Staffy v Parsons puppy

[Peggy21]

We are looking to get a female puppy and have narrowed it down to a parsons / staffy and two available pups have come up.
We are a family (two boys, 9 and 12) and have a garden.
The dog wouldn’t be alone much. We are looking for a loving, family dog. First time dog owners.
Any advice in these two breeds?
Many thanks.

Have you chosen these breeds because you genuinely think they match your family best, or because there are puppies available? There will always be puppies, but if you get this wrong it will be a long 12-15 years.
Of the two breeds, I'd go for a staffy for a family over a Parson Jack Russell. They love company, enjoy busy family life, are pretty tolerant of kids being hyper and energetic. Both are terrier breeds so you can expect a prey drive, but often it is slightly less with a STB compared to a JRT. The most important thing though is the parents temperament. If they are shy or don't want to come over wiggling for a stroke and to interact I would walk away. You need a robust dog as a first dog, not one that is likely to develop neurotic tendencies, and the parents (ideally meeting both of them) will be your strongest indicator.

Definitely a staffy! They are fantastic family dogs.

I don’t think think either of these are great for first time dog owners.

I agree with PP. Both are lovely breeds, neither are breeds I think are suitable for first time owners with young children.

A Parson will rung rings around a relatively experienced owner, let alone a novice, and are high drive and high intellect.

Staffies are incredibly strong and can be boisterous. That combination is just too risky for a novice owner.

They are incredibly different dog breeds. Breeding is everything, and a poorly bred staffie (in particular) in the hands of a novice owner with children is a recipe for disaster. I love staffies, but they’re are lots of bad breeders out there breeding unhealthy and unsuitable dogs. You can fuck up a well bred dog, you can’t easily un-fuck a badly bred one. If you go with a staffie, you best be certain that breeder is beyond reproach.

I have a 15 month old purebred staffy. They are my absolute favourite breed. He's great as a family dog, loves everybody he meets. But I'm not sure whether they would be a good fit as a first dog. Staffs are incredibly clever and loving, mine is my velcro boy, but he is very, very strong and bouncy and excitable. Our dog trainer says that a lot of her staffy owners stop going to her classes as they feel embarrassed by the bouncy, goofy, behaviour in classes, though I went in with my eyes open as to personality and i love his bouncy nature. Staffies also have a tendency to not get on with other dogs and its been a lot of work to get mine neutral with dogs. He is very well bred, I spent a long time interviewing breeders and spending time with the parents to ensure they had good temperaments.

If you decide to go for a staffy do lots of homework into the breed. Make sure parents are calm and have lovely temperaments and that health testing has been done. Blue staffies are more likely to have skin issues too.

Thank you for your replies. We have wanted a staffy for a while but the KC breeder we wanted fell through (no spare girl in her litter) so we are looking at other breeders. We will be able to see both parents hopefully when we visit.
I think what made us want a staffy
is their ‘nanny dog’ reputation and a female as I’ve read they are less intense than the males.
I am going to be at home a lot so will be around to train it and also we may get the advice of a dog trainer involved too.
I appreciate all of your thoughts and advice. I’ve kind of got my heart set on a staffy I guess!

I’ve got a Heinz57 (terrier x) as my first dog, private rehome as he didn’t like kids (and neither do I) but jeez it’s been a learning curve and it’s hard! (The little bastard rules the house, but he’s just adorable 😂)
Anyway, my point being! ABSOLUTELY find yourself a reputable and kind trainer! No maybe about it!
Good luck with your choice and puppy though 🙂

Vet nurse here - i'm not sure i would agree that staffies aren't a good 1st dog , if you have done your homework searching for a decent breeder and you are fully aware of all the pro's and con's (not many !) of the breed i don't think you can go far wrong with one.
I would avoid blue ones as previously mentioned due to skin allergies and sometimes temperament issues but as someone with decades of experience with the breed i think they are absolutely wonderful dogs, most of my team love staffies too, you know where you stand with them and it is very rare we see one that shows aggression towards people.
A dog trainer is an excellent idea as you want it to be good around other dogs as i'm sure you are well aware.
Good luck with your search.

