Why a Staffie?

We have all been talking about people having the wrong impression about Staffies so I was wondering what made you all decide to choose a SBT?

I started off by getting my late husband a puppy in the 1970s as he had wanted one since being a boy. We aready had a Labrador and a Red Setter. We so loved this puppy that a few months later we got a bitch as well, and to get her we had to drive over 200 miles in the snow in December.

Since then we had another 3 staffies, and now I am a widow and I just have my boy who is 3.

The strange thing is though (and my husband didn't tell me until many many years later) when he told me he longed for a Bull Terrier he had really wanted an English Bull Terrier like Bullseye which he had fallen in love with as a boy. But I got him A Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

The best mistake I ever made although I am sure EBT are lovely too.

Haha i really wanted an EBT like Bullseye too! In fact EBTs were what led me into the breed. I ended up getting a staffy because pretty much their easier to get hold of round here then an EBT and their smaller. I love both breeds equally.
I love staffies because they have the muscular good looks and power of a mastiff breed but in the size of a lap dog. I love the history, gruesome though it might be as i'm interested in history in general and staffies have such an interesting one.
They have so much personality and really seem so much more alive then other dog breeds i meet- i find this true of bull breeds in general. The terrier snappiness is tempered by the bulldog docility.
I would really love another staffy...and i'll get my EBT one day!

My ex bought me a pup about 6 years. Best present I ever had and Scrumpy was my best mate. Sadly when we broke up it got messy, I moved out and he kept her. Stopped me seeing her as he new that was the only thing that would hurt me. (I even tried to take him to court over it but they didn't want to know).

Never ever owned a dog before that! So when I finally bought my place and had an income that could support me and another I rescued my Moo, and couldn't be without her.

Wouldn't even contemplate another breed. There the most loving, pleasing and clever breeds, and I don't even have anything to compare it too

I like staffie becasue they are prefect size i dont like small or huge dogs i dont like hairy dog also, they just tick all the boxes

Oh Janey I'm so sorry, but Moo is a very lucky girl, and now you have each other.

I think they are the most loyal and loving dogs, such characters, and are the only breed to be described in their breed standard as 'totally reliable'. They are big enough to be 'proper dogs' and small enough to sit on your lap and be cuddled. Hard on the outside and soft as anything on the inside. I know my dog would give his life for me, and I would give mine for him.

Couldn't agree more Lizzie

I never thought of getting a staffy really, I wanted something small and energetic I wanted a jack russell, Jack russells were advertised as free to good home so i went up there and this dark dirty chubby ball of fur was handed to me and it was Taz. I then came along Cassie on a walk a couple of weeks later i owned Cassie as well.
I wouldn't change them for the world.

Well i love big dogs especially bully breeds, rotties, dobies etc. So when me and my OH finally got our house in which we could get a dog i started looking around, we had never owned a dog ourselves before, we both grew up with family dogs but thats not the same. Anyway i saw Harvs photo on the internet, went to see him the next day and that was it, my OH new that i had to get him as soon as i saw him, and we had only moved in 2 weeks before but i don't regret getting him for a second and i wouldn't ever be without him now

I wouldn't be without a stafford lol .. i have grew up around staffies .. my nan and grandad bred and showed theres and my mom has always had them aswell (even tho she was attacked by a group of 2 and 2 german shepards) she fears German Shepard but could never fear a staffy! lol .. (it was the owner's doing he faught them and stuck them up the side gully to guard his shop! and they got through the fence as she walked past ) .
I grew up with one named Gemma and then i have had other dogs jack russell terrier (who chased of 4 burglars from our house when me and my sister was on our own) .. had a mongrel and then had my gorgeous diesel from the dogs home who we sadly lost in 2010 .. we then had vinnie in october 2010 and after some severe arm twisting i managed to get a yes and i went and bought skye
i adore the breed!! and i have converted my best mate who was mad on German Shepard's she is looking to get a SBT when she gets her own place the end of the yr (told her to look at rescue first! lol)

I have always had staffie's before, but Lola was my first from a pup. I find them very loving and clever, and like Steve said, they are just the right size and don't shed too much hair. I am looking to rescue a second dog soon, but I'm waiting till the right dog comes along and I'll know. I already have a name for him, as i did for Lola before I got her.

