What dog bread to get?

[Marne]

I'm trying to convince dh into letting me get another dog. We already have a Staff bitch, she's almost 3 years old and is great with the children. Our Staff is very lively and when she meets another Staff she is very playful (a bit too playful), she's not as playful with other breeds and she shows no sign of aggression to other dogs. I don't really want her leaping around the house with another dog so i think getting another Staff is going to be a no no.

Im hoping that if we get a pup our Staff will mother it a little (rather them play with) at first.

I don't like small dogs (nothing smaller than a staff) and i don't want a huge dog (as our house is not big enough).

What breed would be best?

I'd go for granary

lol.

My brain is not working today.

Breed?

What breeds do you like? I would recommend Golden Retrievers to anyone, (I breed/show them) but I am obviously biased. They ARE hairy compared to Staffs, especially when they moult. On the upside, they generally get on well with everyone/every dog they meet, and as Staffs can have dog/dog aggression problems it limits the liklehood of potential problems. Even if your dog is very tolerant of others outside or part time in your home, living with another dog full time might not be the same. For the same reason, I would also get a dog puppy. If bitches decide to fight they tend to bear grudges and it goes on and on, a dog and bitch get along much more easily.

We've got a Staff/lab cross here, plus the Goldens. The Goldens are a walk in the park in every single way compared to the Staff x, although he's a rescue, so did come with baggage, despite being only 14 weeks old when we got him. Goldens are an absolute pleasure to own and everyone seems to love them when you're out and about. (my staff x looks very staff like and lots of people seem to hate him, but he is the sweetest thing ever!)

Would prefer something with short hair. I biased, i love Staffs so finding it hard to like any other breeds. My dream dog would be an English Bull but i again i think 2 bull terriers could be a handful. Maybe i could get a Staff cross.

Our Staff is very close to dd2, do you think bringing in another dog/pup would make her protective? She's always glued to dd2 (picture on my profile).

The picture of your dd and your Stafford is lovely.

Staffords to tend to prefer being in a single dog household, however that doesn't mean you shouldn't get another dog, loads of people do and do it very successfully, but it is something to remember.

I would just go with your heart over breed really, lots of people have very harmonious multi Stafford households, but you do need to be a strong leader and realise that there will be minor squabbles and to (mostly) let them sort it out, it will sound much worse than it is.

What other breeds do you like on paper?

I grew up with springer Spaniels but not sure if i really have the space for a dog with so much energy, i also like Weimaraner's (but no nothing about them). I'm happy to have a mixed breed or a rescue pup.

Marne you could be me! I Have a Stafford, she is amazing but my dream dog is an English Bull too!

I really wanted to get one but was finding it really hard to find the right one, so chose our Staff Lola instead.

I am thinking that when Lola is older (she is only 9 months old) Maybe looking to getting a rescue English bull, I'd def go for a male though.

Some friends of ours have two staffs, a dog and a bitch, they are great friends!

Your staff is adorable (just looked on your profile), i wanted an English bull originally, i worked in a pub in my teens and a man used to bring his english bull into the pub, she was called Lilly and was so gentle. I couldn't find a white english bull (and couldn't afford one) so i settled for a white Staff (who we called Lily). She is so good with dd2 (dd2 has autism) but she is a hyper dog, full or energy but we love her so much. I still want an English bull though. Dh says 'no' because he thinks they are too ugly (dh is not a dog person and doesn't really like our staff), i think i am going to have to save up to get one (even if dh says no), i'm not sure if i could settle for another breed.

Lola is really quite lazy! We literally have to push her off the sofa to get her up at times and she will just flop to the floor!
She does have her bouncy times too, when she could quite easily knock us off our feet!
They are such a fantastic breed, I have always liked them and the English Bulls too, I love that egg shaped face, I think if you can afford it and can talk your Dh round you should go for it!

She sounds just like Lily, she spends most of the day asleep, i have to push her outside (if its raining she wont go out) and then for an hour in the evening she seems to by hyper, dashing around playing with her toys.

I think i will try and raise the money and talk dh round (i always get my way in the end).