Would you let your baby near a staffie dog?

[Chloesss]

I don’t mean to offend anyone who has a Staffie, I know a few lovely Staffies. However the thought of my baby being in a room with one freaks me out, my sister in law has just bought a puppy Staffie and I just know there will be occasions where they bring the dog to my mother-in-laws house When we are there.

My husband wouldn’t see anything wrong with it and won’t worry, but you do sadly hear of stories or children being attacked by staffies, you never hear of a lab or poodle attacking a child. And the whole lock jaw thing

My side of family said I should absolutely not let my son around the Staffie and I agree, it’s just not a risk I’m willing to take, however I know it’s going to cause arguments between me and my husband and I know if he took our son without me he would lie about the dog being there.

Am I being unreasonable asking them to leave the dog at home?

Thanks

Well raised - dc and ddog. A great relationship lies ahead... As much as sil needs to train her ddog your dc needs training on how to behave around the ddog also. Full responsibility isn't hers imo

‘Nanny dogs’ is a myth made up in the 70s. No dog should be unsupervised around any kid, obviously.

No dog should be trusted completely. My dogs are small, gentle and well trained. Not Staffies. I’m as sure as I could be that they wouldn’t hurt anyone. I still wouldn’t let them be around very young children without holding them. I wouldn’t let the dogs be wondering around with young children present. We didn’t get dogs till our youngest was 10 for this reason.
It’s not worth the risk. If your husband can’t see this, he’s stupid. If he goes against your wishes, I’d be questioning the relationship.

It depends on the dog and how well it has been trained - but that also goes for any breed of dog, not just a staffy.

DD is now 2 and she's been around PIL's cocker poo and BIL's vizla since birth.
The cockerpoo is poorly trained, jumps up, will steal toys and dummies!
The vizla is well trained, barely even noticed tiny baby DD was in the room until she was toddling, and even then he would keep his distance.

And obviously I wouldn't leave any dog with any small child, no matter how well behaved or trained it is

Years ago I knew a couple with a staff. Apparently it was the most calm and trustworthy dog ever. Until it attacked a child in its own house out of the blue. The child was still having plastic surgery to their face three years later 😕

I'd trust a staffie as much as any other dog, possibly slightly more given how great they usually are with children and the fact that this one has been in the family from a puppy. I wouldn't leave a baby/child unsupervised around any dog, but I wouldn't worry about having a staffie in the house.

That said, it's your baby and you can make any rules you like and expect other people to stick to them, even if they think you're unreasonable.

Yes, my whole family has dogs including us so we would never see anyone otherwise! You just have to supervise properly, as you should do with any interactions between DC and animals. The fact it was a Staffie puppy wouldn't make any difference.

I think you are being a bit over the top. Any dog can be dangerous around a baby.
Not visiting because the dog is there is ridiculous. Are you never going to go anywhere where there might be a dog? Babies and children are injured by dogs when they are left unattended. Dogs don't just randomly attack babies sitting on someone's knee.
My parents have a staffie and a large mastiff, my toddler and baby are never left alone with them, despite the fact they are two very friendly well trained dogs. I have a beagle at home and again kids are never left alone with the dog.
Common sense needs used, all dogs regardless of breed are a risk to children if left unsupervised/ children are allowed to climb all over the dog.

No.
You can never fully trust a dog (despite every dog owner saying 'don't worry he's really friendly' ever time a dog jumps up at you in park grrrr) especially a puppy who still learning how to behave.

I have two soppy Labradors, one is a therapy dog and will lie on the floor being stroked/read to by kids with SEN. The other one loves babies for some reason, she seems to think she’s their mum. I would never leave either of them unsupervised with a child of any age. I love my dogs so much but they are animals not pre-programmed robots.

I have a staffie who I have brought up from a puppy and I have been brought up with them. I have nieces and nephews who have been around him since he was a puppy, it’s not the breed, any dog could harm someone and no dog should be left unattended with children. Likewise children should be brought up on how to interact with a dog if around them.

I have a lovely hound but I'd not leave her alone with a baby or young child.

I wouldn't leave a baby alone with any dog. And if I didn't trust the owners to have trained it properly, I wouldn't have my baby around any large dog, if I was there or not. Staffies in themselves are not an issue IF they are trained well. We used to keep them when I was a kid.

Due to my job I have a lot of experience around all sorts of dogs. Most Staffies are gentle and can be trusted. A small number can't be.

I'd be much more concerned about Mastiffs, Shar Peis, Akitas etc. than Staffs.

Regardless, I wouldn't trust my child around any dog because a bite can happen in an instance due to a misunderstanding.

How many of those kids were sat on their parents laps or similar, how many were even properly supervised?
Do you think the puppy is going to randomly launch itself at a child who at that point will probably be bigger than it whilst you all just sit there?

No you don't leave them alone
No you don't let a small child poke and prod ANY dog in case they hurt the dog
No you don't let them have sleepovers together
Yes you properly supervise your child.

@FourChimneys

Years ago I knew a couple with a staff. Apparently it was the most calm and trustworthy dog ever. Until it attacked a child in its own house out of the blue. The child was still having plastic surgery to their face three years later 😕

A child that likely tried to "play" with it and cornered it when it clearly didn't want to be played with.

Sorry I've seen too many children around dogs and cats who try to do that so you don't leave them alone together.

Anyway I've been bitten by a collie and a maltese, and jumped on by a entire plethora of dogs except saffies and rottweilers. Doesn't mean I would leave a child alone with those breeds, it is just owners of those breeds are better owners in the areas I've lived and live in.

I don’t trust any dog near a baby, full stop.

God no, I do t care how well behaved owners insist they are.

I wouldn’t let a baby close to any dog, doesn’t really matter what breed it is. A calm dog in the same room is fine, a bouncy puppy not ok. All kids should be supervised near dogs and never left alone in a room with one.

I have owned staffies and they have been amazing with my DC’s but they were never left alone with them (not when small).

I wouldn’t leave a baby alone with any dog but certainly wouldn’t be concerned about it being a Staffie.

They’re actually known as ‘nanny dogs’ as they’re so good with kids. My family had one when I was little and you couldn’t have wished for a better temperament.

I would not leave a baby with any dog.

You need to be hyper vigilant with your child around any dog. Poodles and labs most certainly do have the potential to attack children, poodles are actually known to be quite snappy dogs. The breed isn't really the issue. If the dog is a puppy and doesn't show any aggression there is no reason for your child not to be in a room with it, you just need to read the dogs reaction and monitor your child's behaviour closely. Have your child on your lap, if it wants to crawl then I would put the dog in another room. If the dog is part of the family it would be sensible for it to get used to your child in a very safe and controlled manner.

Teaching a child to leave a dog alone and respect their space is a really important lesson - as a dog owner I get so fed up with the number of children who run at my dogs to pat them whilst the parents laugh and I try to herd my dogs away from their little hands!

No. I wouldnt let my child anywhere near it. Would absolute never be in the same house with such a potentially dangerous animal.

Never ever ever

It being a staffie isn’t a problem, my collie jumped across the room and tried to bite my baby as I passed her to my husband. Out of nowhere, all dogs are unpredictable. He’d never done anything like it before, would happily trot about with my chickens and used to lick the pheasants that visited our garden. We were really lucky to rehome him with a friend who had hand reared him and had his brother.