Louise C wrote:I have always had staffie's before, but Lola was my first from a pup. I find them very loving and clever, and like Steve said, they are just the right size and don't shed too much hair. I am looking to rescue a second dog soon, but I'm waiting till the right dog comes along and I'll know. I already have a name for him, as i did for Lola before I got her.

what age do you want him? .. i saw the most gorgeous lil boy in bham dogs home when i went with my mate the other day!

staffy-lover89 wrote:

Louise C wrote:I have always had staffie's before, but Lola was my first from a pup. I find them very loving and clever, and like Steve said, they are just the right size and don't shed too much hair. I am looking to rescue a second dog soon, but I'm waiting till the right dog comes along and I'll know. I already have a name for him, as i did for Lola before I got her.

what age do you want him? .. i saw the most gorgeous lil boy in bham dogs home when i went with my mate the other day!

Not sure kelly, I think I don't mind as long as he isn't too old.

he was 4months old hun .. they also have way too many pups! the males are been snapped up leaving the females sadly ..

Awwww that's so sad, I will have to get myself down there and have a look. Thanks for letting me know xx

No problem! .. Good luck! xx

I love staffys because i just love there smiley looking mouths and also they Dont shed a lot of hair.And i also like the funny noises they make.And the size they grow to is great .I just love staffies full stop

I chose a staffy as they were always the family pet as I grew up and there is not a breed I'd trust more round my kids than a staffy. My mum got a puppy (Jade) 3 months before I had my oldest daughter and she was the most tolerant lovable dog I'd known even now at 9 she still adores the kids and tolerates their kisses and cuddles as she did as a pup - although the kids know that Jade is an old 'lady' now and needs to be treated tenderly. Lots of people I know who had bad impressions of staffy's have had their opinions changed due to Jade and Rhia!!

I wanted a dog that was as similar to a pug as possible, but with a somewhat healthier build.

In other words a dog that
- loves people
- is a fairly handy size
- is easy to work with (which really just comes down to being play/food/people oriented)
- is short haired
- can enjoy some nice relaxing on the couch on a rainy day rather than taking a looong walk

I love all dogs, I have been more partial to retriever breeds, labs n goldens as we had these growing up. My boyfriend has grown up with staffys, well one staffy really, old man winston and he is such a great dog.

in the 6.5 years we have been together my boyfriend and I had always talked about having a dog and it just seemed to mold from being a dog to a staffy, and he was always going to be named Russell!

My story is a bit far out...

I have loved APBTs and AmStaffs since I met my first one at the age of 10. I have advocated for them since I was, maybe 15 or 16. For the last four years I have done it more seriously. I even fostered a Pit/Pei mix in the fall of '09. He was great. So I have never had an attitude towards Pit Bulls or Staffords (which I always thought of as the Pit Bull's shorter British cousin).

I first started considering getting a dog because of a dream. I had the dream the night after my grandfather's funeral (Feb of this year). In the dream my grandfather got a white and red puppy with a black nose a few weeks before he died. He named the puppy Saxon. Then he died and he left the puppy to me in his will saying, "And I leave my beloved Saxon to my granddaughter Christina. I know that you will take the best care of him, Christina, make me proud."

I started casually looking online for a puppy, but no dogs were really catching my eye. So, I put an add on a local site similar to craigslist saying that I was looking for a medium/small breed dog. I got an email from a family saying they had an SBT puppy they were looking to rehome. I didn't know too much about the breed, but I knew they were similar to APBTs/AmStaffs. The family got him from a breeder only three months before. They found training to be too difficult and frustrating so they decided that they shouldn't have pets anymore. I emailed them back saying I was interested and asked to see pictures. I was FLOORED when I saw the pictures. He looked almost exactly like the puppy in my dream, the only difference is that the dream pup had red over both eyes. I took it as a sign and brought him home a week later. His name was Ollie with his old family, but I decided to change it to Saxon like the puppy in my dream.

I think of him as a gift from my grandfather.

I was never allowed any dogs when I lived at home , Never had any pets mum was never really brought up with pets , They thinks there to much hassale etc , But when moved In with my girlfriend, Whos had pets all her life, Decided to get staffy because, Good looks , Dont shed much hair , Great size, Good with kids , And there personlitys, But theres another dog on my dream dog list lol , A boxer always had a thing for boxers, Dogs like german shepherds dobermans, I like them to look at , But couldnt have one personally dont know why , Just couldnt , Guess cause of hair shedding , Couldnt have dog have keep brushing , But I like rotties , Good luck with searching for a dog But please go to rescue place first , Makes me feel guilty for nor rescueing a dog , Fool respect to anybody to rescues any dog from dog rescue place , Espeacally a staffy my fav dog !

