To think my dog is in fact a saint?

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

I have a staffy and 2 kids (5and 7) I had a bit of a wobble yesterday when I heard the awful news about a local child who had been bitten on the face and seriously injured by the family dog, also a staffy.
I am currently sitting watching my kids who have the dog dressed in a skirt and they are playing in the garden on the slide. The dog is running up the slide into the top level of the climbing frame and then sliding back down with the kids. She clearly thinks this is great fun as she has a big smile on her face and her tail is wagging madly. She doesn't seem to have noticed the skirt, nor the fact that she is in fact a dog and not a kid.
I always make sure that the kids know that if she walks away they must leave her alone, but she always wants to join in the fun and one of my best memories as a child is playing with my own dog, also a staff who was such a wonderful trustworthy dog.
I'm not worried any more :0)

Ah but she only wants to play when the kids are in it! I honestly think that she thinks she is a kid.

I love your post :) I have Springers, but a couple of the best dogs I know are Staffies. They have the widest smile of any breed I think! If it wasn't for the fact that we work the spaniels I would be tempted by a staffy.

Roger - your dog sounds funny & daft :)

I hardly think the dog is being used as a toy! She can escape to her basket at any time, in fact she is currently sunbathing next to me, kids don't bother her if she wants to chill. They have both been shown photos of what Staffies and any other dog can do when provoked, and as such they respect what she can do and are aware of warning signs that she isn't liking what they are doing.

Latara, she is a loon pure and simple. You should see her playing with the hosepipe, she spends hours ttrying to pounce on the water.

Dds best friends family have a rottie pup, a replacement for their old rottie that sadly died a few months ago.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest as I know the family are good dog owners and the girls know how to behave around the dogs (they have 2 other dogs too). The rottie is a complete sweetheart, really calm and affectionate.
I get so sad that bad owners have given some breeds a bad name

I have uploaded a couple of pics of Freddie if anyone is interested :)

Roger - she sounds like my cat & one of her adoring stalker tom cats - they both love playing with water from dripping taps or my watering can.

Springers are a nightmare with water - my friend's Springer loves swimming in ponds then racing out & shaking his water logged fur all over my nice clothes. My friend of course wears old jeans & t shirt for dog walking but if i'm there - i do like to dress smartly & that dog knows it!!

Also was walking on a beach once & got water shaken all over me by not 1 but 2 Springers - one after the other!

They raced out of the sea, ignored their owners & all other people, & shook their watery fur all over me then raced off.
(And their owners laughed. Bastards.)

My four kids grew up with our lovely staffy. He was their constant companion. He looked as tough as anything, truth was he only had to hear a slight noise in the distance and he'd hide in the cupboard under the stairs. If I shouted at any of the kids ( you could in them days!) he would sit and tremble as though he was in trouble. Honestly, he looked like a cartoon character!

My Staffie:

• Wont walk in puddles or out in the rain
• Will only eat biscuits if they have been dipped in tea
• Is scared of pigeons
• Tries to catch flies by leaping off the sofa and snapping at the fly as she glides through the air
• Loves wearing jumpers
• Likes having her nails painted
• Comes to find me if she hears the baby crying and 'takes' me to him
• Likes an occasional bite of a cheeseburger, but will only eat it if you hold it out like you are feeding it to a human, and she only takes little lady-like bites
• Likes to sleep 'spooning' me
• Loves a game of hide and seek, I mean like a proper game of hide and seek. I usually hide under the bed and snigger when I see her feet trampling about trying to find me and then she hears me and slides under the bed to 'death lick' me. Am currently trying to fine new places to hide

Staffies are bloody brilliant, I wont have another breed of dog now and am looking forward to getting my current one a friend in a couple of years time

YANBU

There is no such thing as a bad dog

Just bad owners.

Staffies are brilliant - in my experience one of the safest breeds of dogs with children.
Yours all sound fantastic too!! What lovely characters.
Always going to be the odd dog in all breeds which for whatever reason makes them behave in a dangerous way. Just sadly if a staff bite they will do more damage than if a Yorkshire terrier bites obviously and so the horror stories. Definately the tiny minority, not the rule. Deed not breed definately.
Enjoy your lovely dogs. Breaks my heart the rescues are so full of them and they just hate being in kennels, so many healthy dogs get put down it's just awful.

I went to the dogs home the other day and broke down in tears. Tears steaming down my face at how many Staffies there are in the dogs home.

What makes it worse is that our local one won't let you adopt a staffy or a cross if you have young DC.

I adore my Staffy boy and I would have ten if I had the space and the money.

My lad is sat at my feet crying because he wants the kids to play with him on the trampoline, but they're on the computer. He's doing the whole Lassie thing with his eyes, pleasing with me to make them!

I luff him.

My german shepherd x collie used to play hide and seek in the local woods with dd. He is a total wimp too...just got back from a walk where he hid behind me because we came across a cat that stood its ground on the pavement! and hissed at him

cheermum Freddie is gorgeous :) I'm

Sounds lovely :) My neighbour has a gorgeous smiling staffie too, who is completely silent.
My mum stepped back on her by mistake, looked round, and screeched 'Oh help, it's one of those awful staffies!'
No, it's not, it's darling Ruby saying hello.

My staffie is as close to human as possible. He loves sunbathing, his paddling pool, his toy box, and his afternoon naps - 3.30 every day no matter what he is doing he will stop, and toddle off upstairs to his duvet for an hour..

He loves wearing sunglasses, tshirts, and is the most placid dog in the world. My grandaughter uses him as her shopping trolley in the house, making him carry things for her.

He will only eat what he has been given, and you could leave a pack of biscuits on the floor and go out, and they would still be there when you got back.

He will purposely knock cans of beer over, while looking innocent, just so he can drink up the spillage though...

He also thinks he is a lot lighter and smaller than he really is when he wants to curl up on your lap..

Thank you for this thread! Just read it to DH and we both laughed at how similar our staff cross is the ones described here!! Has a stupid moment of panic last week as 7 months pregnant and read about the recent dog attack on a small boy. I couldn't in any way associate our big, soft girl with a dog that's been bred to attack others but I did wonder if a child and a dog could ever have the type of relationship people have described here.

By no means would I ever leave them unattended or take risks - she's a dog after all. But you've reassured me to trust my instincts. Oh and the amount of staffs in rescue centres is criminal. Ours is a rescue dog and we honestly don't know if we rescued her or vice versa.

Thanks again - picturing dog in tutu in some years time!!!

PMSL at a smiling Staffie hacking down a slide while wearing a skirt! She sounds lovely. Staffordshires are a fabulous breed but so misunderstood and by so many people.