The Best Dogs for Men

Despite its visual similarities to "bully breeds," which often have a negative connotation, the Staffordshire bull terrier has a friendly, mild temperament. In fact, in Britain the breed is nicknamed "nanny dog" for its sweet, gentle nature around children. Muscularly build and with a high energy level, it requires a good deal of space and exercise, though not as much as, say, a herding dog.

Chew on This
Staffordshire bull terriers, like other bully breeds, descend from ancient mastiff-type dogs called Molossians. By the 1800s, as hunters were using early versions of these breeds for bull- and bearbaiting, breeders eliminated aggressive tendencies toward humans. After all, the last thing an owner wanted was a dog that could potentially turn on him while trying to retrieve it from a precarious situation.