, he was quite a timid puppy and we stupidly followed the advice of other people and had him castrated at about 7/8 months. I’m sure the lack of testosterone then led to the escalation in his reactivity.
We’re not in a position to get a dog now, but would love to in the future. I’ve tried asking SBT breeders their opinions on the dog aggression trait, but they’re not being direct in their answers. We would get a bitch to try and reduce the chances and would do all puppy classes/socialising as good owners should.
So, from any SBT owners, any experience of dog friendly ones? We don’t need a social butterfly, just really wouldn’t want to go down the muzzle/behaviourist/isolated walks route again.