Should I be worried that I dont know my dogs breed?

[Doggyday123]

Okay so quite recently have adopted a rescue puppy. She is a puppy from a dumped litter so dont know her breed or anything about her.
I was determined not to have a pedigree and give a rescue dog .a chance. Initially wanted an older dog but thought risky with four dc and a cat.
Puppy is adorable
12 wks and learning fast. Usual puppy biting which we are trying to keep in check. Otherwise good. Fine with kids and cat (though she hates dog!).
Can't tell breed and vet was unsure as still young. Really really do not want staff or staff.cross as had one previous. Brill with people (And kids). Agressive with dogs. Very hard work. And worry about potential to 'turn'even though I know most are lovely.
Anyhow, at first thought maybe staff cross but then changed mind. However, several people have said she looks staffy or even pit bull. (Jesus).
I can't face worry of a difficult dog. I want it to be sociable and easy going.
Is it really how you train them?
Advice and comments please. I.am an experienced dog owner!
Ps. Ive named changed tho I don't know why.

[lilwelshyrs]

I'm a firm believer in the aggression coming from how the dog is trained. I have owned a nervous aggressive dog and it broke my heart when we had to pts. Had we owned her from a puppy, she would have been socialised properly and wouldnt fear other dogs like she did. She was a mastiff x ridgeback.
I know some amazingly good staffies - do loads of socialising and think positive! I'm sure you know this so apologies if i'm telling you to suck eggs, but if you're nervous every time you meet other dogs, your dog will pick up on that fear and either feel fear herself or try to protect you from what you're scared of.

I worked in a kennels for a few months and saw some poorly brought up dogs, mostly staffies, come in as strays and despite their upbringing and experiences (one was a drug dealers dog who was jacked up on steroids :( ), they just wanted love.

Look beyond her breed and love her personality. You have a blank canvas to paint :)

[SunshineAndShadows]

If she's a confident, friendly, interactive puppy and is well socialised then there's no reason that she should suddenly have a personality shift as she gets older. Just make sure she has lots of positive dog interactions whilst she's young

[Kleptronic]

It really is how you train them. If she's 12 weeks you still have time. Get her to puppy socialisation classes, do all your training textbook new school (positive reinforcement) and you and she will be fine, barring medical problems like epilepsy, birth injury to brain, endocrine disorders, pain from congenital issues etc. but as far as I know they are relatively rare.

[tabulahrasa]

Most staffies are sociable and easy going, as a breed they're prone to being easy to train and very people friendly.

[TreeSparrow]

Can you post a pic? I've had a few staffies and staffie crosses and they've all been great with other dogs.

[Doggyday123]

Thanks for prompt responses. Im mithering this evening
Shes very friendly and has met a few dogs on her walks. Though initially nervous played after a few minutes.

Just a normal puppy I suppose.
I really wanted a non.staffy type though I loved our old dog to bits.
Just want a sociable dog whos goos with children dogs and anything realky. I worry if there is any aggressive tendencies that they will be there in the background.
Klepto,
Our old dog was epileptic.

[tabulahrasa]

There could be aggressive tendencies in any breed of dog though, mine has been bitten by a patterdale, a Great Dane, a yorkie, a collie and a lab.

Which shows nothing about the breed of dog and that I live in a shitty area for dog owners, lol

[Doggyday123]

What do you think?

[AlpacaLypse]

I think she's an adorable pup.
Like lots of PPs it's all about how you bring her up. We've got four Staffies on the books for dog care (I run a dog-walking and pet care agency), they are ALL really lovely good natured sweetiepies. Including two who didn't have the best start in life and came to their current owners through rescue.

Best wishes and don't panic!

[lilwelshyrs]

So gorgeous! Maybe a bit of staffie but has a longer nose than one. What a lovely looking girlie :)

[tabulahrasa]

She doesn't look hugely staffyish to me, I mean maybe a bit, but not a lot.

She's got lurcher eyeliner on though, so maybe she's got a bull lurcher parent in there.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Socialise her a lot and train her well to give her the best chance of being a 'take anywhere' kind of dog.
Don't get too hung up on her breeding although if you really want to know you could have a DNA test done.
We've had our mongrels done and found one is a husky cross, which is a breed I would have avoided like the plague if I'd known, but he's so well mannered and very trainable.

