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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that Staffies are not "nanny dogs"

716 replies

Flowersinyourhair · 14/10/2016 20:07

Ok. I await the cries of "it's not the dog, it's the owner" and "we had one and it was wonderful" etc etc. However, once again here we are looking at a news story about a dead baby and a seriously injured toddler as a result of a Staffie attack. AIBU or does something drastic need to change regarding perceptions of dogs like this who are apparently fine, until they're not. This dog was, it seems, the dog of a PC. Not a thug or a dog fighting yob. A PC.

I await the barrage of abuse here. I just feel so sad about these poor defenceless little boys who harmed no one and have suffered so tragically.

OP posts:
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6
hollinhurst84 · 14/10/2016 21:11

I think there's a couple of issues
Indiscriminate breeding. If you put a bad dog to a bad dog, you aren't likely to get a great puppy (build/temperament wise)
Then the way they're brought up/trained as a puppy
Under exercised dogs
Dogs that don't have their own space and aren't crate trained

It's a bit like a human... You've been cooped up at work, had a shit day, come home and you've got a toddler clinging to your leg and poking you 24/7 and won't budge from you. Are you more likely to snap "get off" then than if you've been out for a good walk, had a good nights sleep without being woken etc etc?
I'm not turning dogs to humans by saying that but just trying to put it in an understandable way. A dog that has a crate that nobody else goes into has somewhere to go and chill out

I've been bitten by two dogs, a collie and an Akita. I trust staff types more weirdly, and I've done a lot of work with a dog rescue and honestly? I've not met a bad one yet

It's NOT the breed. It's the breeding. And the training. And the exercise. And the living conditions. A bit like that "for the want of a horseshoe nail" poem. Tiny tiny bits all add up and then you have a catastrophic situation

frumpet · 14/10/2016 21:12

mycat my daughter was nearly 2 when we got him and of course they were supervised to a certain extent , but after a while , you go to put the kettle on , go for a wee , pop the rubbish out etc and leave them unattended together . Same when my son was born , initially super vigilant , then slowly you let your guard down and start leaving them alone together for very short times and then you stop thinking about it . Perhaps we were just super lucky or perhaps the vast majority of dogs are able to left alone without causing harm ?

Soubriquet · 14/10/2016 21:12

Impulse buying acasual

Big big factor

NashvilleQueen · 14/10/2016 21:13

We have a cavalier King Charles spaniel. A breed most people think to be very sweet. And he is 99.8% of the time. But he can get grumpy around food and I warn the children about being careful with him all the time. I agree that all dogs have the potential to cause harm and that staffies get a bad press. That said, their 'hard dog' image makes them attractive to some and they tend to be the least able to properly train and restrain them.
All dogs can be dangerous - but I think the harm that a staffie can cause compared to most other breeds means I would never contemplate getting one.

Original poster
Flowersinyourhair · 14/10/2016 21:14

Maybe the solution is in fact the return of the dog licence.

OP posts:
Pluto30 · 14/10/2016 21:15

OP, what you're failing to understand is that there is a definite media bias against Staffys etc. The fact is that there are far more recorded attacks from Labradors etc. but they never make it to the news. My dog's vet says that his worst experiences have been with Jack Russells and Daschunds.

A few years ago it was German Shepherds, now it's Staffys/Pit Bulls, and in 10 years it'll be another breed.

WeArePregnant11 · 14/10/2016 21:16

Btw, I may be very uninformed. But I thought certain dog breeds were banned because people used them for dog fights? And not because they're especially dangerous?

Because if we're worrying about their bite... we'll, German shepherds and malamutes aren't banned, for example

pregnantat50 · 14/10/2016 21:17

when my son was born we had a German Shepherd. She had a lovely temperament and had never hurt a fly, however as soon as i brought my baby home from hospital she would growl around him and make me unfcomfortable. She was very jealous, in the end I told my DP I was moving to mums unless he got rid of her, he adored his dog, but having witnessed her odd behaviour around our son, he decided he loved our son more and rehoused the dog (in a good home) but my mum instinct struck and I refused to live there with the remote chance my son may be in danger.

Pluto30 · 14/10/2016 21:18

And my worst experiences have been with New Foundlands.

One ripped my dog in half (and killed him) when I was a child, and my friend's NF ripped their other dogs throat apart. Not sure I'd be keen to get one of those, considering those are the only two I've known and they've both been awful, but, again, you never hear about them in the media.

Mcchickenbb41 · 14/10/2016 21:18

We had Staffies in the family for years. I'm going to be completely honest ... Our dogs were lovely dogs. Would I trust them alone with children ? No. Did I leave them alone with children ? No I didn't. I didn't because they were dogs not because of their breed. My mum then went on to have greyhounds. One of them took a real dislike to dd who was a baby at the time so he was never around her. Ever ! Even in a room full of supervising adults. There was also a jack Russell in the family that couldn't be around children. Awful thing that has happened just awful Sad

Original poster
Flowersinyourhair · 14/10/2016 21:19

Pluto- honestly I find what you're saying nonsense. This is in the news today because of the gravity of the situation- not because it was a Staffie. Actually, if it was a Poodle attacking, killing and maiming children it's probably be more likely to be in the news because it's so bloody rare!

