Staffie ?

[Maurice169]

Hi
I have 2 dogs, a 6 year old Border Terrier; he’s calm, sociable, a great dog. Also a Chihuahua, nearly 2, also lovely, brave little dog, can get nervous around boisterous unfamiliar dogs.

We’re a typical family home; teenage daughter, 3.5 year old son. My husband and I work from home so someone’s always here.

We want to get another dog and would love a Staff, we’ll be getting it as a puppy.

Would this breed be happy in this kind of environment, with 2 other dogs and a small child playing with it? My son does play a bit rough with my dogs, the Border just takes it or gets up and walks away; the Chihuahua will growl and bite him but as he’s small it doesn’t do any damage.
He’s starting to understand he has to be nice to the dogs. But I’m worried if he bothered a Staffie a nip from him would be quite different to that of a Chihuahua?!

Is there much difference between a male and female, would a male Staff be ok with two other male dogs?

Advice please?? 😀☀️

I'm sorry but I don't think you should be getting another dog until your son is old enough to treat your current dogs with respect. It is not ok that your chihuahua has to growl and bite him to get your son to leave him alone.

How much longer will your terrier tolerate your son? You need to supervise your child properly around your dogs otherwise you are going to have very stressed animals that may one day decide they've had enough.

Well generally speaking my son is great with our dogs and they play together nicely.....most of the time.
I can’t always be watching them though and I have to tell him to be kind and respectful to the dogs.

This is the point; my son is 31/2 and in the learning process, his understanding is getting better every day.

Maybe I should wait a bit longer, when his understanding of how to behave around the dogs is better?

When I check on other forums the advice is Staffs are great dogs for children.

Staffies are fantastic dogs, however I don't think you should get another dog either, 3 dogs is a pack and very different to having 1 or 2.
3.5 is old enough to respect dogs, and yes you should watch dogs and children all of the time they should NEVER be left unsupervised.
You shouldn't get any more dogs as your attitude is not that of a responsible for owner.

My son does play a bit rough with my dogs, the Border just takes it or gets up and walks away; the Chihuahua will growl and bite him but as he’s small it doesn’t do any damage.
Jesus.
Do not get another dog.

I would just echo that 3 dogs is a lot more hard work than just 1 extra dog would suggest. The dynamics of three dogs requires careful observation and managment and the introduction of a 3rd could easily change the relationship your existing 2 have. It could also change their ability to tolerate your son.

The extra stress of having a new dog added to the mix could easily mean the existing dogs have reduced tolerance for rough play and could see a situation where they no longer behave as they do now.

No dog should be left unsupervised with young children but this is especially true of dogs capable of doing great physical damage. I would not expect to be able to take my eyes of a 3/4 year old and a staffie at any moment. Only you know whether this is possible for you but it sounds like it isn't.

Personally, I'd use any extra energy or time you are thinking about spending on a 3rd dog and focus it instead on the two you have, included better management of their interaction with your son.

Dear god please no, you seem to have a laissez-faire attitude to your 3 year old's behaviour with your dogs and him getting bitten!

Please don't.

Your son needs to learn to treat dogs with respect and not to play rough with them. Your current two dogs are already being pulled around by him - don't let him inflict that on another dog.

If you can't be right there watching then you need to separate them. Either bring your son or your dogs with you and use babygates to keep them apart.

This has to be some sort of reverse, surely? I mean who, for fuck's sake, simply tolerates a dog being tormented until it bites? And then suggests bringing another, powerfully built and bigger dog into this hugely dysfunctional environment. Certainly, it is grossly irresponsible as well as hugely unfair on all the dogs.

Please don't get another dog. You've already got issues with two, and it's not Pokemon.

Staffies are great with children. That's not the problem, it's having two other dogs in the mix that's the problem - and chihuahuas are notorious for being annoying little **s that wind up other dogs.

