To pick my children up whenever I see a stafforshire bull terrier?

[DarlingDuck]

I am really frightened of bull terrier type dogs, my brother and I were chased by a pit bull when we were young and our dog was attacked and almost died. Whenever I see a stafforshire bull terrier I cross the road, aibu?

Rosebud05 - I hear you, I hear you - and I agree with you. But it's the owners who are silly and poorly socialised - not their poor mutts!

Staffie owner here, I bought a staffie because I specifically wanted a dog I could trust with small kids. Yes, you read that right. I did my research thoroughly with knowledgable people not the newspapers, and the general consensus was that staffs make fabulous family dogs. And I don't know where all this toss about staffs being big dogs has come from, they are quite small. Stocky and very strong, but not particularly big. The only danger my dog poses is if she drowns you in dribble or gasses you with farts.

Dogs are animals, therefore can be unpredictable.

Children are humans, therefore can be unpredictable.

All anyone can do is act responsibly and be cautious, for both the dogs and kids sake.

Liking your analogy, DBF.

I worked exclusively with Travellers for 5 years, doing a job that I had previously done in the 'general population' for 5 years prior to that. In the 5 years I worked with the GP, I was threatened and verbally abused a dozen times or so. With the Traveller population, nil. Should I therefore be afraid of everyone who isn't a Traveller?

squeakytoy, me too. I'm a Rottie owner who has been bitten 3 times on my life...all by Border Collies! Both my dogs have been attacked and injured....by Border Collies (and once by a Weimeraner...which also bit my Mum).

iwantadog Thank you!!

I don't know about silly and poorly socialised - though many have a complete lack of empathy with others and a sense of entitlement about their dogs behaviour that is very unhelpful.

i am quite sure if a child was mauled to death by a poodle it would be reported in the news, simply because a pet dog killing a child is shocking terrible news, a dog bite is not

and if it happens on a few occasions i shall feel the same about poodles as i do towards staffs that they are best not having as pets when you have small children. why when there are so many other breeds you could have if you want a dog would you get one with the strength of a staff or rottweiler (an adult would struggle fighting them off should they attack and you can never ever say they will not no matter how well trained) when you have young children

freudian's argument is somewhat more coherent that the traveller population ones.

I guess some people believe that it's a very small risk and take it (in the same way that we all take risks with our kids eg crossing roads, driving cars).

Most don't live to regret it but some most certainly do.

I'm terrified of staffies and I don't know why. I was brought up with dogs, my favourite a huge German Shepherd. I used to fall asleep on his fluffy neck, walk him when I was little (he could have dragged me all around the roads if he'd wanted to but never did!). I haven't ever met a staffie who did anything worse than fart (a lot). I really don't know why they scare me. I'm getting better though, we meet a lot of dogs now we have our own to walk and so far, most have been ok.

Funnily enough, everyone we meet thinks our dog is a staffy pup, he looks just like one...i'm starting to wonder if he's not what he's supposed to be.

I would say YABU, I don't have a dog but we walk through a field which is frequented by dog owners daily. I think I am quite good at judging whether a dog is bounding at us to be friends or to eat us. 90% of the dogs we encounter are well trained and don't cause any problems. Some do approach us and weave around and are a general pita, but haven't met any aggressive ones thankfully.

There is no way I would encourage a fear of dogs as we have to walk through this field to get anywhere. I do stop my children from approaching chained up dogs though. There are chavvy idiots around here who encourage their staffies to be aggressive, the little idiots. I would never have a dog that was stronger than me, I am wary of rotties and german shepherds tbh, although we lived with a border collie for a year who is a super dog, fab in every way.

I've never met a horrible staffie. I've met lots of horrible people though

Just about to put my staffie cross to bed when I saw this thread.

When I googled staffordshire bull terrriers (searching for inspiration for his name) I read that they are called the nanny dog in america because they have such a good reputation as a dog to have with a young family.

My four year old (we've never had dogs before btw) curls up in the dogbed with the dog. I try to discourage him (dog hair my primary concern) but they love each other.

for information, i was bitten by gsd when I was teenager. i was on his territory and i ran when he barked. all my own fault, but i was scared.

any dog can be aggressive because of the way it is brought up, and I am cautious around all big dogs, but honestly, staffordshire bull terriers are not to be frightened of. Yes be cautious and careful and sensible, but not frightened.