Check the breeder is recommended, will do everything they should, eg KC reg, prepping, take back the puppy if there is ever a need, and look at the pedigree. It's not about showing the dog, but a good pedigree suggests health and temperament have been prioritised. Maybe check with breed experts about your breeder (can anyone advise on these breeds? or look online) to be sure , and view before putting a deposit down. In most cases you can only see the puppy with mum, as the sire will probably not live there for obvious reasons, but contact the sire's breeder-look on Champdogs etc to see if their details are there.

@zobalina77 He's GORGEOUS! What a face.

People call XL Bullies ‘nanny dogs.’

Personally, I think anyone who describes any dog as a ‘nanny dog’ probably isn’t someone who anyone should take advice from when it comes to ownership.

And male dogs are no more intense than female. That’s down to genetics, breeder, breeder and the family the dog goes to as well as the dogs individual temperament.

Gently, I would really suggest you do some proper research into what it’s actually like owning these dogs and dog ownership more broadly. @zobalina77 has already said it can be challenging owning a staffie, so listen to that.

It’s very different kettle of fish owning a dog like a staffie as a first time owner compared to owning a toy poodle. And people all go into dog ownership saying they’ll do XYZ. They rarely do. Even if they do, it’s completely different in practice to thinking about it.

The thing is, it might all go well. But if you find the Staffie is more than you can handle…how will you manage that? Because I’ve watched people struggle to handle aggressive cockerpoo and Cavapoos and they don’t have half the amount of strength, determination or sheer power a staffie does. There’s a reason there are so many staffies in rescues; because they are not easy. You rarely see a miniature poodle or a westie in a rescue. Ask yourself why.

Ultimately, if you have you heart set on a westie then I don’t think any warnings will change your mind. But I’ll still say the above until I’m blue in the face. All dog breeds deserve the right home, that’s not necessarily your home - as painful as that is to hear. I’d love a Mali or a Collie. Doesn’t mean I’m cut out to own one.

As usual the very negative replies from some posters. OP think yourself lucky they didnt pick up on the having a puppy with children..... absolute no from some of them.

A well breed staffy can be a great first time dog for some people.

I do agree about really researching having a dog in detail then start thinking about the breed. I would take very little notice of posters on a thread tbh. If you can speak to dog owners, walk with them on a regular basis, see how the dog impacts on home life in the house. Staffies can be a bit offish with other dogs so worth checking out the parents.

OP, do you have much general dog experience? Because some of the terrier breeds are a lot of dog in a fairly small package.

We had a JRT as our first dog, but both DH and I had grown up with dogs, and the ILs had dogs (including JRTs) so we had nothing to be surprised about: the prey drive, independent attitude and breezy self-confidence were entirely expected. For us, and our dog, it worked out very well, but our dog's full brother went to a fairly naive owner and he led her a merry dance, including snapping at random passers-by.

If you've never had much to do with dogs, it might be wiser to go for an easier breed with less prey drive.

Hey OP

I'm a dog mum to a parsons terrier (rescue).
Our lad is nearly 5. He is full of it....
He is walked three times a day, around 2 to 3 hrs in total. He still wants to play. I wfh so he is never on his own. I create enrichment things for him like putting some cheese and chicken in a cardboard box and he rips it apart to get the food.
They have a huge prey drive. No cats or birds come in our garden now.

But..... he is the most loving, sweetest little lad. His previous owner beat and starved him.

For me, I'd have a parsons any day of the week but they need lots of exercise and activities to occupy them.

You absolutely need to budget a few hundred for training classes. Remember before you had kids and you thought that if they were changed, fed and the right temperature they would be chilled and sleep? And then you had kids and that went to shit?! Puppies are like that, except they don't stay where you put them like a baby does, and have razor sharp teeth they like to spend most of the waking time trying to embed in your ankles.

I have a PRT and I think they aren't an ideal first dog, unless you already have experience of the breed via a friend or family member's pet and you know that you will enjoy working hard at training and walking.

