Staffies and the like

I see Paul O'Grady is speaking up for Staffies and pointing out that it's the owners that are at fault if the dog is violent. I agree with that up to a point - I was on the bus recently with a (very) young mum, child in pushchair and unusually large staffie, and she was talking to another staffie owner about how docile they were, and how hers put up with her little girl kicking it in the ***** - now there's a nasty incident waiting to happen. And I was walking my dogs recently when an enormous husky, which seems to be the most fashionable breed of essentially less dog more wolf of the moment, came bounding up and nearly crushed my puppy, growling all the while, while the (large) owner struggled to catch up with it - 'he's a puppy' she yelled - great comfort for mine! At the end of the day, given that the best tempered and well-trained of dogs may still be unpredictable, why do people choose breeds that are going to do you a serious mischief, if not kill you, if they turn for any reason?

Re: Staffies and the like

I agree with you Rose.
I don't have dogs I have cats but if I did have a dog I would make sure
it was socialised and trained to be obedient.
What I cant understand is why they don't make them wear a muzzle outside. Its not nice I know but in the case of the bigger maybe more
aggressive dogs it would be safer for others.
I have heard that excuse so much about it being a puppy. I remember walking on a field with no dog, but a big Labrador came running towards
me. It was wagging its tail but it just didn't stop the speed it was going and I turned to the side and its whole body wacked into my hip and knocked me over. The owner did say she was sorry but had I been a child or elderly with Osteoporosis I would have been really injured.

Re: Staffies and the like

It's not the staffies I am so worried about but the larger crosses they are creating mastiff/staffie is popular here and they are fearsome creatures with very little of the docility of a staffie. The one here nearly killed my old Mollie, attacked her and even when she was submitting terrified still bit and gouged her stomach so badly the vet was amazed she survived. Ruined her last year of life as our beautiful happy friendly girls became so fearful and unhappy if we tried to take her out.

Have met nice and nasty staffies but they are big enough they don't need to be the size of a mastiff with the strength and temperament it creates.

Re: Staffies and the like

That's so sad Julie how awful for you to have your memories of Molly spoiled like that. And I quite agree, whatever size they are, it's the jaw power that counts - once they lock on, that's it.

Re: Staffies and the like

Some people put more thought into chosing a two week holiday than they do chosing a suitable breed of dog they are likely to have for around 14 years .
People chose dogs because they have seen one and " it looked nice " or a neighbours dog has pups and they get one and various other completely silly reasons .
A lot of people have access to the internet and there is absolutely no excuse for not researching the breed you like .
Staffies are nice dogs but when you look at a lot of people who have them you realise that right from the start they have no chance .

Re: Staffies and the like

In my town, quite often the staffie comes along with the female with the shell suit and baby in pushchair. It's a junkie must have.

It's such a shame as I've known some lovely wee staffies.

Re: Staffies and the like

Any dog, even the smallest one, has the potential to be aggressive if not properly trained. The trouble is so many people think once they've brought a dog into their home that's where their responsibility ends, when in fact it's just beginning. Dogs don't train themselves, you need time patience and money to have a well balanced and sociable dog.

I'm in my 70's and own a 16 month old Shar-Pei and a year old Miniature Schnauzer and I'm under no illusions that if I neglected their "education" I could have two potentially aggressive dogs on my hands. Twice a week I do the 3 hour round trip to take them for training with a qualified Police dog trainer and handler. There they learn to socialise with other dogs of all ages and sizes as well as people both young and old, but most importantly they're taught to do "as they're told" the first time they're told! I've no ambitions for either of them to be "Alpha dogs" ... I'll be content with two PC Plods ... but I do want to be able to take them anywhere knowing, as far as is humanly possible, that I can rely on them to behave themselves.

Re: Staffies and the like

While I do agree completely the problem is a small dog will rarely kill whereas a bigger dog can not just kill other dogs but people too.

Re: Staffies and the like

Whilst it may seem unfair to demonise a particular breed, it is hard to ignore the fact that some breeds are more disposed to certain traits than others, and for all the good qualities that staffies may have, it is all too common for mixed breeds used as attack or fighting dogs to have some Staffordshire Bull Terrier mixed in them somewhere.

Re: Staffies and the like

I am a cat person who happens to quite fond of dogs as well. Staffies are nice if well trained. Not every Rottweiler is almost as scary as an angry woman with PMT. Dogs need to be trained and if I had my way the genes us dumb humans bred into certain breeds should be bred out. And some human owners should be stopped from breeding and I do not mean dogs.