My parents want to get a staffy, should I tell them no?

[StarsInTheNightSky]

I don't have a huge amount of experience with the breed so I'm hoping that before I tell them no some of you could advise me please.

Background, DH and I own and live on a ranch in extremely remote South America. My parents have decided that they want to come out and live with us. We live in the main ranch house with our toddler DS, our housekeeper and her six year old daughter. The hands, foreman and their families all have houses (which we own) dotted around the main house, walking distance but not too close. We are renovating and extending one of the vacant houses for my parents, it's about half a mile away from the main house.

We have three giant breed, extremely protective and extremely dog aggressive rescue dogs (two Caucasian Ovcharkas and one Fila Brasiliero). They protect us and guard the ranch (lots of predators, including human ones where we live) and they are our adored family pets. We now have one other dog on the ranch, an orphaned stray pup taken in by one of the hand's children. We fenced off an acre of garden for them, and the rules are that the dog has to be leashed at all times when outside this area and that it is never allowed in the main house or our formal garden (DS' play area). My dogs have been taught to tolerate the dog on its leash on this basis.

My parents want to adopt a rescue dog from their local shelter in the UK before moving abroad, so we thought we could so the same with them, fenced acre, on leash at all other times, not in the main house or garden. This is apparently horrendously unfair to them and their dog (but that's a side issue).
They want to get either a staffy or a labrador, preferably a staffy. My question is, if they found one with the right temperament, would a staffy be capable of being very submissive and meek around my dogs, or would it try and play and be boisterous? My parents have said that what if their dog just got off the leash sometimes .
The only way my dogs would tolerate another dog is if it is grovelling and meek around them, or if it stays away from them, DH, DS and I completely, hence why I thought a rescue dog from our country would be a better bet as they tend to be better at that.

Any advice on the breed and temperament would be much appreciated, sorry for the long post, didn't want to drop feed.

Vatersay, nope they don't speak the language, and don't want to learn as they feel very strongly that everyone should communicate to them in English . The whole idea is laughable, except that it's really not funny.

From the dog point of view I think it probably could be tricky for the average UK person to understand about these sort of dogs trained for the sort of role your dogs have in your household, as not many people will have met security/guard dogs of any sort, let alone these sorts of breeds.
Taking a UK pet dog out there with owners who won't listen to safety instructions does sound crazy, not sure how to convey this to your parents though. Are there any youtube videos of something similar to your dogs doing their job?
I suppose one thought is to try to find a dog which can't be let off the lead for some reason that your parents may understand better eg deaf/blind/ a breed which is unreliable off the lead? It would surely be better to rescue a dog there though - is there a rescue centre somewhere in your country that you can suggest to your parents/get them to look at the website?

What are the rules like for importing dogs to your country? Do your parents realise what is involved in exporting a dog there? Eg costs of air travel etc? Or is cost not an issue for them?

Could you suggest a trial stay of eg a month and do your very best to make it as unpleasant for them as you can eg organise make sure the alcohol/meat production is as obvious and in-your-face as possible? And make sure that they see your dogs in action?
Alternatively, how about a separate place for them to live 'ooh we saw a lovely ranch (or house or whatever) for sale 2 hours down the road....'

Sorry if none of the above is helpful, good luck....

PS should also add that I agree with previous people that it's completely unreasonable for them to just decide to come and live with you without your permission.

OMG the more you post, OP, the more I realise the rescue Staffy issue really is just the tip of the iceberg

Your parents really are a piece of work, aren't they? I'm trying to imagine the conversation:

StarsParents: We are coming to live with you.

Stars: Er, no, please don't do that, that's not a good idea - we're 5 hours from anywhere and you will get bored and my dogs hate you and you hate my dogs and you don't speak the language and anyway you're a pair of annoying gits who will drive me mad and besides I HAVE FUCKING CANCER AND NEED TO BE LEFT IN FUCKING PEACE YOU CRAZY OLD CODGERS.

StarsParents: Yes, well, we've sold our house, we'll be on a plane next month as soon as the transaction goes through, you'll be there to meet us, won't you?

Stars:

StarsParents: Oh, and by the way, we're bringing a rescue Staffy. You don't mind, do you? Of course we will hold you responsible if your massive guard ddogs rip it to shreds if we accidentally let it off the leash.

Stars:

MN:

I can see why you might have buggered off to live 5 hours from civilisation, on the other side of the world, just to get away from them. Turns out though that even with that and three giant slavering hellbeasts it wasn't enough

manatee I think that sums it up. Would it be wrong to suggest training the dogs to scare them off for good?

