The idea of staffies being 'dangerous'

Hi, I've never ever thought of staffs as dangerous, whenever I think of them I remember the happy smiling dogs I knew as a child who would slobber all over me and whip me with their tails. I got a staff because I wanted a cuddle dog that would be good with my son. Reading this forum I've been horrified at the things people here have experienced. I honestly didn't know people had such a warped view of them...lets face it, if a staffie is well raised and cared for the only thing furious about them is the tail wagging

Unfortunately people believe the media, tv and papers. Next it will be huskys they seem to be the new popular dog.

The reason it shocked me so much is that I've never heard the idea before, I don't watch much tv or read the news very often so the last thing I knew everyone loved staffies and now they hate them! Stupid world, staffies are love bugs

All dogs can be dangerous it depends on the upbringing and the people who look after them. Ive seen the damage they can do though too and they deserve respect in that matter. I would never think our 2 cuddly lumps could attack us or someone else but theres always that 1% chance they could. As our 2 are both rescue dogs and we dont know their full background history we are wary when small children pass by etc but up to now when they have met people/other dogs/kids in the street there has been no problems

TBH I believed the hype too
My hubby wanted a staff (was raised with them) but I was very anti. I can't ever remember reading/hearing about them being dangerous but something subliminal must has sunk in. I thought they would be too unpredictable around the kids and so didn't even entertain the idea.
Then I found out my relative was having an accidental litter and they needed homes or they were going to have a questionable future
So having known the history of the parents and spending a long time reading around the breed (including this fantastic site) I decided to bring home Loony and it has to be the best decision I've made in a long long time
Out of the dogs i've owned and been brought up with she is THE most loving and egar to please. She has trained well (so far at least ) and I will now forever be an advocate for Staffs as a breed.

I am afraid to admit that I was one of those naive people who believed the hype, but my hubby was adamant that a staffy was a dog for us. I trusted his judgment and the next thing I knew we got Caley and boy am I so glad. I am so in love with her it is crazy. She is the most well behaved, cheeky and so loving I cannot believe it myself sometimes. I will always praise the breed now and argue with anyone who disagrees lol .

yeah.. that tail whipping can be dangerous huh

I never had a Staff before Loki, but I still never knew they had a bad reputation because of the media. Literally no idea, and I still wouldn't if it hadn't been for this forum, because thankfully everyone in my area LOVES Staffs.

We decided to get a rescue dog and couldn't believe the amount of staffies in kennels so read up about the breed, good and bad and decided it was only bad owners not bad dogs. The RSPCA had a lovely video going back over the years and how staffies have been loyal, loving family dogs. It persuaded us to give a staffy a home, we decided puppy as our children had never been round dogs before

http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/dogs/puppy/staffordshirebullterrier

Don't get me wrong, staffys are dangerous dogs, in the wrong hands. Same as any other breed. Brought up with love and affection and discipline though, staffys are the most loyal, lovable pet you could ever ask for. I honestly cannot think of a breed that I have personally come across that is as affectionate as a staffy.
It's the media and people that are uneducated on the breed that think staffys are a dangerous breed when in all honesty, it couldn't be further from the truth.
I do hope one day that people will start judging the deed and not the breed

shellie25 wrote:Don't get me wrong, staffys are dangerous dogs, in the wrong hands. Same as any other breed. Brought up with love and affection and discipline though, staffys are the most loyal, lovable pet you could ever ask for. I honestly cannot think of a breed that I have personally come across that is as affectionate as a staffy.
It's the media and people that are uneducated on the breed that think staffys are a dangerous breed when in all honesty, it couldn't be further from the truth.
I do hope one day that people will start judging the deed and not the breed

I completely agree with you that any dog can be dangerous if not handled correctly... In my experience the worst offenders are Yorkshire terriers, never met a nice one

I was brought up with 2 Yorkies (don't know what my parents were thinking) and 1 of them was a nasty thing that attacked almost everything on a daily basis but the other one was the softest little thing ever! She was so friendly and used to play football with everyone lol. I don't come across many nice Yorkies I must say but when I do, they are the sweetest of things

shellie25 wrote:I was brought up with 2 Yorkies (don't know what my parents were thinking) and 1 of them was a nasty thing that attacked almost everything on a daily basis but the other one was the softest little thing ever! She was so friendly and used to play football with everyone lol. I don't come across many nice Yorkies I must say but when I do, they are the sweetest of things

I'll keep an eye out for a friendly Yorkie then

The way I see it, all animals are dangerous. 'Dangerous' is the ability to cause harm. They have the potential to inflict harm on somebody, but it depends on whether or not they are likely to do so.

