Is it normal?

Hello,  I own a staffy named Percy.  He is incredibly tame and is fairly well trained.  My partner and I have raised him from a pup and is our first dog we like to think we have trained him well, although sometimes he does act up (eating cash mainly) but never anything unforgivable.   Numerous times when taking young Percy for a walk in our local woods other dog walkers mostly women a bit past there best either give me and my partner dirty looks,  or actually shout at us to get our dog on a lead.  Now this would be understandable if 1. It was a requirement from the forestry commission in our area.  2. He was uncontrollable and was aggressive 3. He was temperamental.  But through luck? he is none of the above.  He will happily walk alongside us or run up to people and there dogs have a sniff then run back.   Usually their dogs are yapping away running all over the place,  sometimes even doing the doggy equivalent of annoying him.

My question is;  Is this happening because he is a Staffordshire bull terrier?   (or do you think its because they are jealous of how good looking he is?)   Also has this/does this happen to any other staffy owners?

My question is; Is this happening because he is a Staffordshire bull terrier? (or do you think its because they are jealous of how good looking he is?) Also has this/does this happen to any other staffy owners?

It's polite and good manners to put your dog on a lead if another dog is approaching on a lead It's my absolute worst nightmare if any breed of dog runs up to mine when he's on a lead. It's not that I think the other dog is aggressive it's because my dog is on a lead and he's on it for a reason, I don't need other dogs coming over and stressing him out. So in answer to your question, some of those people asking you to put your dog on a lead may be frightened of our lovely Staffies but 99% of the time it is probably because they have a fearful dog or a dog that does not react well to other dogs running up to them. To recap - you should, out of good dog manners put your dog on a lead if you see someone approaching with an on-leash dog and you should definitely not let yours run up to it no matter what the temprament of your own dog is.

Also, as you have found out, staffy owners have enough of a hard time just owning a staffy and the only way we can prove people wrong is if we ARE polite and have good dog manners

Thanks for the feedback,  like you say I always put him on a lead of keep hold or his collar if there is another dog close by who is on a lead.  I like to think im fairly polite but its just started to get on my nerves!

Yeah we all go through it, I've had people pick up their kids when I've walked my boy past and he's soppy as anything, I find the best way to deal with it is to make sure my dog is always under control and to give them a big smile and say hello. Don't let them get to you

Agree with debs. My dog (rescue) is fearful of dogs and will be aggressive to them if their owners let them run up (usually after I'd warned them   ) For that reason he is always on lead when out. However you have said you control him around on lead dogs anyway.
Maybe call out and ask if it's ok if he plays with their off lead dogs before you allow him to run over? Unfortunately some people think all staffs are bad news and their owners too! As debs said keep smiling!!

flowerbud wrote:Agree with debs. My dog (rescue) is fearful of dogs and will be aggressive to them if their owners let them run up (usually after I'd warned them   ) For that reason he is always on lead when out. However you have said you control him around on lead dogs anyway.
Maybe call out and ask if it's ok if he plays with their off lead dogs before  you allow him to run over? Unfortunately some people think all staffs are bad news and their owners too! As debs said keep smiling!!

I agree with the above statement, Rocky is also from a rescue centre and is fearful of big dogs who run up to him and jump over him. Rocky is also always on the lead when other dogs are present and always on the lead when in our local woods. It's just polite to let dogs introduce themselves while on the lead and see how they get on first.

I put Louie on the lead at the moment as he jumps up at everyone he meets (he is 6 months) but as soon as we have trained him not too I'll walk him off a lead and I don't see any problem with that,

Your dog sounds like a gem and if I owned him he would be off a lead

Agree with the above, it's fine to have him off lead but he shouldn't be going up to people and on lead dogs   

I guess there are certain manners that we Staffy owners should do. My Flo won't run up to any dog but will interact when in close company. It annoys me when others allow their dogs to just bound up especially if they are half way across the park !.

I will put her on her lead if approaching others on lead but only out of courtesy and if I see the owner is nervous. It then gives me great pleasure when Flo walks on by without a sideways glance. I enjoy showing that even though she is a Staff and Deaf, she is under control at all times.

There are those that will always believe Staffs are some evil breed but I'm on a personal mission to change those attitudes one person at a time... Think I'm slowly winning