Staffordshire Bull Terrier?

[MissWooWoo]

what are people's thoughts on having a staff (from puppy) in the house with a 6 yr old girl?

My sister has just got one, I am not a dog person at all (bitten twice in childhood) so somewhat scared anyhow. I'm afraid I (and the rest of my family) have reacted very badly and I do not wish to visit with my 2 yr old. Having spoken to my sister about this she assures me that they are "child friendly", that two of her friends with kids have them, she will train the dog, will never leave dog and child alone in same room (is this possible when they are flitting from room to room?).

I've had a look on the internet, the RSPCA says they get a bad press and that often owners of (now illegal) pit bulls re-classify them as staffs (can this be done??) - hence all the stories about kids being mauled by staffs over recent years. The RSPCA say that they are family friendly.

Are they?

What is your experience of staffs?.

I am at my daily mail attitude (very unlike me!) but I am pertrified for my lovely niece. Should I be worried? Are they good family dogs?

Please talk to me about this

i'd say if it's from a puppy and is well trained it's no different from any other breed.

they are lovely dogs and as soon as i have the time and energy to devote to training a puppy a staffy is one of my top two choices, the other being a border terrier.

people are unfairly biased against staffs as knobs use them as status symbols, but my sister has a lovely fwuffy beagle which is actually a viscious, nasty and unpredictable creature and is very jealous. you can't judge by breed alone.

Staffs are known as the "Nanny Dog" because if well trained are excellent with children.
They are lovely dogs imo

generally great with all people, including children. Bred to fight other dogs so predisposed to be less social with their own species - they should receive lots of socilisation with dogs to ensure this doesn't becoem a problem. I love them too, really fun family pets who get a bad press as mentioned. obviously all dogs are individuals but your sister sounds sensible. I wouldn't worry too much, get to know it (he/she, sorry), betcha fall in love (or like at least)

We had a staffy for 9 years and we brought 2 dc up with him and he was the best dog in the world. he protected the dc's and was like one of the kids

We have a staffy puppy here with us that we are trying to rehome atm.
He is lovley like someone else has said very very protective of the dc's if dd is crying he sits guarding her and licking her and will only let me or dp near her he growls if somone else trys to get close.
we have just about got him house trained and I am getting far to attached to him he come's in and lays on his back on the sofa waiting for us to scratch his belly.
We have dc 3 on the way and me and dp work long hours so we can't keep him we just inhereted him and a even younger staffy (who we have rehomed (really long story).
They are very very playful and are great fun to take out to the park he plays lovley with all of us.

you see bogie this ....

"He is lovley like someone else has said very very protective of the dc's if dd is crying he sits guarding her and licking her and will only let me or dp near her he growls if somone else trys to get close"

... is the sort of thing that bothers me. I don't get to see my sister that often which is why I would feel anxious about taking my 2 yr old around. She would want to comfort her cousin if she was upset (and so would I), being growled at would make me feel very uncomfortable and absolutely petrified for my dd.

I have a staff, she will be 5 years old on 17th December.
She is an absolute star with DS, admittedly I was wary to start with, but I would of been with any breed and a baby.
Now they are inseperable, she is protective of him but only when it comes to other dogs, not humans.
I have the loveliest photo (IMO anyway!) on my profile of the 2 of them.

oh yes AmazingBouncingFerret that is a very lovey picture.

Arrrggggh I do wish I wasn't soo scared of dogs. Bloody childhood, bloody dogs! I am a grown woman ffs!

I don't think you will have a problem tbh, our puppy is always in the kitchen/back yard if I am not there to supervise with the dc's, I have never come across a staff (I have worked in a kennels so have met lots and lots of them) that would attack a person for no reason.

Is it a puppy or a dog that your sister has?

I doubt very very much she would have a staff x pit bull as they are purely bred for fighting and would no be easy to get hold of, they can change hands for a lot of money as they are rare. They cannot re-classify a pit bull as a staff but it is hard to prove sometimes so owners will lie to police and say it is a staff to stop the police taking the dog.

My dh had staffs when he was a lad and when he moved out he got one of his own (pre wife & 3dc's).

