WHY are staffys getting such bad press :(??

Why are staffys getting such bad press, they aren't born to attack people i guess its down to the owner?

Laura, you got it in one. It's down to the owners.

yep the owners. some idiots have them thinking they look good. they actualy replaced the pitbull for status. if looked after properly and allowed to be themselves they are loving dogs that are eager to please. its this eagerness that makes them prime targets for the idiots too

Many of my friends have them i have one myself! there so loving and acutally are very friendly even with faces unknown to them

If anything they are too friendly with faces unknown to them!! Seriously, if a burglar raided my house, Charlie would wag his tail and help him carry stuff out of the house, as long as he got some fuss for it!!

The husky has now replaced the staff as a status dog, so there will soon be all sorts of incriminating media reports on them instead. Hopefully they'll start to let up on our beautiful staffies, but I fear the damage has already been done.

owners unfortunatly , a couple of weeks ago we had some lads walking down the street with staffys, off leads and they were commanding there staffys to attack people who walked down the street laughing!

imo i hate when people 1) do train there dogs properly and 2) use there dog as a bloody weapon its disgraceful!

because stupid people just bred a whole new class of stupid!!!

on a serious note tis the owners.. there should be a law made that stupid ppl should be allowed dogs..

i am really worried about huskys now, cos they are a different type of dog all together,,stupidness,,argh!!

i think it manly teen kid tht give thm the bad name get thm to be bad

qwertyuiop wrote:i think it manly teen kid tht give thm the bad name get thm to be bad

ahh true, it's like that everywhere here in devon i'm having mine as a family member i know a few lads who walk around with streets thinking it makes them look hard.

Laurarhys wrote:

qwertyuiop wrote:i think it manly teen kid tht give thm the bad name get thm to be bad

ahh true, it's like that everywhere here in devon i'm having mine as a family member i know a few lads who walk around with streets thinking it makes them look hard.

where in Devon do you live? I'm in Plymouth.

In the US its the American Pit bull and Amstaff that receive the bad press - only because the Staffy isn't well know here.
It most definitely comes down to the owners and how the dog is raised but also how the dog is bred.

The pits in the press are usually backyard bred dogs which have had no thought gone into their breeding
and no thought gone into their rearing.

Unfortunately the entire breed pays for the actions of a few.

its all down because of broken society no body care anymore

Pado, just realized how close you are to me! Cool to see another staffy owner living nearby.

Steve wrote:its all down because of broken society no body care anymore

agreed. and I don't see it getting any better anytime soon. really is a shame.

yea only a extrame things will fix our problems. talking to problem kids, mums or dads have failed for the last 20 odd years it time to get tough!

Yep, all seems to get worse the less parenting that is done at home and them more that people expect the schools to raise their children (along with the whole entitlement mentality). I certainly feel like I was born about 75 years late many times. This is something I am trying my best to teach my children.

bbimson wrote:Pado, just realized how close you are to me! Cool to see another staffy owner living nearby.

Davis, wow ... not that far indeed. Drive through there all the time heading into the Bay Area. Staffy popularity is growing

i would love to been born 100 years ago even the gangstars had repect for people back then now we have 13 years old thinking the top bloke stabbing other kids

Steve wrote:i would love to been born 100 years ago even the gangstars had repect for people back then now we have 13 years old thinking the top bloke stabbing other kids

No manners and no morals for most. Can't stand it!

Personally I feel it is too easy to own & breed dogs.
I think that it should be more controlled, for instance:
Have an age limit for dog ownership of at least 18 years or older
Have microchipping of all dogs a requirement
Limit of number of dogs that a person can own i.e. upto 4 dogs (any more then a license is required)
All breeders to be registered with local council for both stud & bitch
An age limit for children walking dogs (by me there is a girl of about 11 who walks a lab which pulls her down the street)
All owners & dogs to undergo madatory basic obedience training untaken by a suitably trained trainer from a recognised oganisation i.e. APDT
All owners to have some form of pet/liability insurance in case their dog does attack someone or another dog
All local councils to maintain a descent sized dog park (1 acre minimum) with suitable waste bin facilities & nearby parking

but bad owners wouldn't care about these things, whatever you bring out to it wont fix the problem so you have to fix the soecity before anything or you jsut papering over the cracs

Steve wrote:but bad owners wouldn't care about these things, whatever you bring out to it wont fix the problem so you have to fix the soecity before anything or you jsut papering over the cracs

Unfortunately that's right. the irresponsible owners would still be there, and they'd find ways of slipping the net.

I agree wholeheartedly that bad and irresponsible owners are the reason why staffys hit the press for all the wrong reasons. But its also worth mentioning that there are a few other reasons why they are misunderstood as a breed by people who havnt had the chance to get to know them. For those who havnt owned a staffy and dont see the massive jaws as an eternal smile, they can appear very intimidating to people walking past, they are all muscle and mouth really. They can also have issues with dog aggression. Knowledgable dog owners know that dog aggression is totally unrelated to human aggression, but not everyone is aware of this and just believe them to be aggressive period. So whilst the media certainly isnt helping with the sensationalism of staffy reports, i understand why some people cross the road when they see us coming. Maybe if i hadnt done the breed research i did and i didnt own one i would do the same. I believe that my mission as a staffy owner is to get as many people as possible to meet my girl Stellar and change as many opinions as possible. Because lets face it, once you know one, you cant help but fall in love!!

I believe that my mission as a staffy owner is to get as many people as possible to meet my girl Stellar and change as many opinions as possible. Because lets face it, once you know one, you cant help but fall in love!!

That's a Positive way of doing something! I'm with you, Jagger and I will also try and change opinions. We're off for a walk now!

Idiotic young boys buy them to 'look hard' and brag they have a staffy or in the cases of x breeds a 'pitbull.'
Often when these idiots find out these dogs won't attack anything and are useally as soft as butter they dump then, resulting in the overwhelming numbers of staffies in rescue.
The young idiots then move on to something else, be it a bigger, scarier dog breed or a knife.
People see these sort of people swagging down the street with that ridiculous penguin walk and assume, rightly or wrongly that they are a thug. Therefore their dogs must be thugs too.
These sort of people often mistreat there dogs too, beating them into submission rather then training which occasionally leads to nervous dogs that snap if provoked in turn leading to ridiculous overhyped stories of staffies biting. These moronic people also revel in their dogs natural dog aggression and take delight setting them on others as it makes their balls feel bigger.
Therefore people see/hear of this and assume dog aggression is the same as people aggression 'and what if its a child next!? omg killer dog!' when in reality dog aggression and human aggression are two completely different things and its the owners fault and not the dogs.
People like this shouldn't be allowed to own any living creature.
Staffies aren't alone in this though. The previous targets include the rottweiler, german shepard, doberman and -still much demonized-american pitbull terrier.
The press also delight in giving bad press to foxes, sharks and bats.

When "good" dogs go bad at home it is sometimes not the owner, the dog has just had a trigger and snapped. Much like if i take a tizz at someone, it's not really their fault i have just had a bad day. The difference is my bad days result in me shouting at someone and a dog biting someone. But for the ones that are running around loose with no control it is absolutely the fault of the owner. People who own staffies or bulls should know that they can walk through a concrete wall and should prepare their gardens as such! If they don't they should be punished for that.

As for the hard lads, i would love them to get mauled to death by their own dogs they trained to be aggressive.