hi, newbie looking for advice

First i should say Hi!!

Im not a Staffy owner (Yet) but we are planning on getting one next year once we have moved. i used to believe all the rubbish that the news papers wrote but since meeting our neighbours staffy we have totally fallen in love with the breed. He is a big softy an his amazing with their little kiddies! ive read up everything i can find about the staffordshire bull terrier and they are perfect for our little family
Anyway, this is where im a little stuck! ive been looking at rescues and all of their pup/young dogs/adult doggys can only be rehomed with children over 8! after doing ALOT of research with this breed i know there are so many needing home so we wanted to rescue. we have a 1 & 2 year old so they wouldnt let us

would you get a rescure (Of any breed) with young children? or should we just go ahead and look for a decent breeder for next year?

Thanks for reading xxx

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hi my folks rescued a dog when my sister and i were quite young, not quite that young mind, and we never had to many problems, the problem with rescue dog is you can never tell what they've been through, and once you get them home they will have honeymoon period where they are still getting used to there new home and you wont be able to tell how they are going to act untill after that. i wouldn't say it's a bad idea strictly but deffo need to take along think about it and never leave children and dog together unsupervised. i imagine you will struggle to find a rescue center willing to rehome to a family with such young children.

I would only get a pup from a rescue centre with your children being so young,you can raise it in your own environment to suit your family,as the other post says you won't know what a dog has been through otherwise,so I wouldn't take the risk with the kids unless it's a pup

Hiya and welcome from me and Moo

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

Rescue centres do sometimes have young puppies in so it maybe worth having a look on some of their websites. Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs Home for example and I'm sure there are others. Also have a look at these on our Rescue forum:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f71-staffordshire-bull-terrier-rescues-adoption

hi thanks for the warm welcome
Thanks for the advice we will get a puppy but from what ive seen the rescues near us dont get alot of pups in. i'll talk to afew breeders and see if they are planning a litter for next year.
I guess its all a "wait and see" game

Thanks again Bex xx

P.S All your SBT's are gorgeous!!!

Hello from me and Lils. I got Lily from a rescue a couple of months ago and she's a little sweetie and the smallest Staffie in the world but she is still 14kg which is quite heavy if you are the age of your children. I have a 16month old grandson and she can knock him flying if we aren't careful - she doesn't mean to but she is just so boisterous and she always gives him an earwash. I also have a 5 year old grandson and he has to brace himself when they come to visit. You never really know their background when from a rescue and for all I know she many never have been with children before. She is getting better and I am sure she we will keep on improving but you have to ask yourself if you have the time and patience as well as managing two little ones. The rescue I got her from would not rehome with children under 8 either but make an exception for visiting children. I think you may be better off with a puppy from a reputable breeder where they can gauge the temprement of the pup. They are lovely animals though and so full of character - I have always had rescues but this is my first Staffie.

bexyboo wrote:hi thanks for the warm welcome
Thanks for the advice we will get a puppy but from what ive seen the rescues near us dont get alot of pups in. i'll talk to afew breeders and see if they are planning a litter for next year.
I guess its all a "wait and see" game

Thanks again Bex xx

P.S All your SBT's are gorgeous!!!

Hi and welcome from me and the kids So what area of the country do you live , you've not put a lot of information in your profiler to help us along

Hiya, I have 4 kids age 5,8,10,12

We have 2 blue staffys, a girl aged 15mths and boy aged 18wks. We had them from puppy aged 8wks.

IMO I'd go for puppy hands down. Dint get me wrong, rescuing a staffy is awesome and I appluad anyone that does it, but personally, with a young family I would go for a Good breeder, KC registered pup, that can grow with u as a family.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

Hi and welcome from Ledger and me.

Have a hunt around and get your face known at some local rescue centres by volunteering to walk the staffys, they don't get many pups in but one near me unfortunately does have a regular intake of bitches that are pregnant but they also have a list of suitable homes wanting a pup

Hi and welcome!

If your local rescue centre won't allow you to rehome because of your young kids and you decide to buy from a breeder, make sure you buy from a good, responsible breeder and not a BYB.

Make sure mum and dad are health tested (for L2HGA, HC, PHPV & PPSC, pups should also be screened for PHPV) and the breeder should be breeding for health, temperament and type. Get in touch with the breed council and/or your local breed club and they will help you.

Galadriel wrote:Hi and welcome!

If your local rescue centre won't allow you to rehome because of your young kids and you decide to buy from a breeder, make sure you buy from a good, responsible breeder and not a BYB.

Make sure mum and dad are health tested (for L2HGA, HC, PHPV & PPSC, pups should also be screened for PHPV) and the breeder should be breeding for health, temperament and type. Get in touch with the breed council and/or your local breed club and they will help you.

