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Staffies

Glenn AGlenn A Posts: 23,877
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Please could people stop confusing this breed of dog with pit bulls that are bred for fighting and kept to make their owners look hard. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, while it's not too keen on other dogs, is a perfectly decent, placid breed of dog whose fierce appearance belies its true nature. I was looking after a Staffy yesterday and the dog was fine, being neutered tends to reduce a lot of aggression as well.
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    silentNatesilentNate Posts: 84,079
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    Sorry but the owners of these dogs aren't treating them well and I'm sick of hearing of local attacks by these dogs. I actually knew someone who died after being attacked by one of these dogs and it's time the police and the RSPCA did something about these dogs being breed for protection and fighting! :eek: :mad:
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    StressMonkeyStressMonkey Posts: 13,347
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    It is a little ironic to support one breed by slagging of another.

    Pit bulls can be lovely too. Sadly the DDA stopped responsible people from breeding good quality Pitties so all that was left was the irresponsible breeding or importing from Ireland dogs that aren't pure Pit. And, as with the Staffies, the irresponsible breeding and idiot owners have produced dogs that it is amazing still have relatively good natures, as shown by the relatively small number of attacks.
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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    Been bitten by a neighdours huge irish "staffie" and now we all have to leave our homes by the back doors so we don't run into it. We have to carry our yorkie in a crate to the car and my husband has our bigger dog over his shoulder as he runs out to the car.

    Don't try telling me they are all fantastic or cuddly some are horrible dogs.

    Time something was done about them as they seem the most prolific breeders round here we rarely see any other breeds these days.
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    Glenn AGlenn A Posts: 23,877
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    There are some irresponsible owners, but with decent owners they are good dogs. Best is if they're neutered and they become harmless.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 271
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    My boy is a staffy cross and is the soppiest sod you've ever met. Gentler even than my old springer girl. Dogs are what you train and/ or allow them to be.
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    CBFreakCBFreak Posts: 28,602
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    molliepops wrote: »
    Been bitten by a neighdours huge irish "staffie" and now we all have to leave our homes by the back doors so we don't run into it. We have to carry our yorkie in a crate to the car and my husband has our bigger dog over his shoulder as he runs out to the car.

    Don't try telling me they are all fantastic or cuddly some are horrible dogs.

    Time something was done about them as they seem the most prolific breeders round here we rarely see any other breeds these days.


    BIB
    This is true for all breeds of dogs. They are alive and have individual personalities and so not every dog is going to be friendly.

    For instance I have met some anti-social Yorkies like the breed of dog you own.

    In regards your situation call someone like the RSPCA or the police if you have that big an issue you have to run out the back door.
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    TWSTWS Posts: 9,307
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    Glenn A wrote: »
    There are some irresponsible owners, but with decent owners they are good dogs. Best is if they're neutered and they become harmless.

    neutering a dog has nothing to do with whether they are harmless or not, i would say your posts are ignorant but i am assuming you are naive and not really that knowledgable about dogs
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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    CBFreak wrote: »
    BIB
    This is true for all breeds of dogs. They are alive and have individual personalities and so not every dog is going to be friendly.

    For instance I have met some anti-social Yorkies like the breed of dog you own.

    In regards your situation call someone like the RSPCA or the police if you have that big an issue you have to run out the back door.

    Our yorkie is very anti social difference is I make sure he cannot bite anyone and no one is expected to make allowances for us.
    We have informed every one who needs to know the dog is on his last chance and will be PTS if he bites again - none of us want to be the one he gets and we don't want our dogs killed by it just to get it dealt with.
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    silentNatesilentNate Posts: 84,079
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    molliepops wrote: »
    Our yorkie is very anti social difference is I make sure he cannot bite anyone and no one is expected to make allowances for us.
    We have informed every one who needs to know the dog is on his last chance and will be PTS if he bites again - none of us want to be the one he gets and we don't want our dogs killed by it just to get it dealt with.

    Oooo... Yorkies can be very badly behaved but I love them, If he bit me I'd keep it a secret and give him loads of cuddles as a punishment :o;)
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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    silentNate wrote: »
    Oooo... Yorkies can be very badly behaved but I love them, If he bit me I'd keep it a secret and give him loads of cuddles as a punishment :o;)

    Lol he's a little bogger but came as a rescue with baggage so we do make allowances but still manage to keep people safe - it's not rocket science so why staffie owners with violent dogs cannot get it I do not know.
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    StressMonkeyStressMonkey Posts: 13,347
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    Glenn A wrote: »
    There are some irresponsible owners, but with decent owners they are good dogs. Best is if they're neutered and they become harmless.

    If you believe that I hope you aren't a dog owner.

    Neutering can in rare circumstance make an aggression problem worse.

    It can reduce testosterone based behaviours when coupled with the right training but aggression that is caused by fear or possessiveness will remain.

    Indeed, the Cocker Spaniel I had as a child got worse after neutering and ended up ripping my sister's hand to pieces.
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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    If you believe that I hope you aren't a dog owner.

