Page 3 | Where are all the Staffs?

TooSmallForTheMembrane · 2023-02-12T18:31:29+00:00

I regularly peruse P4H, not because I would buy a dog from there, but I just like looking at pictures of puppies and seeing what’s available and popular locally (yes I need to get out more probably!). I’ve noticed that all of a sudden there are almost no adverts for SBTs and loads for American Bullies? And the staffies that are available are now the very squat, muscular type, not the longer/leaner more athletic sort. And they are all blue! It’s bizarre! What happened to the classic brindle colouring? Is it just me or are they disappearing?

Runningonempty01 · 21/02/2023 18:05

Hopefully this is good news for staffies, when I was a kid the farm where I went riding had two staffies, lovely small dogs, brindle in colour, very wriggly and friendly. I can't believe how much the breed changed when you see some staffies now, not being fashionable is probably a good thing and they will revert to type that people who have always loved the breed liked originally.

FatSealSmugSoup · 21/02/2023 18:24

I have a brindle and white staffie rescue (with kids) - they were termed “nanny dogs” for a reason.

he has many positive attributes, unfortunately intelligence is not one. He’s as daft as a brush.

MissWings · 21/02/2023 18:29

@FatSealSmugSoup

Yes my brindle lady was fab with my three kids. We gave her a great life after she had been chucked in the bin after birth by some dodgy breeders. Bottle fed her. She died yesterday at nearly 16. She was daft and crazy in her younger years but also very, very loving. As an old lady very sweet and gentle.

FatSealSmugSoup · 21/02/2023 18:40

I’m so sorry to hear of your loss - she sounds wonderful and enjoyed many, many happy years with you.

My boy is nearly 13 now (as far as we’ve been able to trace his history) and is slowing down - but while he can still jump up on the couch and can hear a crisp packet being opened 3 rooms away I won’t worry too much.

He’s such a sook - he was in the garden making excited squeaking/crying noises and one of my neighbours started hurdling fences thinking a little old lady had fallen and was stuck in the mud crying out for help. Nope, just a daft staffie wanting fussed.

MissWings · 21/02/2023 18:52

@FatSealSmugSoup

Oh he sounds adorable. I laughed at the crisp packet. Yesterday my girl was very ill but she still managed to lift her head for a custard cream. Was an effort but she managed it 😂.

hookiewookie29 · 21/02/2023 19:05

Our gorgeous 2 year old brindle. We got him at 8 weeks old,from a guy on P4H. Had lots of contact with him, he sent lots of pictures and videos of the whole litter. Very well cared for,both parents were very healthy full breeds
Our boy is such a great dog
He doesn't destroy stuff- like a lot of Staffies do - he doesn't bark much and is just a gentle soul. I work as a childminder which is why we got a puppy- if I didn't then I would have rescued one. However, and its not just his breed, but any breed, you never really know the full background of a rescue dog and I wanted a puppy to grow up with my job.He absolutely adores the children and they adore him.
As for XL Bullies....3 of them attacked our boy a few weeks ago and nearly ripped his ear off,as well as leaving puncture marks all over his body many of which have scarred him for life

Fr0styday · 21/02/2023 19:14

Loads of abandoned staffys :( look on HYPS facebook - Helping Yorkshire Poundies, they're a dog charity but seem to have quite a few staffys.

They are gorgeous gentle dogs - such a shame of the undeserved bad rep they got due to the aforementioned twats

Fr0styday · 21/02/2023 19:15

TooSmallForTheMembrane · 12/02/2023 19:15

It’s a shame as I think a staffy would suit our family/lifestyle but due to having other pets and children I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a rescue. But it sounds like a puppy might actually be hard to find when the time comes!

Why? If you get from a reputable charity they will have assessed them thoroughly.

FatSealSmugSoup · 21/02/2023 19:27

@hookiewookie29 hes beautiful and you can see the love in his eyes.

teapotfullofsquash · 21/02/2023 19:31

@hookiewookie29 your lad looks very much like mine, though mine has a few more white patches. Also bought from pets4homes. He will be 3 this July. Absolutely gorgeous boy who I wouldn't be without. He adores our children and they all love having a cuddle.

