Second thoughts about fostering a Staffordshire bull terrier

[hmcAsWas]

Okay, Staffie fans please go easy on me.

There are certain breeds of dogs that I am wary of (ducks brick bats) like Staffies and Japanese Akitas. I know its all in how they are raised and they can be and usually are lovely, gentle etc....its just their potential to harm (with that scissor bite and strength) if they turn out to be the one in a thousand bad egg....after all you don't tend to read about people being mauled half to death or scarred for life by their labrador do you?

Anyway I responded to a post on a facebook dog walking group forum from a local dog rescue charity. Apparently there is a staffie who is not doing well waiting for adoption - he is sad, lonely, dejected and becoming ill. It pulled on my heart strings so I ended up responding to the post and putting myself forward as a potential fosterer. They are calling me to discuss this evening...but I am starting to worry because who knows what the staffies history is and whether its previous owners were honest about the dog when they relinquished it? I am imagining the dog attacking me / my children / my two dogs with catastrophic consequences (I am a bit of a worrier and inclined to catastrophizing). Am I being ridiculous? Should my opening gambit when they call be to say that I have changed my mind (am worried about being persuaded to do something I am clearly not comfortable with)

Have worked for a staffie rescue I would not foster any dog if I had children in the house.

Nothing to do with the breed so wouldn't matter what dog but we have had fosters attacked along with other family dogs attacked. You don't know the dogs history and I think to be a fosterer you need to be experienced with the breed which you clearly are not

I think this is a bad idea if I'm honest.

Staffie can be very loving and affectionate dogs. We have a rescue staffy and he has been lovely. With children, I would never fully trust any dog as dogs (like Humans) have a point where things get too much and they may snap. Normally warnings are given first. I was bitten in the face by our family king Charles spaniel when I was a child, hardly a breed considered as dangerous but it caused reasonable damage. Tbh I think that your concerns are natural in the uncertainty of fostering however unless you can put these aside you and the staffy will not benefit from the experience. I wouldn't want the staffy to be rejected again, he could have come from a good family home that has broken down, so is being rehomed through no fault of his own.

With people kids in the house I don't think you should take on any dog knowing very little of its background, nor should anyone expect you to. If the rescue are even hinting at emotional blackmail I would back off.

If I'm completely honest I think some rescues aren't as rigorous as they should be in exploring background, and some people taking a dog to a rescue centre aren't honest about their reasons.

But I am pretty brutal about thinking that a pet that is miserable with no obvious route out of that misery should be put to sleep.

They are, generally speaking, the most wonderful dogs. They live for human attention, and that's why this one is becoming ill in kennels sob

I used to volunteer at a dog shelter where the majority of the dogs they took in were staffies. A lot of them were abandoned in empty houses when owners moved or were caught roaming the streets by the dog warden and turned over to the shelter. Every single one of them was lovely. My only concern if I was adopting one would be that they are very strong and could easily knock a small child over or pull me over if I was walking one, if they weren't taught not to pull.

It seems strange that your contact at the rescue doesn't seem to know a lot about the dog and he isn't yet in there care, also suggesting there is no emergency boarding arrangement is worrying as while they may not want fosterers/adopters that are likely to give up easily & want rid ASAP there's plenty of genuine reasons for urgent assistance to be necessary.

There are loads of rescues that need fosterers so it maybe better to find another to work with, one you feel you can trust in their ability with assessing the dogs and to match with the most suitable adopters, one that provides full back up with both advice & financial support (some will cover food costs but they should cover the vet bills & have own liability insurance, definitely check before taking dog on).

Fostering can be short-term care or if its while the dog is looking for a home its a bit of an unknown, though usually if given notice of things like holidays the rescue will find cover.

I only met 1 of my 3 fosters before taking them home & while she got on ok with my dog at the rescue they clashed after a few days once settled in at home. the other 2 were delivered to me by volunteers. We took all the dogs for a walk together before taking indoors, all toys/chews were removed and fed separately so less to cause friction.
They'd all apart from 6mnth pup been in the rescue a while (he was born in rescue then adopted at 8wks) so they knew what their behaviour was like, funny enough the one that has given me the most work was the pup as hadn't had enough training & socialization.

I've a staffy x and a mastiff mutt, its the licky tongues and being sat on for cuddles i have to worry about, tbh i'm more wary of little dogs think they more easily feel threatened.

I wouldn't based on the fact I have other pets. Lots of Staffies I have worked with have been dog aggressive...these dogs were lovely with people but I wouldnt take the risk incase a fight did break out.

Saying that im not sure I would foster any dog with children unless I knew it was tested properly

Thanks all

The lady emailed me yesterday to say that she thinks I should start fostering with a more straight forward case (where there is a bit more info on the background of the dog etc) in the first instance until I have earned my stripes and built up my confidence. So we got there in the end - we were both coming to that conclusion.

I hope someone more experienced than me comes forward for that particular dog though

And I acknowledge that I had some preconceived ideas about staffies (fed by the media no doubt - it is true as one poster said that if there is every any news feature or discussion about dangerous dogs the media invariably use a photo of a staffie to illustrate it - which is grossly unfair) - I am aware of my prejudice and will try to address it.

I would advise against it as I think that "rescue" place, sounds like they are emotionally blackmailing you. Theres quite a few independent dog rescue places that are run by absolute loonies

and I have two staffies who are gorgeous and soft, but one of them was attacked unprovoked by my neighbours labrador

Personally I wouldn't take on ay dog from a rescue centre without knowing its background especially with young children. If a dog hasn't been socialised as a young puppy he will be reactive to other dogs and people - whatever the breed. Its very sad that people decide on a whim to have a dog without researching the breed and do absolutely no training. Then when the dog becomes a problem because of lack of training it gets carted off to rescue centres for someone else to deal with the problem. There is currently a thread on this site that has angered me so much I cannot comment on it. The number of people who casually state "PTS" is unbelievable! A dog is only ever as good as the time, effort and training he has been provided with.

Fluffy, actually dogs that haven't been socialised aren't always reactive, they'll have issues with social skills, but that isn't how they'll present themselves, some pick them up, some are over friendly. It very much depends on the dog.