Staffys - tell me honestly, do they deserve such a bad rep

[tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz]

Evening all

So we're looking for a dog to adopt and the rescues we're watching seem to have lots of staffys (why is this?!) We're considering going to see one this weekend (x with Shar Pei). He's four and according to the rescue shows no health or personality concerns associated with this breed and is pretty much a staffy through and through.

I've always loved this breed but DH is wary due to their rep.

Can you tell me honestly what they're like? I read something interesting on BBC which said they are actually s breed the kennel club recommends around young kids so that was a surprise!

Also a good friend of mine was attacked by one a few years ago requiring stitches and although I haven't asked her yet - I'm s bit worried what her reply would be tbh - I'm concerned she may refuse to walk her dog with us/come to her home. This is really niggling me enough to not consider him

I just read this thread to see all your staffies (I have poorly socialised rescue cats who would be more of a danger to any poor dog I rescued sadly, so until these grumpy purring lumps shuffle off their apparently immortal coils I just have to gaze at other people's dogs!) - what beautiful dogs they are 😍

Every one I've ever met is a big soft snuggly baby. (Every bloody sproodle I've ever met, however? A bitey, badly tempered dickhead. 🤣)

As PPs say, they're just strong dogs. Trained badly/not trained at all, they can do more damage than, say, a sproodle who gets mouthy - plus they look scarier because of their adorable stocky build and reputation, so people perceive them as worse. My dad's rescue is a gorgeous, loving little beagley cross thing, but she's still incredibly reactive to other dogs, kids etc due to a horrible start in life and despite ongoing behavioural work. He walks her when other people won't be around as much as he can, on a short lead unless he's hired a dog paddock out to himself, but every now and then she sees another dog and goes ballistic snarling trying to get at them, and the other owners are all misty eyed- "awwww, she's feisty isn't she?" because she looks cute. If she were a staffy they'd be hysterical.

I have owned two rescue staffies (one started as a foster) and fostered another. The fostering came first and I didn't know anything about the breed except to be nervous of them. Now obviously I'm the opposite, they are so emotional and loving. I read that they make more eye contact with their owners than almost any other breed. They're very much a friend as well as a dog.
I would only ever have a 'real' staffie or one crossed with something smaller because they're strong and I wouldn't want a dog I couldn't physically control.
In 17 years of having a staffie there's never been the slightest hint of aggression towards people, never one moment when I felt concerned, both were very, very gentle with children. People come up to make a fuss of our current dog all the time and the only time she's growled was when a really drunk woman loomed over her put her face into hers & I didn't blame her.
Bearing in mind we had both as adults so didn't train them, our first staffie could be a bit growly with a few other dogs & his ruff would go up. He wanted to play with us, not other dogs. Our current one loved all other dogs and still loves playing with other dogs of her own choice but as an oldie has become a bit growly/defensive with some breeds/sizes - maybe with 1 in every 10 dogs she meets - so she's mostly on the lead now. Neither has ever reacted to other dogs barking at them or lunging at them, they just shrugged off negative attitudes.
What I will say is that both dogs would rise to a real physical challenge and not back down but are easy to pull away. Neither has ever bitten another dog. In all that time I've had to break up maybe half a dozen scraps and they were just handbags.

I think with any breed you need to consider the likelihood of aggression (based on the individual dog’s circumstances and the breed in general) and how capable they are of causing harm if they did become aggressive.

I grew up with staffys and they were the nicest dogs ever. In general the breed is loving and gentle with people. But they are strong and powerful animals with very powerful jaws (I remember one of mine hanging from a tree branch in the air by his teeth on multiple occasions!).

If you’re not 100% confident that you can train and control a staffy, I would choose a breed with a weaker bite.

Staffys you say? Here's 3 of mine 😁 we foster for a local charity and have had quite a few over that time (6 I think!) All have been lovely dogs but only 1 was what I'd call properly reactive. The others have been a but grumbly with other dogs or totally indifferent!

