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.

Jesus wept Stars Huge round of applause and for your DH though! I love that he told them if they turned up he'd meet them with hellbeasts and gun

So sorry you're so ill. I really hope you make a full recovery, not least to spite your awful, awful mother.

This is an amazing story, but a bit sad that your Mum was so horrible, no wonder the dogs hate her! I'm so glad your Dh told her off. Sending you best wishes for your health and Hellbeasts and [bones].

Catz thank you x. Parents eh?! Hopefully life will be less like a soap opera now.

Myfriends thank you, DH is amazing, I'm very,very lucky to have him, I couldn't ask for a better husband. Then dogs do truml hims though . Only joking....maybe...

ExitPursued she's a charmer isn't she?! I've had advice from the stately homes thread before about her, but this time enough really is enough.

OTheHuge thank you and indeed for DH. And here's to living in South America where you can threaten that without having the police come knocking on your door! DH has never threatened anyone or resorted to violence in his life, he wouldn't hurt a fly, but I'm glad the threat was successful. Our housekeeper says we should put up Jurassic Park style fencing to keep them out .

Should have said, OP here, decided to name change to something more amusing, DH and I love GoT too .

lilac thank you. Just the very tip of a life long iceberg I'm afraid.

Oh stars I cant understand why your mother would say such things about you to your husband much love to you your family and hellbeasts

namechange love it

Mr Stars is a hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OP. I'm so pleased that even though you have the misfortune to have such truly dreadful parents you have been blessed with such a wonderful, supportive husband.

I hope that you are feeling better soon

Ps loving your work with the NC!

I'm glad that that is sorted out & they are now no longer moving over.

That is just on of the most awful things that I have read.

The assumption that if anything happened you'd want these difficult peopl bringing up your son.

Notwithstanding that his own father would still be doing that!!

I do so love a thread with a happy ending

Ghastly parents instructed to FTFO. Clear consequences in the form of gun-wielding DH and hellbeasts dressed as Darth Vader if instructions are disregarded. Ghastly parents averted. No unfortunate Staffies wrongly adopted or eaten by Darth Vadog. And to cap it all a hellbeast name-change

to you all, OP

hellabeasts dressed as Darth Vader

Loving the NC

Mrsjayy thanks, she's a narcissist so I've managed to detach myself more and more over the years, sadly those weren't even the worst things she's ever said. And .

OTheHuge

Vatersay thank you, he always has been. I've sometimes thought that as pants as my parents are, DH is equally amazing at the other end of the spectrum if that makes sense, so they wort of balance each other out.

On the hellbeasts front, I have a fourth, except he's of the equine variety. I picked up a stallion very very cheap at a meat auction, I paid the equivalent of £11 for him . I was there with our foreman as we needed some companion horses in our early days of breeding and training, and I wanted to save as many as I could. This stallion was skin and bone and foreman said he wouldn't live many days, but I fell in love with him and bought him. He's solid jet black and over 18hh. Well, turns out that he's a mean brute, and despite me giving him the wonderful name Wilfred (just to annoy everyone ), after he'd bitten, trodden, stomped, kicked and charged his way through most of the hands, they renamed him Diabolo .
He is as docile and affectionate as a lamb with DS and I, but hates absolutely everyone else. DH says that I have an affinity with difficult animals . Perhaps coincidentally, the hellbeasts love him and he them.

'Diabolo and the hellabeasts' would make a great book title or film!

diddl thank you, yes, DH was conveniently forgotten about . There is no way on the planet they would be bringing up DS,some of the things they did while parenting me would make your heart freeze.

OTheHuge ddog3 often wears a hot pink feather boa - imagine how scary DH's backup crew would look then, like a horrible cross between Comicon attendees and a Rocky Horror audience!

Catz perhaps I should write a comic on their exploits!

I love your hellbeasts more and more

I reackon that the Hellbeasts were properly tuned in to your mother and this is why they disliked them so much - not just picking up on the vibes you were giving off. So pleased your DH was able to put up the barricades and give you the peace of mind that she's not going to be coming over to live on the ranch.

(Came on to the thread to say how nice staffies generally are, in the right hands, but certainly agree that they're not the first breed you might think of to be meek and fawning towards the Hellbeasts).

Good luck with Diabolo.. perhaps you have found another animal to help to protect the ranch there!

Well, I clicked on the thread to stand up for staffies and ended up reading the whole tread like this -> your parents are beyond bonkers, your dogs are wonderful and I'm so pleased to read your Dh has saved the day.

Wow. Your mother is really something else. I'm so pleased your H stood up to her.

I wasn't expecting this from the thread title

Best wishes for all your treatments in the future.

That is wonderful news, I like your name change too.

You know, further up the thread, you said that I could move to your ranch if your parents didn't? Well, I'm afraid that I can't move there now. I'm sorry, but I have fallen in love with your DH, he's such a hero. On the assumption that I would be equally irresistible to him (nearly 50, not in great shape, lazy, cynical and a tendency to irritability, generally catnip to men I think you'll agree) I have decided to respect your marriage and keep far away from him. It's a noble sacrifice on my part.

Your mother is an arse who should always be on a different continent to you.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for your future treatments.

Any chance of some landscape photos along with the dog photos, so that I can see what I am missing out on?

That is very noble of you bitterchoc
I want to see photos too!

What an awful thing to say
Well done to Mr Hellbeasts

What your mother said to your husband was absolutely outrageous, one of the worst things I have ever heard on MN.

I highly recommend going no contact with her. I've been NC with my mother for 3 years and it's like a huge weight has been lifted. No more fear, obligation or guilt.

I hope your illness starts to respond to the treatment and you are soon recovered xxx

Bitter Is 'landscape photos' a euphemism for action pics of Mr Hellbeasts fending off ghastly parents with his shotgun?

@Manatee, that's not what I was thinking but I wouldn't say no to a few action shots.

I've just been reading your update with my chin on the floor - what the? Huh? Wha...? Just shocking, but at least you won't feel an iota of guilt for going NC now. Spectacular cuntery on their part.

High fives to Mr Hellbeasts (as long as he's put the gun down now ) kind of like reverse karma there eh, you put up with their shit for so long the universe rewarded you! After that phone call I reckon you can both expect it to rain chocolate and diamonds for a month...