anyone own a American Staffordshire terrier

[timelord1912]

any tips on owning this type of dog also female as well

[tabulahrasa]

"By that token, Surely we should be seeing consistency in the shlter dogs with the popularity of the breed? we should be seeing WAY more labs and spaniels considering these dogs are vastly more popular than pitties."

That depends where you are in the country...for instance, the dog's trust shelter nearest to me has 5 labs, 7 collies, 5 staffies and 4 spaniels, look in one closer to a racetrack and you get more greyhounds and cities tend to have more staffies because that's where they're concentrated.

[ceres]

Kelpeed - I think that bull breeds are over represented in rescues because there are many people who hold the same misguided beliefs as you. Lots of these misguided people get bull breeds because they want a 'tough' dog. When they find they have a 4 stone lap dog they abandon it. Often these dogs get badly mistreated along the way.

We chose a bull breed (staffie) because they are fantastic dogs - so much love and character.

[Irelephant]

How is it reckless behaviour he's lying next to her whilst I'm 1 foot away taking a photo.

I don't let him sleep with my children because he sleeps with me

I wouldn't leave any dog around my child unsupervised whatever the breed it's common sense.

I don't think your stupid I feel sorry for you, you have had a bad expirience. It's not fair to make assumptions on an entire breed based on that.

[Buttholelane]

You seem to be completely ignoring all accounts of attacks except those done by Staffies, why is this?

When faced with another breed you respond with show me the stats. Why?

Many Labradors have attacked both people and other dogs, sometimes fatally.
They are a lot bigger and stronger than a staffy/pit bull. They are popular. They are often poorly bred to boot. You don't seem particularly bothered?

Quite a high proportion of bites requiring hospitalisation are done by spaniels, roughly the same size as a pit, good strong dog. I don't see you crying out how dangerous they are?

The standard poodle is a big dog. Easily Labrador sized, possibly bigger. It's a hunting dog and again, due to its sheer size could easily kill someone.
But you just say show me the stats for poodle fatalities. Completely poo pooing the idea that they have the potential to be dangerous?

You passed no comment whatsoever on the whippets I mentioned. Is that because they are small and dainty and therefore couldn't do much damage? Because my dog was so petrified she screamed and cowered and shook. If one of the offenders had not been muzzled I dread to think what could have happened seeing as it was jumping down on top of her, trying to snap and shake her...
Let's not forget, one of these dogs bit a walker so severely she needed to go to hospital. She was walking and it attacked her. But no comment from you?

Jack Russell's have killed children before now. My in laws Russell is so pleased to see me she jumps, sometimes to my chest height (I'm 5 foot 6) and has been known to launch herself off my chest with her back paws. You imagine how terrifying that would be if her intentions were malicious?
Despite their size, they are strong and typically quite muscular.

My collie has sufficient jaw strength to crunch through the thickest part of a whole chicken in one bite. Should we ban them aswell? After all, she could do some pretty phenomenal damage...

[SunshineAndShadows]

kelpeed I'm going to explain this carefully as you seem to be struggling. The 1995 paper that you are so quick to dismiss is a comparison of bites pre and post the 1991 DDA which is why the research was done at that time. Regardless of its date it still shows that controlling pit bulls has had no impact on bites to humans. And so doesn't support your hysterical view.

The articles you've linked to are not science - they are opinion pieces from people who have read a few articles and misrepresented them. That's very easy to do. Does the fact that most of your links come from a site called 'the truth about pit bulls' not give you an inkling that they might be a teeny bit biased?

If you can link to an article that gives evidence that pit bulls are inherently more aggressive then I'd like to see it because it goes against all current research that I'm aware of, and statements made by experts such as the APBC. (But perhaps you know better?)

If you're familiar with dog bite statistics you'll recognise that children are ALWAYS over-represented regardless of the breed of dog, so presenting that data in relation to pitbulls with no comparison to other breeds is meaningless.

I think the only data you've demonstrated that might be relevant is the high proportion of attacks occurring in the owners home, breeding establishment or with multiple dogs.

As we've already established responsible pet ownership is a key factor in raising psychologically healthy dogs and because bull breed are more likely to be kept by people wanting a status dog or bred by people who may select for reactive temperaments then this is not surprising. irresponsible ownership is more likely to result in aggression, and irresponsible owners are in some areas (such as the rural USA) more likely to select bull breeds. It's not a reflection on the breed, it's a reflection on the owners.

[SunshineAndShadows]

Also I did present a paper demonstrating that the breeds more likely to be aggressive are daschshunds and chihuahuas. I'll leave you to have a think about why their fatality rate is lower.

But here's a clue - It might be because depending on the size of the dog not every bite is equal, and therefore death rates in humans are not correlated to aggression in dogs, so presenting fatality data does not support that a particular breed is more aggressive - its lousy manipulation of information for the purposes of scaremongering

[natureplantar101]

i 2nd what my DP has said shut up kelpeed no one cares.

[JoffreyBaratheon]

When I was a teenager I worked in a kennels which was one half boarding kennels - so all breeds of dog - and one half bull terriers as the owner was a breeder. Guess which side went for me the bullies or a boarder? Truth was, I was never bitten, growled at or approached in any way aggressively by any of the bullies. Not once. There were a couple of dogs over on the boarders side that were lary - one nervous sheltie, I remember, a GSD and the dog that attempted to bite me? (Missed cos I had fast reactions)... a poodle. Humiliating.

[natureplantar101]

Well said jofferey glad I'm not the only one who has seen the nasty side of a poodle

[Irelephant]

I think judging by this thread it's the poodles that need banning. Someone needs to think of the children

[Jessicahyde85]

I would assume it was a Pitt, I have a staff, well he is mostly a staff part lab, but anyway. You just have to ensure its the best behaved dog and play by all the rules, muzzle her keep her on the lead tattoo and microchip. Its unfair but has to be done, poor thing condemned before she is even out the door

[Irelephant]

It's irresponsible owners. kelpeed was attacked because of the owners not the dog.

Mines fear aggressive he doesn't go out unmuzzled if he hurt another dog I'd not forgive myself.