Just found out that puppy is partly a banned breed

[EvilGoldfish]

(Reposted from dog section as I didn’t get any replies yet and I’m really anxious!)

I know we should have done things properly to start with but my heart completely over ruled my head sad

We were on a waiting list for a Staffordshire bull terrier puppy, when my niece told me of a family she knew giving their 10 week old staffy female away as they couldn’t cope.

I went with full intentions of taking her to a local rescue as the details sounded dodgy (no microchip, no vaccinations, no contact details for who sold her to them) but I couldn’t bear the thought of her being picked duo as a bait dog. They had her in a tiny cat cage, no toys/bed and on adult butchers food. The first thing she did when they let her out was run up for a belly rub.

Obviously, she is completely adorable and I ended up taking her to the vets to be chipped, 1st vaccinations and to get checked over.

I know all puppy owners can say this but she is so responsive to positive training, loving and eager to please. She has only had two accidents in the four weeks we’ve had her, she sleeps at the foot of our bed and usually only needs to get up once in the night. Her little tail wags like crazy the second she sees anyone, including strangers and other dogs (dogs from a distance as her second vaccination is next week) but especially children. We are starting KC puppy scheme classes in a few weeks.

I feel like I have to predefend her as we have just received the wisdom panel DNA results. The breakdown is as follows (can’t post pictures yet?)

36% American Pitbull Terrier
21% Staffordshire Bull Terrier
18% American Bulldog
15% Rottweiler
3% Presa Canario
2% Boston Terrier
1% Bulldog
1% Dalmatian (?!)

I’m absolutely distraught. I’ve contacted the RSPCA (anonymously) for advice but wanted to know what others would do in my position? While I wait for the RSPCA response I wanted to try to figure out what my options are (google returned a LOT of conflicting advice).

Is she going to be taken from me when she gets bigger, even if she is a perfect family pet?

What are the chances of her suddenly turning into a rampaging beast, despite her being a very good natured puppy, and will be trained/socialised well?

Just seen the picture. She doesn't even look like a pit bull. Seriously just stop worrying.

@KurtWilde

So let me get this straight. Some of you on this thread would look at that perfectly healthy, well behaved puppy and have it pts? Am I reading that correctly? A healthy puppy that's done absolutely nothing to any one, you'd have her pts? Or send her to a shelter where she could spend her days in a cage rather than with a family who clearly love her and her them?

Fucking hell.

Sadly you're right. Unfortunately MN seems to attract dog (and cat) haters.

Well clearly you should give her away - to me! She is an absolutely beautiful girl and has landed firmly on all four paws with your family.

The DNA is not reliable enough to be worried. Breed traits are not always dominant. Look after her, love her, keep an eye on her: no bad dogs, only bad owners.

@caringcarer

I can't believe the large majority of posters on MN are saying say she is staffy or Labrador and forget test results. How would you feel if your lovely dog was startled by a child a bit them badly? These breed of dog have such powerful jaws. Talk to your vet and ask them to do a reliable DNA test. No matter how cute this puppy looks now I would be very wary of becoming attached to the dog until you are certain it is not largely American Pitbull. This is why you should never buy except from a reputable breeder who will give you long pedigree of both dog and bitch.

There's no "reliable DNA tests." There's no database of breed DNA and even if there was, it's not as simple as xxx breed alone has xxx DNA because so many breeds share ancestors.

I've been bitten by two dogs - one Yorkie who got my face, and a Black lab who went for my dog and got me.

A dog's breed, especially a mixed breed, has very little to do with if they'll bite.

98% if the dogs involved in dog attacks aren't socialised, aren't trained, aren't exercised properly and are often encouraged to behave in a "hard" way. Healthy, well trained and socialised dogs don't usually bite.

@Starcaller

Enjoy your lovely puppy, OP. Train her well, be sensible with her around kids like everyone with dogs should be, treat her with kindness, respect and love, teach your kids the correct way to behave around dogs, and enjoy your years together. She's a beaut.

Perfectly put.

Hi OP,

In the UK, the banned breed is a 'pit bull type' - if a dog is seized as a suspected banned breed, they don't do DNA tests, they have the dog assessed to a type - this is based on the dimensions and measurements of the dog. This is why the law is not fit for purpose - if a staffy x lab or an amstaff meets the required measurements for it to be deemed 'pit bull type' then they are considered an illegal breed - this would be the case even if you are able to prove parentage.

