Anyone else slightly worried?

Following the tragic accident involving 14 year old Jade from wigan, is anyone else getting slightly concerned about staffs potentially being added to the Banned breeds list?, im fully aware that the breeds of the dogs involved haven't even been confirmed, yet this incident has got small minded uneducated people talking about and slagging Staffs off yet again, which isen't good for our beloved breed . Also what are peoples opinions on bringing in licensing for ALL dogs? or specific breeds?. Just really feel i need to talk about this with people that actually know something about this wonderful breed

I don't think there's any danger of staffs being banned, but I am worried about the fear and hatred being stirred up by the media and the ignorant.

I am convinced that being cooped up with no exercise is a big factor in why those dogs went berserk, and compulsory training/licensing for anyone wishing to own ANY dog merits consideration and may go some way towards alleviating further tragedies. RIP Jade

I doubt that there will be any plans to add Staffords to the list, but it doesn't help the media hype & hysteria, I'm afraid.

More irresponsible owners making it bad for everybody else.

When im out and about with my boy i genuinely feel i have to be some sort of ambassador for the breed, im always super polite to people and really considerate and you can see the surprise on their faces sometimes, it definitely helps that my boy is very well bahaved i would actively encourage licensing, as long as it wasen't just another way of fleecing people for money and was genuinely set up to promote proper care and responsible ownership of ANY breed

Licensing just won't work (it didn't before, so won't now), and it would be almost impossible to police it.

I don't think it will happen though it does worry me when I read some of the things. Thankfully the people speaking the most sense are looking a change of laws to do with dangerous dogs in general rather than banning more breeds. I'd be fully happy with that because I think these owners deserve to be punished and made an example of.

I'm not worried. The government knows BSL is a waste of time.

As for licensing, that's a waste of time too IMO. Dog control orders are a much better idea.

I'm not worried. A few tragic incidents involving Staffs isn't going to result in them being banned, and the government aren't going to suddenly change things overnight.

BoroGTI wrote:When im out and about with my boy i genuinely feel i have to be some sort of ambassador for the breed

I agree so strongly with this, right down to being super polite even in the face of provocation. Even if we educate and enlighten ONE person each, it will go a long way to combating the anti-Staff hysteria.

And yes, current events (media fuelled, and carrying absolutely NO disrepect to Jade) have made me a bit worried. The worst possible knee-jerk reaction would be a revision of the Dangerous Dogs Act to include Staffies. (I'm ignoring the possible breeding of the other two (larger) dogs involved in this terrible occurence as everyone else is, especially the media - Staffs being the focus)

Regarding licencing, I like all law-abiding people at the time, bought my yearly dog licence at 7s 6d (35p?) It was merely a money-making exercise for the Government, and when the cost of issuing the licences exceeded the cost of issuing them, they were stopped.

Dont worry at all as I can give you one big reason that the goverment wont ban staffs and that is COST. the sheer ammount of staffs would make it impossible to undertake despite the hysteria from the media
another reason is that they would have to undergo another consultation and practically every dog expert agrees that staffs are not a problem breed. the backlash would crucify them and they know it, Cameron has already said its not even on the agenda, political talk for not workable.
The real problem we face ahead is public ignorance and a willingness to beleive what ever they are told. get ready to bite your lip as your perfectly behaved dog is labled as a potential murderer.
the worst part is that the media portraying the breed as nasty killers is just going to make them even more desirable for the scum of society leading to more ending up in rescue when they realise they are not the dogs they thought they were.
Im sick of the media in this country, they dont just report problems they create them too.

we have 2 staffies, a colleague also has 2, and another has 1 - we all said today that this tragic accident won't help how staffies are perceived - such a great shame. i felt a bit over-protective today when i saw people looking at us on the beach - usually i imagine that they're just thinking how cute they are, today i wondered what exactly they were thinking.......

I agree with Nathan, the antipathy towards Staffs is being whipped up by the media as an easy target for a) being a popular breed and b) as being perceived as a breed being favoured by a certain section of society.

I've been through this before when I had Dobermanns in the 70s/80s - they were the "devil dog" of the day, and the public perception at the time of this breed made my walkies with my dogs somewhat confrontational when met with fearful/aggresive people.

I dealt with it then as I do with my Staffy now - friendliness and good humour towards the fearful/aggressive person and reassurance that my dog is very friendly. If they eff and blind then I apologise that my dog has frightened them and again (if necessary) assure them that my dog is no danger to either them or their dog. It might sometimes nearly choke me to do this when faced with blind prejudice and aggression, but it needs to be done.

Media with their stirrings sticks out creating restlessness in society as per usual! I think something needs to be done about these dogs getting into irresponsible hands who only want them for the wrong reasons. I couldn't even begin to think how this would be done or policed.

I think all breeds should be licensed - my reasoning is because that any dog has the potential to do anything if not brought up properly.

otisthestafford wrote:I think all breeds should be licensed - my reasoning is because that any dog has the potential to do anything if not brought up properly.

Licensing just won't work. Policing them would be nigh on impossible & very expensive, and the irresponsible owners wouldn't bother - and they're the ones that need licensing!

No I'm not. Most of the dogs who attack are not full staffs but of type, which are banned anyway. I can see it actually being scrapped and all dogs allowed again, with strict restrictions. People can't walk a "type" cause they are fraud of gettin it seized and then It attacks and its blamed on the type of dog and not its lifestyle.

Also, the bloodhound was as attacked as the staffy is now over 100 years ago. They're not banned!

We licence dogs in n.i and the only thing it does is cost money to us and the government. I don't see how it will stop bad owners cause bad owners won't license!

Caryll wrote:

otisthestafford wrote:I think all breeds should be licensed - my reasoning is because that any dog has the potential to do anything if not brought up properly.

Licensing just won't work. Policing them would be nigh on impossible & very expensive, and the irresponsible owners wouldn't bother - and they're the ones that need licensing!

True... Very true - I wish there was a solid way to do this but I think this is a debate that will continue for years to come