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

One of them annoying staff lovers here ! My boy has been around since before birth and since day 1 he has loved and protected them and put up with mayhem. He even does night rounds to check their safe lays with them when I'll and pines for them when they aren't here. I wouldn't have any views young kids near a dog unsupervised. The breed shouldn't come into this at all in all honesty and that isn't because I'm a staff lover it's because kids are clumsy and in your face and dogs act on instinct their instant reaction can really hurt a child but again that is any breed and even more so I've noticed with little dogs because they are obviously smaller so more defensive. I think it's unreasonable not to visit at all

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!
I would never let my child touch an animal they didnt have permission too- however in my experience it's dog owners who assume everyone is fine with their dog running and jumping up on them "oh hes only playing"....

Nope. When one of my DC was younger, her friend had a Staff as a family pet and apparently it was good with the kids. Yes, maybe her own kids but wouldn’t trust it with my own DC.. So the friend would come over to ours and I wouldn’t allow my DC to go over to her house.

I am a believer that there is no such thing as a bad dog only bad owners. NO CHILD SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE WITH A DOG. They require constant supervision plus a dog needs to be well trained. I have a little Jack Russel ( who is a rescue and badly abused) He is tiny thing and is gentle too but i have worked hard on training with him. I would never leave him alone unsupervised with people as i know in the the wrong situation he could kill you. How often you really be there together? I would take the approach to your sister in law instead of the dog. Is she a person going to take responsibility to look after, care and train a dog ( And i am being specific saying a dog not the breed) or is she going to let her dog run loose with no control or manners ?

I don't think it matters about the breed but about what sort of dog your sister in law will raise, they could raise a dangerous Labrador or Husky if they're that way inclined. But if they're going to be great owners and raise a well behaved dog then as long as you don't leave them unsupervised as I wouldn't with any dog then it wouldn't be a problem.
If the dog is badly behaved then you'll have that as an absolutely valid reason to make sure they don't bring the dog or leave it outside etc, but that would be the same regardless of breed.

We have a staffy cross. I would never leave her alone with a child even though she is human friendly. It's just good dog ownership.
Staffies are not a problem here - a true staffy is actually a small dog and I don't think people realise this. We are seeing more American Bulls, XL bullies and other big muscular bullie breeds around here as status dogs recently.
I have only ever been scared of 1 dog and it was a collie. It had me pinned to a wall.

Labs are the most common breed for dog bites, they just don't make headlines.

It's sensible to be cautious with small children around any dog breed. Young children are unpredictable to dogs.

Our ds was a year when we got a Rottweiler dpuppy. They had a fantastic - supervised relationship - for her entire 10 years. Subsequent dc were taught to respect her greatly. She adored them. Yabu to deny your dc a great friend opportunity.

Unfortunately it is the breed- and I’d include any other fighting or guard breed, as pp mentioned, various mastiffs, , etc. They are big, muscular dogs with powerful jaws, which means if the dog does flip, things go very badly very quickly, especially if a small, squealing child is involved.
It’s also true that staffs these days, or what are described as staffs, are often different from the little squat “nanny dogs” that I remember from my youth. They are often crossed out with other similar breeds such as pit bulls or other bull breeds to produce a larger, leggier dog that are then called “American staff”, “king staff”, etc. In the last 30 years there was quite a lot of fighting bred bloodstock brought over from Ireland, and then linebred for looks rather than temperament, such as “blue staffs”.
And tbh, a lot of these dogs appeal to dickheads who want them as status symbols, and don’t train or socialise them properly, and yes, my blood runs cold when I’m with my kids in the park and I see one of these dogs.
So basically, no dog should be trusted around children, but with some dogs if something goes wrong everything can go to shit very quickly and very badly, due to their breeding and as often as not due to their dickhead owners.

We have a Staffy X. He is absolutely amazing. Never happier than when he is cuddled up to someone. Brilliant with our DC.

I trust him 99%. There is always that 1% “what if” that crosses my mind.

For that reason alone, he is never left alone with anyone he doesn’t know, is kept separate from children in our house (after the initial greeting / him rolling over for a tummy rub) and is always kept on a lead, as his prey drive is very high.

