Phew - 18.5 inches at the withers!

[Williaint]

No ones ever mistaken my staffie for anything other than a staffie in 6 years and got it twice today from separate people. One who said she'll have to be muzzled after the 31st - after her snappy little turd of a dog went for her, so she took its ball and ran off with it and ditched it in the woods 🤣 second was a random guy who said lovely dog, had I applied for the exemption yet 🤔

She looks nothing like an xl to me, she's big - leggy staffie rather than the squat little piglet ones - but her little pea face, build etc....never occurred to me she could be typed due to her height.

Anyway, just measured her to the withers and she's just under 18.5 inches and I allowed a bit more for error so she's more like 18 inches if being totally accurate. Phew!!

Anyone else with staffies had any comments that's made you a bit nervy? I do feel I'm going to maybe get this a lot. 😔 might resort to taking her out at 7am when hardly anyone about.

I think if your staffy hasn’t already been typed under the existing legislation as a pit bill type you will be fine. People are stupid though. There was a thread on here recently of a women’s springer spaniel who’d been mistaken for an XL?!?

I recently had a horrible man stop his car and reverse back up the street to aggressively question me about whether my staffie is an XL bully. She's obviously not. She's small for a staffie, and very slender.

That's the only comment I've ever had about her though, so I'm not too worried.

I was asked by a group of youths if my Labrador puppy was a Rottweiler!

We just lost our beautiful boy, a staff/boxer cross who measured exactly 20inches at the withers so would’ve been ‘typed’ as an XL due to not being a pure breed.

We spent his final precious weeks worrying and looking into the legislation. I despair of the government’s description of what an ‘XL’ is. Any mixed bull breed unfortunate enough to fit the measurements will be typed. Our dog only weighed 25kg.

We didn’t get any comments, but we noticed an enormous shift in peoples’ attitudes towards us when out walking him from September onwards. People actively avoided us and nobody ever wanted to pet him. He was a gorgeous, gentle boy. My heart’s broken anyway now we’ve lost him, but it breaks even more for all the lovely dogs who will get caught up in this.

Ignore the comments from ignorant people who don’t have a clue what an XL actually is. I know it’s easier said than done.

Poor staffies, we had two growing up (one a big leggy one, one a squat little barrel) and they were the loveliest, gentlest creatures - who were constantly being categorised as dangerous "devil dogs" even back then.

I've taken her out at 7am last 2 days and hardly anyone around so will just keep that up. I am getting a bit worried that busybodies etc might report her 😔 even though she does not look like an XL at all I just can't be doing with the drama that might bring.

So sorry about your dog, we really don't have them long enough ❤️

As far as I understand it, height is the biggest factor in determining whether a dog is an ‘XL’ and your dog must measure above 19/20 inches to be typed.

Yours is below it, so I really would try not to worry too much as you can easily prove she’s below the height requirement.

Staffies are gorgeous dogs! Totally agree.

I have this concern to my Aura is a standard bully with pocket bully bloodlines and measure 18 , 18.5 at the withers but with all this I am too scared to attempt to take her out luckily I have a large garden but didn't stop the worry of the that's one of those dogs idiots trying to report me The thought of them taking her away scares the he'll out of ke as heard they keep them for about 2 weeks before returning them home

Hey what country are you in? I am in Ireland and ban just coming in here I have a staffie exact same height as yours. Were you ever stopped?