He insists that they are loveable family pets and that non of his dogs showed absolutely no aggression towards anyone.

He does admit they were very protective when around other dogs and he had to make sure they were really well socialised as puppies so he didnt have a problem when they bumped into other dogs when out walking.

I do think they have bad press. It all comes down to temperament and how well they are raised/trained as pups.

You can tell the difference.
I remember walking my dog a few months ago and she goes absolutely nuts if she sees another dog (due to being attacked when she was a pup).
She had just finished barking at one dog that we passed when we approached a group of youngish men sat near the pond with what I first thought was another staff, my dog started getting all growly so the other dog stood up and I noticed the difference, pointier ears and larger body.
Well once this dog stood up, no word of a lie my dog instantly shut up, stopped pulling on her lead and walked rather timidly beside me.
I joked to the bloke holding the dog that I could do with the dog permantly to keep mine in check but it was only after did I click.
Still I was amazed all day by her instant and very bizarre change in behaviour

it's a 6 week old puppy bogie

as I said I'm not there very often as we tend to meet at my mums so I'm sure she'll keep it in the kitchen for me if I start to get wobbly!

Sorry that should read "none of his dogs showed ANY agression towards anyone".

I meant to say you can tell the difference between a staff and a pit bull...

oh it's definately a staff - I'm still shit scared for niece, dd, myself, my mum!!! I will pass on info re socialising with other dogs - 2 of her friends have them so p'raps that will help

ABF I agree you can tell the difference instantly between a pit bull and a staff.

see, you've been conditioned by media hype into believing staffs are devil dogs. would you be concerned if it was a chihuahua, or a jack russel? these dogs are much nastier and much more likely to bite but are cute and endearing so no one worries about these dogs being in a family environment.

ive\also read that most dog bites dealt with at A&E are from the all time favourite labrador.

absolutely bamboobutton you are right, which is why I'm on here trying to get some real and proper info and have been looking at the RSPCA site as mentioned in my original post.

I am scared of dogs. full stop. I was pinned to a wall and bitten by an alsatian when I was six (not our dog) and then bitten again by a doberman when I was 9 (our dog). I do try not to be frightened of them but it is obviously a phobia.

I wouldn't stay away from someone's house because of the type of dog they have.

I wouldn't personally have a staff because of their known reputation for being agressive towards other dogs. My guide dog was attacked by a staffy about eight years ago and the viciousness with which it attacked was absolutely terrifying. But if your sister is planning to put the time and effort into training the dog and won't be leaving children alone with it etc then there's imo no reason why you can't take your dd round there.

Obviously if the dog becomes over protective and growls etc you could then request it be shut away when you are visiting, but I do think that to ask it to be shut away from the outset is a bit unfair, as the dog hasn't actually done anything wrong, and your sister appears to be a responsible dog owner.

Give it a chance.

'm a huge dog lover but i'm scared of big dogs too. our neighbours had these terrifying wolfhounds that would bark at us over the fence as children.

staffs don't grow much bigger than knee height and with proper training it will be a lovely pet.

i'd try and turn my eyes off to the breed and see what its temperament is like as it grows.

my sisters beagle was lovely as a small puppy but babying it and no-one exept my sister being allowed to discipline it made it into the pack leader and now it's horrible and i watch it like a hawk when ds is near it.

It is quite difficult to tell the difference between a pit and a staff, the press love to blame staffs for pit attacks attacks due to ignorance. The pit originated from a staff cross. If the puppy is brought up in a family enviroment there will be no problems, as someone else said they are known as "Nanny dogs". Each dog should be jusged on it's own merits and not just because it in a certain breed impo.

I wouldnt have one but that's just my opinion

hi everyone. i have a staffy boy 11 mths. he is our 2nd as i had a staffy girl who died when she was young. i have 3 sons and my dog is wonderful with them and any people he meets. as with any dog that u hav in yr home u need rules and bounderies. he is my wonderful companion and a joy to own.. i would definatly choose a staff as my family pet.

I've got three kids and two staffs.

The dogs are delightful, well behaved, friendly, funny and sweet natured

I draw a veil, however, over the kids