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?

Msrantalot - that's interesting that you have places to fill. Is there great demand for childcare in your area? It might be nothing to do with your dog, don't worry!

But...you could always ask for feedback from parents who decline places at yours as to whether the dog is a factor. This thread may not be at all representitive of all the population because people who look at the thread probably already have a very strong opinion about it, either negatively or positively. Most people will be somewhere in the middle.

even if it's not a formal place there must be people in your community who would enjoy having a dog part time while you CM part time?

It might be either your business or the dog I am afraid if you cant fill the spaces That might be why some people do not want to go with you. Yes reading on here has probably given you some reason as to why you have unfilled spaces

Can't be arsed to read through 8 pages so may have already been said but-where does she keep the dogs whilst she CM?
Also couldn't give a shit what breed they are & sort of don't understand why you have an issue with them being Staffs-yes I get that they will cause more damage with a bite but I would rather my child wasn't bitten full stop (we own an Akita so not general dog bashing)

I'd just like to point out that a Staffordshire Bull Terrier is not a Pitbull Terrier. They are two entirely different breeds of dog.

So even if DoesBuggerAll's link is remotely factual and non biased (which I sincerely doubt) then it is completely irrelevant to this thread anyhow. Pitbulls are illegal in this country and have been for quite some time now.

D0oinMeCleanin

Just read it.

If you open your mind and read the link it talks about SBTs as well.

Wouldn't send my kids to a CM with dogs sorry.

Biased? The SBT apologists certainly are.

The Nanny Dog Myth was invented by the president of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club, Lillian Rant, around 1970 (See: The Nanny Dog Myth Revealed). The term refers to the pit bull?s allegedly (and erroneously referenced) unique ability to be overly gentle and patient with children.

I don't need to read a link about staffys to learn about their temperament. I have had the pleasure of owning one, in the past.

We currently have a greyhound/bull terrier x in our family. I'd trust him with my children over a small, fluffy dog any day.

This is how dangerous he is to children

Now that is one cute photo!!

So cute D0oin

He's not very well atm and is too sick to go no his holiday with all the children so he is coming to live with me for the week instead. The children are annoyed he won't be there.

He was injured whilst on his current holiday and has had little children from the campsite visiting him all day to wish him well

Have you met the dogs? Are they friendly, or do they have their ears back / tail between their legs? Do they have somewhere to go within the house that is (a) always accessible to them, and (b) completely off limits to the children? Are the children taught to respect the dogs? Sometimes dogs (of any breed) can just get fed up with children poking them / being a bit rough / not let them go to sleep etc. and can growl / snap, hence why it is important to allow them to get away from the children, and for the children to be taught to respect them.

Boomting - Good advice. A properly handled lion should present no danger to children at all. Children just need to be taught to show proper respect to lions and all is well.

I'm not sure what sort of bull terriers you have in your area DoesBuggerAll, but round here Staffys don't resemble Lions at all.

I can only assume that you either live in a zoo and have your species confused or your argument is so flawed and lacking in proper knowledge of the breed that you feel you have to use hyperbole to support it.

Any dog, in the wrong hands is dangerous. Even a small dog, like a Cavalier, could do serious and permenant damage to a small child if it wanted to. However, most dogs never bite and in fact, statistically speaking your child is more at risk from ballons. Would anyone refuse to use a child minder because she had balloons in her house on a regular basis? No...

The only reason there are more incidents involving Staffs and larger breeds such as Rotties is because of the sort of people who own them. Your average drug dealer that wants a status dog isn't going to buy a Golden Retriever puppy and train it to hurt or intimidate people, is he?

Then there's also the issue of poor breeding. The world and his wife started breeding Staffs when they became popular and as a result loads were very poorly bred and most don't even resemble what the breed are supposed to look like. I think most people would be very suprised if they went to a dog show and saw a properly, well bred staff.

Oh does you are funny

D0oin - I just find it rather ridiculous that all the SBT apologists come on here and discuss lots of methods of how to mitigate the danger of these dogs. The obvious solution is not to have these dogs in the first place. There is no need for these dogs, they were bred to fight bulls not look after babies. As I've said the Nanny Dog thing is a myth propagated by an extremely biased source. Yet SBT apologists continue to trot out the myth in an attempt to justify their decision to keep dangerous animals. The myth ( lie) has been thoroughly debunked yet still we keep hearing it on forums like this.

I have in the past stopped a friendship of my DD1 going any further because the friend's parents kept one of these beasts in the house. I told the mother of the friend why I would not allow my DD to come to her house. I was not going to take the risk.

doesbuggerall - you are spouting total crap.

doesbuggerall, any dog is dangerous in the wrong circumstances, Staffs are no more or less likely to be dangerous than any other breed of dog. Do you stop your child having any friends whose parents own a dog?

There's no less need to Staffs than any other dog. However, like other dogs, they make great companion animals.

The myth has been thoroughly debunked? Where? On a blog post written by someone ever so slightly thick who appears to believe that staffies and pitbulls are one of the same?

If it's alright by you I will continue to regard proper sources as the as to whether these dogs are any more likely to snap than other breeds.

Such as The UK Kennel Club

or The spokeswoman for Battersea Dogs Home

Or the manager of an RSPCA center

For every idiotic, hysterical blog you can find I can find a reputable source that dispells the 'dangerous' image of the Staffy.

LMAO at SBT apologists!!! Is there apologists for everything these days? Fruit shoot apologists? Gregs apologists? but teh worst of the bunch - David Cameron apologists??

I worked as a veterinary nurse for ten years, so i apologise if i am a little biased towards dogs (although i did say i woudlnt leave my child with aCM with a dog i woudlnt care what breed). I make no apologies for saying that in my ten years as a nurse i was never bitten (by dogs, but i have scars from cats!) although i was "gone for" by dogs. NEVER by a staffie - they were always pleased to see us, pleased to see anyone really. A dog nearly bit my face off once, if I hadn't have jumped back in time i wouldnt be so beautiful as i am now - it was a golden retriever!

My vet recently told me his heart sank when he saw "whippet x" down on his patient list, as by far the most aggressive dog he has ever treat was a whippet x. Unfortunately I had to admit that whilst my whippy was not that dog, I do know and adore the one he fears

My nemesis was a little bastard toy poodle, god it was evil, i used to always get lumbared with that little fucker darling. It scared the shit out of me, and it didn't have any teeth!!!, it was like a demented zombie dog from hell