Fuuuuuuuming!!!!!!!!!

by donch03 Sun Jul 22 2012, 18:09

Hi guys,

How I haven't got steam coming out of my ears I don't know! Bella is now 12 weeks and settling into my family really well but we just seem to keep coming up against my extended families strong and completely unfounded opinions on Staffies and i don't know where else to turn! We took her to my mums today as they were having a get together BBQ in the garden. Bella became over excited with my step dad who was on the ground with his head low and encouraging her to jump over him etc etc. She nipped his nose and drew blood....now they think she's pit bull type and a danger to my 2 children, I just want to scream! They started going on about Staffies 'aggressive' nature and had we not read all the stories in the papers lately. My step dad says he's never seen a Staffie with a pink mouth and thinks this indicates her pit bull type. Please can someone tell me if this is absolute tosh?? We have faced this kind of thing from them back when we decided we wanted a dog a join our family and they happily accepted the fact Bella would join us, now however they think we care more for Bella then we do our own children. That she is aggressive because the nipping incident. What can I say to them to convince them they are wrong? Bella is NOT KC registered. She came from a family with children who owned both the Dam and the Sire, they were lovely dogs, the sire blue/brindle and the dam brindle. Obviously there is no way of telling for sure whether or not there is any pit bull in Bella but actually how likely is it and is there any way of telling from her appearance? I'm just so upset that my extended family seem to have made up their minds and want to know if theres any research or evidence I can show them to reassure them? Sorry for the rant guys xx

by Guest Sun Jul 22 2012, 19:02

I dont have any advice on changing their opinions but I know how ur feeling my whole extended family think staffies are "problem dogs" and ive spent years arguing in the end I gave up, They will believe what they want and sometimes u can get ur own back Wink

my nan got "a cute fluffy puppy" a shih tzu that turned into a VERY DA boy who attacked my previous staffie who did nothing but cower, I quite often remind them of this when any "staffie digs" pop up.
When I met my partner he too believed they were "killing machines" with other dogs, until his cocker spaniel attacked my maz constantly who did nothing until she got pi$%ed off and bit backbut only gave a warning bite, he now loves staffies even let his nephew & his 2 staffords lodge with him for a bit!! x

by donch03 Sun Jul 22 2012, 19:07

I can't tell you how annoyed I am at them. Just got a text telling us that because Bella is not thoroughbred she is nothing but an expensive mongrel and we're putting our kids in danger! What a joke!! x

by Guest Sun Jul 22 2012, 19:21

donch03 wrote:I can't tell you how annoyed I am at them. Just got a text telling us that because Bella is not thoroughbred she is nothing but an expensive mongrel and we're putting our kids in danger! What a joke!! x

They will see in time they are wrong as Bella grows into a lovely family pet, bite ur tongue and smile Wink

by donch03 Sun Jul 22 2012, 19:35

Its hard Nikki, they've really pee'd us off! x

by Ayden-J Sun Jul 22 2012, 19:44

I get the same reaction from my eldest sister and my father about Jett. According to my sister he's "one of those dogs that can rip your face off" It annoys me so much angry

Jett wouldn't hurt a fly (seriously he runs away from them) And he loves my 14 month old nephew but unfortunately My nephew can't go near him or even touch him because he might "eat him"

people need to grow up!!! at wits end

by Guest Sun Jul 22 2012, 20:10

Bella is a puppy. All 12 week old puppies will nip when they get excited. Would your family have been so shocked had it been a cute little fluffy handbag dog? Probably not. And yet that cute little handbag dog will nip just as much (if not more) than a staff pup.

At that age their teeth are needle sharp & they forget that they nustn't nip humans - it happens; tell your family to get over it! Harsh, yes, and I daresay some of them will take offense, but Bella is NOT a man eater! She's a perfectly normal 12 week old puppy!

by **Kathy** Sun Jul 22 2012, 20:28

I would point them in the direction of our gallery there are loads of pictures of staffys there getting along very well with other dogs and people alike.

These picture show staffys in their true light of loving, affectionate family pets, please try not to listen to the opinions of people who dont know what the breed is truly like.

by Guest Sun Jul 22 2012, 20:38

kathytake2 wrote:I would point them in the direction of our gallery there are loads of pictures of staffys there getting along very well with other dogs and people alike.

These picture show staffys in their true light of loving, affectionate family pets, please try not to listen to the opinions of people who dont know what the breed is truly like.

Well said Kathy thumbs up

by **janey** Sun Jul 22 2012, 20:54

My mum and brother took Moo out. Now when I first got her 10mnths she needed a bit of training, they where playing stick and Moo would have a habit of retrieveing/dropping and then when you went to pick it up, being overly excited she used to go for it as well. She caught my brothers finger, took a chunk out. No ones fault tbh but my god I may as well own a devil dog now!

