To want to tell others to do their research before judging!

[Mumzzy88]

I get stopped every day by other dog walkers.i get rude comments about my parenting because of my choice. I get shocked faces and utter disbelief when asked do I have a pet!
I have a pit bull!
He was not my choice of breed and I didn't even want a bloody dog!
But.... a family member was treating him very badly he was under weight riddled in fleas being hit and attacked by other dogs in the house being given just left over food from whatever takeaway they had that night I observed this for a few months until I was invited to a barbecue five years ago in 30degree heatwave I could hear this dog crying in a room upstairs. I went up to see the dog who was in a boiling room with NO water!
I lost it! And took the dog home that moment to mine !
Iv now had him 6 years he's now a confident gorgeous family pet and we all adore him and he's amazing with my children he sleeps with my 10 year old every night as he hates being alone (naughty I know) and even lives peacefully with two cats!
He's not got a aggressive bone in his stocky body
But nearly every day people stop me and demand I put THAT dog on a lead ( in a huge field) or how could you own such a monster!. Or omg how could you allow such a dog around your children!
I'm so sick of this it makes me so upset Because he's so lovely he's and been given a second chance to be a happy pouch.
I feel like I have to explain his story constantly AIBU to think that people should just mind their own bloody business or do some research on the breed!

A few people have mentioned that they have fears of dogs running up to them or their children. I have the opposite fear of children running up and pestering my dog as I've had far more experiences of unknown children and even sometimes adults running up to grab/cuddle my dog than i have dogs Ive had or looked after running up to children they dont know. I dont believe that either should happen. Ive also had parents get very pissy with me when I've stopped their child from groping my dog or politely denied their request to pat or hug her. I don't want a stranger stroking my head so why would she?

It's basically just about everyone respecting one another when out and about, which the OP is clearly doing with the steps she has taken. No dog should be able to just run up to a person or child and if a dog guardian can't call a dog back or knows they do this when off-lead then it's bad is ownership on their part to have them off-lead when others are around, regardless of breed. Likewise no person or child has the right to go up to dogs they don't know, dogs can have fears of people too and these kinds of unwanted interactions can actually create those fears which in turn can lead to dogs who are nervous and more likely to bite or snap so putting everyone in danger.

There is definitely a lot of breed-discrimination that happens which is so unfair on dogs like yours. My dog was rescued and we were told came from a physically abusive home. I don't allow strangers to touch her because it took so much work to get her comfortable with strangers and being patted at all that I don't want to risk that being destroyed (even though now she loves meeting strangers and new people but I'm just not risking it). But because she looks very cute and is only little people think they can treat her like a teddy. It sounds like your dog is actually far more stable than mine yet you get grief for not keeping him caged away from society whereas I get grief for not allowing people and their children to do whatever they like to him. It's a strange world we live in!

Any dog can turn, my sister adopted a lovely little dog from a rescue
He was what seemed like a yorkie x, she had him 3 months ,but one day he turned on her for no apparent reason, almost took the skin off her hand, very badly bitten,
She have him another chance thinking she might have unknowingly hurt him although she couldnt see how, a few weeks later he did it again,
She had to return him, but it shows that a loving dog who might have been abused in the past can suddenly turn even on its owner
Such a shame that poor dog would probably be put to sleep.
I hope your dog carries on having a lovely life with you, and you make sure no one has any reason to complain about him
I rescued a little dog myself, but i am scared of any dog unleashed

Rafals- re GSD, I know that but I was aligning my post with that of the op's to make the comparison easier that assuming my GSD is sweet and docile, some people would still be wary and I would understand that completely.

I would turn and walk the other way if I saw your dog loose. Those breeds terrify me.

I judge, judge, judge. A dog with the capacity to do unimaginable damage in seconds, scampering past my kids?! I would be having a go at you, sorry (not sorry). And if I knew it was not only a pit bull but a mistreated pitbull (yes, I know, not by you), I would be going ballistic. No dog attacks, until it attacks for the first time. It gets scared, or my kid screams because of the FUCKING MASSIVE PITBULL THAT IS LEVEL WITH HIS FACE, and he gets scared and attacks.