SBTs do have a bad name by anyone who, from what I can gather, doesn't actually know one personally. Once you've met a well cared for staffie you realise they are just full of love for all the humans in their life!

slamfightbrightlight · 21/02/2023 21:19

I would never have had a staffy. Until one landed in our house as a foster and never left. Now I’m not sure I could have anything else!

Iamclearlyamug · 21/02/2023 21:37

Our 12 year old staffy lad looking after my daughter when she was poorly the other week.

Soft as butter, immaculately trained but certainly protective of DD and would defend her if she was ever threatened

Hop27 · 21/02/2023 21:50

That staffy smile ... she is the purest form of love 💕

Snugglemonkey · 21/02/2023 22:33

GoldenCagedBird · 17/02/2023 15:26

I wouldn’t have those either with young children. I was attacked by a highly strung show cocker as a child.

i have admitted Staffies are sweet dogs. I have also acknowledged how fucking powerful they can be.

Why do these threads always fill up with people completely ignoring traits in some breeds that make them more likely to cause damage, sometimes fatal damage?

Look at the list of fatal dog attacks. Staffies are heavily overrepresented. They may have had dickhead owners, but they or their child would still be alive had they selected a maltese or something else cat sized. They never do though.

a butter knife can you if used incorrectly. But a carving knife will do more damage.

bizarre

Show quote history

Definitely this. Dogs of any breed can snap. But a chihuahua is going to do less damage to my child than a staffie, so is more likely to be picked as a pet by us. Though I am thinking about a shih Tzu or Maltese or smth.

tsmainsqueeze · 21/02/2023 22:37

I work in vets and we are sadly not seeing anywhere near the amount of staffs we used to see, i would say they were once one of our most common patients.
We are now mainly seeing cockapoos , french b.dogs and god knows what mix bull breeds, until the last few years i have never felt any fear of dogs at all in my job, but when you see some of the 'things' we are now having in it is scary,we hope for the best but know should one of them turn on us we would have no control, a big strong man wouldn't either.
It is very rare for us to see a staff that can't be trusted , there is no question about their exceptional strength but personality wise you know where you stand and that you are very unlikely to be bitten by one -licked to death possibly !,can't say that about many breeds .
They are a breed that a lot of people in the veterinary world have respect and a soft spot for ,especially an elderly one.

Soxford1 · 22/02/2023 00:03

tsmainsqueeze · 21/02/2023 22:37

I work in vets and we are sadly not seeing anywhere near the amount of staffs we used to see, i would say they were once one of our most common patients.
We are now mainly seeing cockapoos , french b.dogs and god knows what mix bull breeds, until the last few years i have never felt any fear of dogs at all in my job, but when you see some of the 'things' we are now having in it is scary,we hope for the best but know should one of them turn on us we would have no control, a big strong man wouldn't either.
It is very rare for us to see a staff that can't be trusted , there is no question about their exceptional strength but personality wise you know where you stand and that you are very unlikely to be bitten by one -licked to death possibly !,can't say that about many breeds .
They are a breed that a lot of people in the veterinary world have respect and a soft spot for ,especially an elderly one.

Thank you for writing this. A true Stafford is very much a people 'person'.
I live and work around Oxford and the number of SBTs has massively reduced. They are outnumbered by XL bullies and Cane Corsos.

In my work I have lots of opportunities to hear what people about different breeds (I'm a private hire driver so overhear people chatting all day).
There have been many occasions when I hear, 'that's the sort of dog I'm getting' ..... and inevitably it's an enormous bully type (30kg++). So many people want a dog for protection and it seems the bigger and uglier, the better.
If this means that the Staffords are out of fashion with this type of person, then that has to be good for the breed.
Obviously the down side is the number of badly bred enormous dogs in the community is on the increase, and vets/rescues are having to deal with them 😞

hookiewookie29 · 22/02/2023 07:50

FatSealSmugSoup · 21/02/2023 19:27

@hookiewookie29 hes beautiful and you can see the love in his eyes.

Thank you, he's just such a lovely boy. We actually got him for our daughter- she's now 19 and has suffered with her mental health since she got bullied at school. He's saved her- gives her a reason to get out of bed.
But I think he's actually saved all of us x

hookiewookie29 · 22/02/2023 08:01

teapotfullofsquash · 21/02/2023 19:31

@hookiewookie29 your lad looks very much like mine, though mine has a few more white patches. Also bought from pets4homes. He will be 3 this July. Absolutely gorgeous boy who I wouldn't be without. He adores our children and they all love having a cuddle.

