Fed up with people slagging off my new Staffy pup!

krlyr

Glossed over the arguing but just wanted to put my two pennies in. I own a GSD and a Rottie x. I like to wear hoodies and jogging bottoms, because they've comfy (and, quite frankly, practical when you live in farmland with two hairy dogs. Good jeans and nice knitted cardigans wouldn't last 5 minutes before they were covered in mud, fur and ripped holes! Skinnyjeans do not make for good dog walking trousers, leggings would look silly with my dog walking shoes, and a hoody is a lot easier to carry when I get too warm from being silly and chasing the dogs around in play than a posh coat!). I happen to look at least 5 years younger than I am (I will be grateful when I'm older, I'm sure!). So the immediate assumption is that I'm a chavvy young girl with two "status dogs". You get used to negative reactions, to people shouting abuse at you, telling you your dog should be muzzled even when it's because your dog is terrified of other dogs but kept suitably restrained and it was the other person's off-lead dog approaching you with no owner in sight. People crossing the road (many seem to prefer walking the poorly lit road on the side with no pavement, risking on-coming cars, than passing by the dogs), dragging their kids away, turning 180 degrees and literally fleeing from you. It bugged me at first but really, what am I missing out on? Who cares, it doesn't really affect my life (well, bar the shrieking woman who decided to chase after me calling me rude names because I'd asked her politely to put her dog on-lead so me and my scaredy-cat dog could pass, that was a bit annoying).
You'll get people giving you "the look", you'll get people with their ignorant attitudes, but hey - you have a loyal friend who will give you many happy years. Remember that, train her to be an ambassador of her breed. Prove them wrong by raising a soppy, loving Staffie who's well socialised and fantastic with people, just like most of the breed are.
It sounds silly but if it really bugs you, buy her a pink collar and lead and make her wear flowery coats - it's crazy how you get a different reaction because of simple things like that but it really works, I use a headcollar for my Rottie x because of her tendancy to lunge after squirrels, and the fact it's baby pink makes people much more likely to approach. I fostered a Rottie at Christmas and everyone was giggling at her bright pink coat - but it made a change from running a mile the opposite way! People are fickle and don't let it get to you. You could always sign up to a dog forum to find some local dog owners who'd be happy to meet up with you - I found some local walks of GSD owners and it was nice to be able to take my two along without worrying about any judgement, so that might be worth looking into

HAMMIEHOO

krlyr wrote: »

It sounds silly but if it really bugs you, buy her a pink collar and lead and make her wear flowery coats - it's crazy how you get a different reaction because of simple things like that but it really works, I use a headcollar for my Rottie x because of her tendancy to lunge after squirrels, and the fact it's baby pink makes people much more likely to approach. I fostered a Rottie at Christmas and everyone was giggling at her bright pink coat - but it made a change from running a mile the opposite way! People are fickle and don't let it get to you. You could always sign up to a dog forum to find some local dog owners who'd be happy to meet up with you - I found some local walks of GSD owners and it was nice to be able to take my two along without worrying about any judgement, so that might be worth looking into

Great suggestion, we had a lovely pink studded collar for our wee Zoe. It did get a great reaction, hubby hated it and we have since changed it to a black leather one. We did for a short time have a fluorescent harness for her, that was binned after more than one person asked if she was training to be a guide dog:D I have never seen a staffie guide dog, maybe there's an opening there?

BigBlackcat

Gorgeous puppy OP!

lisawood78

Welshwoofs wrote: »

Op - believe me, my dog can draw the flak away from your Staffie in an instant. I have a Neapolitan Mastiff and there's no 'in between' reactions. On the SAME day I've had a hoarde of Japanese tourists lining up to take a photo of him and a woman literally dragging her children across a busy road with a look of horror rather than walk past us.

A few years ago it was the horror reactions that used to annoy me.....I'm actually now getting to the point where I quite like those reactions because at least it means we can get on with our walk, because the other end of the scale reactions take up a good 10 minutes of question answering. I keep thinking I should get a laminated board to hang round his neck which reads:

"About 12 stone"
"Yes you could probably put a saddle on me, but why would you"
"As big as a horse? Gosh that's a new one"
"Yes I do eat a lot....unsurprisingly"
"Who's walking who? Well it's a mutual thing"
"Yes I do take up a lot of space, but no I don't live in a huge house"
"About 8 years if I'm lucky"
"The clue's in the name NEAPOLITAN Mastiff...where do you think I come from?"
"War. Fighting. Gladiatorial combat"
"Yes my feet are as big as your hands..."
"Yes 'gentle giants' is a cliche, but there's often truth in those"
"Yes I do drool a lot, you did bring tissues....right?"
"Poached chicken, salmon and kibble"
"Very expensive, yes"
"No this is a usual colour and it's called 'blue'"

