Why do some people hate them so much? Yes I know they get mixed up with pit bulls and some idiots use them for fighting, but in the main these are decent dogs. I would feel far more confident with a Staffie than I would around a Dobermann.

Yes, Staffs are great dogs - and actually, so are Pitbulls.

I'm talking about 'proper' American Pitbull Terriers' though...
Unfortunately, any 'Bully' breed mix that turns bad, gets labelled 'PitBull' - and the truth is the VAST majority of people wouldn't know a proper Pitbull if it came up and licked them.

The bulky vicious animals that are so popular among the knuckle-dragging 'ard-man element, are invariably a hybrid of some bully breed, and a larger more powerful dog (often Mastiffs)
A true APBT should have an 'athletic' build, rather than bulky or muscular, and shouldn't weigh more than 56lbs (unless it's obese)

Unfortunately, the Pitbull breed is being demonised because of a combination of idiot owners, and ignorant people who don't know thw difference.

Before they had their bad reputation thrust upon them, the Pitbull used to be known as the 'Nanny' dog, because it was traditionally so good with children.

The papers love it when any sort of bull type dog attacks someone and then it's open war on any dog that even looks slightly like a pit bull. Fact is most SBTs are good dogs and the number involved in attacks is probably 0.01% of the total in the country.

The sad thing is that because of the bad press they've received there are so many staffie-types in rescues looking for homes & no-one wants them. All the stafffie/bully dogs I've known have all been lovely natured dogs & a friend of mine that has 2 staffies had a baby last year & the dogs are lovely with the baby (although never left alone together). As soon as the little boy progressed to a high chair the dogs learned very quickly that lying underneath could be very rewarding.

I must admit to being nervous of them, round here they seem to only be owned by idiots who like to look hard. It is also compounded by the fact we live at the end of a dead end road and to get anywhere we have to use our car now as 3 houses along the road have them and they can clear the fences and attack a dog walking along there in a flash.
I don't doubt some may be nice but the one's I see round here aren't.
They are also extremely tall for the breed with long legs - so I think they are coming from one line.

That's a shame Molliepops but at least you recognise that it's the owners' faulty & not the dogs. If the dogs can escape from gardens & run riot, has anyone reported them to the local Dog Warden? Or perhaps it's not worth the potential retribution from the owners if they think they're that "hard"!

My uncle had a beautiful Staff who did everything he said, he was really well trained.

But where I live they are owned by idiots who let them off their leads when the dogs aren't friendly with other dogs I was attacked three weeks ago by a staff who was after my dog I did the silly thing of lifting my dog up so I ended get bit in my hand hand. The owner dragged the dog away and just ran off. I do feel sorry for that dog because one day it will do something and get put down and it's not the dog's fault it's the owner's who has dog who has issues and is not taking the precautions that it won't harm another dog or a human.

One family was reported and the three dogs they had were taken away by the RSPCA never to be seen again. That makes me reluctant to complain - it seems the dogs are punished more than the owners. So we just take our dogs for a walk in the car, not very green I know but they do get to go places we can't just walk to like the common and woods so they actually enjoy their walks more !

our Staffie get's very upset when people want nothing to do with her - she's really friendly and if she see's another dog walker is more interested in the person walking the dogs than the dogs being walked

I suppose that's the happy outcome then for your dogs at least.

I must admit that I tend to drive somewhere to walk my dogs, especially at weekends. Partly because I think it's more interesting for the dogs to have somewhere a bit different & exciting to explore, but also because I get bored walking in the same old places day in, day out. And for me, one of the joys of having the dogs is that it makes me go out & explore the countryside, appreciate the different seasons & wildlife. I've never seen so much of the Sussex countryside until I had dogs.

Going back to staffies, yesterday we walked the dogs in a large country park & ahead of us were a couple with 2 fluffy small dogs. Coming towards us was a young lad with a brindle staffie. The owners of the small fluffies immediately picked up their dogs to walk past the staffie. I just left my 2labs to say hello & the staffie wandered over, fell onto her back to show her belly & get sniffed at by my two, then she got up, rushed around excitedly & played with my dogs, who responded in kind. The staffie's owner said how much his dog liked to meet other dogs & play but most other dog owners avoided him, which I thought was very sad.

Don't judge the small fluffy's owners too badly we are small fluffy owners and pick up our small fluffy to protect everyone else (he is a terror and will fight anything no matter how big ! ).

Staffies are lovely dogs and I've never had a bad experience with one until recently.

Someone has moved into the estate behind us and has 3. There are not kept in a secure garden and are out quite often. I took Paul for a walk up the lane on Friday and was greeted by a large male staffie. He was showing his teeth, growling and barking at Paul and thenm went for him. Luckily, he didn't get him but he was terrified. After talking to a couple of neighbours, this particular staffie has gone for their dogs too (a whippet and a GSD). The owners of the staffies has said if anyone's dog got bitten, he would pay the vet's bill. But to me, that's not the point. Paul and the two other dogs are very sociable and get on brilliantly with others dogs, and none of us want this staffie to make them timid and wary of others dogs.

