Whats your opinions on staffys?

blacksabbeth

blacksabbeth

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Hi i was wondering what your opinions are on staffys,i currently own two and love the breed to bits,but recently with all the bad press i was wondering what your views were and whether they were anyones cup of tea.And would you class them as good with children?
 
I don't do staffs, cos they are mad:D but speaking as a rescue rep, you really could not ask for a better family pet, they are highly sociable, tough enough for kiddy rough and tumble without getting irritated as easily:D, I have never come across an aggressive staff, maybe with dogs when they have not been socialised but never with humans, they are very affectionate, jsut a bit like a bull in a china shop at times, not for me but nice dogs all the same, my sis has a lovely one.
 
Lol,you hit the nail right on the head,my two are like a pair of muscular rhinos around the house!they are absolutely fab with my son who is a toddler,i find that by me takin them for a 15 min run in the morning and taking them out with me on the bike in the afternoon or late evening i can get a good bit of excersise for all of us,i got to admit my two are well trained,but at times the bully stubboness comes out,but wouldnt change them for the world.
 
My mum has a staffy who is the softest dog in the world, she's not hyper, never barks (unless my brother is play fighting with her ) and let's my two kids do anything to her, my 4 yo often tries to ride her, and my 9 month old baby is exploring her at the minute, which basically mean slots of poking, prodding and pulling. She just sits there good as gold bless her. However I never ever leave my kids alone in the room with her, same as I wouldn't with any dog, because it only takes a split second for accidents to happen.

I think you have to find the right staffy breeder when looking for a pup, we looked for ages and some of the breeders we went to just went on and on about how "big" the dad was and how "mean" he looked, that's not what we wanted in a dog and not how staffy are supposed to be. in the end we got leyla from a breeder who shows staffy and her temperment cannot be faulted, she's an angel
 
Love them!

I think the hyperness depends on the individual dog and their personality... as with all dogs though.. they need and enjoy a fair bit of exercise!

I have one and he's the most loyal dog you could ever want!!!

I however.. and this is just me... wouldn't trust him or any dog around children especially unsupervised! I know he wouldn't do anything deliberately.. but if the child hurt him its only natural for them to try to stop whatever it is that is hurting them ... etc.. etc...

I think a lot of the bad press is unprecidented... Unfortunately staffys are liked by a lot of people that probably don't put the time and effort into training them as they need or socialising them! They look like 'hard' dogs and so when in the hands of silly people that don't train them or that are irresponsible.. the dog will do something that it doens't realise is wrong!! eg.. bite a human because its angry and wants something.. something that should be taught as a puppy!!! - i'm kinda waffling but i hope you get my drift!!!

Anyways... i personally don't think its the dog as a breed i think its the dog as an individual and its normally the person that owns / hasn't trained the dog that is responsible for the dog turning 'bad' so to speak!!!

such a shame coz they are the most loving breed !
 
I don't dislike the dogs but do *sometimes* dislike the type of people they are *often* associated with. I think it's some of these stereotypical owners who give the breed a bad name. Often untrained, unsocialised and un-stimulated so they are bored, bored, bored and go on a chewing spree around the house.....to the extent they are then, unfairly, labelled destructive and re-homed.
 
My friends mum has one, it is a lovely little dog. My friends brother is 18 but his special needs and has a mental age of a 5 year old, the staffy is amazing with him. My friend is also happy to have her 9 month old little girl crawling around with the dog, the baby is determined to stand up all the time at the moment and the dog lets the baby use her as a balancer!

I am often wary of the breed, because I have only heard the bad about them, other than my friends mums dog I do not know any staffys.

My border terrier is slightly dog agressive, but he is coming on leaps and bounds with this. We are now at the point that I will let him approach and sniff other dogs (when on the lead and with the other owners permission!) but if we see a staffy I always keep well away. I know my boy would start a scrap if the mood took him and a staffy could demolish him verrrrry quickly!
 
Love em, not always the brightest stars in the sky, but they have a great attitude and have the reputation now that GSDs used to have a decade ago. Usually, totally unfounded.
 
My only gripe with Staffies is the noise they make - my childhood friend's mum bred and showed them and I dreaded going round to their house because when the dogs were excited they would scream, yammer and whine exactly like naughty spoiled children. :p
 
My father had staffies from when he qualified as a vet, brought down his bitch who'd had a litter in the back of his car on his coat when he and my Mum moved down from Scotland to Somerset (late 1940s) and they had staffies the rest of their lives - only 1 at at time. The dogs were interesting... we had a cat killer and a runaway which eventually sadly ended up drowning itself in the fountain at the local park but the bitches were all lovely - in my time at home we had two and were the most even tempered and great family dogs (my sister and I were tiny with the first one and the last one we had died when I was in my early 20s). I think their press and their breeding has changed sadly somewhat since then (mid 1980s I'm talking about) but the YO where I am now has a lovely bitch and I have a work friend who has a lovely bitch too so I think it says something about what happens to this breed when they are brought up in the wrong hands how they turn out. I'd quite happily have another staffie if I could have a dog now. Very sad to see how many staffies are at the local dogs homes and all apparently with issues but I would like to think in the right hands they could be helped.
 