WW, I could also use this sign on my 3!
I have 3 Great Danes and suffer most of the same comments as you, the saddle, the horse, yes they are walking me blah blah, I also get Oh look, Scooby doo and (of the spotty merle) oooh a dalmatian!
We also have the extremes of reaction, people either cringing in fear as we walk past (with the dogs taking no notice of them) or charging over for a cuddle and a chat.

OP, you pup is gorgeous. You will need to grow a thick skin and just shrug off the negativity, carry on with the training and socialisation as soon as you can and make your pup a doggy citizen to be proud of so you can say up yours to the haters.

dizziblonde

On the big dog front - the dog class we go to has three great danes in... my poor greyhound was incredibly and utterly confused when confronted with these creatures - she's kind of figured out that dogs come in small varieties now... but extra large?! Her poor brain nearly overloaded!

Gingham_R

dizziblonde wrote: »

On the big dog front - the dog class we go to has three great danes in... my poor greyhound was incredibly and utterly confused when confronted with these creatures - she's kind of figured out that dogs come in small varieties now... but extra large?! Her poor brain nearly overloaded!

You're just reminded me of when my son was a baby. He saw a large dog (great dane I think) and signed 'dog' to me. Then he saw a Jack russell following and he looked confused and signed 'dog' again. I nodded and told him that was a dog too. Then he looked at both the dogs and how different they were and cracked out laughing.

yorkshire_laura

Ravenlady wrote: »

I dont have a dog because I dont trust my ds not to drag it around by its ears yet, If I were to get one i wouldn't opt for a staffy because they do get bad press and the what iff's would be on my mind all the time. I know jack russels are nippy little sods but I could easily fend a snappy jack off with my foot, can I do that with a staffy? No. Is it likely to happen? Probably not. Would I ever forgive myself if it did? Not a chance.

I am in love with springers, I had a complete dope of a springer as a child, luckily my brother has one and we get to borrow her.

I have a staffy who is the so loving never seen her agressive where as my sister had a jack russell who bit her and her ex bf (and went for my dog once) and they couldnt just fend it off with there feet so just because a jack russell is smaller could do as much damage.

elsien

Gingham_R wrote: »

You're just reminded me of when my son was a baby. He saw a large dog (great dane I think) and signed 'dog' to me. Then he saw a Jack russell following and he looked confused and signed 'dog' again. I nodded and told him that was a dog too. Then he looked at both the dogs and how different they were and cracked out laughing.

Must be the shape of mutt's head and that I always use a halti, but I am constantly amazed by the number of young children who are absolutely convinced she is a small horse. The parent's faces as the kids announce it are a joy to behold.

Superbiatch

HAMMIEHOO wrote: »

I would completely agree with that, the best balls that wee have found for our wee zoe is the ones that you get out of the machines in the supermarket for £1, usually with characters on them e.g. spongebob, disney etc. They don't last forever but they certainly last a lot longer than the tennis balls (bag with different coloured balls) you get in Pets at Home. Our pooch destroyed them with one munch.

This reminds me of when ours was a pup and we used to walk him along the path next to the golf course. When he'd find a golf ball he'd take great pleasure in peeling them, on more than one occasion we had to run off quick as golfers were looking for their balls

He's lost a few teeth now due to his age, but he still loves a good chew and I buy him one squeaky toy a week which he takes great pleasure in destroying and then flicking the squeak off his tongue - you'd be amazed how many chewed up squeaky toys he has!

HAMMIEHOO wrote: »

I have never seen a staffie guide dog, maybe there's an opening there?

I'd like mine to have been a PAT dog like what they use in rehabilitation. Over the years he's nursed many family members back to good health including MIL who has suffered heart attacks and had knee replacements putting her in bed for many weeks. He's also helped a few people I know overcome their fear of dogs - can you guess I'm a proud owner??

candygirl

elsien wrote: »

Must be the shape of mutt's head and that I always use a halti, but I am constantly amazed by the number of young children who are absolutely convinced she is a small horse. The parent's faces as the kids announce it are a joy to behold.

I used to use haltis on my labs, and lots of idiots though they were muzzles:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Can't fit them on my staffies short noses;);):D