Staffie fans - can you answer some questions please?

[TheSageOfUm]

Hi,

We're about to begin the search for a family dog. We have always had dogs and lost ours recently. We are (now) a family of 4. Two kids aged 5 and 2. I'm at home most of the week. Any dog will be rarely left on its own, although this might happen occasionally. We don't have other pets. The kind of characteristics we're looking for include:

• family/ dog friendly.
• Some capacity for training/ basic obedience work. For practical reasons and fun.
• Protective without being a guard dog. I have various personal reasons for this.
• Must be OK off-lead (happy to train to do this, but must be an end point)

We'll be looking for rescue dogs and I'm aware that a fair percentage will be Staffie/Staffie cross. Do you think this would work for us? Are there any additional consideration w.r.t rescue Staffies? All our dogs have been rescue, so I do have some experience in re-homing generally - although haven't done this with children before.

Any thoughts/tips are appreciated.

You sound like me last summer

Our kids are a little older (4 and 7 when we got our dog) and we had no idea, when we found our pup, that he was a Staffie cross - but he is! Retriever/Staffie and other bits thrown in. He's lovely.

I think it will depend on the individual dog more than the breed, tbh. My biggest tip would be to try and find a rescue dog that has either come with a detailed history, and is being re-homed for legitimate reasons (eg owner circumstances changed) - or a dog that is/has been in rescue foster care. Then you will get a good measure of how he/she behaves in a home environment, around kids, other animals, on walks, etc etc.

Our pup was originally found in a bin, rescued to a pound, rescued from the pound to a rescue, that then put him in foster care - and we got him from his foster carer after a few weeks: she told us exactly what his character was like, and how socialised he was/wasn't with various creatures/kids/objects.

He's been easy to train, and his one vice is rat-catching - when out on the Common - but as he was 5 months old when we got him, he was also fairly bouncy/jumpy/licky/nibbly at times. He's much calmer now at 1 year, really easy - but if I was starting out again I'd look for an adult I think!

Good luck, and enjoy

I agree with Elibean, one of my dogs is a staffie cross and she is so well behaved and loving at home.

i'd love to get a rescue staffie, i was always under the impression that rescues won't rehome to families with children under 10(ish), is that not always the case then?

my dc are 2 and 4 but i will be waiting until the youngest is at school full time so i have the time and energy to train the dog properly.

Specialist staffy rescues will rehome to homes with kids if the dog is suitable.
Anyhow, as a self confessed staffy worshipper, here is my experience

1. family friendly-almost always yes. Dog friendly, sometimes yes sometimes no. Some staffs even when properly socialised aren't trustworthy with other dogs.

2. trainable, definitely yes. They are as a breed desperate to please. Especially when you find the right bribe.

3. protective, yes, mine is, I'm pregnant at the moment and she is my shadow. When walking and we meet other people we don't know she stands in front of me on "alert" if I step in front of her she takes the hint and backs off. I have no doubt if I was alarmed by someone that if they approached they would be in big trouble if I let her go. My old dog also used to guard my dsis as a baby, he would lay at the bottom of the pram in the front room and strangers approaching would get the " I'm watching you and you'd better not try anything" look. on the other hand my dog barks at anyone knocking on the door but as soon as the door is opened she is all smiles tail wagging and licks.

4. be good off lead. Mine is, very, I don't trust her 100% with other dogs though unless they have met before, but that's just me, Her recall is very good unless she sees a squirrell which she can never resist. my old dog wasn't well trained at all, and could only be walked by adults and never off lead as he was really dog aggressive and far too strong for a kid to control.

Other things to consider, your kids will not be able to take the leash until they are into their teens. You really have to feel the pull of an adult staffy determined to get somewhere to appreciate just how strong they are. I have walked lots of different breeds and staffs are in a league of their own on this front. It takes a lot of patience and training to stop the pulling as they are naturally very confident and like to be out and about.

If the 100% off lead is a must, I would have to say don't get a staff. If you get one and you do have problems with other dogs, you can never never let them off lead as the damage they can do in a couple of bites is horrific.

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies. It will certainly help when we do go and look around the rescue centres next week.

Just for clarity - we're not looking explicitly for Staffies, but I'm aware that a lot of the dogs will be at least part Staff.

Our local rescue centres will re-home to families subject to checks about dog/family life compatibility, although I have seen some with a blanket restriction.

We don't have to have the dog off-lead all the time and we certainly couldn't have done that with our last. He was dog friendly about 80% of the time, but we knew his trigger situations and so he was leashed every time something bothered him. It must, however, have a general capacity for it e.g. not legging it at the earliest opportunity.

Anyway, lots to think about. Will probably be back for more advice.

Thanks again.

My staffie is great with kids (one under a year, one 4, dog came before kids). She's great with other dogs off lead. When she's on a lead she can be a bit protective. We have another dog too and there have been some problems with her being food possessive and threatening our other dog - we now feed them apart and everything is fine. We also have cats, and again we have no issues.

Off lead she is a star. She will go off exploring but will return if called, or intermittently to check on us. She stays closer if my sons are around. The only time recall fails is if she sees a rabbit.

Off lead she is also very other animal friendly (except for said rabbits, I presume!) She has, unfortunately, been attacked by 2 other dogs and a cat (separate incidents) and never retaliated.

She's very trainable, and is much better behaved when she has something to actively do. We have done intermediate level training, agility and flyball and she has loved it all. She's very food motivated, which helps.

Protective? Kind of. When I'm pregnant she stays close and is very attentive. She used to lie across my stomach when people walked past our house. I also feel that she would protect my eldest son as on walks she stays close to him. Against burglars, however, she would probably just show them the biscuits. Or the jewellery, if they had biscuits.

I bloody love staffs. Best dogs.

Are they trainable? If you have a look at the dogs on a site such Happy Staffie Rescue you cahn see that they are not all the same - some like to live with another dog, some like to be only dogs, some are cat friendly and have good recall. They all like "their" people, but they seem to love everyone else as well - my old boy used to climb into cars and vans that were waiting with the door open at the kerbside! They have an enormous sense of fun, and that super smiley face.
OP, I know you are not seeking one out, but one might just capture your heart.