Chi's are the bane of my park walks with our staffie. Unless the Chi's are leashed they'll dart in and yap and snap at any medium or large sized dog they see. They all do it, it's a breed trait.

No, not a good idea. Whilst some staffies can be wonderful with other dogs, there are a lot of them that are not tolerant of other dogs, this is simply a breed trait that must be accepted as a possibility. Sometimes, no matter how well you socialise them, they can become intolerant of other dogs once they reach adolescence, which is why you can find a lot of young staffs in rescue around 2-3 years old.

Most people would not suggest adding a staff to a household where there is already a dominant established dog. Staffies should be bold, fearless and tenacious (if bred to breed standard), and generally don't back down when challenged by other dogs. From my experience, the young ones really do play quite rough (think body slamming, neck biting, hanging off other dog's ears) and while that can be totally fine if the other dog is happy with that play style, it sounds like your chihuahua will not tolerate that.

I see so many staffies filling up rescues - please familiarise yourself with the Staffordshire bull terrier breed standard and what to potentially expect from this breed. They are more demanding than chihuahuas and border terriers, especially when young. They are often avid chewers and have loads of energy, if they do not get enough mental/physical exercise they WILL find ways to expend this energy elsewhere and can end up wrecking your house. I love 'em, but they are not a breed for everyone.

Is this a joke? Your toddler pesters a dog to the extent he’s bitten? You ‘can’t watch them’ anyone with half a brain doesn’t leave kids and dogs unsupervised.
I’m a staffy owner and work in rescue, please do not get a staffy as it will enviably end up in rescue with an idiot owner like you.

Please don't get another dog if you can't closely supervise your child with the ones you have.

Got to be a wind up, noone is this stupid surely?

What do you think a 3rd dog will add?
What do you think you can offer a third dog?
How do you thing a third dog will impact on your existing dogs?

You should never ever leave a young child unsupervised with a dog that bites

I've read it all now

Bad idea OP, sorry.

Also makes me a bit sad that you would consider buying a staff puppy when rescues are literally bursting at the seams with them.

Bit like someone buying a Greyhound puppy...

Please don’t OP. And teach your child to stop doing this. I have taken a dog in from a home where the toddler constantly constantly went after the dog to ‘play’ and the poor dog didn’t react by biting but it became quite depressed and upset. It is really not fair to use a dog to teach a child how to play nicely that is your job. Toddlers and dogs don’t know how to play together very well. They don’t understand each other’s body language and no way does a toddler know when enough is enough, or when the dog is frustrated or over excited. This takes a long time and a lot of patience with a child.

I have sat and watched my dog be played with the toddler from his previous home and it was often teased for toddler amusement, the dog was confused by the toddlers concept of the game, the toddler would suddenly approach the dog startling him etc. I was honest with my relative that if the dog bit the child it would be her own fault

I can guarantee your dogs are already stressed and it would be cruel to add to that with another much larger dog

Staffie pups are very boisterous and I don't think the chihuahua would be happy. I know someone who has a staffie pup and a yorkshire terrier and the yorkie hates the staffies boisterous play and will often get into a fight and the end result is the yorkie getting hurt.

Dogs and children should NEVER be left unsupervised
You sound hugely irresponsible

I have a staffy Cross and as a pup he was a handful, has now finally calmed down at 5 year old. We have recently got another dog and the young dog in him has emerged, he throws himself into our new dog, hangs off her ears/face/neck, throws his weight around. (new dog loves it and gives as good as she gets, has found biting his toes is his weakness 😂) but I would not advise getting this breed on a whim, he's a big softy but he's strong, bold and doesn't realise his size. Mix this with a child who doesn't understand how to mix with a dog, although I think 3.5 is old enough to know better than to annoy the dog to the point of biting and an irresponsible owner then your just asking for disaster. Even when playing my dog nips when he misses the toy your holding and it bloody hurts, wouldn't like to imagine what a warning snap would feel like to a child.