I was totally anti-staffy, but DH was desperate for one. I saw an advert in the local petshop that a woman had put up a staffy for adoption (not a great way to get a dog but we were young and naive!) so we went to meet him. He was an awesome dog and I fell in love! We had him for 7 years during which we had two children and he was the soppiest, loveliest thing. My DD used to use him like a cushion 😁

Now I don't think I'd have anything else tbh. As for them being too strong to hold back - I'm 5ft nothing and I can hold a lunging staffy back so I'm sure anyone else can!

These photos are gorgeous, I'm so jealous of you all!

I have a staffy. She is from champion bloodlines and is an absolute joy. Not an aggressive bone in her body, a Lab went to nip her on the face and she literally just looked at it in despair "what's your problem mate? Having a bad day"
Complete love bug. I was crying the other day and she was straight on my lap trying to 'fix me'
Wonderful breed.

I would never want one. My lab was viciously attacked by a staffie nipping me trying to rescue my dog. It just raved up to my dog from a distance and went for him.Have a look at the list of dog fatalities in the UK and Australia and there are always staffies on there.

Recently adopted a senior staffy. First dog. So over the moon with him, he's a sweetheart. When other dogs bark and lunge at him (on leads), he's head down, crack on, trying to diffuse the situation. Cuddle monster. Only thing is very powerful chewer of toys & has destroyed a number of extreme Kongs so far! But I love and am thankful for him

@QueenofDestruction

I would never want one. My lab was viciously attacked by a staffie nipping me trying to rescue my dog. It just raved up to my dog from a distance and went for him.Have a look at the list of dog fatalities in the UK and Australia and there are always staffies on there.

Yes,I agree with you.Staffies are mainly owned by macho blokes(drugdealer) who need the dog as protection.its not the dog though,its the breed of human who owns these dogs.There are exeptions of course,but in the main,it is macho blokes in hoodies.there is a reason why the reputationmis bad.

I live in an area with loads of Staffys (Staffordshire shockingly ).

I know people who have them as pets & say they're the softest breed ever. I also know of people (including children) who have been attacked by them.

My own distrust of dogs in general comes from a staffy biting me when I was 4. He came over snarling showing his teeth.

Staffie- lovely
Staffie cross- whats the cross?

Staffie in a rescue - what have they learnt?

I personally would say a Staffie is an ideal intro dog, loyal, easy to train and wants to please you

My DH had a Staffie as a kid with his 3 siblings. He has said what a soft dog she was and how lovely she was putting up with them all. I would be wary though.

No. My dad has a staff and she's sweet, affectionate and very obedient. She's never even snapped in warning.

@DontKnowWhatToThink7

I would also like to add that my dog has never attacked other dogs (or cats for that matter) but he has been attacked on a few occasions and twice by labradors'. Any dog breed can be aggressive.

Crazy, my dog was also once attacked by a Labrador! It was not a bad attack but it just jumped on her suddenly.

I think best off viewing a rescue dog as an individual as even pedigrees don't always match up to the breed traits and sometimes with rescue the breed guess is off anyway. Better to consider how well the rescue assesses the dogs as this can vary hugely and will more likely affect how successful the match is.

I've had 2 staffy crossbreeds, both have that cuddly, people oriented, loyal nature. One was reactive but I don't know if because he lacked socialisation or had a bad experience as a puppy that made him wary in previous home. He was scared of other dogs so tried to appear scary to keep them away, but he lived with multiple dogs and had some friend's.

I'd say staffies are just more popular with type of people that don't make good dog owners and terriers do tend towards being more dog selective
They seem to be moving onto those XL/pocket bullies and frenchies which have higher value. Although there's a lot more 'family friendly' young spaniels and oodlepoos with resource guarding issues/bite history popping up in rescue that are probably products of inexperienced owners/crap breeders.

