Something that bugs me!

Hello,
I just wanna share and see if others have gone through the same experience and what your thoughts are about this, very often while walking buster to the dog park where there is so many dogs, I find that people get ''scared'' of letting their dogs come near mine and as soon as their dog comes running up to us they start running towards us or shouting is your dog friendly? Well I think to myself, ''No my dog isn't friendly that is why I bring him to an area where there is so many dogs and let him run around off the lead'', I mean this is nothing serious but still bugs me a little. There is the odd one that will come up to us and compliment Buster and play with him, he loves the attention bless him people would think we don't give him any by the way he reacts.

But yea what are you thoughts and has this happened to you? It's funny how people react differently through his growing progress, as a puppy most of the people would stop to say how cute he was, as he got bigger people would ask me if he was a cross now that hes growing even more people seem to walk away from him, I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when he's fully grown.

You grow a thick skin as a staffy owner i think its people not knowing the breed and just what they have read in newspapers as long as your dog is well behaved you will show everyone what a good breed staffies are with good training early socialisation im sorry even as a young puppy staffies will have a stigma attatched to them its just ignorance as they dnt know what clever fantastic dogs they really are.

Mia05 wrote:You  grow a thick skin as a staffy owner i think its people not knowing the breed and just what they have read in newspapers as long as your dog is well behaved you will show everyone  what a good breed staffies are with good training early socialisation im sorry even as a young puppy staffies will have a stigma attatched to them its just ignorance as they dnt know what clever fantastic dogs they really are.

It is really annoying though, Buster loves to play and chase the other dogs even if he's to slow for them he also has a thing for licking other dogs ears

Mia took the words out my mouth. I grew a thick skin too. You do get use to it. And really, who cares, cos I dont, as Staffies do show up alot of other dogs with how good they are.

Now here's the funny thing, If I take Flo out without her Deaf vest on we get the looks quiet often but pass the same people with her wearing the vest and we get "Awww"

You couldn't make it up really. I do so enjoy showing how well behaved Flo can be when there are so many uncontrolled dogs out there.

poor flo some folk really are daft ian aren't they?

don't have this problem where i live in the middle of the black country. it's the home of the staffie and those that don't own one have had one or know someone who has etc........
however i do have problems when we go to our place in cornwall. sometimes when we walk around the countryside with tessa people look at us like we have the beast of bodmin on a lead.

That's the same for me dazoldo I'm in the black country (DARLASTON ) so no one really bothers you get the odd look but who cares if ur dog behaving well just injoy it

I tend to reply with "Yes, is yours friendly"? After all you have as much right to know as they do. Potential trouble doesn't wear a particular coat after all. You'll be surprised how many don't like the same question back though. I'm in the middle of growing my thick skin, lets just say it's thicker in some places than others.

We actually get the opposite here. AmStaffs are a rare breed in Japan so everyone normally stops and asks about Suki. There is no negative sterotype here either so quite often people will give Suki a big kiss

I know what you mean. Almost since I've had Millie, so when she was just 3 months old, people would coo and fuss over her, ask what she is, then back off when I say she's a staffie cross. One woman looked so horrified I told her 'but she's the same dog you were cuddling 10 seconds ago!'. She looked even more horrified.

Their loss.

ETA - maybe I should try 'she's a GSD cross' and see what the difference is.

On the odd occasion we've had this the reply is somewhere along the lines of "Is yours?"
Edit: or if you say "Is THAT?" They end up with a real face on!

I wouldn't necessarily take it as a bad thing! Fair enough some of them may do it purely because of his breed, but I would be more annoyed if they just walked off and left their dog to come charging up to us expecting my dog to be friendly.

I do know what you mean though about the change of reaction as they grow! Bane used to get so much attention as a pup! Not so much anymore

A real face on. Now they look like their dogs.