To tell my sister if she buys a Staffie I won't bring DS around to hers?

[Annarose2014]

I suspect I am. I've heard so much about them being amazing, wonderful Nanny dogs.....

But I've also heard of a lot of attacks. I'm desperately afraid of them, truth be told. I don't trust them. Especially as the dog wouldn't live with DS, but only see him about once a week so its not like DS would be "his" charge.

Sister has wanted one for years and is bitterly disappointed as this is the year she's finally in a position to buy a dog.

But in fairness I just said that she could certainly get one, but would have to see DS elsewhere other than her place as I wouldn't be comfortable with DS in an enclosed area with one in case DS did something wrong and the dog felt threatened and we wouldn't be fast enough to stop something happening.

AIBU?

Awww, she's so cute....ahem. Sorry, I go all daft when I see a staff. My fella is about as hard as a marshmallow . He loves to love people. That's the fundamental nature of staffies toward humans.

My lad knows that not all humans are as nasty and horrible as his previous owner and her partner. Even though she was absolutely horrid toward him, as was her DP and his dog (his dog attacked my lad numerous time as well as the former owner), he protected his previous owner from the abuse her partner put her through.

It has taken me 3 years to get my big fella from being incredibly dog-fear-aggressive/protective to simply dog cheeky. He is now just cheeky toward other dogs when he wants to play, but he backs off quickly when they start getting more boisterous.

This is my shadow (my female staffy).........

That 1st sentence of my last post was to Flanj.

This is both my dogs look like after their morning run..........

For the average Pit Bull owner, however, these distinctions are not really relevant

Smilla your quote is from an American website with different breed standards from the UK's. In the UK, SBT and Pit Bull Terriers are considered distinct enough that the former is allowed, and indeed very popular, whilst the latter is banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act (unless it was registered as exempt). In the UK not only is the distinction relevant for owners, but it could be life or death for the dog.

The website you linked to said the breeds parted company in the 1930s. That's 80 years of breeding or around 40 generations. Belyaev's experiments already mentioned date from the same period and produced two types of Siberian fox radically different in temperament.

Am I alone in feeling a mild foreboding when I read all this 'my little cutsie pet wouldn't hurt a fly' ?

Dogs need to be socialized from a young age, should come from good parents, should be kindly cared for especially in their first few months. Hopefully haven't been badly treated before arriving at the rescue home. Should have owners who have time to train them properly.

But who knows if that is the case with any one dog. Just look at the horrible puppie farms that abound (and sell pups by the hundred).

But hey ho! if the odd one or two get mauled to death due to 'bad owners' (can't possibly be anything wrong with the dog) then so what?

sparechange

*Oh scooby

They don't have scissor teeth or locking jaws. You can have this though biscuit*

Well I got that piece of info from the Kennelclub.org website

Mouth Lips tight and clean. Jaws strong, teeth large, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws

So you know what you can do with your doughnut!! - pass it on to the Kennel Club meanwhile do some reading up yourself

In that context it just means that their teeth fit together properly like dogs are supposed to...it's in most breeds' standard.

It's nothing to do with the action of biting or unique to staffies, it basically means - wouldn't need braces if they were people.

scooby

Scooby
Breed standard for a Labrador:
and teeth strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Breed standard for a poodle:
Jaws strong with perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Breed standard for a Pomeranian:
Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

So please do explain what is so uniquely terrible about the staffie jaw?

Am I alone in feeling a mild foreboding when I read all this 'my little cutsie pet wouldn't hurt a fly'

Scooby I did skim parts of the thread but I haven't seen much evidence of that. You do get it sometimes IRL ("oh don't worry, he won't bite"). However, a responsible dog owner will be fully aware that ALL dogs have the potential to bite. A dog that is well-trained and properly socialized will give more warning and have to be pushed much further, but they all have the capacity, if someone pushes them enough.

When I had dogs my basic rule was never to leave any child under the age of about 10 with them unsupervised. Whether or not I did when they were older than that depended on the child and the extent to which they could read a dog's body language. As far as I was concerned it was just not far on my dogs or any child to leave the two together unsupervised and the smaller the child the greater the supervision. I didn't want a child to be attacked and I'd never have forgiven myself if any of my dogs had had to be put down because I'd been foolish enough to let a small child poke it in the eye and the dog had snapped back.

"Am I alone in feeling a mild foreboding when I read all this 'my little cutsie pet wouldn't hurt a fly' ?"

No, you're not. I understand and support those who speak out against prejudice against a breed but it has to be balanced.

As I said up thread, I was bitten by a toy breed (my fault - I tripped and fell, standing on the poor sod's leg while he was fast asleep) but let's be honest, would you rather be bitten by a 10 pound toy poodle or a staffie? The former punctured my toe in a couple of places. It didn't hurt beyond the initial 15 minutes of shrieking and shock. The latter could do far worse. I do see the OP's (and other people's) concerns.

It's the 'proof' in the posts that because my doggie is a loving, harmless softie then -- it's fine for the OP's sil to get one as, naturally, that will be the same.

My friend has a staffie and it will take on any animal or bird it comes across and has to be muzzled whenever out.

Small DCs can frighten a dog inadvertently, their faces are at the same level as the dogs mouth, so where an adult might get a nipped ankle, they might get a nipped nose (happened to my DN, by a 'soppy' Labrador).

You can see the number of inhumanely bred puppies on the tv programmes, often traumatised thus unpredictable, yet posters here post as if they don't exist!

And if the sil is like these posters, and she says she'll keep the dog away from the DCs she likely won't - as she is so convinced her dog is safe.

I'm not 'convinced my dog is safe'. But I know her. That's different. With my own dd she is relaxed, I can manage boundaries and behaviours and my dog always has the option to leave the situation, which she often does when she's had enough.

On Monday I had 4 kids here ranging in age from 5 months to 4 years. She's not confident with strange kids so I put her out the way in the kitchen behind the baby gate. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't do anything, she's naturally quite submissive but I'm not willing to risk it nor am I ignorant to the fact that she is an animal with her own feelings and reactions.