@Bebeschitt
Staffies are not a problem here - a true staffy is actually a small dog and I don't think people realise this. We are seeing more American Bulls, XL bullies and other big muscular bullie breeds around here as status dogs recently

Posted at the same time, but 100% this.

Vet nurse here , in defence of the sbt , i work in a very busy practice , we are all fully aware of the exceptional strength of the breed but it is very rare that we see an agressive untrustworthy staff.
Sadly i cannot say the same for unknown origin bull breed types some of which we see are quite scary.
That said i would be much more concerned about a lot more conventional breeds .
Answering your question ,no i would not be concerned , but neither would i under no circumstance ever leave my baby /child unatended with any dog .

@Palmfrond I saw some xl owner say on a facebook page that he hoped his new pup would be "as wide as he was tall". What the hell have we done to these poor dogs?

My staffy x probably has American bull in her. She is a rescue and was used for breeding, when she was 4 they ditched her. Amazingly she loves humans.

No, and I have a dog and grew up with seven of them and love them more than life itself.

@Matilda1981

Staffies are one of only two breeds recognised by the KC as being nanny dogs - I’ve had them they are amazing with kids! I’d never leave a child alone with a dog no matter what breed but it being a staffie wouldn’t put me off!!

There's no such thing as a nanny dog.

[quote Bebeschitt]@Palmfrond I saw some xl owner say on a facebook page that he hoped his new pup would be "as wide as he was tall". What the hell have we done to these poor dogs?

My staffy x probably has American bull in her. She is a rescue and was used for breeding, when she was 4 they ditched her. Amazingly she loves humans.[/quote]
Must add , i am not labeling all x's the same !

I would never, ever take a baby near a dog. It's simply not worth the risk. You are not being unreasonable OP. If they visit you it should be without the dog, and if you have to visit them the dog should be locked in another room.

@TheLoupGarou

I would never leave a young child unsupervised with ANY dog, regardless of breed. I don't see a problem if you are there with baby though?

This. More of a problem for a toddler/small child though since the Stafford I know are strong and boisterous and would playfully knock a child flying.

No child should be left alone with any dog ever.

I echo other posters, you shouldn't leave any dog with babies unattended. I have a Lhasa, normally very laid back dogs but although he hates other dogs with a passion, he adores people, especially my 9yo. HOWEVER, we were at a holiday camp last summer and he was on a long lead secured to the ground. A toddling baby came by and started to crawl just within his reach and he started to charge forward. I'm already well tuned to his reactions so I stopped him well before he reached the baby, but his reaction was so so upsetting and unexpected. Safe to say, he's now kept in a pen when outside on holiday. Although I think the baby spooked him as he's never seen one before, and I'd like to hope he wouldn't have harmed it, it just goes to show dogs are so so unpredictable and it's just best to remove the risk.

Wouldn't let mine be around any dog without my supervision, the dogs are just too unpredictable and the babies do not know how to act safely around them (e.g. toddlers can be unintentionally rough).

No. No way.

Yanbu, but then I'm not an animal person and wouldn't leave my kids near any dog at all.

I love Staffies! They used to frighten me, but it's all a big front. They can't help looking vicious!

I would never, never leave a child/baby alone with a dog. I'd not let my small child within arm's reach of one, unless closely supervised.

Any dog. Though my Frenchie X's muzzle is so skewiff he probably couldn't make a decent bite if he tried. Still wouldn't let a child too close.

I wouldn't leave my baby alone with any dog, however I have far more trust in my staffie than my fathers collie, it's dog dependent, not breed.

You need to perform your own risk assessment. As PP have said, no baby should ever be left alone with any dog regardless of breed. However, as a staffy owner (a true staff, she's only 16kg so not a bully cross), I trust my dog with my own children and with others as much as is sensible. I recognise she is a strong dog and somewhat boisterous with visitors so if people aren't comfortable I address that.

Having said that, I think the fact the dog is a puppy is much more reason to be cautious than it being a staffy.