Is it possible to cross a pitbull/ staff type dog with something bigger? Only reason I ask is my nephew and I were walking in France about 15 years ago when this man came along with this dog on a leash. My nephew said it was the biggest pitbull he'd ever seen. We stroked it and it was wagging it's tail . Neither of us are fluent enough in French to ask what type of dog it was . We tried and the FRenchman kept thinking we were asking the dogs name. As we didn't know word for type/kind/breed. It had all the pitbull features but was much bigger and looked leaner and faster. I'd put the dogs weight at around 10 stone. To this day it's always puzzled me as to what the hell it was.
They use American Bulldogs and Dogue De Bordeaux to hunt wild boar in the sticks in France, they use others but you will have seen some cross as others mentioned. It will have been a local crossbreed bred specifically for jobs in that area most likely as the French are very proud of their dogs and they keep strict bloodlines.
When i say strict i don't mean to what silly sods like crufts would call strict, they breed for the best traits, silent pads, track silently when commanded etc.
So chances are you were near large areas of wooded land or one of the farmers who use these dogs sold a pup to someone from a litter he had.
I say that due to the obvious logic that boar hunting requires strong jaws (from trackers and holders) to grip it before they send in the Johnson American Bulldogs (they grip it proper before their master dispatches the quarry).
That and that is where my boy originated (boar hunting dog), he is my best mate and listens to my command above anything. He does not need it though unless you are a cat shitting in his garden.
On topic again... yeah these dogs can be beyond "giant" in some places and France is one of the sources of these dogs. The father of my dog was 100% johnson (short muzzle, huge neck and chest) from a boar hunting line from France.
Offer him a cuddle and he will love you forever, raise a hand to me and he will certainly ruin your weekend. I think this rule applies to many dogs but very much so for the type of breed you encountered.
Sorry for the long reply but i felt you were looking for something more that "aliens" :-)