Sister won't have her around her children and my brother has had one since and is ok, but still very wary. Thank god 1 lives in Wales and the other cornwall. Very sad when we have family get togethers though, as either we're both invited or not at all.

by dodge Sun Jul 22 2012, 21:03

I think people are welcome to their own opinions, & to be honest there has been many incidents where staffy`s have ripped peoples face off, so in reality you can`t blame people for thinking they are killer dogs, as its been splattered over newspapers and on tv many many times. What they don`t realise and don`t want to understand is, it`s the same with any dog in the world, its how they are raised etc. Have your parents ever owned a dog? I myself have 3 small children, and i wouldn`t trust ANY dog alone with them for a second, not even Lasie. We used to have a Rotweiller when i was young, and it was a scary looking dog, but it loved me and everything was well. I was about 8 and i can remember, i did used to wind the dog up when no one was looking, as i did not understand or even think of the damage this dog could do to me if it wanted, but of course i was just a naughty little boy, and kids will do this. If an incident had happened it would be the dogs fault etc. Could be the best most placid dog in the world, but, i think, any dog/cat/rabbit or whatever should be thought of as a danger around, especially little kids, and if people think this way, accidents like leaving kids along with dogs won`t happen because the adult/owner will always be very very cautious. Dogs can`t talk/shout like us, so when they are pushed so far, they only have their mouth and teeth to show their anger. I wouldn`t fancy tackling an angry jack russel, Rotweiller, staffy, yorskshire terrier, labrador or any dog in the world lol, but i obviously would if i had to and if a humans life was in the balance, i wouldn`t think twice about majorly hurting the dog to save them. At the end of the day, what im saying is, if something does happen, i think, it`s always the owner of the animals fault 100%. People may not like what i said but again, it`s just my opinion Smile

by Guest Sun Jul 22 2012, 22:08

Not Bella's fault at all. If someone is on the ground a pup will think they are a playmate espically if they are encouraging the behaviour and pups play by biting.

by Gina96 Sun Jul 22 2012, 23:00

That must be frustrating :/

Pit bulls over here have a really bad rap of being viscious. Any they can be... but not always. I know several pit bulls who are just the sweetest most loving dogs ever who wouldn't hurt someone. I have a friend whose cat just had kittens and her pit bull is treating the kittnes like his own, he cleans them, plays with them etc. So even if she is mixed it doesn't automatically make the dog a killing machine. I agree with the comments a dog is how it is brought up... I would just tell them to get over it and don't let them beat you at their petty game.

by donch03 Mon Jul 23 2012, 08:04

dodge wrote:I think people are welcome to their own opinions, & to be honest there has been many incidents where staffy`s have ripped peoples face off, so in reality you can`t blame people for thinking they are killer dogs, as its been splattered over newspapers and on tv many many times. What they don`t realise and don`t want to understand is, it`s the same with any dog in the world, its how they are raised etc. Have your parents ever owned a dog? I myself have 3 small children, and i wouldn`t trust ANY dog alone with them for a second, not even Lasie. We used to have a Rotweiller when i was young, and it was a scary looking dog, but it loved me and everything was well. I was about 8 and i can remember, i did used to wind the dog up when no one was looking, as i did not understand or even think of the damage this dog could do to me if it wanted, but of course i was just a naughty little boy, and kids will do this. If an incident had happened it would be the dogs fault etc. Could be the best most placid dog in the world, but, i think, any dog/cat/rabbit or whatever should be thought of as a danger around, especially little kids, and if people think this way, accidents like leaving kids along with dogs won`t happen because the adult/owner will always be very very cautious. Dogs can`t talk/shout like us, so when they are pushed so far, they only have their mouth and teeth to show their anger. I wouldn`t fancy tackling an angry jack russel, Rotweiller, staffy, yorskshire terrier, labrador or any dog in the world lol, but i obviously would if i had to and if a humans life was in the balance, i wouldn`t think twice about majorly hurting the dog to save them. At the end of the day, what im saying is, if something does happen, i think, it`s always the owner of the animals fault 100%. People may not like what i said but again, it`s just my opinion