The best advice I can give is to speak to 'Save our seized dogs - putting BSL to sleep UK' and 'DDA watch' on Facebook. My American bulldog was seized in 2015 as someone had reported him as a pitbull. Both of these groups are an endless source of knowledge and advice. Ultimately I got my Ambull back as he was not considered type.

As others have said, enjoy your dog and ignore the scaremongering about pit bulls being inherently dangerous. Make sure you get a reputable behaviourist (NOT a trainer) to ensure your dog is getting the best possible foundations. I've had Staffies, American bulldogs and I've known some legally exempted pit bulls well and they are all wonderful dogs.

Fuck no way I would tell anyone.

Some of the nicest dogs I ever met were American pitbulls.

They have to be mistreated & trained to be aggressive, lovely dogs otherwise.

Hi everyone, sorry bit of a busy evening!

She really has settled in so well. I wasn’t sure what to expect given her poor start but she is just so happy to be near us.

Well, anyone actually. In the unlikely event any burglars not deterred by the security system got in they would get a... licking and a damn good butt wriggle.

The family we picked her up from claimed she didn’t answer to her name. It was an inappropriate one anyway so we changed it and she was running to us when called after the first two hours at home! But then they also said she was not toilet trained and cried a lot (probably because she was stuck in a tiny cat crate most of the time with no toys, love or attention )

Don't dob her in on any organisation yet.

Actually I’ve looked in to the two organisations that the RSPCA mentioned and they appear to be more on the side of campaigning against the breed legislation and helping owners get their dogs back at home.

It has made me feel better but I almost wish I hadn’t looked, some absolutely heartbreaking stories on there of good family dogs/puppies being destroyed, dying of neglect in police care or locked up in a bare kennel and not allowed to have any items from home for years.

It’s a little upsetting to be told I’m not putting my dc first, but I understand the knee jerk reaction, especially given recent events. However, if I was going off statistics alone I did read today that the majority of fatal dog bites came from a) intact male dogs, b) severely neglected or abused animals, c) poorly socialised dogs kept outside the family home as ‘guards’.

She has shown no signs of being anything but a very friendly and calm puppy. So, I’m not worried about the dc as I would have been taking the same precautions anyway.

She has been carried on the school runs and has met dc’s friends and parents. We were careful not to let her get overwhelmed. Just had short quiet greetings and watched her body language but she just loves meeting people. I’d certainly never leave any dc unsupervised with her anyway, whether she was a mountain dog or a chihuahua!

It doesn't define this way. It has a list of very specific meaurements (e.g. hock length vs total leg lenth) and the dog must fit within a number of them to be considered a banned dog breed type.

Thanks @Douchebaggette. That’s really interesting.

@FreyaHazel DDA watch was actually one of the organisations recommended by the RSPCA if I had any concerns. I’m sorry you had him seized but glad you got him back, some of the stories I read there earlier were absolutely horrific 💐

It’s a little upsetting to be told I’m not putting my dc first, but I understand the knee jerk reaction, especially given recent events.

Dismissing people’s concerns as knee jerk reactions is very patronising.

Where is Jeremy Kyle when you need him? Quick dna test would have this cleared up.

She sounds absolutely lovely OP, and so loved. I'm so glad she's found a good home with you and your family.

@BoredZelda

It doesn't define this way. It has a list of very specific meaurements (e.g. hock length vs total leg lenth) and the dog must fit within a number of them to be considered a banned dog breed type.

Thanks @Douchebaggette. That’s really interesting.

I posted it earlier in the thread.

imgur.com/a/riOJ4cB

Really naive question, and I don't think I'm gonna like the answer but here it goes.... what happens if they are found to be banned, who takes them where?? 😩🙈

I didn’t mean to be patronising at all @BoredZelda, even I had a slight knee jerk reaction of terror because of this image I had in my head of a child munching terrifying ‘pitbull’. Hence the panicked post!

Then I posted here, asked the RSPCA and did some frantic googling.

And it turns out that the DNA test isn’t infallible, that the RSPCA and many others don’t consider her inherently more likely to be violent that any other dog (the dog socialisation will need to be excellent but I wanted a Staffordshire bull terrier so that would have to have been anyway!) and that a spayed, well trained, well socialised, properly supervised and loved family pet is extremely unlikely to start eating everyone’s children.

I’m not an expert but I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that is the life that ddog has now.

So after talking it through with DH we decided to just carry on as we were and that she is fantastic and part of the family, whatever breed she is.

