Talk to me about staffies

[AllOverIt]

We're thinking of rescuing a staffie. Have two DC, nearly 6 and 3.5. We have a bonkers cocker spaniel who's 1.

Do they have a similar exercise requirement to show-type cockers? I currently run with bonkers dog, every day, about 45-60 mins at about 10min miles. Could a staffie cope with this, or would they need more?

I know they are mostly great with kids, so I'm not overly worried about this, as long as we go for the right pooch.

It's breaking my heart seeing all the ads on the RSPCA website for staffies

Most staffs I know are fine with whatever exercise they get tbh. Mine much prefers 10 minutes dragging me round the garden on the end of a squeaky toy.
Go for it, they are amazing dogs, if you like bonkers cocker spaniel, staff will fit right in.

That's great. I've been looking at a few. Seems quite a few have problems with recall and other cats/dogs (tho might be why they've ended up on rescue)

They do unfortunately have a strong "chase the small furry thing" instinct, it's the terrier in them, some are fine with other dogs (mine is although it's taken time for me to trust her as my old dog was very dog aggressive) some aren't. Some are also very bouncy and giddy, which may not be great with a 3.5yo unless they too are bouncy and don't mind being knocked flying now and again. This is where your good rescue will come in as they will asses very carefully and find a dog with the right level of fun/craziness for your family.
All I can say is that having my own loony dog as a child who always wanted to play and actually quite liked being dressed up and put in the dolls pram, when we came to getting a dog for our family there was no other breed I wanted. I'm so glad we did, peppa is the life and soul of the party, never a dull moment, always ready to play, or happy to cuddle up on the sofa, highly intelligent, easy to train and quite happy to walk round the street with the kids in a skirt and tiara. She also looks quite fetching in ds wrestling mask, and loves a game of wrestling. The kids on the street come to ours to play with her, even if they have their own dog as she's so funny and bonkers.

My friend runs and takes her staffie with her. He loves it. He is also fine with other dogs and plays nicely.
It has taken lots of training though, same as other dogs.

Good luck and well done on choosing a rescue staffie.

Good move! When I was researching before adopting our staff x I read an info sheet from one of the big rescues saying they are very adaptable when it comes to exercise and this is the case with SpicyDog.

On odd days when I've been sick and not able to find someone to take get out, she's been perfectly happy with the garden. On tree other hand she will happily walk for miles with DH.

I've been thinking of running with her but she definitely wouldn't be happy with just a run as she loves her mooching around sniffy time as well.