Would calling the dog warden/council help? Could they warn the owner about letting them roam? 3 dogs against one (on a lead) is bound to end in a bad way.

Why do I hate Staffies? Because the people who own them in my experience are idiots. They are attracted to the dogs by a 'hard' aggressive image and want the dogs to live up to that. I would never have one. In a similar way I would never own a BMW.

Thanks nice to know that me and my OH are idiots - what does our ownership of a Scottish Terrier say about us as you're making sweeping generalizations

Don't be so precious. They are ugly, squat, viscous animals who should not be trusted with children.

And the dogs are a bit rough to.

More seriously though if you own a pedigree dog you are buying into an 'image'. Most people have a negative view of SBTs, if you don't that’s fine. My sister went for one from a resue centre (most dogs there are 'bull terrier type' and are in because they are not aggresive enough like my sister's dog or because they are to aggressive). because she felt sorry for it. I have had great pleasure in winding her up about it because most (ie. not all) decent people would not own one as they are seen as down market. If you are happy with yours WTF does my opinion matter?

What's a Scottish Terrier? I wouldn't have one any way (cos it's got the word scottish in it)

I am not sure everyone buys into an image my love really is chihuahuas and if I was buying into an image I would be emulating Paris Hilton etc which could not be further from the truth as I see them as tough little dogs that can walk as well as any other dog. So to assume welwynrose is buying into a tough guy image could be very far from the truth.

MY OH got the staffie as our first dog as he wanted a loving affectionate dog that would be sturdy when playing games and he had a staffie when he was a boy, I picked the scottish terrier as our 2nd dog as I wanted someone calmer & smaller than the staffie but who would also be loyal and confident - we have been contemplating getting a 3rd dog but can not agree on the breed

Well I'm an idiot, I've rescued a staffy had him for a year now and you could tell he was treated badly, but touch wood no issues. Luckily we live in the country so he can enjoy long walks in the woods and fields and he interacts with other dogs very well, his not aggressive and his not hard in fact his a bloody fairy and my neighbours think his lovely.

Oh and I drive a BMW.

Staffies have been known as the nanny dog for decades. Useless idiots who leave them alone with infants or get them to look hard on council estates are not worthy of the love and companionship a dog can bring to a person. As for "bull terrier type" (which is what the useless, ignorant UK media lump them as) being downmarket, nobody I know ever who knows what they are talking about has ever said that.

A Staffie is a breed of dog registered with the Kennel Club, the official governing body for dogs in the United Kingdom. How anyone can denigrate them as a breed because of wholly irresponsible owners is peurile and childish and not too mention ignorant.

I have had three and not once has anyone had cause for complaint. Oh, tell a lie one time some anonymous chicken-shit posted a letter in my letterbox saying my dog had jumped onto a girl and hurt her. Transpired from a witness that my dog had gambolled up to a girl jumped up and licked her face knocking her over. (if she was genuinely hurt and I was the parent it wouldn't be no anonymous letter but me going round there and knocking on the door or calling the cops). I put up an extra four feet of fencing on the already fenced wall. Bloody dog was like Steve McQueen. This letter spooked my wife and she decided she couldn't take the risk of the dog getting out again and licking a child. Yeah real violent and nasty. Spittled to death.

Thanks for that. I have a staffy cross, nice to know I'm an idiot. When I can't walk him, my 68 year old parents take him out, they really enjoy walking him on the beach or the fields round here - I'm pretty sure it's not because they want to look hard!

Oh I Bet they are hoodies too (just joking )

Actually my dad does like wearing hoodies

There are a few staffies that get walked at the same place as I take my dogs and although I let my dogs meet and play with any staffie we meet I am a bit wary of them. I tend to not linger too long and don't take my eyes off them for a second, I just can't help it. I think it's because of the way the staffie always seems to stand over other dogs, I think it looks a bit intimidating. Can any staffie owners on here can explain why they all seem to do it?

Our staffie doesn't really like bouncy puppies and feels she should put them in their place but saying that she is much more interested in the person on the other end of the lead than any dog although she avoids Jack Russels and Alsatians as she's been attacked by both in the past

I have never had a staffie but I do have English Bull Terriers, I love the bully breeds. They have a beautiful temperment, if not mischievious as long as they are raised well of course. My male Bully, Archie, is a big, heavy set bully but has the heart of a lion. He is affectionate and loving although a bugger to train, too much stubborness in his personality! He gets on well with the cats he was raised with and adores my kids and their friends although we do have to be careful he doesn't get too jumpy as he is a lump.
When we take him out, it is clear that not everybody likes the breed but we avoid those people so as not to scare them, other people love to come over and have a cuddle with him and he laps it up. I would always own a bully with children as their pain threshold is high and they love to be involved in play. We have been lucky with the temprement of our dogs but a lot of that comes down to picking the right pup and raising them to be socialable.