Ok, quite specific. We would love another dog at some point.
Staffys are my breed of choice, cuddly, robust, solid, pig like, snorty, good with people, excellent with kids, very short fur.
I’ve had staffys in the past and the only part of their breed I have struggled with is the separation anxiety (made holidays hard when wanting to leave them for an hour or so, complaints from neighbours due to barking for the first couple of years etc when they were puppies, the refusal to sleep downstairs as they would cry for 8 hours solid all night long etc)
And I would say the biggest problem is that I’ve never known a staffy to be particularly dog friendly. I’ve always socialised them from tiny, but they’ve hit around 2 years old and always been a bit scrappy, so didn’t feel comfortable letting them off lead unless no dogs in sight. Even worried walking past other dogs when all dogs on leads. I struggled with the non dog friendly aspect the most, especially when out trying to watch 2 little ones and a dog prone to the occasional scrap.
Can a staffy ever be taught to be dog friendly?
We dog sat a cockerpoo a few weeks ago who was a dream, amazing recall, very well trained, walked/ran past numerous dogs without batting an eye lid, could be left in our house where she had never been before for a couple of hours without a peep from her when we popped to the shops.
She was lovely, easy, perfect with kids, but just didn’t float my boat breed wise, too hairy, a bit smelly having long fur, not the look I would usually go for in a dog.
What big, short haired, robust, good with kids, fantastic with other dogs and pretty obedient dogs are out there?
I should probably not focus so much on breed or looks, but staffys have won my heart and I’m struggling to imagine owning anything else, but right now, with the age of our kids I’m not sure that’s the best choice.