I think most problems with dangerous Staffords lie with the owners.

gias_girl wrote:

shellie25 wrote:I was brought up with 2 Yorkies (don't know what my parents were thinking) and 1 of them was a nasty thing that attacked almost everything on a daily basis but the other one was the softest little thing ever! She was so friendly and used to play football with everyone lol. I don't come across many nice Yorkies I must say but when I do, they are the sweetest of things

I'll keep an eye out for a friendly Yorkie then

The hunt is on for a friendly Yorkie!! I havnt come across one for a while. I think Yorkies have "small dog syndrome". They think they are Rottweilers

Sorry thats me being silly. I should't judge them as a breed as it's the same as people are doing with Staffys and it's wrong of me to say that. Nothing wrong in having a bit of a laugh though

Eleanor wrote:The way I see it, all animals are dangerous. 'Dangerous' is the ability to cause harm. They have the potential to inflict harm on somebody, but it depends on whether or not they are likely to do so.

I think most problems with dangerous Staffords lie with the owners.

Completely agree with you. 9 times out of 10, dangerous dogs are through owners neglect and wrong doing. There are some medical reasons why dogs turn dangerous. My father recently had his Bichon PTS due to her becoming nasty. She had an inoperable brain tumour and it turned her very nasty

I think terriers in general have a bit of a fiesty streak. Small dog, bigger package.

Your not wrong there!!

I think the reason so many small dogs have behavioural problems are simply down to their owners letting them do what they want because they're small. You're more likely to let a Yorkshire Terrier jump all over you and still nip than a GSD or something.

It's not just small dogs, I was bitten twice by 2 different German Sheppard's when I was younger and I know these dogs had bad owners, never been attacked by a staff though I have come into contact with aggressive ones but again this was down to bad training mainly slapping and hitting which I witnessed so I was wary of the breed when I was a kid but after having me late jessa who was staff I changed my mind as she would run away from her own shadow, she was as soft as * but saying that she was hit and left to scratch herself into a bleeding state so I'm not sure, it could be genetic and diet also in some cases.

harlou wrote:Unfortunately people believe the media, tv and papers. Next it will be huskys they seem to be the new popular dog.

Awsomn im double in the crp then :0( i know what you mean though more and more of em around here...sorry to say most look fat and bored...i dread to think what there houses look like.
As for staffs, well we all know they are one of the sweetest loving dogs your going to get but due to the media, anything with floppy ears is a staff and a killer. Ignorant fools

Well my family went nuts when they found out what breed of dog i'd chosen. They knew i'd been looking for a new work dog to bring on. " You can't get one of those" "You get one of those and we won't come round" (Shame!! ) My Dad has come round, won't admit it, but he loves Rolo! Mum tolerates him.. but she doesn't like dogs anyway... the rest of my family won't come near our house.. it's been great!! People will always believe what the press say, and it won't be long till another breed is up for ruin. I'm afraid i believe in a lot of cases, that dogs are what people make them. It may not be easy at times, but love them, that's all they ask for.

I had Dobermanns when they were the "devil dogs of the day" in public and media fantasy. The antagonism I met with, and the amazement from those brave people who actually met my Dobes and weren't torn limb from limb, was quite hard to bear.

And then, 10 years after our last Dobe's demise, I was persuaded by my son to let another dog into our lives, and he just happened to be a Staffy.

Blow me, but even meeting our new Staff as a tiny puppy, as cute as a button and friendly to the point of overload, some people said "at least he's not viscious".

People believe what they read in "The Sun" (so it must be true then ha-ha).

It's a hard life being a dog owner

The sun has a lot to answer for

Very well said I also grew up with staffs and always had such amazing memories of them! Was so gutted when they were the latest breed to take on the "devil dog" name, can't stand the media!