About a childminder with Staffordshire terriers

[chilled7up]

I thought I found the perfect childminder for my son until I realised that she has 2 staffs at home. They were friendly but now I'm worried and confused. What would you do?

Lmfao at a myth debunkung blog. And you probably did the other parent a favour stopping that friendship, I had a mum friend like you who also bought the media hype about sbts and it was a bit awkward telling her that she wasn't welcome in my home with her attitude

Ok then. Please find me an impartial citation of SBTs being referred to as Nanny Dogs. Surely it shouldn't be too difficult as if they were truly regarded as such there should be ample literature available to confirm it.

The reality is the Nanny dog claim is a complete fabrication by a highly partisan source.

impartial? Im guessing you havent read the little bit at the bottom of the blog. Impartial suggests non biased, if someone only has one goal they are not unbiased.

HTH

Yes, Worra, kids are always getting their faces torn off by poodles, aren't they? (Rolls eyes...)

OMG has anyone actually spent any time browsing through the other blogs on that page?

That dude has some serious issues with dogs in general. So I ask you, Does, where is your impartial citation please?

Hairylemon - nonsense. Does having a goal of telling the truth make someone biased?

What about repeating an unfounded myth?

Nanny dog. Nanny dog. Nanny dog....

Repeat the lie often enough and people will believe it.

Hairylemon - I'm not the one stating that SBTs are Nanny dogs. Perhaps someone can provide evidence for the claim that SBTs make good childminders.

So far there's only been silence on this matter.

For the record, on my outing out shopping today i saw a snarling yorkshire terrier trying to 'go' for a staff-staff just carried on walking, yorkie started getting more ferocious and even growled at my toddler.
It isn't always staffs that or dangerous!

One persons belief does not the truth make.

I'll take my info and references from qualified and experienced sources, thanks all the same.

You clearly dont know the meaning of impartial, if you had you wouldnt link that word to that hilair blog.

You carry on believing the DM love.

No child is safe left alone with ANY dog!
The op needs to discuss things with the cm and find out whether she ever leaves dogs & kids together-if cm is adamant they are kept apart and secure there is no problem

I used to love them and wanted one but ended up with a mongrel from the dogs home. But just recently my dog has been set upon by staffies on two separate occasions. Thus, I don't trust any of them now.

My gut instinct is I wouldn't risk my child with two of them. How can you guarantee she will be 100 % sure your child does not get left with them at anytime?

Staffies as childminders is ridiculous. They've no opposable thumbs for start, how are they to change nappies? (please no one point out how they could do it, I've just eaten breakfast)

However this family are bloody lucky they own a staffy, no?

There are hundreds more stories of Staffords acting as heros and saving the lives of their family risking their own in the process.

D0oin - so now you link to a story about a SBT biting a man. Do you think this helps your case?

Surely if SBTs are as gentle as you claim it wouldn't have attacked? Also, surely the breed is irrelevant since all dogs can bit. The girl in the story would have been much better off if she had a Jack Russell instead.

why would anyone think its a good idea to have a dog that was originally is so strong that an adult would struggle to fight them off is good to have around children because when treated well they are nice

no matter how well trained a dog is something can go wrong, they can act out of character this is nature nothing can override that, why is it these dogs attack, they do not jsut bite but go for the kill when they do get aggressive we can not always blame the owners

I find it so odd that dog owners cant accept that a dog is an animal and one day with the right unpredictable circumstances that dog could snap as toutou said much earlier - all the bites she saw working in A&E were NOT from thugs dogs but from beloved family pets - " they are so wonderful they have never done this before we dont understand it?" HOw many times has a child been in the media attacked by a family pet?

I have a lap dog, she is bred to be a compainion, not to hunt game or fight etc, she greets everyone anywhere standing on her back legs and walking...soppy, loving LITTLE mouth little dog...HOWEVER I dont leave DD with her alone, if children come over to pet her - I watch her like a hawk and she is on a lead...because I know she is a dog, something may spook her - then x then x, and something may snap and so may her mouth!

If my dog runs up to someone I am straight after apologising even if - 99% of the time that person is petting her and laughing...