Ha,ha i love all of these posts,you are right every dog is different my older boy just chills out and does hes own thing,whilst my younger is a happy go lucky and loves everybody!I know that some people avoid staffys when they see them walking up the road with there dogs,but both of my two have been snapped at by smaller dogs and both just took it in there stride,lol,Both of my two do have issues with certain breeds of dogs and both of mine were attacked as puppys by a GSD and a boxer,but its only these breeds and i have well socialised my two well with other dogs,to the degree were my sister is bringing her 12 week old bulldog pup round in a couple of days to go for a walk.I have always loved the bull terrier breeds as they have massive characters,i had an english bull terrier for 14 years and was pts in 2008 due to cancer.I would never buy a dog for its image but its temperment,luckily enough my two are both handsome and funny with it,its the smiling impression that gets me,and yes they were nicknamed nanny dogs due to being good with children and still are today,if you own a bull terrier you are also called a bully owner,lol,sounds really bad.I am very impressed with myself and my boys i must say,i was called a responsible owner a few days ago,i was chuffed to bits!!Anyway i could go on and on but i wont,but lovely posts everyone.x
 
I was told the other day i would never own a staffy as i think their horrible and not what i would call a family dog!I would rather have a GSD as thats a family dog(no offense to anybody)i couldnt believe it my jaw hit the deck and i nearly fell off the chair!I was gobsmacked i did defend the staffys as wont have them slated,i said that i would never trust any other dog as much as my two unless it was another staffy,lol.
 
Going to go against the grain here a bit. I am sorry folks, but staffies aren't my kind of dog. I don't like the look of them and I have zero trust in them. This maybe because of the 'sterotypical' ''bad'' owners mind. I had 2 chase me and my dog a few years ago and quite honestly I was scared! They were not in it for play either. (bad owner though.) I have not experienced good staffies yet, so when I do I might change my mind, but for now - no thanks, please keep them at a distance!!
 
Thats a fair comment not every dog is perfect and i do agree that 99% of the time its the owners fault as to why the dog is the way it is,i have known some staffys to be dodgy but most of them were not very well bred,i.e parents temperments of the pups.Oh i while i have still got it in my mind is there any such thing as a king staff?I have never heard of this,i know you got the american staffy,britsh staffy and the minature but i have never heard of this someone tried telling me a lil while ago their dog was a king staff and i said theres no such thing?am i right or wrong?
 
A 'king', staffy?? lol lol Thats a made up breed if ever I heard one. Just a thought, the American staffordshire is no relation other than the fact it is another dog, to our Staffordshires. The United kennel club was set up by a pit bull owner to recognise pit bulls initially. Obviously the first dog registered was his own pit bull. When of pit bulls wished to register with the American Kennel club there was much discussion about the name the breed would take on that registry. After much discussion, different names proposed and rejected or indeed complained about by other breed followers the American staffordshire terrier was agreed upon. The breed was bred for type not by game testing and now they are uniform in looks whereas pit bulls can vary greatly. Am staffs as they are also know can be both registered as American staffords with the American kennel club and the same dog as a pit bull with the United kennel club.

Sorry if a bit long winded but no, there is no such thing as a King Staffy.
 
I wouldn't have one, just because they tend to be very wussy and cry a lot. According to OH, only greyhounds and whippets are worse... Quite like my relatively stoic lab, who doesn't get cold...
 
"I think their press and their breeding has changed sadly somewhat since then (mid 1980s I'm talking about)"

You just hit the nail on the head. The red top paper led scaremongering is a frighteningly powerfull weapon and I am not sure it can be ducked so to speak. The only way to combat it especially if the bad press is breed specific is with good press, happy news stories and most important of all good public relations by decent owners and there pets. Encourage positive contact with your dogs by other people when you are out and about. Happy smiles, all bubbly. I know it may sound like nonsense but if the reputation of your breed is under threat unfairly and the public are perhaps starting to be wary then all staffy owners must pull together and help themselves to overcome the problem.
Please note, I am not suggesting next time someone walks towards you and poochy you both leap on the 'victim', licking and nuzzling them and as a disclaimer if you do get arrested for such behaviour I will not take responsibility for it!! lol
Just be nice and happy. Keep your dogs safely under control when needs be and you are doing your bit.
 
Well I've experienced the best of staffies and the worst of staffies... The problem is the shear power of these dogs, when it goes wrong it goes wrong big time. But only because of the people having these dogs! The best of them are as good as any well brought up dog and are lovely!

The other problem is that the staffie attracts the wrong type of owner based on its appearance, they are easier to fit in a smaller house than a rotti etc. But they are NOT an easy breed, they need alot of socialising, exercise etc, not the sort of thing your average jo down the street is likely to put himself out to do!! Hence it can lead to problems...

Overall I like the breed, but as to whether I trust them, it is all down to the individual dog/situation..........???????
 
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