Staffies

candygirl

Ive got 2 staffies. and they are the easiest dogs I have ever had.They were trained really quickly, and are brilliant with people, and on the whole ok with other friendly dogs:D
The are easy to groom, and mine are really shiny, as they have an evening primrose tablet every day
Mine are also fab with my 8 month old DGD, although like any other dog, i'd never leave them alone with her:D
I used to have labs who chewed the whole house up, but these two aren't chewers at all:)

chatty123

We have had 2 staffies and would never have any other breed.
I just hate all the bad press lately about these dogs. What people should realise is that ANY breed of dog can be aggressive if badly treated OR as is the latest trend to rear to be aggressive as a status symbol.
Treat these dogs well and give them love and I guarantee the love wil be returned threefold. My dogs would lick you to death if i let you in the house but would most likely bite your hand off if you approached me in a threatening way.
One point is although my staffies were big soft babies and they were brought up with my children I would NEVER leave them alone in the same room with anybody elses children, because children can torment and mistreat a dog unknowingly. butthat goes for all breeds of dog. A friend has a springer spaniel who regularly snaps and growls at her toddler as the child pulls his ears and pokes him.
So staffies all the time for me and another but here. would i get one from a rescue centre if it wasn't a pup.. ?????????? i dont know

mustangsal

chatty123 wrote: »

We have had 2 staffies and would never have any other breed.
I just hate all the bad press lately about these dogs. What people should realise is that ANY breed of dog can be aggressive if badly treated OR as is the latest trend to rear to be aggressive as a status symbol.
Treat these dogs well and give them love and I guarantee the love wil be returned threefold. My dogs would lick you to death if i let you in the house but would most likely bite your hand off if you approached me in a threatening way.
One point is although my staffies were big soft babies and they were brought up with my children I would NEVER leave them alone in the same room with anybody elses children, because children can torment and mistreat a dog unknowingly. butthat goes for all breeds of dog. A friend has a springer spaniel who regularly snaps and growls at her toddler as the child pulls his ears and pokes him.
So staffies all the time for me and another but here. would i get one from a rescue centre if it wasn't a pup.. ?????????? i dont know

Well said!!!!!!!! I have had a lot of experience with various breeds of dogs, my rescue staffy was an absolute darling! soft as anything, doted on the kids. yet people would cross the street to avoid him.
I had a Lab before him, who tried to rip my throat out. yet these are promoted as family dogs.
It's true things can go wrong with any breed of dog, i think it mostly depends on how they are brought up. regardless of breed. if a dog is treated with respect you'll get respect back. i would have another staff in a heartbeat. now i have an old lurcher, she was also a rescue, and she's too old to deal with new additions i think.

tandraig

I had a springer spaniel after Anni - a lovely dog too - but not quite as good with the kids as Anni was! I wouldnt have left her alone with babies or toddlers as she wasnt as careful around them.
actually the springer nearly killed my youngest! he was sitting on the lawn and the springer was being her usual idiot self and got caught up in some washing line which i had left on ground - she then proceeded to run circles around youngest son (then aged 5) and the line went around his neck!!!!!!!!! luckily I saw what was happening and was able to detangle dog and unwind line from sons neck before he went purple - he was blue but immediately took a breath!
cant imagine Anni doing that - but the springer (Meg) was thick as two short planks!

liz545

There are quite a few things that have already been mentioned (not good with other dogs, seen as "status dogs", large litters etc), but I think money also has a bit to do with it. I think one of the reasons there are lots of staffies in rescues is that the owner gets them possibly without thinking if they can really afford the dog, and then when they get a costly vets bill, or their financial/housing situation changes, the dog has to go. In London staffs seem to be more popular with working class owners, who've been particularly affected by the credit crunch, and I think that's led to some owners having to give up their pets, through no fault of their own.

