Why are rescues full staffies? if they are supposedly such great family dogs?

[Hyacintharehighersincelasttime]

who gets them in the first place?

is this a status symbol dog whose appeal wears off?

As an aside I have an autistic step son who also has ADHD. My two SBTs are absolutely excellent with him. Extremely patient. Of course we teach step son how to treat the dogs as well (SS is 5). I appreciate that they aren't the only breed that would be good with him, but they are pretty fantastic.

When I visited a rescue not long ago looking for a dog they said staffs are the most popular breed they have, especially full staffs, they are reserved very quickly.

Most rescues dont rehome many dogs at all with children, it's not exclusive to staffs.

If you've ever had the privilege to own one then you'll know how incredible they are.

My staffie is a rescue and she is really sweet and loving. (She doesn't like children as she is terrified of them, clearly due to abuse from children in her previous life).

I have a staffie she's fabulous!
I think idiots get them thinking they are a 'hard mans' dog.They are needy at times but thats just their nature.These idiots cannot be bothered (with any animal i should imagine) and get rid.My bonnie is as soft as candy floss 🥰
Oh go on then ill post a pic 🤣🤣 Bonnie chilling in my DD age 12 bed

@nrpmum my Bonnie is great with DS age 5 who is autistic/global communication delay/sensory processing disorder/epilepsy.She is patient and loving.I adore my dog

@Saffy1234 gorgeous dog 😍

Thanks! @nrpmum

Will say my dogs dna test came back with 12.5% staffie, so makes me a distant staffie owner.

About fifteen years ago, they became the preferred dog in some quarters because, with a bit of judicious mucking about in back yards, you could get something that could pass for a Pit Bull but argue it was a Staffy Cross. So the 'men' had something that they thought made them look hard as nails, but would be able to persuade their girlfriends was 'just a Nanny Dog'. There would also be the idea that having a big one would make it in demand as a 'stud' and they'd make a fortune tax free because any back yard breeder would be falling over themselves to give them the Pick of the Litter to sell on. Five hundred quid a time, those pups were in 2004.

Naturally, once those hard as nails people fucked off to knock up the next victim, the Mums were stuck with immensely strong animals that hadn't been socialised properly because Darren always dealt with the discipline kicking the crap out of the poor fucking thing when it turned out to be soppy as hell and nobody was particularly scared of them and because Darren didn't like the idea of a male dog getting its knackers chopped off or not 'letting' the bitch have two litters because that meant giving up the idea of having around Four Grand in his pocket for a new car after two years , it was also exhibiting undesirable behaviour/bleeding over the place and attracting attention from random dogs on rare walks. So, with four kids with another on the way in the flat, no maintenance and the council on her back, she gave the dog up. Or Darren decided the Staffy was a bit common and a Real Man's Dog would be something that looked like a wolf, so decided to get a Husky and give the poor mutt its marching orders.

Repeat many times over on council estates across the land and you get a wonderful type of dog being completely fucked over by the sort of scum that have no business having dogs in the first place.

They are wonderful family dogs. But too many of the people who chose them weren't wonderful families.

I'm just miffed/worried my favourite breeds are threatening to become trendy once the novelty of big, hairy, heat intolerant ones and little mongrels with stupid names wears off. Keep your chavvy mitts of my Beagles and working Cocker Spaniels.

MitziK wow you have so got it in one.
Knobhead chavs and their chavets ,always the poor dog suffers.

In my area of the US, Staffordshire terriers and Staffie mixes are often (mis)identified as Pit Bulls. They are not illegal to own, but any dog identified as Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix that ends up in animal control must be put down. They are not allowed to be rehomed. The reasoning is that these are dangerous and untrustworthy dogs who "might" have been trained to fight and "might" attack unsuspecting new owners or other dogs.

Idiots get them, can't train them. Then they get bored of them and give them up. You then have poorly trained staffs in rescues. Nobody really wants (or should, unless they know what they are doing) a badly trained staff.

We had STBs when I was growing up- lovely, loyal loving dogs IF trained right. The reputation comes from the idiots who can't, or can't be bothered, to train them right.

That said, I don't like seeing them "in the wild" because you never know which type they are going to be.

@NameChangeSameRage

You can usually tell from a distance if a staffie is a loved (and trained) family pet, or feral status symbol by looking at the collar it is wearing

Example a: @saffy1234 's beautiful dog - normal collar, normal dog

Collar-less staffie running around the park, or staffie with a choke chain or studded collar - almost inevitably not properly trained or socialised

I am not a pet person at all, but if I were to ever get a dog, I'd get a staffie. The ones I have met have beautiful temperaments and they're what I would call "proper" dogs. I think with the right training they're a good breed. DPs mum has one and she's amazing with kids, her insurance is very expensive though,.

Should we be wary of huskies now?

They are a common breed so the proportion of them against other breeds in rescue shelters will reflect that.

Perhaps the issue is more with people being reluctant to rehome them, so the shelters build up a backlog.

Absolutely you should be wary of huskies.

They're apparently the most common dog involved in sheep worrying ripping apart ewes now. Strange how that's happened since they've become fashionable.

Hopefully this won't be matched by incidents of children/babies being horrifically hurt during the holidays, but it wouldn't surprise me, as it happened with Dobermans, Rotties and GSDs in the years prior to the 'Pit Bull type' definition and the DDA being made in response to the disproportionate number of children hurt by the latest trends in dog ownership.

I've just had a look on my local rehoming centre's website and they currently have over 40 dogs waiting for new homes. They have no staffies at all.

Staffies are bloody lovely. I have a rescue staff.
But what MitziK says is correct.

They need solid, kind training and socialisation. Lots of attention- they are needy and love their people. And, while usually good with children, no dog should be left with small children- let alone a dog as powerful as a staffie. They play rough and have high pain thresholds so don’t always know when to stop. Ours has clunked himself hard on the head but still carried on running round chasing his ball or playing tug.
Huskies will be next to be “devil dogs”- they are not family dogs IMO and there are too many out there in the hands of idiots.

tenbob my non staffy dog has a studded collar as it makes him look like Freddie Mercury.

People buy them to fight, then realise they're actually friendly. That's one reason they often end up in rescue centres.