How common are staffies where you live?

I know that staffies are much more common in the UK than where I live in Northern Canada... but how common are they exactly? Does everyone know what your dog is when they see it? And how about the rest of the world?

There are a few staffies in my city, but more often than not, people have never heard of them and just think it's a pitbull.

Staffys are not that common in the Bedford area. To be honest they are more common in certain areas than others, don't wish to offend anyone there. They have, sadly, a certain image among some owners which is not altogether healthy shall we say. I personally have never know such a softy as Rocky. It is a real shame that the press does not portray all the many heart warming stories I have read on this forum. It is the uneducated minority that spoil it for all the others, as usual.

they are quite common round us and I have also seen a few pit bulls

They are really common around here and most people know what Bella is when they see her.

Not very, until I take Monty out over the lake and see everyone walking theirs

They are extremely rare here. Most people think she is a Boxer. But almost everyone stops to ask about her and give her a pet.

My town has a population of about 4000 and in it there are three staffies, and then mine. One is a HUGE (as in fat) red n white, the other is a dark brindle male and the other is a tan bitch that is ancient!

No other staffies in the countryside where I live, people here mostly have labs and jack russells or collies, but they all know what Harry is and I don't meet any prejudice in my village.

Yep very common around the Midlands, but then they would be really wouldnt they .... also means the rescue centre's always have a load lookin for new homes

They are common where I live, very common, I have not seen any pups only mine. And they all know what she is.

Not so commen in the town I live, I do see a few but not many. x

Staffys are quite a common dog here in Western Australia. They are generally viewed as a great family pet and companion

When we go to the park, there's a few staffies that I recognise (we've given them all nicknames - the circle dog, mama dog, the crackers - but we don't know them, know them), but mostly I see greyhounds, labradors, chihuahuas and pugs. I'd say that most people here know what they are - RJ was surprised when Violet was a tiny puppy (and looked like a hippo) that so many people knew what breed she was, as he would have had no idea.

Yeah there are quite alot around here in the maybe 20 houses that back onto the bit of park behind me there are three of us and i probably regularly see four others just on the quick toilet loop. Heading on the 2hr walk I have had days where every other dog is a staffy but in general they are slightly outnumbered by Jack Russels

Radiantpaper wrote:They are common where I live, very common, I have not seen any pups only mine. And they all know what she is.

Hello fellow Buckinghamshire person, I was going to say the same, but you beat me to it
There are even a couple more in our village, I've seen quite a few in Buckingham. They don't seem to have a bad rep round here.

quite a few around me but also noticed the chavs are turning to sharpeis as there dog of choice so hopefully the breeding machines may get a break if the trend turns national

They are very common here, all the ones i've met have been really nice dogs.There are several around that are not being trained and get up to all sorts of mischief but are more a nuisance than anything else. I've noticed that huskies , sharpeis and akitas are becoming more common with young men and most of the staffies are with families or women.

we have a few staffy crosses round here. i say crosses because if the size of them is anything to go by they are rather big. lottie is a staffy/boxer cros and she is quite tall. lemmy isnt a cross and he is small people still think he's a puppy even though he's 1.

Loopy wrote:Staffys are quite a common dog here in Western Australia. They are generally viewed as a great family pet and companion

They are very common and popular in South Africa as well. Bedsides the two we play with at the park (Lilly being one), there are at least 5 I know of within a 5 block radius of home who we have seen when passing. There are a few EBT's around us but these are not as popular. AmStaffs/Pits are really rare. I have only seen one in the last six months at a pet supply store and that was only 4 months old.

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

There is certainly a 'negative vibe' regarding many bully breeds around here, my city (pop. around 70 000) doesn't have breed-specific legislation but many of the bigger cities do.

The most common breeds around here are labrador retrievers (by FAR.. everyone has one!), boxers, shihtzus, malteses, bichons, etc...

I would imagine there is almost one staffy per block in my town. they are very popular!

Round here, every other dog is a staff! And of those, I'd say 75% are owned by the wrong sort, I'm afraid.

Same here, staffs are everywhere, but there are a fair few responsible owners with them Now, more than there was a few years ago. Oh, and just as an aside, almost all of the staffs that I know personally are family pets and great with children. There's not as much negativity here as there used to be and most people love staffs. There are the usual ankle biter owners that think that Charlie wants to savage their dog, but I just laugh at them.

Andy wrote:Yep very common around the Midlands, but then they would be really wouldnt they .... also means the rescue centre's always have a load lookin for new homes

Tell me about it! .. my friend was telling me about a bloke who was trying to give his staffy a new home for some reason and even offered him to her .. he said he took him too the dogs home who turned him away and said we have way too many staffys and refused to take him!.

We have 2 oldies two doors next too us, a white one opposite and a blue called rhino at the end of the road his gorgeous lol
see loads around here.

dogs are generally popular in my area.
on my street i think there are at lest 3-4 staffies, and my neighbour just has rescued one

local shelter, the one mambo comes from, is full of staffies

there are plenty american bulldogs, bull mastiff, rotties but we getting more and more types around i cant remember the last time i saw a KC reg staffy

Lots of pit, and bulldogs here but Staffys are rare. Even more so if you want a registered one. Most others are crosses so mine comes from Virginia (East coast has more as they get them from overseas and show them). In fact, some people know immediately, others snidely "inform" me that Staffys are pits, others are curious. Most don't run in fear though. Monte even got to meet a chihuahua today and the owner was fawning over Monte. That is unusual as most micro dog owners at least look afraid that their dog will be snack even though mine simply wants to play with every dog he sees.

staffy-lover89 wrote:

Andy wrote:Yep very common around the Midlands, but then they would be really wouldnt they .... also means the rescue centre's always have a load lookin for new homes

Tell me about it! .. my friend was telling me about a bloke who was trying to give his staffy a new home for some reason and even offered him to her .. he said he took him too the dogs home who turned him away and said we have way too many staffys and refused to take him!.

We have 2 oldies two doors next too us, a white one opposite and a blue called rhino at the end of the road his gorgeous lol
see loads around here.

Was it Birmingham dogs home by any chance? My friend was telling me the same thing. Someone she knows was told best to try and re home another way as they had too many staffs and they do euthanize after so many weeks :'(

I'm in Walsall and lots here

They have gotten way too popular around here, too. A little of that is due to Am.Staffs being banned some years back, but it's got to be more than that. I always think it's scary when a breed grows (too) fast.

In 2000 they were 94 on the list of the most registered breeds and in 2010 they were 15...