Fed up with people slagging off my new Staffy pup!

BigBlackcat

staffy wrote: »

I have 2 small children and we have a staffy. The most caring and dosile pet there is. The kids jump all over him ride on him and he just does not care and I would trust him 100%. It is all down to the way the dogs are treated in the first place.

This bothers me no end. Just as dangerous as the irresponsible dog owners are the complacent ones..

scheming_gypsy

words..... on........ the....... internet......

It could be a lot less drastic than it reads,

Person_one

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

words..... on........ the....... internet......

It could be a lot less drastic than it reads,

Hopefully.

Words on the internet are all we have to go on here though, its ok to take them at face value!

mumof3kids

just my 2p worth but... i completely agree with the person that said you'll have to develop a thick skin. i have 2 staffies (or a staffordshire bull terrier! doesn't matter what you call them!), one bought from a breeder and 1 we got from an RSPCA rescue. they are the most loving and docile dogs i have ever had and thats with 3 small children in the house.
i've seen people cross the road from us when i'm out walking them through fear and stigma of this breed.
i used to work in a vets and the majority of dog bites we had in there was chihuahua's, yorkies and jack russell's but that doesn't make good reading in the local rag..DOES IT?
i'm sick of people saying they're a ticking time bomb, etc when all dogs are capable of doing damage.
it's only ignorant people that don't know better that say "they're dangerous dogs" "oooh wouldn't have those round my kids" .
we need to educate people about these dogs, do you know there are only 2 breeds recognised by the kennel club as being good with children? and that is labradors and staffies! killer dogs eh?
its not the dogs we need to frightened of, its the owners!!

zaksmum

mumof3kids wrote: »

just my 2p worth but... i completely agree with the person that said you'll have to develop a thick skin. i have 2 staffies (or a staffordshire bull terrier! doesn't matter what you call them!), one bought from a breeder and 1 we got from an RSPCA rescue. they are the most loving and docile dogs i have ever had and thats with 3 small children in the house.
i've seen people cross the road from us when i'm out walking them through fear and stigma of this breed.
i used to work in a vets and the majority of dog bites we had in there was chihuahua's, yorkies and jack russell's but that doesn't make good reading in the local rag..DOES IT?
i'm sick of people saying they're a ticking time bomb, etc when all dogs are capable of doing damage.
it's only ignorant people that don't know better that say "they're dangerous dogs" "oooh wouldn't have those round my kids" .
we need to educate people about these dogs, do you know there are only 2 breeds recognised by the kennel club as being good with children? and that is labradors and staffies! killer dogs eh?
its not the dogs we need to frightened of, its the owners!!

But it's true to say that every time we read about a child being savaged by a dog, it's almost always a staffie.

scheming_gypsy

zaksmum wrote: »

But it's true to say that every time we read about a child being savaged by a dog, it's almost always a staffie.

because staffies have a bad reputation so it makes a better story. You don't often read about somebody getting savaged by a poodle because it won't be sensationalised with paragraph after paragraph about illegal dog fighting etc etc etc.
It's always 'Kid gets mauled by devil dog' followed by the same picture of a snarling staffy... that dog must be more famous than Lassie the amount of times it's appeared in stories.
"Kid gets mauled by pet poodle" doesn't make interesting reading as they can only follow it up with a paragraph on them having stupid hair cuts and being bred to labradors to be hypo allergenic.

xxlaurissaxx

Op I know exactly how you feel. I was dog sitting a staffy x sharpei and the looks I got from people was astonishing! I had people tutting at me and giving me dirty looks because I was walking him in a posh area and he didnt fit in with there precious pedigree's! I had the biggest sarcastic smile on my face at one couple as their dalmation was determined to get to my dog, pulling and barking but he just ignored it and walked past. They had tutted at me the evening before
He is the most loyal, loving, extremely well behaved, well trained and friendly dog I have ever met. He was on a lead at all times, although he is great off the lead, but I didnt want to give people heart attacks if they seen him off the lead :rotfl:

As people said, you have to have a thick skin, and show people how well behaved and well trained your dog will be. Ignore what everyone says and enjoy your dog. Dont care about anyone else. Some people will never change their mind on Staffys and always see them as a dangerous dog, not everyone will like your dog but just make sure you enjoy your new dog!!!!

dizziblonde

With the "man savaged by poodle" example - there's also the issue of who exactly is going to go to the local paper with the story that they've been attacked by a poodle/chiuhaua/something equally embarassing sounding - because it makes them sound a bit daft. Staffies though - reputation for fierce evil killer dogs = you can go give your story without worrying the rest of the planet thinks you're a daft herbert.

The Daily Mail in the last few months used the same stock photo of a Staffy-type dog in about 5 articles, including one which was a dog-attack by a completely different breed altogether!

scheming_gypsy

xxlaurissaxx wrote: »

Op I know exactly how you feel. I was dog sitting a staffy x sharpei and the looks I got from people was astonishing! !

the 'funniest' thing about that is that they'd be looking down on the staffy but shar pei's aren't exactly the most placid dogs.

screamer

I've been brought up with dogs. I was born into a family with a border collie. He literally gave his life protecting me. My nan had 2 ex police dogs, GSDs, and again very protective but so lovely. In my foster home we had a lab who once bit a child, but this child had tried to climb onto my dog's back and was using his ears as a teething ring. Next door but one had a massive rotty who'd bark and bark until someone went up to the gate to say hi. Since then I've had close contact with many breeds including dobermans, rotties, staffies, yorkies, akitas and pretty much any dog with a bad rep and the ONE AND ONLY time I've been bitten was when I saw a westie running down a road heading straight for a car coming up the road. I grabbed the dog which then turned and bit my face. Apparently, the dog had escaped because it had just got a good hiding for biting the hand of an 18 month old baby.

Next door has 2 staffies, the couple over the road have one. One of them next door was abused as a puppy and they took him in. He is sooooooo adorable that I wish I'd found him first. He remembers nothing of his former life, bless him. As for the one over the road, he takes his ball to the year old toddler, waits for her to throw it then brings it back each and every time. The giggles that can be heard emanating from this tiny little girl would melt even the coldest of hearts.

My next door neighbours moved in a few months ago after doing a house swap. The abused staffy used to belong to the people they swapped with. Before they even moved in the whole street was terrified of the "Devil Dog" due to having lived near him before. All this sweet little dog needed was a good home and now he's got it, he's the star of the street, and that's no joke. He's a big strapping dog, barks a bit, and because he's on a chain some people walk past tutting at him. if they bothered to ask the owner why he's on a chain, they'll find it's simply because the council won't repair the gate and fence so the dog can easily escape. The owner doesn't want to run the risk of the dog going wandering so they keep him on a chain, which stretches the full length of the garden.

I'm with others who say ignore the people who have negative things to say about your puppy. Bring little Molly up right and you'll have an incredible dog for many, many years.

Oh, and we want pictures :-)

ETA, my cat is absolutely adorable, I love her to pieces, but she unnerves me more than ANY dog I've ever crossed paths with!