Then to seal the deal she has just snuggled her head under my arm and put her paw on my phone

She's gorgeous op.

I'v a family member who looks after staffy type breeds that have been mistreated or just badly trained as purchased as a status symbol. Most of them become lovely dogs although due to their past could never be trusted fully and wouldn't be around children.

You sound really sensible and I'm sure in your loving home with proper training she'll be very happy.

I really wouldn’t worry, I got a rescue 11 years ago, recently did a dna and it came back as saying she was 30 something percent Pitt bull, never had a single problem with her, she’s extremely friendly and has the softest mouth I’ve genuinely ever come across. I even had to pull half a dentastix from where it was wedged in the roof of her mouth before, and she just lay on her back with her mouth open and let me.

She is stubborn, recall was hard, but she was also a year when I got her so I missed the opportune moment. That could also be just as much down to the other breeds in her - ridgeback, Rottweiler, staffy etc.

Don’t start prejudging based on this, she will pick up on any anxiety you have and that could make her anxious too. Enjoy your pup!

@tsmainsqueeze

To lie and say she is a lab cross is unfair , hopefully she will be a lovely dog but she is not a lab cross. I work with dogs every day , i love dogs and have no fear of them , but i am aware of the potential behavioural traits of some of the breeds you have mentioned . My child would never be allowed to be in the presence of a mixed bull breed or full breed presa canaria , pit bull or american bulldog without me or her father. If she were at a friends house without us with a dog like this i would be furious if i had been lied to. A person in your dogs presence has every right to know how potentially safe / unsafe they are.

Completely agree…please don’t listen to those encouraging you to forget what you now know (or even suspect). You must take steps to protect those around you and cannot “lie” no matter how well behaved your dog appears to be. Too many awful stories occurring too frequently for people to ignore or down play the risks.

Staffy crosses are everywhere. 'Mixed bull breeds' are incredibly common, so you've no idea what dogs have bull breeds in them. Most people with mixed breeds have no idea what all is in there, so it's entirely likely your children will be around a 'mixed bull breed' at some point. You just won't have any clue

Hopefully my children will never be anywhere near a staffie (whatever that means) pitt bull cross. Honestly, what is wrong with people wanting these breeds?

@yikerspipers

Hopefully my children will never be anywhere near a staffie (whatever that means) pitt bull cross. Honestly, what is wrong with people wanting these breeds?

It's a dog breed, not a fucking velociraptor. The hysteria is crazy.

@yikerspipers

Hopefully my children will never be anywhere near a staffie (whatever that means) pitt bull cross. Honestly, what is wrong with people wanting these breeds?

Get a grip. It's a popular breed of dog and your kids have probably already been around dozens just out at the park.

Those DNA tests are just a bit of fun. You could send your own DNA in and it will probably come up with several dog breeds that you are too.
All you can do is bring your pup up right (regardless of breed), and not give anyone reason for concern.
In the unlikely event she is seized and assessed, then even if she is determined to be a banned breed, if you agree to training, on lead only in public and muzzle in public... you should be fine. But I really don't it would come to that anyway.

@yikerspipers

Hopefully my children will never be anywhere near a staffie (whatever that means) pitt bull cross. Honestly, what is wrong with people wanting these breeds?

Staffies are soft as shit most of the time I grew up with a German shepherd and a red setter and my grandad bred pit bulls Dog I was bitten badly by? A sheepdog (collie)

The dogs I worry about are the ones I see near me. Being taught to hang from trees and sticks, no recall, not on a lead, not walked enough and probably no idea of the parents temperament. Yes, usually bull type breeds and I wouldn't trust those not because they're a bull breed but because of the stupid fucking owners

I would rather stroke a staff than a chihuahua which are usually badly trained snappy neurotic dogs

It's a huge number of things that leads to a dog biting starting from when they are bred. If you're going to be irresponsible and breed two bad tempered dogs, you're not likely to get anything good out of it. Then the dog isn't trained, socialised, doesn't get enough exercise, has a pain that owner hasn't noticed. The toddler bugs them all day and the dog tries to get away but there's nowhere to go and they get woken up, their tail pulled, poked at and it's drip, drip, drip until eventually they snap because they can only tolerate so much

My mum went nuts when my dad brought the German shepherd home, I was 4. In the arguing, she sneaked off and was found at the foot of my bed with one ear fixed on me. That dog jumped off a balcony when she heard me screaming, broke her leg and dragged herself to me. She would have bitten if I was being attacked but we got burgled and she slept through the whole thing