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
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This above incident just confirms my opinion.

Like with any dog, a lot depends on their start in life, their owner and how they've been handled. Some rough idiot that thinks his dog is a status symbol is likely to train their dog up to be scary. It's not the breed.
When i was a kid it was Doberman and Rottweiler that everyone was saying were dangerous and should be banned.

Iluff your dog is beautiful, please ignore anyone who says otherwise.
If I see a staff in the street I always ask if I can say hello. I'm very lucky and our boy gets a lot of attention when we are out and about - for every 1 person who avoids him, there are about 20 who go out of their way to give him some fuss.

Yes other dogs can bite more than Staffies but Staffies can and have killed small children. That is the difference

One of our local rescues visits primary schools with a rescue staffie that had been used as a bait dog and is covered in scars. She is helping to teach the children how to approach and handle dogs and is a wonderful ambassador of the breed in spite of her horrific past.

In all my years with dogs the most aggressive towards humans that I've encountered have been Chihuahua's, Jack Russell Terriers and a SharPei.

To be honest, in the right hands, I love them all. I have had a couple of dogs startle or make me nervous in the past, but they were dogs (Rottweiler, GSD, and actual Pit Bull) that were kept as guard dogs and were actually doing what they were trained to do. They all immediately relaxed on command and were fine.

My uncle has had 3 staffs all of which have been the tamest dogs known to man, non have bared any teeth nor growled at anyone. It’s how they are trained that’s the problem. If you get a dickhead dog owner that wants thier dog to be a raging lunatic then they will get trained like that.

The most danger you get is the chance of being lick3d to death.

Yes other dogs can bite more than Staffies but Staffies can and have killed small children. That is the difference

Literally any dog can do this. If you Google it, you will see stories about boxers, collies, Jack Russell terriers, and dachshunds that have bitten fatally. All dogs have teeth. I work with dogs. Worst bite I've had to date was a Shi Tzu. That is inclusive of a GSD attacking me when I was 9.

Singingmyownspecialsong
Your dog is so lovely, So gorgeous..I had a staffie growing up, he was a massive wimp. Scared of the thunder bless him. Such a sweet boy, you could hug him and he's just give kisses.
We took on a 14 month lab, owner lied about history. He was always nervous, grabbed onto my arm and bit down, all 36 kilos. Lovely dog though, got him rehome and a behaviourikst, happy as Larry now.
It's very true about upbringing, it's so important. And just why is there not more education in schools etc about dogs,...

I love Staffies, I used to own two. If raised properly there’s no gentler, more affectionate breed imo. Same with any breed though, if you don’t train and control it it’ll take advantage. Dogs are natural boundary pushing opportunists, as we see all to often with those indulged yappy little bastards people adore. People let their little yappy dogs behave like little shits because they think they can’t do any harm and people allow their Staffies to behave like shits because they want people to think they will. Neither of those things are the dog’s fault, it’s all the stupid owner.

My friends were dog sitting a neighbour’s Staffie. I had never been near the breed. Well me and the three kids fell completely in love with him, he was the biggest softie and spent the whole day on the sofa (if allowed) with his head on someone’s knee.

He was also incredibly lazy. We were hoping for an invigorating stride around the fields but when we got to the end of her country lane (two minutes) he gave us a very pathetic look as if to say “ do we HAVE to go any further?” of course every dog owner crossed the street to get away when they saw him coming. He changed my view entirely from one of ignorance of the breed to one who would love to raise and love a Staffie. He was gorgeous and absolutely loved people. Never saw a hint of aggression in fact it was quite the running joke that he would be sent out to protect someone when he was unlikely to ever budge off the sofa.

To add that a man used to walk his three dogs through our village, he had two on a lead and a staffie trailing behind. The staffie was trailing behind because he had to stop to say hello to everyone he passed, and if you were in the garden he would wait at the end of the drive until you spoke to him and then come and see you. He was a gorgeous dog and I was very sad when he got slower and slower and crippled with arthritis but still made the effort to visit everyone. I haven't seen him for years and he will have been long gone now, but he left a lasting impression on many people for his kind nature.

Some of the loveliest dogs I've met were staffs and some of the worst dogs I've met were staffs.

I've also met bastarding Golden Retrievers, which everybody assumes are fluffy and wonderful. Also, evil Bichon Frisees.

It's the owner, not the breed.

@Isabella @fenneltea lovely stories!! Fennel the staffy you mention sounds just like our boy. Wants to greet everyone and will wag his tail so hard that his whole body wags with him, just to say hi. He has changed so many people's views on the breed. They really are amazing dogs. I don't think I'd ever own another breed now!

I have a Staffy sleeping with his head on my knee right now, so I am not anti Staffy! But it’s true they are powerful, strong dogs & they have potential that a JRT (say) doesn’t have. I have a JRT too - now very elderly, but a bloody nightmare as a younger dog. When my Staffy came home, I remember saying after a few days, ‘The difference is that B (Staffy) wants to please me. F (JRT) doesn’t object if he pleases me accidentally, but it’s not his priority.’ If F does something dodgy, you increase control, which is easy because he’s fundamentally portable. But if B ever does anything dodgy, we’re stuffed. He’s too strong to take risks with.

I have worked in the community (nursing) and visited many homes with Staffies in and they have been absolute darlings. Yorkshire terriers on the other hand ....nasty little devils.

Oops meant to tag you @IdaBWells but my phone changed it to Isabella

I would worry far more about the (under exercised) Huskies and Akitas that seem to be more and more popular.

My dh came home with a staffy once - he was driving the boys to the village and found this poor dog by the road - he had no collar on and was injured - we think he was hit by a car.

Despite being in pain, lost and scared, and being picked up by a stranger, put in a strange car, and brought into a strange house, this dog behaved impeccably, even when he was being lifted/carried which must have been sore for him. Not even the slightest hint of a growl,or snap.

We handed him over to the SPCA, so he could get checked out by a vet (it was the weekend and our emergency vet charged £140 minimum on a Sunday), and let the police know about the dog. When his owners also contacted the police (he had been spooked by fireworks, slipped his collar and run away - they had been searching all night, and finally rang the police to report him missing), they were reunited with the dog.

We had already decided that, if no-one claimed the dog, we would offer to rehire him - he was that much of a sweetheart.

Any dog can attack, no matter how well trained, how long you’ve had them or how loving they are so they should never be left alone with a child under any circumstances.

This is one of my sisters daft as brush staffie crosses with her gorgeous 3 week old puppies I can’t wait to bring my puppy home. This dog has been around kids since she was a puppy and would go to the ends of the earth to protect them. So YABU it’s the owners that are viscous not the breed.

Dysfuntional people produce dysfunctional animals. I also seriously doubt, OP, that the dogs you have come across are pure staffies and have been bred for good temperament as well as looks.

The dog known as the 'nanny dog' is actually a pit bull and not the Staffy.

Staffies are by the way a fantastic dog to have around kids when they are raised with them. That being said YABU to single out breeds but YANBU to ask people to put dogs away when you visit.

100% its how they are brought up and treated and that goes for any breed!

Our staff is the softest thing you could meet but he has loterally been treated like a baby and child, loved and cuddled and cherished. We introduced him properly to our pack and the boys hassle him so much but he loves them and would never hurt them. He lets them sit on him hug him he alwaus goes for a slobbery kiss haha. Soon gets the kids away haha

My dad owns a stuffy Rottweiler cross, she was a rescue who was going to be a fighter but was too small.
She is the most obedient, sweetest dog because they know what they're doing and trained her correctly.
She can be very overly excited but if you say heel she will not move from your foot.

It's not dogs, it's owners.