YABAUASIPTB (that's You Are Being As Unreasonable As It's Possible To Be). However admirable it was of you to rescue a dog in dire circumstances, for fuck's sake keep the lead on in public, and a muzzle too. Take the risk with your own kids "because he's a big softy" (so they always say after an attack), but you don't get to take the risk with mine.

Rant over.

I have dogs, love dogs and admire experienced people who responsibly rescue hard-to-home dogs.

Taking an abused and neglected male pit bull, as an inexperienced owner, into the house where your small children have no choice but to live, is neither admirable nor responsible, no matter how sweet he has turned out to be (so far).

It was irresponsible and foolish, and nothing less than the active endangerment of your child(ren). You've just been very lucky (so far).

If I could repost without the swearing, I would. This stuff just gets me so aerated (my mum lives right near the house of the beautiful little boy killed last year). But I should not have sworn.

As a staffy owner, I understand. I've had people cross the street. I know my dog is amazing and I don't care. They're the ones who never get to feel the love of a staffy and that's sad lol

I don't allow him to run around freely when out he will be leashed

Well that's a lie, isn't it, OP? You've admitted you do allow him to run around freely when out.

my dog is on a leash especially around others

This isn't a logical claim. You can't respond to someone demanding you have your dog on a lead when out with 'he is on a lead especially when X'. Especially when X means he's most definitely not always on a lead when out.

'You should make sure you always wear clothes in public'
'I do always wear clothes in public, especially when it's raining' MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE

Such goady fuckery going on here. Wonder whether there was actually a point to the thread beyond that.

They're the ones who never get to feel the love of a staffy and that's sad

I can live with that. I have no desire to feel the love of a staffy.

I'm somebody who would cross the street to avoid walking anywhere near your dog. And I'd be looking carefully to see if it was on a lead, and if it was, I'd be hoping it wasn't one of those extendable leads.
I wouldn't be trying to offend. I'm just naturally wary of strange large dogs and there's not much I can do about that - I'm a bit long in the tooth to be persuaded otherwise.

I've never understood why people think a staffy is a 'large' dog. A German shepherd or an Akita is a large dog. Border collies are generally bigger than staffies!

They're the ones who never get to feel the love of a staffy and that's sad

I can live with that. I have no desire to feel the love of a staffy

Haha! Yeah, I can live without knowing the love of a staffy either!

I don't like any dogs to be honest and those breeds terrify me.

I've got three dogs - all lab/ retriever types and they are all well behaved and well socialised. However, after reading a MN dog thread I always get worried about taking them out (we walk them all without a lead in areas that they know) for fear of bumping into some of the hysterical types that these threads attract.

My dogs are not interested in you, your kids or your dogs. They are only interested in their own family: my kids, my DH, my step children and me. None of them ever set foot in a training class either.

I love staffies. They are such a happy and joyful breed of dog. I've never encountered a pit bull and I admit I would probably be wary of one if I did meet it, but only in terms of whether the owner was a tosser or not.

In my experience the most nasty, horrible little shits of a dog have been Jack Russells. Followed by dachshunds. But I'm sure that there are nice ones out there. I have just never met one.

Oh and collies can be pretty nippy. We had one as kids and she used to round us up and nip our hands to ensure we went where she wanted us to go.

I totally agree re huskies. They are incredibly beautiful dogs, but should never be kept as a pet, especially as the people who tend to buy them do so for their looks and have no concept of the amount of exercise and thus, food, they need - 10 000 calories a day I heard somewhere?

They're stocky though, innit?

My parents have a staffie who has never hurt a fly. BUT she is always kept completely separate from all the grandchildren.

Purely because if she was a Jack Russel and bit one of them, you could relatively easily pull them away/overpower them. However, trying to get past the strength of a Staffie's jaw is another kettle of fish.

Some breeds aren't necessarily more dangerous but some breeds are undeniably stronger.