They are fabulous, clever, full of fun. But they are high energy, high prey drive, and can be a bit prone to wariness - so that you have to be a very active trainer and socialiser to help them develop confidence in a range of situations.

If you don't train them quite actively, they will train themselves into a range of high-arousal activities that might cause problems for you, such as defending the house against the postman, disappearing after rabbits, digging the garden, barking at guests.

They may also learn that the best way to feel safe is to be snappy, snarly, loud - if you don't teach them early on that the best way to feel safe is to pay attention to what their hands-on owner is expecting of them.

ETA: what I mean by that is that they gain confidence from knowing what is expected of them. All training has to be very positive, as they have an elephant's memory for bad experiences and will easily lose trust in a human who is sress-making/scary/harsh

I grew up with dogs but for our first family dog we went to Battersea and had a choice of a staffy pup or a patterdale terrier x , we went with the patterdale x and he was the greatest dog any family could have had . I find all this ‘first dog ‘ thing nonsense , as long as you are prepared to put the work in to training and have some common sense any breed can make a good first dog although obviously you need to look at your household and family to see what fits .

Staffy 100% we got our girl when DSS was 11, she has always been amazing with him if a bit clingy, now as a young adult she loves sleeping in his room. (Get insurance - it’s not just the blues who have skin issues)
Enjoy - you won’t regret a second.

Have a staffie boy who's just turned 2. Absolutely amazing dog with my AuDHD DC. I mean I will be honest, he's either 100mph mental zommies or a big lazy boy curled up on the sofa huffing and puffing because we dared talk and it disturbed him 😂

Took him to dog classes when he was 4 months old and it helped loads as they do pull like buggers on the lead. He is also not dog aggressive at all. He often gets little dogs barking in his face and he really does not care in the slightest. Same with cats, just walks past them.

Be prepared to also give up half your bed and any hope of having a trip to the loo by yourself ever again.

Get a staffie.

If you've found a kc breeder that you like why not just wait on their next litter?
A good breeder is worth their weight in gold and if you missed out in this litter then you'll be higher up the list on the next

Trying to find a good breeder with a puppy avalible is hard, bad breeders with puppies avalible is easy being stuck on a wait list is the norm for good dogs

Staffy vs parsons I would go staffy if its got good breeding
My brother has two, one broke my hand jumping up to say hi, I have arthritis and can't move one of my fingers properly any more But they are great dogs and can be the best family pets

Parsons I don't have a huge amount of experience with but I do with jack Russell and fox terriers and if the temperament is similar as I first time owner the dog will train you

Re children as a first time dog owner your children are not used to being around dogs, will they actually listen when you say leave it alone, don't touch while eating, let it sleep ect if not then you need to wait 9 and 12 is still young and mistakes can happen

Thank you for all your thoughts and experiences - lots of good advice and food for thought.

(well bred) staffy all day. And I say that as a parsons owners.

My boy is a rescue and it's been a really long journey with him. He's attacked my neighbours cat twice (in the garden) and his drive is through the roof. They are a true working breed. Some days it's more about managing him than owning him.

Amazing breed but unless you have 1.5-2 hours a day for secure area off-lead walks/training and enrichment at home, forget it.

Staffies on the other hand, amazing. So so soft with everyone. Early socialisation with dogs is the only thing that really needs attention. But otherwise, probably the best family breed. And very forgiving of clumsy children too.

There is a local parson terrier owner that lives near me, each time we meet, we both share our war stories with each other like wounded soldiers! 😅

Staffie. PRTs can be very hard to handle. Not one for a first time owner (and I say that specialising in terriers myself!) staffie from a good breeder and you can’t go far wrong. Lovely dogs if bred and raised well.

Another one to consider would be a border terrier. Again, good breeder and raised well they can be great family dogs. More energetic than Staffies though. Show bred tend to have much more manageable prey drive.

Loads of staffies in rescue.. why not save a life ?

Rescues are not often suitable for homes with children unless the background is known so often rescues err on the side of caution.