Why do people continue to get get certain breed of dogs?

[Zeelove]

We all know that certain breeds have a really bad reputation. Why do dog owners continue to get them? For the record I've never witnessed any of these dogs act in a bad way, but still. Surely if your going to get judged for keeping them, why would you do it? Is it a status thing?

No dog should be left alone with a child irrespective of the breed

Helpmeplan My brother's staffie's farts are foul -as are my brother's so Syd the staffie tends to get the blame for any whiffs.

I think people were joking about the sausage dog. Even the most poorly trained shitty tempered one will not have been encouraged to be 'hard' and would have limited ability to maul a child! A bit different to a staffy that's been bought fir a different purpose that then acts out. They're incredibly strong.

Lime123 there is a lot of selected reporting. Labs bite more than any other breed (although I think that's down to the popularity of them, so more of them about) yet when do you ever hear that reported in the papers?

My Chihuahua is a sweetheart I think that is a bit of a stereotype lol

OP does have a point, and no its not staffie bashing, a true staffie is quite a small dog, however more and more "staffies" are now over twice the size of the true breed and incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. We have several in our area, they scare the life out of me when they are running loose in the nearby park when I'm out with my kids. One has recently attack another dog and its owner, another attacked a kid on a bike. Im not against any dog but really don't understand why family's choose this type of dog over other breeds knowing the damage they can do if they ever did bite. All dogs can bite, but some are much more powerful than others. The pit bull is officially banned in the uk but i can assure you they are prolific round here but they are staffies according to their owners!

Helpme plan- and your dogs look very sweet

And yes, EVERY sensible dog dog owner knows not to leave a small child and a dog unsupervised. Many dogs would lash out at an over-exuberant toddler pulling a tail or sticking fingers in its ears

Like a pp my first thought was about pugs and French Bulldogs, I don't understand why dogs with significant health problems are bought in such large numbers.

I have the most beautiful staffy. He loves other dogs and children. He is asleep on my bed beside me now. He sleeps with me or the kids. He is so gentle and playful and has never shown any sign of aggression. My cat on the other hand is a cunt.

Because people dont care if they are judged for having a dog they love, I wouldn't care what breed i had as long as it was friendly. idgaf what people think.

I notice the other thread had got pulled.

We got a staffy because we fell in love with her at the shelter. Luckily all round, she must have been raised by nice people because she's a sweeetheart.

And no I would never leave her alone with a visiting child, I'd never leave a visiting child alone with any animal though - and not because of risk to the child necessarily. Most of my heart in mouth moments have been because of a little brat trying to tease/hurt the dog for fun while their doe eyed mother just sits there smiling and going "awww bless!" until I have to intervene.

Anybody that believes a whole breed is bad is ignorant. There’s a reason several of the big charities are seeking to get rid of breed specific legislation. BSL is ineffective, most of the time we’re killing puppies for being of ‘type’. I grew up with Staffies and American Bulldogs. They did nothing but good for me. I have only ever been bitten by Jack Russells.

For anybody interested in actual facts and not just the media’s portrayal of certain breeds-

www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/dogownership/bsl

'a good breeder will breed for a good temperament' said a pp. Sadly some idiots also breed for an aggressive one and it's often the idiots that want an aggressive one than then later get it taken away and that's why they're in shelters. Not to mention some breeds have been bred for guarding and fighting for centuries so do have instincts that need a lot of work by experienced owners to counteract that. Some of them make lovely pets for their family but will attack the hell out of other dogs and strangers - that's been my experience with staffies 'oh they're darling and soppy' but walk past them with your dog and they will try to kill it.

Sarah- sorry I did lump all chihuahuas together- I should have worded it better because of course they aren’t all the same.

My staffy has to stop and say hello to every bloody dog we meet. He loves other dogs and is never aggressive with them.

I absolutely adore staffies. All dogs have an ability to be dangerous, just as we wouldn’t say all people are dangerous because a select few have done wrong.

We should stop breeding the brachycephalic types.

I have a German shepherd just to fuck off arseholes. Its a really good way to filter out shitheads from my life. 😁

hungryhippo lol it's fine I used to feel the same before for him, we were used to bigger dogs

Tarts amaze balls good idea

*before we got him

I wanted actual reasons as to why people (some of you) continue to get them after the bad press

Well, it's just a strange question. Why would I NOT get a staff just because of some bad press?

Like, why would I let what some ill-informed people think affect my decisions?