I'd be happy for you to come walk with me and my 7 month old lab/Springer off lead in the big secure field near me. Mine just wants to be friends with all dogs.

You are being ridiculous to assume that people will not make judgments. People make judgments on millions of things every single day, you included, and a lot of the time it would be insane not to - I wish everyone would drop the hysterical obsession with being 'judged' all the fucking time. Just get over it.

All the collies I know are nasty. Particularly towards other dogs. I still give them a fuss if they don't want to bite me lol. I'm a dog (and animal in general) lover though.

We rehomed a staffie cross from wood green and he was the softest most lovable dog ever. For 2 years, he was loved so much and we went to obedience classes and he was wonderful. Never any signs of aggression or nervousness he was just such a happy little dog.

Then one day out of the blue he turned on someone. He was on a lead. To this day all I can think is that this person might have looked, smelt, said or done something that reminded him of his abusive past before we rehomed him.

He was put down and luckily the person, an adult, was not seriously hurt. My stomach turns every time I think what if that had been a child.

YABU to ignore the mountains of evidence of what these types of dogs are capable of if they do attack. YABU to rehome this type of dog in a house with children and YABU to have that dog out off the lead and unmuzzled. You are lovely for saving him from his dire life before but please please please do not ever think this dog incapable of an attack out of the blue.

Look I know that staffies can be a wonderful pet but the fact is that you are being unreasonable expecting people to be comfortable around them with all the stigma attached. The staffies I know, I like. But that doesn't stop me being wary when there is one out in the park without a lead. Your staffie may be good with your kids and you but who's to say they will be that way with others? You shouldn't expect people to be happy with your dog running wild just because you are. And there's such a thing as a pack mentality. Your dog is in your family i.e. your pack. Everybody else is a potential threat.

Like any large muscular dog with powerful jaws, he is a potential threat.

I would be afraid of him if he was running off leash in the park. I avoid many parks and countryside places now because I feel intimidated by dogs like him. Why is it ok to let a big scary dog spoil the park for others?

Nobody knows his temperament! They just see his size and jaw.

If he turned suddenly and attacked someone, would you be able to pull him off? If not then I don't think he should ever be off leash in public places. No dog is completely trustworthy. A smaller weaker dog could be kicked away or overpowered before it did serious damage.

Alpaca what a horrible experience for you! (And the poor person he attacked, of course)

What happened to you is the reason I get so angry about his. A dog is an animal, and will react to stuff sometimes in a way you would never anticipate. Putting a dog with the capacity for fast and fatal damage around children is wilfully stupid, and makes me so so angry. You can never, ever, be confident that nothing will ever happen. You have to handle them always like it could happen. And that means not in a home with children, and always with a muzzle and lead outside.

I am aware that any dog can turn (and personally I would happily outlaw all dogs in parks where children play), but I would rather take my chances with a jack Russell than a pit bull. Just as I would rather take my chances with an angry unarmed man than an angry man with a knife.

It is just blatant common sense. It blows my gaskets, this "he would never hurt anyone" shit.

And as for the "you will never know the love of a Staffy" stuff... pshaw! I have the safety of a home without powerful dogs (and I would like the same safety in public places too). I am sad for you that you don't have that.

I feel like I'm missing something. There is lots of talk about leashes/muzzles, but no one seems to bat an eyelid about the dog sleeping with a 10 year old child?! I'm (as you can tell ) a cat person, is this usual? I admit I'm scared of dogs but even so, I thought dogs and children should be supervised?

(oh and bollocks that people come and say " that dog should be on a leash" but he is already on a leash. Own it at least and don't back pedal. I'm interested to see the response to the sleeping with a child thing as I genuinely thought was terrible but people seem to be more about the lead thing...

What about all the other large breeds? Why aren't they being demonised? You never see anyone crossing the streets from a Great Dane but my daft as a brush staffy is terrifying 🙄 go clutch your pearls elsewhere. I'm an a&e nurse and most the bites I see come from jack Russell's