This a little off topic, we're talking about a 12 week puppy here. Although I hear you about the newspaper articles, lets not forget these stories are sensationalised in order to sell the paper Its always a "Staffie type" never a "Staffie" or "pit bull type" and then ALL Staffies get this unfounded reputation for being vicious when they are in fact lovely, intelligent and loyal dogs

by bexyboo Mon Jul 23 2012, 10:46

aww hun i feel for you some of my family are the same! i havent even told my dad that we are looking to get a staffy because he'll go mad lol! the rest of my family (mum, sister ect) are fine with it and they think it depends on how you bring the dog up. I had this with my brother the other day - i posted a staffy poem on facebook and he said he would never trust one as the scare him (his a big manly scaffolder so it made me LOL) i told him that labs, german shepherds are more likely to bite and most of the stories in the paper dont know the breed so they put "Staffy TYPE dog" and then told him to type "lab / German shepherd / jack russell / Chihuahua attacks" into google and see what comes up, then i showed him all the "hero" stories about staffys saving people/children/babies ect. changed his mind slightly but he would still never own one lol xx

by Rachb26 Mon Jul 23 2012, 11:21

Poor Bella... I am lucky, all the dogs in my family are currently Staffys. Literally. We are a Staffy loving family! And there's 20+ kids in our family and not one has been mauled. Nipped yes (puppy love bites). But never bitten in aggression.

My nan had Yorkies and we were always getting bit left, right and centre by those brats when we were growing up! Blooming things.

IMO the fear is based on the fact that Staffys can do alot of damage IF they wanted to. But at the end of day a Yorkie can still take yer eye out if it had the compulsion to do so.

I understand your frustration. I would chalk it up to ignorance, especially seeing Bella is a pup. And tbh it's none of their business, she's your dog and you are within your right to own whatever breed you like, whether shes KC reg or not, it doesn't matter to people who have already made their minds up.

by **Chantel** Mon Jul 23 2012, 12:09

My mom used to be the same, although she never understood the difference between staffs and pitbulls. We always heard comments about our dangerous dog etc. etc. When we went on our honeymoon we had nowhere to leave our dog (the kennels here in our town are useless) and I begged my mom to take care of him for the 2 weeks. By the time we got back, the dog was sleeping with her on the bed, she had bought it more toys and blankets, and quite frankly, she didn't want to give him back. Big Grin

After he passed, we got two more and she was just telling everybody what wonderful dogs they were.

Your family might just not understand the breed, and as Bella is only 12 weeks old, they might come around when they see how well you train her, and how well behaved she can be: that is up to you though Smile

PS: just on the pink mouth - it is not a pit bull thing or a type thing. Both my dogs are pure bred and registered and both their mouths are pink and black inside.

by donch03 Mon Jul 23 2012, 12:45

Chantel wrote:My mom used to be the same, although she never understood the difference between staffs and pitbulls. We always heard comments about our dangerous dog etc. etc. When we went on our honeymoon we had nowhere to leave our dog (the kennels here in our town are useless) and I begged my mom to take care of him for the 2 weeks. By the time we got back, the dog was sleeping with her on the bed, she had bought it more toys and blankets, and quite frankly, she didn't want to give him back. After he passed, we got two more and she was just telling everybody what wonderful dogs they were.

Your family might just not understand the breed, and as Bella is only 12 weeks old, they might come around when they see how well you train her, and how well behaved she can be: that is up to you though

PS: just on the pink mouth - it is not a pit bull thing or a type thing. Both my dogs are pure bred and registered and both their mouths are pink and black inside.

Thanks for clarifying the pink mouth thing, have never of this being a characteristic I just assumed it was pigmentation differences between each dog. I'm just so upset my family have labelled a 12 week puppy DANGEROUS and made us feel we are putting our kids in danger! I hope it doesn't cause a major fall out but I won't be bullied by them when they know nothing of the breed x

by Buster's_Mum Mon Jul 23 2012, 13:07

We have had alot of ignorant people - including some friends and a couple of family on OH's side - telling us how Buster is going to bite someone and we shouldn't have him with the boys. It is fustrating but you learn to ignore them (it does still get to me sometimes though). They will never know the pleasure of staffy love Love Struck

Buster also has a pink mouth and he is KC reg so that's a load of rubbish! Big Grin

by donch03 Mon Jul 23 2012, 13:14

Buster's_Mum wrote:We have had alot of ignorant people - including some friends and a couple of family on OH's side - telling us how Buster is going to bite someone and we shouldn't have him with the boys. It is fustrating but you learn to ignore them (it does still get to me sometimes though). They will never know the pleasure of staffy love

Buster also has a pink mouth and he is KC reg so that's a load of rubbish!

Yeah think it's just the first time we have come across this kind of ignorance so will try and bite my tongue! Its harder for us though because Bella is NOT KC registered so we can't even argue that we know her lineage. Even if we DID know it doesn't mean we can guarantee her temperament/behaviour but they just don't buy that! x

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