I used to work with dogs and all the staffies and mastiff types were on the whole well mannered and good to be handled and it was the Labradors that were bolshy. I think had more concern with some of the small breeds for bite risk as if nervous can easily feel more threatened and Owners aren't always aware their dogs are in discomfort either as expect vocal response not the subtle changes.

They are great dogs, totally protective of women and children. BUT. This dog is 4 so where did he come from, also he’s male and they are well known for being more boisterous. They are mainly playful but if the kids aren’t used to it it can be a shock x

I’d say no.
My best friend had six, (let an older dog have puppies) they roamed with her Pomeranian, a Pekingese, rabbits and cats. Beautiful dogs, not an ounce of aggression.
My JRT on the other hand was very aggressive.

I would never get one. There are so many lovely dog breeds, so if you are choosing a dog I'm not sure what would attract you to a staffordshire bull terrier over any other breed.

My cousin breeds them and many of her dogs are lovely, soppy things but there are a small minority of the breed that just snap and unfortunately it often isn't apparent in puppyhood. They can be quite reactive to smaller animals and/or sometimes become very possessive of food. They are overrepresented in attack and fatal attack statistics (along with other bully breeds). I don't visit my cousin at her house.

A lot of staffys are lovely and many will go their whole lives as good family pets. But if they choose to attack they are very powerful and they are more prone to attacking than many breeds. Why roll the dice?

Personally I would always choose a dog that was bred for companionship and temperament. No dog is risk free but some are much lower risk than others.

No way on god's earth would i get a staffie. The data on dog attacks are a literal warning in black and white. I cannpt understand how people ignore it.

We have always had rescue dogs, so i get the sentiment behind that but a rescue Staffy? Hard no from me.

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

I have friends who foster dogs to see if they are capable of being re homed around other dogs and children - lots of them were staffs . In our area it was because a staff was a " status dog" so looked aggressive and then get bored of them & then in dogs home. . I agree with a PP in that we met a lovely young grey staff and she was gorgeous - just like a little cuddly seal.

A well trained and nice staff can be fantastic but I would only get a re homed one if they have been fostered first - Not because the breed is inherently bad but there was a fashion at one point for this breed and not everyone looked after them properly.

Said friends brought one around to see us to see if she was kindly & she was a soft as soft could be with our two dogs.

Staffs do have a bad rep but I would say it is because at one point they were a dog some people who wanted a fashionable looking aggressive dog had them. Intrinsically a staff will be lovely and gentle ( unless a puppy - in which case it will chew your stuff to pieces - but then many dogs will )

It would seem that they are less fashionable at the moment and the dogs needing to be fostered are those ones which look a bit more like wolves - Not sure of the breed - someone will know

But I would not discount a staff if properly bred & looked after or has had a proper fostering home before being able to be rehomed

All best OP

To be honest though @tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz - personally we have Border Terriers - such loyal and companionable little dogs - they love humans - will put up with manhandling by children & cute teddy bear faces . But they do not know they are little dogs - need walks. Apparently chap in charge of the Kennel club has lots of them.

@UnoriginalPenguin

Staffies are lovely dogs, but the Shar Pei cross would put me right off. Shar Peis are a guardian breed, need very careful socialisation and training, and I wouldn't contemplate one that I hadn't raised from a puppy. Actually I wouldn't even consider a puppy.

I certainly agree with this point!

Bill Sykes had an English Bull Terrier

I'm pretty sure they have the strong jaws and large incisors to do damage if they should turn.
Not for me. DSis's dog chased a sheep into a lake. No one knew there were sheep in the field but the dog also swam after it trying to bite it. Gave up about half way across.
They are tough guys' protection dogs and bred in large numbers in city flats to sell and make money. Hence so many. Not a good start for a dog.

@Yusanaim

"They are tough guys' protection dogs and bred in large numbers in city flats to sell and make money. Hence so many. Not a good start for a dog."

I agree - & this is why my friends fostered them - some can make very good family pets - others sadly not and have to be PTS.

But I absolutely get your point.