Staffie V Greyhound??

lisawood78

arlybarly wrote: »

Staffies on the other hand are usually uncontrollable thuggish dogs used by chavs to try and look cool,thats why every other dog in the rescues is a staff or cross staff.

What a ridiculous comment to make.
Yes Staffs are used by 'Chavs' to make themselves look tough, and have gained a bad rep from this, but even then most of the ones you see are simply walking sullenly on the end of their chain or rope leads as if to say, get me away from this moron!
I know a lot of Staffs and think they are a wonderful breed, loving, loyal, obedient and intelligent! They are not always the most dog friendly, but adore their people and would make a great pet for many.
The reason there are a lot of staffs in rescue is because people take them on as a status symbol, and either get bored and move on, or think what a great idea it would be to breed this great dog, as everyone loves a cute puppy.
Hence the rescue overload.
All IMHO.

With regards to Greyhounds and cats, we had a cat who was killed by an ex racer. NOT the dogs fault, the garden wasn't secure, he went for a wander and instinct took over, so just be aware as stated above any fencing needs to be strong and high.

arlybarly

The reason i said that about staffs is every one i seem to meet on my walks decide they would look nice around my Daisy's throat. I am very wary of these dogs more than any other because they are not good with other dogs. An example, a few weeks ago my dd 15 took my girlie for a walk and on the way back encountered 2 of these off the lead and yes they chased her, luckily she had the sense to run into the shop and phone me. These 2 staffs were after blood and they were charging the glass to try and get into poor Daisy. When my ds went to rescue her she was hysterical and really scared for her safety, he ended up carrying Daisy home to keep her away from these things. The dogs were with a group of kids who seemed quite elated that their dogs didnt like other dogs and told us so.

Another incident was i was over the field with DH and my other dog scruff on the leads and another staff came out of nowhere and tried to attack my 2 again, the o0wner came over and had to wrestle her dog to the floor and lie on top of it so we could get away and she said he isnt good with other dogs. So no, i absolutely detest staffs because of the problems i have had with them.

hethmar

arly, its the owners, not the dog. As you have said above, the dogs involved were with a bunch of kids who have no doubt baited and trained the poor animals to be aggressive. We have had staffs dumped with ciggie burns on their faces, acid on their bodies - no doubt out of frustration that said dogs would not be aggressive enough for the morons who wanted them as a weapon on a chain.

hethmar

OP, there are thousands of dogs in rescue. I think she needs to go to a rescue and see what would match her personality and situation. A mongrel with a proven track record would be just as wonderful.

The fences will need to be 6 feet for a home check Im afraid.

susieb

I think it would be better to talk to a rescue and explain your home and see what they suggest rather than just pick a breed and go for that.
Look on http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php theres a whole section on dogs looking for homes, with history and what the dogs are like.

Jellicat

I agree with susieb the best thing is to go along and see which dog steals her heart! Obviously you have to be sensible, there's no point taking on a husky or another very demanding breed, but I don't think its a good idea to go with a set idea of "what you want". A set of ideas is good- ie must be good with cats, but she doesn't need to limit herself breed wise.

Greyhounds can be retrained with small furries. my friend has an ex-racing grey who was very quickly retrained with smaller critters. That said I'm sure its not always the case, the instinct is always there.

Whilst I'm appalled by ArlyBarlys comments and I think staffs are wonderful dogs, I'm not convinced they're a good idea for your friend. if she has had a natural mistrust of staffies that "wondering" is always going to be there and sometimes dogs will take advantage if it shows in her behaviour towards the dog. I'm a firm believer in molosser and bull breeds having someone firm and experienced to take their training in hand. The problems seem to come when people cannot handle them properly, not with the dogs themselves, because anyone who knows staffies knows that they will die, literally, to please their owners. So I would tell your friend to make absolutely sure she can handle the staffie if it turns out to have dog aggression issues or other problems, which sadly many do, partly because of breeding, partly because of disgusting chavlets encouraging them to go for other dogs. At the end of the day a rescue dog generally has issues and she needs to be aware of them. If she thinks she can handle a staff though there are plenty of lovely ones looking for homes, its just the impression I got from what you said!

Arlybarly, judging a whole breed of dog from a couple of bad encounters is hardly fair. I have been bitten by a border collie, a terrier, a springer spaniel (my own, in fact) and a labrador but I don't write them all off because of it. The people you are on about are just examples of extremely idiotic and irresponsible owners. At the end of the day if their dog is dog aggressive (and yes some staffies are), then you try your hardest to retrain AND you keep your dog on the leash at all times. You can't blame the dogs for what's been bred into them for generations (and in fact good training mostly will prevent this), its the owners that are at fault. We only have one aggressive staff near us, all the others are soft as muck and love playing with our dogs. In fact our lab cross Snoop is far more of a danger as he is massive and bounces all over other dogs wanting to play, not realising how big he is.

foreign_correspondent

arlybarly wrote: »

Greyhounds are usually beautiful dogs but quite lazy and dont mind lying around on the settee while the owners are at work. Staffies on the other hand are usually uncontrollable thuggish dogs used by chavs to try and look cool,thats why every other dog in the rescues is a staff or cross staff.

.. lots of people have exactly the same perceptions of german shepherds and their owners - surely as a GSD breeder you must have come across this attitude...?

BIG dogs make a statement about their owners. There is a theory that the pets we choose reflect or compensate for some part of our character, and in this context, owning a big, tough dog says a lot. Big dogs frighten and intimidate. Partly, this is because of media coverage of serious attacks by particular breeds. Partly, it is because of the humans associated with such dogs. The Rottweiler, Staffordshire bull terrier, the pitbull and the German shepherd are such breeds.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/love-me-love-my-devil-dog-1.836733

lisawood78

Interesting theory on Big dogs, although our breed is not listed above we have one of the largest breeds imagineable, and people do cross the road not to walk past them. Which makes me smile, as they are the daftest, soppiest most gentle creatures you could meet.

Ooops sorry op, going off topic.
I agree with whats been said above, go visit a rescue centre, talk to the people there and go from there, fence height may well be an issue though.

Rev

arlybarly wrote: »

Greyhounds are usually beautiful dogs but quite lazy and dont mind lying around on the settee while the owners are at work. Staffies on the other hand are usually uncontrollable thuggish dogs used by chavs to try and look cool,thats why every other dog in the rescues is a staff or cross staff.

It's hardly the dogs fault of it's owner trains it to attack other dogs is it? Perhaps your assumptions should be directed at the other end of the lead. The dog will do as it's trained to do, just like yours does, it's just that you trained your differently to the chav with the staffy. You said yourself the kids were happy their dog chased yours, so now that dog will get affirmation that that is the correct way to behave. How is that the dogs fault?

Yes you may have had bed experiences with them, I've been bitten by more than one Jack Russell, do I slam the breed as a whole now? No, I assume the owners of the dogs I've had problems with should have trained their dogs better.

I've have two staffys, they're not to make me look cool, I got them because staffys are brilliant with people, mine are also fantastic with dogs, because I've trained than that way, socialised them properly etc, just as you should with any dog.

It's people like you that make sure staffys keep their bad name and end up in rescue or worse.

arlybarly

I knew id get really slagged off for having a go about Staffies BUT these are only a couple of incidences i have had along with a few others to do with this vile breed. The staff episode wasnt chavvy kids either, the owner was a woman who was so appologetic about her dog trying to rip Daisys throat out i almost felt sorry for her. Yes they are probably good with people they know but this breed is renown for not liking other dogs. They should be muzzled and kept on a short lead and also speyed so they dont reproduce anymore unwanted offspring to fill the dog rescues up.