    Neutering can in rare circumstance make an aggression problem worse.

    It can reduce testosterone based behaviours when coupled with the right training but aggression that is caused by fear or possessiveness will remain.

    Indeed, the Cocker Spaniel I had as a child got worse after neutering and ended up ripping my sister's hand to pieces.

    Duncan wasn't so bad before he was neutered his fear aggresion got ott after
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    xdowxdow Posts: 2,388
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    Neutering simply takes away a lot of the urges to breed, possibly removing SOME aggressive tendencies, but it is by no means a quick fix to any animals behaviour. problematic or not.

    neutering is there to control the population of animals and prevent some sex-specific diseases and that is really it. (i'll drop in here, rather pointlessly, that the RSPCA's "advice" on neutering make guinea pigs so they won't fight is complete rubbish as well as it doesn't curb any behaviour patterns in them at all.)

    while it is true that there are far more staffs around than there really should be, the breed itself isn't the problem, it's the owners & backyard breeders. a lot are bred with little or no consideration to their temperament, then sold on to whoever comes for them so the dams owner can line their pockets.

    it is actually amazing that there are as few reported attacks as there are, considering the size of the population of the breed.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,145
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    I'm a little confused by this thread? Who's been sl**ing off staffies? Have I missed something?

    Just like any animal, it's the owner and the lifestyle that largely dictates the dogs nature. Yes some dogs are little sh*ts no matter what, but generally those that are overlay aggressive (to the point of unprovoked attack) are trained to do so. Staffies are becoming the 'hard man' dog of choice, and therefore get the breed a bad name.

    I had a dobe who people used to cross the street to avoid, just because she was a dobermann. Rotties got a bad rep a few years ago too. Sadly it's 99% the owners. Why anyone wants an attack dog is beyond me.
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    TWSTWS Posts: 9,307
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    bazaar1 wrote: »
    I'm a little confused by this thread? Who's been sl**ing off staffies? Have I missed something?

    Just like any animal, it's the owner and the lifestyle that largely dictates the dogs nature. Yes some dogs are little sh*ts no matter what, but generally those that are overlay aggressive (to the point of unprovoked attack) are trained to do so. Staffies are becoming the 'hard man' dog of choice, and therefore get the breed a bad name.

    I had a dobe who people used to cross the street to avoid, just because she was a dobermann. Rotties got a bad rep a few years ago too. Sadly it's 99% the owners. Why anyone wants an attack dog is beyond me.

    But a staffie would be one of the worst choices for an attack dog anyhow as they are not people agressive and are predominantly bred (if bred by reputable people) to be people friendly and handler friendly - i would never fear for myself where a staffy is concerned maybe fear for the dog i was with but never myself - so lousy choice for an attack dog unless you are talking about dog fighting then it is a whole different thing to people aggression
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    TWSTWS Posts: 9,307
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    xdow wrote: »
    Neutering simply takes away a lot of the urges to breed, possibly removing SOME aggressive tendencies, but it is by no means a quick fix to any animals behaviour. problematic or not.

    neutering is there to control the population of animals and prevent some sex-specific diseases and that is really it. (i'll drop in here, rather pointlessly, that the RSPCA's "advice" on neutering make guinea pigs so they won't fight is complete rubbish as well as it doesn't curb any behaviour patterns in them at all.)

    while it is true that there are far more staffs around than there really should be, the breed itself isn't the problem, it's the owners & backyard breeders. a lot are bred with little or no consideration to their temperament, then sold on to whoever comes for them so the dams owner can line their pockets.

    it is actually amazing that there are as few reported attacks as there are, considering the size of the population of the breed.

    Just to clarify in case people mention it it may take away some urges to breed, but humping can very much be a behaviour that has nothing to do with breeding / urges but dominance and a learned behaviour and neutering wont generally solve it
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,145
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    TWS wrote: »
    But a staffie would be one of the worst choices for an attack dog anyhow as they are not people agressive and are predominantly bred (if bred by reputable people) to be people friendly and handler friendly - i would never fear for myself where a staffy is concerned maybe fear for the dog i was with but never myself - so lousy choice for an attack dog unless you are talking about dog fighting then it is a whole different thing to people aggression

    Possibly, I have no direct experience with the breed, but any dog breed can be made aggressive with the right training, and sadly staffies are becoming the choice because of how they look.
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    HogzillaHogzilla Posts: 24,116
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    I've had two staffs and they were sweethearts. Have also had bull terriers and ditto them.

    Must admit Yorkies scare the pants off me. I have worked with dogs and the only ones to go for me were things like poodles. Small dogs can be vile. I wouldn't go near a Yorkie, just feel like you're gonna get your hand bit off.

    In terms of dog on dog aggression, my very friendly with other dogs staff was attacked regularly by two breeds.... Black labs and Jack Russells. Go figure.
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    abarthmanabarthman Posts: 8,501
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    bazaar1 wrote: »
    Staffies are becoming the 'hard man' dog of choice, and therefore get the breed a bad name
    This is the problem - "wee man, big dug" syndrome.