I am fed up of huge dogs - racing up to us - and my DD with the owner - not bothering to retreive just saying " oh he is freindly".

If i get my litle dog may upset people/they may be allergic, why cant other dog owners?

Also yes yorkies can bite, i have been bitten as a child but it was negliable, not so the chunk taken out of my mothers leg by a " loving " alasation!

comparing a yorkie to a staffy or a rottweiler is like comparing the danger of a butter knife to machete.

Dealbreaker.

Even if there's just a 0.01% chance of them biting, that's still too high.

I accept that any dog can turn given the the right set of circumstances. What I don't accept is that staffies are and their ilk are more likely to turn because of their breed.

I don't accept that the risk of a dog turning is as high as most people believe and I don't believe that the risk cannot be negated with responsible ownership and training.

Nor do I believe that loving family pets turn for 'nothing'. There is always something leading up to the attack, that a responsible parent and dog owner who knows their dog should be able to spot. You hear it all the time in rescue "Oh he growled for nothing. Little Jimmy was just playing. All he did was try to sit on him. He's done it many times before and the dog never bothered. I don't understand it"

No child and dog should be left alone, not even for a moment. Children are just as unpredictable as animals and so for the safety of both the dog and the child they need to be monitored closely when they are interacting. And dog owners need to educate themselves about stress signs in dogs.

I wouldn't immediately disregard an experienced childminder because she had dogs. I would want to know what her procedure was for keeping the children and dogs safe. Breed would not come into it. In fact I would be more wary of a JRT than a staff, if anything.

Ariel said
no small child should be left alone with any animal.

Yes, those guinea pigs can be lethal.

Sorry, mustn't be rude about "Staffs" or "Staffies" now, must we! You see, these nicknames are it seems to me just as misleading as the "terrible name" the press is apparently giving these animals as they suggest these dogs don't regularly savage small children. Which apparently they do.

A child could kill a guinea pig with ease by cuddling it too hard. I was almost killed by a ferret at a home containing a JRT and a Rotty.

Again, all children should be supervised when interacting with any animal, for the safety of the child and the pet.

Child killing/injuring Guinea pig - sad, poor parenting because yes - children should be supervised, but I would far rather that scenario than the other way around.

Not disbelieving your story dooing, but how did a ferret nearly kill you?

D0oin - there seems to be so many things that a responsible dog owner should do, so many things a child visitor to the house should do, so much to look out for on all sides, so much hedging and ifs and buts one has to ask the obvious question. Why have the animals in the first place?

I'm no dog hater, our family had dogs when we were children. Didn't have a SBT though and wouldn't have. Note I don't call them staffies. Such a nice cuddly sounding nickname doesn't suit those beasts.

Does why have any pet? They all come with dos and donts surely? When you had dogs as children why did your parents want them? What an odd (not obvious) question.

Fair enough you wouldnt have a SBT because sadly you have bought into the hysteria surrounding them. Thats fine, thats your choice. Personally they are my favourite breed of dog because of their nature, sense of humour and they are just lovely lovely lovely dogs.

Gah! DP wont let me get anther one yet, the shit.

To toss my h'penny worth in: I bore on a lot about how people should pick dog types (or if they MUST line the pockets of those nasty puppy farms, BREEDS) that are suitable. Not ones they like the look of.

So for example, keeping 5 huskeys in a flat where the owner walks them for 30 mins a day IS NOT SUITABLE.

SBTs make, according to bible wiki, good family dogs...in general. My problem with that is, IF they turn... even if the chance is low....they WILL do a lot of damage and you'll be unlikely to save the poor wretch caught in it's jowls. You stand a better chance with a little spaniel, something like that. It's for that reason alone I think it inappropriate for the CM to have them.

BTW hairylemon - falling out with a friend over their opinion about your dog? You sound lovely.

www.ywgrossman.com/photoblog/?p=676

Meh, about as unbiased as the blog linked to earlier but who cares! Quite interesting reading and some lovely pics

(mainly about Pitbulls though as was the other blog so not really relevant to SBTs at all but who cares.....)