[HellKitty]

I'd say staffie X. I had a staffie X rescue from a pup. She was fantastic with everyone, loved children and people. She got on well with cats and other dogs too. Well, all other dogs apart from the sheepdog that used to live next door to my mothers house. That dog had the nerve to bark at me one day and my staffie X declared war ever since.

I had her pts at 17. Amazing dog and I still miss her, 10 years on.

[ender]

If you get a pup at 12 weeks it really depends on you how the dog turns out. From the look of your gorgeous pup there could be loads of breeds in the mix, all well diluted so v unlikely to be any extreme personality traits.
I got my rescue DNA tested (goes back 4 generations) out of curiosity, he's completely non aggressive but has a tendency to guard us all and ignores other people and dogs.
He's a lurcher type to look at with muzzle, eyeliner and floppy ears like your pup.
Was surprised to find he's mainly GSD and boxer, with rottweiller and a couple of unidentifiable mixed breeds thrown in.

[EasyToEatTiger]

I now understand a little bit about temperament. We thought for once that it would be nice to start with a puppy. So... our first pup, another bc or something like. On her first visit to the vet she tried to bite him and snapped at the trainer. She was also quite aggressive to a much more specialist trainer and we were told that we would have to be very careful with her. We all love her to bits and she's a sweetie. It would have been nice to start with a dog with a calmer temperament, but hey ho. Here we are!

[Doggyday123]

Hi sorry for the delay. Fell asleep!
Great comments,thanks. Interesting about the eyeliner. Wouldnt have thought of that. She look like she may be tall. Long ish legs.

We had a x staff prev as sbe looks nothing like him. He was obviously a staff cross. This time, I think her muzzle is different.
Maybe just a big mix.
We haven't just had her at 12 wks btw. We have had her since about 8weeks.
Interesting about DNA testing. Will a vet just do it if you ask? And is it expensive?

[sparechange]

No breed has any inherent tendency to 'turn' or not turn, and at her age, you have a great opportunity to train and socialise her into being a lovely dog.
There will be some nuances with training depending on th breed, for example I would avoid squeaky toys with long dogs, but it isn't anything fundamental. If she has got some staff in her (and I think she might do from your pic) it should work in your favour because they are people pleasers and therefore easy to train.
She is gorgeous though. Enjoy the rest of the puppy stage!

[TreeSparrow]

Aww she's gorgeous. I think it's a bit early to tell as I've seen collie crosses look like this, also lab crosses. I think a bit of staffie in there is lovely anyway but if you're worried I would recommend just keeping up with rigorous socialisation with new dogs wherever possible. I took a ten year old dog (inherited) to puppy classes purely for this reason!

[tabulahrasa]

To be fair other breeds/crosses have black rimmed eyes too, but I often admire lurchers with eyeliner

That and the pointyish face and slim build is making me think bull lurcher is a possibility (which yes would mean a staffy grandparent or ancestry, but it's a really nice mix of traits and they're usually fantastic pet dogs).

But, she's young enough still that she could be almost anything tbh.

Her head shape and chest size doesn't scream a lot of staffy though.

Ultimately though what you do with her will mostly determine how she is.

And for what it's worth I'd be very very surprised if your previous dog's epilepsy didn't have something to do with his behaviour.

[FiveHoursSleep]

DNA testing for dogs information here.
www.wisdompanel.co.uk/wisdom-panel-2-0/
There are other companies but Wisdom is probably the most accurate at this point in time. It costs around £60
You don't need a vet, you just collect a cheek swab yourself.

[Outcomesthebunnyofdeath]

She is beautiful - if that helps :)

Plenty of happy, friendly Staffs and Staff x's out there even if she has got some in the mix. Socialise her till the cows come home!

[Doggyday123]

Ah thanks everyone. Really interesting. She is lovely yes

We have socialised her loads already. So far, so good.
The DNA test looks great. Think I will do it out of curiosity.
Interesting about the epilepsy with our old dog too and link with behaviour.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Do let us know the results if you do the DNA test. We tested our two out of curiosity but it has been quite useful to know.