OP, you say you were chased by a Pit when you were young.

Are you, or rather was that in the UK? Because as you know the Pit is a banned breed here but the terms of the DDA require a court case with expert witnesses to identify and prove that the dog concerned is indeed a Pit. That's because they are notoriously difficult to identify, there is no UK breed standard. Hence a Labrador shares 90% of the legislation's prescribed definition of a Pit Bull Terrier. Even those of us who work with dogs - and suffice to say I know rescuers and AR supporters who work with all kinds of breeds and crosses - cannot automatically identify a Pit.

Which is why I always wonder how the general public is so good at doing so.

And as a result I tend to wonder what else they know about Bull Breeds (or indeed dogs in general) when they make rash statements.

Freudian - I see what you're saying, but... There have been many times when there have been horrendous dog attacks by dogs of uncertain origins which have reportedly been Staffs, when they were clearly, clearly not in fact Staffs. Bullbreeds, yes (inevitable, probably, because pre-Akita trend, bullbreeds were hardman dog of choice) - but not Staffs.
This says more about crappy journalism than it does about any dog breed.

*Rosebud( my post and analogy was perfectly coherent. Others have understood it well enough. You merely don't agree with me.

Vfor, you'd love my GSDs, they're teddy bears! :)

People are saying that the OP is right to be wary but why would that be automatic? If they are about to cross paths with a perfectly calm-looking dog, walking along or sat still, wagging its tail or whatever then they are overreacting by picking up their child and changing direction. If the dog ahead is snarling, snapping, barking, jumping up or showing other signs of aggression then they're being sensible.

The majority of dogs I seem to meet (and I'm not a dog owner or even a dog-lover) are pretty well-behaved. The don't suddenly turn nasty just because we're walking by. OTOH I did once have to pick DS out of the path of some pretty aggressive Canada Geese in the park once...

WhereYouLeftIt made the point really it was a pit bull yet scared of a Staffie.
This is where the problem lies really people hear bull terrier at the end and have this reaction of fear when in reality they are 2 totally different breeds of dog with 2 totally different in bred temperaments.
There are loads of Staffies around where I stay owned by both the local hoodies and families. Some I am watching grow from puppies into gorgeous friendly loving dogs.

I teach my children to have a healthy respect for dogs and not to touch a strange dog without checking etc. They have grown up with dogs around them and if we were ever getting a dog of our own one of my first choices would be a staffie because of their fantastic reputation as family dogs.

cogito - don't get me starte on geese - no that I've anything against them... (and they're far more effective at guarding property than any dog).

They are banned here, (Ontario, Canada) and since I am afraid of them too, I don't think uabu at all.

yes i know some have been reported as being staffs then it turns out that they were not but that has not always been the case, and it has not also always been the case that the dogs (whatever breed) have not been well trained.

i love huskies, my dad had a husky he was a beautiful calm placed dog but i would not have one while i have a young child, they are incredibly strong. i shall stick to cats for the time being (also suits our lifestyle better)

iscream - on what basis are you afraid of them, if they're banned? How do you know anything about them?

I agree with Cogito.
I am wary of lots of dogs but picking the children up just because the dog's a certain breed seems a bit of an overreaction.
If a dog's on a lead or not, out of control or not, aggressive, whether the owners look normal or deranged etc, all seem more relevant than what type of dog it is.

Bloody hell, are Canada Geese really banned in Ontario?

How sad (though admittedly they'd be better guards than my GSDs!).

I was chased as a child by some kind of curly wanker terrier, wasn't that much fun I tell you.

My friend has one and I'm glad dd cries when he comes near her. He sleeps in a cage at night so my friend puts him in it when dd visits. He is really friendly but is also so strong - when he jumps up to say hello to me I struggle to stay standing.

I tried to teach dd to be confident around dogs but she finds them scary and tbh I'm fine with that. It's not just staffies - my friend had an old english sheep dog that bit a 6-year-old's face so badly sge was airlifted to hospital. She'd had him for years and had grown up with her kids so breed doesn't always matter. we admire beautiful dogs from afar - unless they are littler than dd then she will stroke them!