Your description of your dogs terrifies me and nothing on earth would make me want to live near them myself, never mind a dog! Your parents must be v brave!

Imeg that's a brilliant idea thanks, and yes, our local (well, five hours drive away) shelter does often have older blind dogs or dogs with other special needs. My parents would take good care not a dog (apart from the norm training issue) so that might be a really good option, and might prevent them arriving with a dog already in tow. My parents have seen ddogs1 and 2 hunting predators, and being aggressive and they still don't get it, perhaps ddog3 will convince them .
Sadly cost isn't an issue for them, and I have tried the why don't you live in this amazing place miles away along impassable roads from us but they just will not accept not living with us. The trial is a great idea, I'll put it to them tonight and brief the hands to try their best to do the unpleasant stuff might move the dead barrel next to their patio doors.

OTheHuge I burst out laughing at that, our foreman gave me a funny look so I just translated it for him and he said "does this lady know your parents?!" and yep, that is pretty much how our exchanges have gone. I thought we were remote, I'm beginning to think about relocating to Antarctica!

...just read to the bottom of the thread....I'll rephrase v brave as v stupid!

lilac nope, not wrong at all, I have been thinking about shaving foam and fake blood a la hound of the baskervilles .

John this is what I don't understand, most people who've met our dogs have a healthy respect for them,but not my parents. They just don't get it, they honestly believe the reason that doogs1 and2 don't like them is that they didn't give them enough treats last time they saw them . My dogs hate treats, they aren't at all food motivated and taking treats off a non family member would be like asking a shark to go veggie for them. My parents both seem to think that they Dr Doolittle.

Ddogs1 and 2 are bigger than any of the Irish wolfhounds we've had in the past(ddog3 is a little bit smaller), if a dog that size took a dislike to you, surely you'd be a bit more sensible?!

Slavering hellbeasts made me Lol. I watched a programe about africa they bred dogs like yours to sleep with the herd and see of cheetahs

I think if your parents don't respect their views they can't live on your land, although I do see that sometimes its harder to say these things in RL.

It baffles me why they would get a UK rescue dog just before they relocate to the other side of the world. That alone is borderline cruelty.

I think the worst possible outcome of this whole escapade is the risk that your parents ignore all instructions to ftfo, move out to live with you, come over all Dr Doolittle, do something really stupid around your dogs and end up getting bitten, then try to push for the dogs to be pts.

It sounds like you've been incredibly patient with their clearly ridiculous demands so far, but have you thought about how you'd handle that situation? From what you've posted so far you get more loyalty, affection and sensible behaviour from your dogs than your parents so I imagine you wouldn't want to end up being pressured to take your parents' side against them.

Annapurna thank you.

Mrsjayy it made me laught too! They really are amazing dogs, ours see off all manner of nasties, ddog1 is particularly good at it, her record is killing a mountain lion (without suffering a scratch herself) in under ten seconds. It was an adult male too,she was very very pleased with herself. Having them means that the children on the ranch can play outside safely.

Did i read somewhere that 1 of them killed a scary weed?

OTheHuge yes, sadly I have thought about it, and if it happened my parents would be kicked out for good, and the dogs would stay. Where we are, if you get bitten by somebody's dog whilst on their property, you are deemed to have been up to no good, so there is no requirement for dogs to bear the blame thankfully. When my dogs have pinned people in the past they have never drawn blood, so if my parents did something for them to bite it would have been a direct physical attack against myself, DH or DS.

Tbf they are not pets really and your bonkers parents dont realise or care that they are a different breed from your average dog

Mrsjayy, yep, ddog2, he also specializes in bath bubble assisinations, and he's now branching out into routine killings of door stops (when I trip over them) . He is hilarious and daft as a brush. To make it more ridiculous he loves playing dress up with DH (the other two love it too) so he's often seen wearing a Darth Vader cape, prancing round looking very smug and pleased!!!

Cross post, Mrsjayy, no they aren't, they are to DH, DS and I, and oiur housekeeper and her daughter, but they will never be to anyone who doesn't actually live in the main house with us (and who I don't trust and like). With us they are the soppiest, sweetest dogs yiully ever meet, and I think if you watched them with us that would be deceiving.

Oh yes, and they all sleep on their own king size mattress at the bottom of our bed, spoilt beasties!

Dress up with DS that should be, not DH!!!

he has been wearing a darth vader cape

I now really, really need to see a picture of your giant slavering hellbeast dressed up as Darth Vader

Your dogs sound awesome, your parents not so much
I hope your health improves

Holy moly I've just googled your dogs