SBTs do have a bad name by anyone who, from what I can gather, doesn't actually know one personally. Once you've met a well cared for staffie you realise they are just full of love for all the humans in their life!

You're absolutely right- a lot of it is ignorance!
We had a Staffy over 20 years ago, when it was the Twats dog of choice
She was adorable but even when we walked her, people would openly say to us that it was a devil dog and should be shot. Some people are still like it now.
Our boy Harley has never shown any aggression to anyone or any other dog- it's usually the other way round. He never acknowledges any other dogs at all- we go to a local field, off his lead, chasing a ball....there could be 100 other dogs there and he doesn't even look at them. Its other dogs that don't leave him alone! He's incredibly patient with them, but if he was to ever growl at them, we'd be the one's labelled as having an aggressive dog because of his breed! My daughter's boyfriend has taken him out before and,maybe because of his age and because he wears the typical uniform of a 20 year old- baseball cap, track suit etc- he's been told he has a vicious dog and to keep it on a lead! Because they don't know that he's only vicious if you're a rubber ball or a piece of toast....
But the amount of people who approach us and want to fuss him- " Oh I love Staffies, they're so gorgeous "- far outweighs the ignorant one's!

MissWings · 22/02/2023 08:46

Our vet cried with us the other day when we put our old lady to sleep. She said she doesn’t see many elderly old style staffs very much anymore. She looked so sad. I’ve definitely had judgements in her younger years but as she got older we faced it a lot less. Believe it or not, they’re quite middle class now. They’re a proper breed unlike a lot of what you see today.

lovemypuppa · 22/02/2023 08:46

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 12/02/2023 18:35

Well, it isn’t a mystery at all is it? It’s what sells.
Staffies were the ‘go to’ Twats dog, now it’s XL Bulldogs.
And yes, Blue is a ‘go to’ Twats colour.
And no, I won’t be apologising for that characterisation.

Absolutely this.

lovemypuppa · 22/02/2023 08:47

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 12/02/2023 18:36

And as an appendix, no one who cares about dogs buys from P4H.

100% agree. It should be banned.

TurtleTriplets · 22/02/2023 08:50

My colleague just bought a beautiful brindle staff pup, they are in their 60s and her husband has retired so definitely not looking for a status dog.

I have an American bulldog which I have had for many years before they became the "go to" dog. He's a beautiful soft dog but people avoid him when we are out. Such a shame.

I think all big dogs have their day. It was Belgian malinos for a while round here, then XL bullies, seems to be swinging round to cane Corso now.

ToBeOrNotToBee · 22/02/2023 09:01

I'm so glad the unsavouries have moved on from doing their hardest to destroy the SBT, as horrible as it is for the dogs they are now hell bent on destroying.

My 2 are the happiest doggos on the planet and give so much joy. The vets adore them, they play so nicely with the boy next door and are so incredibly loyal to their people.

I would do anything for them and they would do anything for me

tsmainsqueeze · 22/02/2023 09:21

MissWings · 22/02/2023 08:46

Our vet cried with us the other day when we put our old lady to sleep. She said she doesn’t see many elderly old style staffs very much anymore. She looked so sad. I’ve definitely had judgements in her younger years but as she got older we faced it a lot less. Believe it or not, they’re quite middle class now. They’re a proper breed unlike a lot of what you see today.

I am so sorry , i know exactly how your vet felt , it is a privilege to be able to put to sleep a dog who has reached a great age.
And she will have known how wonderful a best friend your dog has been to you and your family ,because that's how staffy's are .
We are seeing the same in my practice too, the human race is fickle and shallow, i find it hard to understand how people pick image over personality when picking something that will have a huge impact on your life.

OneAndDon3 · 22/02/2023 09:23

I've had our girl since she was 12 weeks old. She's grown up with our little boy who is two years younger than her and she's universally adored by our nieces. She's absolutely soft as butter although a terrible sandwich thief with zero sense of personal space.

I'd rather have a staff around small children in my care than any other breed. My parents were really concerned when I got pregnant and made a few comments about me having to get rid of the dog as it wasn't safe. But they're 100% converted to staffy love now.