Well, it wasn't a hard decision for us. My dad grew up with a Staff, Jack Russell and a Pit Bull. My mum grew up with a Bull Terrier and a Staff. So our family is one for the Bully Breeds! I convinced my parents when I was 7 that I wanted a dog, and our first choice was a Staffy because they are all we were looking for:
-Friendly
-Loving
-Smart, loyal and athletic
-Good family dog & more!

So when we found the perfect one--Gus came into the family in September, 2001. Gus was so wonderful, we decided it was time to welcome another into the family after about a year--Kelly! So I had and still am having wonderful years with them, and I know the family made a good choice with the Staffy road, our house has never been so love-filled....and full of goofs Then in July we welcomed Maybel (not a Staffy, but a wonderful girl)

I really don't like how Staffies get such bad press in some places, if everyone would give them a chance they are wonderful dogs and can make anyone happy. Any dog can attack people and be vicious without a proper home and proper training, it's not just the Staffies! Though here in Australia they are one of (or are) the most popular breed.

Emily yes your right staffys are one of the most popular breeds In Australia, Heres the official list Thought be some help to you, For you to know .


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_popular_dog_breeds#Club_registration_figures_for_2009

I grew up around the larger breed of dogs it seemed almost all of my friends had one and they were all very loving and entertaining and very well trained. When our English Bulldog passed away this January I knew we would have to get anther dog to be happy as the house just seemed empty.

We began discussing breeds. I wanted a short haired, athletic, loyal and medium sized dog that had as little genetic health issues as possible with a good life span. My better half wanted a dog she could take to the dog park, was friendly with childeren and not dog aggressive. Through our research we came across the SBT and decided that was the dog for us (minus the DA issues).

We went to the breeder, about 3-4 hours away and there were about 25 or so different dogs. We onserved all of the dogs and were looking for a medium energy dog that was cautious but not scared and not overly aggressive with the other dogs. After awhile we noticed Suki looking at us from a comfortable distance. We spent some time alone with her and she followed us around right away and would look up at us as to see what we wanted her to do so we fell in love on the spot .

It turns out Suki is an AmStaff so I guess there was a bit of a translation issue but we couldn't be happier. She is very loving and we each got exactly what we were looking for. My OH takes her to the park every day for about 2 hours or more and she interacts great with all the dogs and people that she meets.

I'm really looking forward to the time she has fully matured and I can take her running and backpacking but for now just lots and lots of games of tug of war

Steve wrote:I like staffie becasue they are prefect size i dont like small or huge dogs i dont like hairy dog also, they just tick all the boxes

Same here really. Dont like um to small or too big, dont like long haired dogs and always thought Blue staffordsire bull terriers looked absolutly stunning. I do like good quality solid black ones to but they show their age early on with grey hair at an early age.

After discussing with my family about getting a puppy Id chosen a yorkshire terrier, hubby and 3 teen kids were not having that and wanted a staffy. I hold my hands up and was uneducated about the breed said id veiw a local litter the mother dog came waddling over enourmous teats she was so tiny and not at all what I expected she sat on my feet and placed her head upon my lap I had sandles on she was so warm and all this as the kids were playing with her week old puppies she blew me away and ill never forget her!!!!!!!!!
Now as I share my home and life with 2 its the breed for us

I didnt choose staffies, one choose me! my OH Rescued a staff whilst we were on a 'break' I'd moved out as a short term solution to a problem, so he was on his own and lonely, and decided he'd get a dog. Went to the local rescue center and saw Henry, fell in love with him.

Me and the OH never fell out so we went to see him together, and he's a great looking dog, so happy and healthy! i went home and did loads of research. i knew nothing about the breed or dog! i was wary of him at first, because we didnt know his history, (he was found roaming around and taken into the kennels) But you can't not love them. Henry chose me and converted me to a staffie lover! and now we have Missy aswell, i wouldnt dream of having any other dog now =D xx

we have always had GSD's. we lost our last dog Sabre 5 years ago to cancer. now we all felt ready to be able love another dog i told them that unless they learnt to use the vac and brush i didnt want one because of the hairs. my husband said he didnt want another big dog and my daughter just wanted one she could cuddle. my son suggested a staff and so we googled them and foudn they are so loving and affectionate and loyal and that the hairs are minimal so we looked into getting one and we found lemmy the last of a litter of 6. well since getting him i have researched the breed only to find they are not well liked by all which is a shame cos theyre lovely when brought up in the right hands and not by the idiots that gave them the bad name in the first place. my son gets a dog to run and play my daughter gets to cuddle him my husband got the size he wanted and to be honest i cant see the hairs untill i sweep the floor. yes i said when "I" sweep the floor they still havent learnt how to use the brush or vac.