100% agree with everything Galadriel says , but 1 thing is not all the breeders that are good and responsible are registered with local breed clubs and the breed council etc though it is a very good starting point, for instance when they are just starting out , mine was relatively new and only their 2nd litter though they had staffs for the last 20 years. Quite a few of our members have experience of buying from UK breeders (as that's where we assume you are living) and can possibly make recommendations to you just let us know what area you live in (please update your profile)

Pollyanna wrote:Hello from me and Lils. I got Lily from a rescue a couple of months ago and she's a little sweetie and the smallest Staffie in the world but she is still 14kg which is quite heavy if you are the age of your children. I have a 16month old grandson and she can knock him flying if we aren't careful - she doesn't mean to but she is just so boisterous and she always gives him an earwash. I also have a 5 year old grandson and he has to brace himself when they come to visit. You never really know their background when from a rescue and for all I know she many never have been with children before. She is getting better and I am sure she we will keep on improving but you have to ask yourself if you have the time and patience as well as managing two little ones. The rescue I got her from would not rehome with children under 8 either but make an exception for visiting children. I think you may be better off with a puppy from a reputable breeder where they can gauge the temprement of the pup. They are lovely animals though and so full of character - I have always had rescues but this is my first Staffie.

Hi hun, i know what you mean but i guess when we get a puppy (next year) our little ones will be 2 & 3, most of my family have dogs - 2 springer spaniels and 1 cavalier king charles spaniel so our little ones are used to being around dogs and pups. i'm sure your staffie will learn to be more gentle around your grandson's
Yeah i have the time and patience to add a pup to our family im a stay at home mum while my hubby goes out to bring home the bacon so she would'nt be alone much at all . xxx

[/quote]Hi and welcome from me and the kids So what area of the country do you live , you've not put a lot of information in your profiler to help us along [/quote]

hi hun, sorry i didnt know where to do my profile i'll take alook lol. we're in essex xx

Dave wrote:

Galadriel wrote:Hi and welcome!

If your local rescue centre won't allow you to rehome because of your young kids and you decide to buy from a breeder, make sure you buy from a good, responsible breeder and not a BYB.

Make sure mum and dad are health tested (for L2HGA, HC, PHPV & PPSC, pups should also be screened for PHPV) and the breeder should be breeding for health, temperament and type. Get in touch with the breed council and/or your local breed club and they will help you.

Thank you, i'v messaged afew breeders but i have'nt found one planning a litter for next year yet ive had a quick look at the KC site but i ddont belive they are always the best breeders. i'll just keep looking xx.

100% agree with everything Galadriel says , but 1 thing is not all the breeders that are good and responsible are registered with local breed clubs and the breed council etc though it is a very good starting point, for instance when they are just starting out , mine was relatively new and only their 2nd litter though they had staffs for the last 20 years. Quite a few of our members have experience of buying from UK breeders (as that's where we assume you are living) and can possibly make recommendations to you just let us know what area you live in (please update your profile)[/quote]

Hi hun i will do my profile in a sec, we're form essex, so we have Wagtails rescues, rspca ect xx

Both of our Staffies have come from our local rescue centre as puppies, Polly was 9 weeks and Charlie was 8 weeks.
Both of them are great with all children we have met and all of the small children belonging to my daughter's friends which love to come visit to play with them.
We do keep a close eye on them all, the children have to be gentle with no eye poking or ear pulling etc and the dogs aren't allowed to rush around and get too excited otherwise it would be kiddie skittles in here.
It might be worth talking to the people who run your local rescues, that way they will be able to tell you their own policies.

Pixee is from the Blue Cross, why dont you have a look on there too, they can have pubs sometimes. Now we took on Pixee not knowing any history as she was found a stray. 6 months down the line, and we just love her to bits. We have found her to be very wary of certain people, but is getting better. Her recall was terrible, but much better now. She didnt know how to play with toys, didnt seem to like you touching her, but now loves hugs, licks you to death, always wants her stomach rubbed, bless her. And paws you for fuss. My son is 19, so I had no worries. We all had to meet her a few times, take her out to play etc before they let you take her home. Now she is my first staffie, hence the reason I joined this lovely brillant forum. I have grown up with dogs all my life, and I will say this, a staffie is nothing like any dog I have had. They are people dogs, they love you, but are very strong and can get very excited. They have those loogy hour where they just get so full of engery and start running round the house just so happy. They need more walks and playtime than any other dog I have known. So time and patient is needed there for them. Also you will get certain people giving you funny looks cos they see you with what they think, sadly, a killer dog. They the ones that need telling. But you have to learn to hold your head up high and ignore them. I do, I often smile or just ignore them. Pixee is the best dog I have had so far. They are very clever dogs too. So you do need to be careful in choosing a rehomed staffie, for the very reason, I would hate to see it has to be rehomed again cos of your kids being very young.