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

I should say though our staffy was a gentle lovely dog, very well behaved and chilled. Still would never have left her alone with a baby or small child because you simply never ever know. I feel the same about sil labra doodle mixture or any other dog. There’s no such thing as a baby safe dog, not really.

Just to clarify re staffs, one of the problems is that dogs that are being called staffs nowadays are not necessarily the staffs of our yesteryear that everyone knows and loves.

Staffies were called ‘nanny dogs’ because they were traditionally glow around children.

Sadly idiots have them as their ‘weapon of choice’ and I suppose breeding has also paid a part (breed aggressive fighting dogs).

I don’t think people train their dogs very well I’m general - there is a hostel near us where the residents can keep their dogs too - there are a couple of scary looking dogs that poo all along the street whilst their (often away with the fairies) owners just let them roam around (no leashes). Also a ‘naice lady’ I see in the park oddly matched to a huge dog (not sure of the breed but think ‘Butch’ in Tom’s and Jerry) and this dog is not trained at all - she is always chasing after it.

Not on your nelly.

Staffie absolutely fine.
I would be much more worried about a chihuahua or pomerian and might limit my visits with them but ultimately if you’re parenting your child properly there is no risk.
Parenting your child properly also includes teaching them how to behave with dogs.
The only animal I would not allow a child around is goose - vicious. I’ve still got a scar from a goose bite as a small child.

In fact, having owned a staffie, the biggest risk I faced was pins and needles in my feet when I woke up to find he’d draped himself across my legs in bed, was too heavy to move and refused to wake up

Don't stereotype the dog. If you'd happily let your child near a lab or poodle then let them near a staffie. I've had them all my life and my son is regularly around my sisters and my parents staffies. You should never leave your child unattended around any breed of dog because you can never be 100% sure, but staffies where nanny dogs for a reason.

My sisters sausage dog growls at the children if they ever get too much, but the staffies have never displayed any sort of aggression.

I hate it when any bull breed dog is tarred with the 'dangerous, bitey dog' brush.
I know some absolutely lovely staffies who are family pets. Theyre fab with children and are very loyal.

ANY dog can, and will bite if put in a uncomfortable situation. It doesnt matter what breed it is or what type of home it comes from. An animals behaviour is also defined by the way in which it has been trained and handled.

I wouldnt leave my child alone with ANY dog regardless of breed or training.
Children do not know how to handle dogs and this can create a terrifying situation for the animal which can lead to injury.

I of course would NEVER leave him unattended with ANY animal, I don’t know why everyone is commenting saying not to leave a baby alone with a dog (I must have worded it incorrect).

I mean would you let the dog in the same room, with ADULTS supervising. Like when baby is crawling or starting to walk around. Surely even if your supervising the dog could be quick to attack, you hear so many stories of children being attack in parks, so even if the child doesn’t aggravate the dog they still just randomly attack.

Again, no.

What are the benefits? None worth risking your child for.

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/breeds-a-to-z/breeds/terrier/staffordshire-bull-terrier/

There's no such thing as bad dogs, just bad owners.

I've had a staffie and alot of family have too. They are great dogs with a bad reputation, lock jaw is not true. My kids were around our staffie from birth and absolutely loved him Sadly passed now. Like any dog aslong as they are trained and treated right they are fine.

I'd never leave a child unattended, or in arm's reach if any breed of dog. I'd have a baby on my knee in the same room as most dogs though.

The breed of dog is irrelevent. No dog should never be alone and unsupervised with a baby.

I've had many dogs, all well trained. I never left a baby alone in a room with ANY of them. All dogs have innate basic instincts; to defend, chase, catch, shake.Just like they do in play, and with dog toys.

The sounds squeaks smells and tastes generated by a baby often resemble prey/food/a toy so could trigger any dog in seconds. To grab, bite and shake.

I don't trust any dog with babies or young children. Seen too many turn. You just need to watch videos of people who lay their babies next to a sleeping dog and think it's lovely, but aren't reading the body language of the dog who is showing they are actually stressed.

The issue isn't the breed - if the dog is trained well then a staffie can be a really lovely dog and good with children. However, you shouldn't let a child be alone with any dog, regardless of breed, until you can be 100% certain of temperament and also that the child knows how to behave with dogs.

We have a lab that is one month older than our 4 year old DS. I trust both dog and child completely now as they've grown up together, but it was a long time before I'd even think of leaving them alone together. I still don't let my 2 year old DD alone with the dog as she's prone to pulling ears and sticking fingers in nice shiny eyes...

Well, again, I wouldn’t leave a baby or toddler crawling/cruising around with ANY dog, be it a Labrador or pitbull. At that age they’re too unpredictable and too vulnerable in my opinion.

When my youngest dd was starting to cruise/crawl we had a baby gate between our front and back room (hard to explain setup) and when she was having her rolling around time the dog was chilling between back room, kitchen, and garden, where she could wander where she liked, so her and dd were never left together like that.

@Chloesss

I of course would NEVER leave him unattended with ANY animal, I don’t know why everyone is commenting saying not to leave a baby alone with a dog (I must have worded it incorrect).

I mean would you let the dog in the same room, with ADULTS supervising. Like when baby is crawling or starting to walk around. Surely even if your supervising the dog could be quick to attack, you hear so many stories of children being attack in parks, so even if the child doesn’t aggravate the dog they still just randomly attack.

Just seen your follow up comment - I wouldn't have a problem with this, but it hugely depends on how good the owner is with dogs, and whether you trust the owner to have control at all times. Similarly, you need to be ready to intervene in milliseconds if baby starts bothering the dog (not just physically, screaming near it, crowding the dog so it feels cornered, etc).

@Chloesss

I of course would NEVER leave him unattended with ANY animal, I don’t know why everyone is commenting saying not to leave a baby alone with a dog (I must have worded it incorrect).

I mean would you let the dog in the same room, with ADULTS supervising. Like when baby is crawling or starting to walk around. Surely even if your supervising the dog could be quick to attack, you hear so many stories of children being attack in parks, so even if the child doesn’t aggravate the dog they still just randomly attack.

Yes I would let a dog in the same room as my child if crawling etc under adult supervision. If the dog hadnt interacted with a child that age before or if i knew my child would grab at the animal, then no. It is a difficult one. As people have said before, dogs dont randomly attack for no reason. They dont run across a park and bite children. If an animal is uncomfortable they display warning body language. A good owner will recoganise this and act accordingly.

You clearly dont feel comfortable with the situation at all. No matter the opinion of people on MN, you need to do what YOU feel is right by 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 😕

That's unfortunate and can happen with any breed.

Any dog has the ability to attack a child. If in doubt never leave your dc unsupervised around the dog.

Nope, never.

I think you're wring to single out Staffies but right to say that you need to supervise closely at all times.

That doesn't mean being nearby, it means being within arm's reach, ideally between the child and the dog, and to be paying attention to the dog's body language and removing either child or dog is signs of stress start up.

I didn't have a dog when I had small DC, because I wasn't sure about my levels of alertness and attention during the knackered years. But I was always fine about visiting, because I knew family and friends dogs were well behaved with nice temperaments, and that I'd be able to supervise properly when it was in visiting bursts (rather than daily task)

Back to ownership now, and it's so much easier and more fun with considerably older DC (youngest was a preteen when DDog arrived)

She isn't singling out staffies. She mentions staffies because the dog in question is a staffie.

many people allow dogs and babies/young children in the same room with adults supervising and nobody comes to any harm, so yes personally I would allow this unless I knew the dog was particularly anxious or unpredictable