Aibu regarding so called “Nanny” dogs AKA staffies

[Ghanagirl]

Just that really, I think Staffordshire bull terriers are similar and possibly interbred with pitbulls and very aggressive.
I visit families at home in the line of work in quite a rough area and have to ask clients to put dogs away as I’m terrified of being bitten as two of my colleagues have been attacked plus the local postie
apple.news/ACbjrKRZSQBOMnyuDqmjkFw
This above incident just confirms my opinion.

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Your being completely unreasonable. It's nothing to do with the breed. It's how they are brought up.

What actually is your opinion?

All the staffies I have come across aresome of the loveliest most well mannered dogs I've met! It depends, like all things, who is bringing them up and how they're treated. Much like children.

I’m no particular staffie fan (as in I don’t know any) but I wouldn’t say they are similar to pit bulls, and I know lots of (lovely) people who adore them as a breed.

I'm not a big believer in breeds being bad, more owners being stupid and reckless.

We have a spaniel who we rescued at 12 months. Nobody ever imagines for a second that a spaniel could potentially cause harm and I've seen adults with small children let their DC try to do all sorts to our dog - I've had to stop friends DC from sitting on her, poking her with things, from grabbing at her. I'm very strict with DC and the dog; she was trained from the minute she came to live with us that whenever I left a room, she followed so that she'd never be left with the DC. At 8 years old I'm certain she'd never pose a risk to them, but certainty is all well and good til the dog is unwell or the DC make a stupid choice and suddenly you have another attack.

If you have a dog you have a duty to train and nurture them properly. You also have a duty to teach those in contact with the dog a) to recognise the dog's communication and b) to respect the dog. If both of those rules are followed I imagine you'd reduce the amount of dog attacks regardless of breed.

Yabu. In my experience (always had dogs) Staffys are lovely and one of the most loyal dogs you can have. Any dog can be aggressive but that is usually to do with how they are treated.

Yanbu to ask clients to put dogs away if you are scared though, we have no issue with putting ours away if somebody who is scared visits.

Yabu. The media doesn't report the attacks by labradors, jack Russell terriers, spaniels etc because it doesnt make a good story. As a family we've owned labradors mainly, but standard poodles and collies also. As an adult I've owned Staffordshire Bull terriers, and English bull terriers. As a child I was badly bitten by a jRT, and as an adult by a border terrier. My experience is that lots of dog breeds bite, but some are reported more widely than others.

I live in a "naice" chocolate box English village, with countless dogs...am regularly harassed by idiot unleashed dogs on my walk to work. I'll give yiu a clue... They aren't Staffies.

Our family dog when I lived at home was a Staffie, she was the most gentle and loving dog. She was our family dog for 13 years and everyone was devastated when she died. She was wonderful with children and during both of my pregnancies she would lie with her chin on my bump!

Any breed can be aggressive in the wrong hands. Temperament only plays a small part in their behaviour, how you train and treat a dog is ultimately what they become.

My neighbor has an awesome staffie, he is a sweetie pie. It pisses me off that people avoid him bit try to cuddle my arseholepuppy who is more likely to bite you (because she's an arseholepuppy who is recovering from a nasty injuryand associates strangers with being hurt and yes we are working on her behaviour).

My family have had staffs for years they are amazing loving brilliant family pets. My brother had a beautiful girl who was rescued from a puppy farm. She was terrified of people and other dogs when he got her and after only a short while she became the most amazing pet. She was still scared of her own shadow (and i do literally mean that) but never agressive with it. She was once attacked by a miniature Yorkie and climbed up my brother because she was so terrified and wee'd on him in panic.

So yes YABVVVU

So yes yabu.

Yep, they are all terrifying and vicious. Here’s mine about to eat the cat and my DD when she was new born. He’s cuddling up to the cat because Gross generalisation OP. Like all breeds there are placid, friendly ‘nanny’ ones, grumpy, snappy ones and daft as a brush ones. Mind you i’ve met lots of Staffies and have yet to meet one who doesn’t just want cuddles and acceptance.

I think that your problem is many of your “rough” clientele, in their “rough” areas think that it’s good to make their dog “rough” like them.

It’s not the breeds fault, and some of the loveliest dogs I’ve spent time with have been staffies. Infact, when I was pregnant with my DD her knobhead father had a staffie, lovely thing she was. Very over protective of me and protected me from him numerous times. That’s not to say she was suitable to be around DD cos she wasn’t, didn’t want DD anywhere near me either, but they are often given a really nasty rep when they aren’t deserving of it.

And it depends who you are when you’re visiting them, if you’re a social worker or police officer, it’s different to being a beauty therapist who can refuse to stay there, if a social worker or police officer I’d assume they’d need to prove they could control their dogs regardless of breed.

Sorry, posted too soon. The dog was cuddling the cat because he was trying to make him feel better after an injury

Staffies make wonderful family dogs. They can be incredibly gentle and loving. Unfortunately they can also be used as a 'status' dog, and so aren't always treated the best or trained well by people that get them to use as some kind of accessory. That Is where problems arise

All the ones I've known have been lovely. As have the soft as shit Doberman and the various GSDs I know. My own rescue Labradors on the other hand I wouldn't trust with a stranger or a child

Dogs are far more a product of their upbringing than their breeding.

YABVU. Staffies are awesome dogs. It's just a crying shame a lot of idiots who shouldn't be allowed to own a house plant, choose them and Staffie crosses as pets.

It’s the type of people that buy staffies. There’s two types minority sadly those who love the breed now all the good bad and ugly and will train their dogs. Then there is the rest of the population who buy them as a status symbol often using or dealing drugs with young uncontrollable children in the house.

I think some of the problem is around the potential to cause harm. These are very strong dogs with strong jaws and are often crossed with other fighting breeds. While I agree that the upbringing of the dog is v important, the potential to do harm and the degree of harm possible is probably greater than in other breeds, as is seen in the high incidence of serious attacks reported.

Is that article the baby in Peterborough killed by a staff by any chance as thats been everywhere today.

Our family have had four staffies between them and they've all been very lovable. Two of them lived with babies, another dog and a cat.

You’ll find that most staffies are soft as a brush but a lot of the people that have them would like you to think they might be aggressive.

We had one when I was a child and he was the most loyal and loving with me and my siblings. Far more so than the other breeds we had which you’d probably deem to be on the non-aggressive list. If any of us were poorly he’d sit with us all day with his head on our knee.

What @Letsmoveondude said it’s the owners NOT the dog breed

Those little yappy dogs are more likely to bite you in all honesty.

Anyway, depends more on the owner than the breed, and also if there's a pack of them.

Yabu.

Staffies are no longer the status dog, they have been over taken in main stream by huskies who can be very nasty and are far more powerful. But of much more concern are some of latest high end status dogs the Dogue de Bordeaux and Thai Ridgebacks,