OP posts:
Soubriquet · 14/10/2016 21:20

I've never heard that about newfies!

Jeez that must have been traumatising Flowers

GarkandGookin · 14/10/2016 21:22

I have a staffy who is excellent with children. She is NEVER left alone with children. My sister had a shi-tzu who was good around children. She was NEVER left alone with children. It's not rocket science...

Pluto30 · 14/10/2016 21:23

You can claim it's nonsense as much as you want, the stats are there that Labs (and other "friendly") breeds are responsible for more attacks than Staffys. But most people are intelligent enough to understand that the behaviour of a few is not representative of all/the majority.

What's the point of this thread, anyway? You obviously have your opinion but you went straight on the attack in your OP saying that you knew people would claim it was the owners, not the dog etc.

(Also just because they belong to a cop, doesn't mean that they're looked after better than a dog belonging to Joe Bloggs down the street).

MerylPeril · 14/10/2016 21:24

I think the problem don't really want to put the time in effort into dogs that they need.
I grew up with dogs, I would never get one, I don't have the time.
They are a massive commitment - not only in training to start with but exercise.
A quick walk around the block is not adequate for an animal. We always used to walk ours 4 times a day, 2 long, 2 short (the bane of my teenage life). I know it depends on the breed but locking animals up all day and not exercising them properly is no good.
I have a neighbour with a huskie who takes it on these 10 minute trots out - to me it's a form of abuse.

Our placid dog bit me as a child as I was poking him in the face and he wasn't well and I didn't understand the signals.

metaphoricus · 14/10/2016 21:24

The trouble with pit bulls and staffies is their jaws. They latch on and shake. A lab wouldn't do that. It might bite you, but that's all it would do.
I really cannot understand why anyone would choose to have one of these terrifying lock jaw dogs. If I was going to have a dog it would be a Labrador. Do pit bulls make you look tough, or what?

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 14/10/2016 21:25

Staffies were known as Nanny dogs unfortunately they've been bred on a mass scale, it's so cheap and easy to get them that you get people who shouldn't own dogs owning them. Just because someone is a police officer, it doesn't make them a good dog owner.

I really love dogs but when I see a picture on facebook of a baby on the floor with a dog(usually a American Pitbull) sitting or lying next to the baby or toddler, it makes me angry. They usually post these pictures with a caption to prove how soft and harmless a dog is. It's such a stupid idea.

I have a small dog who I'm 99% sure is soft as heck but I would never have him in the living room with a baby on the floor, because he's an animal and animals have a completely different thought process to humans and it's not fair to put them in that position.

Sorry I went on a bit of off topic and on a rant, it's just a massive bug bear of mine.

MorrisZapp · 14/10/2016 21:25

Must be hard owning a dog in a family setting if they must be guarded at all times. How can that be at all relaxing.

tabulahrasa · 14/10/2016 21:25

"A baby died today and a toddler received life changing injuries because of a Staffie"

Dogs very rarely just bite, there are some very rare medical conditions that will cause them to, but mostly they warn and warn and warn that they're not happy in a situation before escalating to a bite...the adult human responsible for the dog is responsible for the ultimate bite, not the dog, they don't have the capacity to do anything but act as their instincts tell them to.

Also it's not a staffy, it's reportedly a staffy type - which means a cross, so yet again any other breeds that are in there are completely ignored because it suits those reporting it to report it as a staffy.

Staffies btw as others have pointed out are fairly small dogs.

The issue with blaming it on breed is that it leads to dangerous breeds and safe breeds instead of people realising they don't pay enough attention to their dog's body language.

There aren't safe breeds, children have been killed by dogs as small as a Pomeranian.

Dogs who are doing their best to show that they are uncomfortable will finally resort to biting and every dog owner should know and recognise both that fact and the signs, that's what would stop children being killed by dogs.

ToxicLadybird · 14/10/2016 21:26

Poodles can be vicious buggers. There was one that used to terrorise us growing up. It was allowed to roam free and spent most of its time chaing kids up trees. This was a full grown, proper poodle. Not one of those little toy ones. Poodles are big dogs.

acasualobserver · 14/10/2016 21:26

Impulse buying acasual

Well, that's alright then. I mean, if you buy a dangerous dog on a whim who can blame you?

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 14/10/2016 21:26

Metaphoricus The lockjaw thing is a myth.

shins · 14/10/2016 21:27

They're horrible. Lots of my neighbours have them and they scare the shit out of me. I'm tired of hearing how they'd never hurt a fly-the fact that they're strong enough to kill a child is enough for me to wonder why people have them.

pregnantat50 · 14/10/2016 21:28

tabulahrasa you are correct about no breed being harmless. I was reading about a dacshand that killed someone. I am terrified of dogs though, from my childhood.

tabulahrasa · 14/10/2016 21:28

"Must be hard owning a dog in a family setting if they must be guarded at all times."

Not really, you occasionally go - hoy, don't go over there to harass the dog if they look like they might and if you need to leave the room you call the dog to come with you.

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