Ruby_Moon

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I have a rescue Staffy I got last year & am so against breeders, whether 'reputable' or not, how can it be right to breed these poor Dogs when thousands more must die as homes aren't available? I think quite a few get these Dogs as either they hear how good with kids they are or they want a status symbol Dog but then realise a Staffy isn't 'hard'

Mine has just qualified a few months back as a Pets as Therapy Dog, she never barks, not when the door goes, not when the post comes, never . . . she is fab with my Cat & has never harmed her, loves all people & kids & doesn't shed much so is nice & easy to groom! She will walk as much or as little as I want, if I decided to walk all day i'm sure she'd be up for it, if she has to miss a day or two (Like when she was Spayed) she's fine also. She's 100% house trained & loves travelling, her only downside is she won't tolerate other Dogs, but Foreign Correspondant & her lovely Dog Badger are coming over on Monday to help with that!

I'd never have another breed now! Also, today a guy came to sort a broken window for me & I asked him (As I do everyone I don't know) if he was ok with Dogs before he came through, he said oh yes what do you have & I said a Stafford Terrier & he was so happy & said that's what he has & he'd never have another breed either & was really happy to meet her (& Chaya him!)

If there were no breeders at all the breed will die out in 20 years, or is that what you want? You will not be able to get another Staffie nor will anyone else. Is that a selfish attitude? "I had a Staffie but now the breed has gone tough luck to everyone else"
Who decides that the breed should continue and who does it? Someone who you pick or someone who the government pick?
Breeders can only breed if people buy. If people don't buy then they don't breed.
Try as you might, you will always have people wanting a puppy, not a full grown dog...and if that isn't a Staffie, it will be something else.

Sublime_2

We've had two rescue staffies. We wanted to rehome them, rather than get a puppy, because we were aware that there were loads that needed a good home.

Our first dog, wasn't good with other dogs, (covered in scars when my OH got him), so had been mistreated in the past. He loved children though, and was calm, and good natured, and lived to a ripe old age. He used to sleep on our bed at night (as OH had always let him previously), and I always felt safe, and he kept me company when OH was away.

Our second one (we got at 3 years old), came from a good home, and loves playing with other dogs, and is really sweet. He was very enthusiastic when we got him, so we had to be firm with jumping up, etc. At 9 years old, he still acts like a puppy sometimes. He sleeps in his own little basket, and he is good with our children.

Two different personalities, but sharing the common staffy traits, of big-heartedness, loyalty, and love of children/'family'.

bramble1

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I have a rescue Staffy I got last year & am so against breeders, whether 'reputable' or not, how can it be right to breed these poor Dogs when thousands more must die as homes aren't available? I think quite a few get these Dogs as either they hear how good with kids they are or they want a status symbol Dog but then realise a Staffy isn't 'hard'

My puppy was brought to be a working dog, we couldn't have gotten him from a rescue, we had to get him from a breeder.

Paradigm

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Try as you might, you will always have people wanting a puppy, not a full grown dog...and if that isn't a Staffie, it will be something else.

Yes & I'd be one of them! I'd much rather have a puppy that can be trained to how I want it to be rather than take in a rescue with no idea of how it's been treated, the issues it has & have to spend time I don't have correcting said problems!

Much easier to start with a blank slate

While I wholeheartedly applaud anyone taking in a rescue dog they're not for me.

As for Staffies, while they are not my breed of choice I have yet to meet one that isn't friendly & well behaved. Even when out with my dogs I have yet to see one that's aggressive, the same can't be said for bloody Westies!!

tandraig

er - how can a staffie be a working dog? they were bred to fight? first bulls then other dogs. both activities are banned now. what exactly is he/she working at? or have i got your post completely wrong? bramble1?
staffies were bred as fighting dogs - but they lived with owners families - so dogs who were aggressive with kids werent bred from. or put down. this resulted in a breed which were great with people - especially kids - but aggressive towards other dogs.
my Anni was ok with other dogs unless they were aggressive - i had to intervene in a couple of occasions but she didnt actually harm the other dogs - just pinned them to ground or in one case a fence. and that was only because she and I felt threatened. she was good with other dogs - in fact - she loved this mongrel who lived up the road from us! I used to wrap up a box of markies for him every christmas (from anni) cos he used to come courting her! and she was spayed! they obviously liked each other - it was sweet to watch!