    The lowlife scum have adopted them as their aggressive-looking pet of choice, so all the good Staffies get tarred with the same brush.

    The dog rescue centres are full of them.
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    dorydaryldorydaryl Posts: 15,927
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    I find it sad that the whole breed seems to be suffering in reputation because of a subset of idiots who breed and/or acquire them to 'look 'ard'. I see it in my area, which is known to have had dog-fighting going on. My dog (Springer Spaniel) is also friends with two or three Staffs who are lovely creatures. I wouldn't have a Staff of my own because they take quite firm training and handling and I don't have the physical disposition to do it but, when making up my mind about a dog, I look at the dog itself and not the breed. Yes, I know of one very aggressive Staff but it is that way because those who own it don't have a responsible attitude and blame others on the occasions when their dog has been out of control- "Oh, the other dog was winding him up!" sort of thing. They also think it's amusing to encourage him to attack cats who come into their garden. Apparently, and by the admission of the owners, he has also attempted to bite a child which, for me, would be a major reason for getting him behaviour-assessed and re-trained at the very minimum but they just don't seem bothered.

    I can't bear the thought of these dogs being bred to fight. It makes me furious. As has been said, rescue centres are full of unwanted ones. My boyfriend had a Staffie for years and said that he was a great, friendly dog and all he ever wanted to do was play ball. Having said that, his family have always had dogs and knew what they were doing. However, he says that next door to him there was another Staff (unrelated) who had an arm's length kill rate of other peoples' pets. It was years ago when people weren't so fussy about dogs being on leads. That is definitely not a dog I would like to have next door.

    In both cases I have mentioned, the attitude of the owners seems to have had a big influence upon the dog's behaviour and I agree with those who've said that this goes a long way towards how they turn out. By their very design (jaws, etc.), Staffs are capable of inflicting quite significant damage which is probably why they get flagged up more than, say, smaller dogs when stories hit the news.
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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    Hogzilla wrote: »
    I've had two staffs and they were sweethearts. Have also had bull terriers and ditto them.

    Must admit Yorkies scare the pants off me. I have worked with dogs and the only ones to go for me were things like poodles. Small dogs can be vile. I wouldn't go near a Yorkie, just feel like you're gonna get your hand bit off.

    In terms of dog on dog aggression, my very friendly with other dogs staff was attacked regularly by two breeds.... Black labs and Jack Russells. Go figure.

    It may help explain that when you look at how many dogs have been attacked by staffies - Mollie is a really laid back gentle happy girl but she goes into fight or flight mode when she sees GSDs as she was attacked by two in very short succession when she was younger it formed in her a great fear of them and nothing we have done will shake that. If unfriendly staffies have got to the dogs you mention first they may well have labeled staffies as dangerous themselves or of course they might just be DA or Fear Aggressive generally. Hard to tell from posts on a forum and sometimes hard to tell at the time too.

    Small dogs can be scary I admit but personally I don't give my hand to any dog I have not been assured is ok. And if a yorkie attacks I think I have more chance of getting away than from the huge staffie we are having problems with.
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    HogzillaHogzilla Posts: 24,116
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    It's not likely the dogs that went for my staffie were exposed to other Stafford though. It's pretty remote where we live and I knew if only two other staffs in the neighbouring villages ... Both of whom were gentle, sweet natured dogs so not likely to have gone for anything, either.

    In fact It was my observation the black labs and jrts had ineffectual owners, who let them off the lead but had no recall, and misread their dogs' aggression as "He's only being friendly" which is maddening, having worked with dogs I know what friendly looks like.
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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    One thing we have had problems with is Mollie is part collie and dogs seem to see her collie stare as a challenge I have seen other dogs do this stare too and they become targets too.
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    HogzillaHogzilla Posts: 24,116
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    molliepops wrote: »
    One thing we have had problems with is Mollie is part collie and dogs seem to see her collie stare as a challenge I have seen other dogs do this stare too and they become targets too.

    That's an interesting point. My neighbour has a sheepdog and my bull terrier is absolutely madly in love with her. But it is unrequited. The sheepdog seems to misread all my dogs clumsy attempts at friendliness, and seems to find her a bit scary. :D
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    elliecatelliecat Posts: 9,890
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    We found a Staffie loose running around the road one Sunday afternoon. She was such a lovely well behaved dog(credit to the owners). My partner caught put her in the car(it was quite a busy road and she could have easily been run over) and she sat on the back seat just looking out of the window. We looked to see if anyone was looking for her, no one was so we drove to the police who were no help what so ever and just told us it looks like we have a dog for the night. In the end we took her to the vet we go to as they are a hospital so there is someone there all the time and they checked her microchip and gave us the owners address and we went off to see them to tell them where their dog was, wasn't the first time she had escaped but she was quite far from home this time. But for about an hour she was the most well-behaved dog I have ever met, she didn't bark, she sat or lay on the back seat and came over for cuddles.
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