Skin and other health issues for a staffy newbie to look out for.

I'm new to staffys and plan on getting one in a years time so doing all my research now and I was wondering if they are prone to specific conditions like skin issues or other health related issues which could be avoided. Thanks to site, I've learned that I need to be careful of alopecia. I had never heard about this before and was wondering if there was anything else to look out for.

We've owned dogo argentinos for many years and just about all of them had skin sensitivities. We had to be extremely careful with their food - avoiding certain grains in particular. Also washing them was an issue as even the "hypo allergenic" shampoos would cause rashes to appear a day or two after shampooing. It just seemed like we had to be extra careful with the dogos compared to when we owned rottweilers who never had skin issues.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Hi there, Yes some Staffords suffer with skin problems, alopcia (CDA) comes from the mating of two blue parents, so you should stear clear of any offspring of two blues.

my girl darcy suffers from allergies to grass pollen and yeasty paws which transpires as very itchy feet which she licks all the time, making them very red and sore

Thanks for that.  Is alopcia seen in the other colours or is it predominately a colour diluted dogs problem only?

Predominantly colour dilution dogs. Have a read through this :- http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/how_to_buy_a_dilution_colour_dog

Any breed, any colour can suffer from alopecia or skin sensitivities, but blues have far more problems than others, especially if they have two blue parents.

Will you be getting a pup or a rescue adult?

Caryll wrote:Any breed, any colour can suffer from alopecia or skin sensitivities, but blues have far more problems than others, especially if they have two blue parents.

Will you be getting a pup or a rescue adult?

We would consider rescue but since we will be travelling throughout europe for holidays (and going through France every time), we've been advised that a dog with papers would be better as we will need a pedigree proving that the dog is not a mixed breed and dogs from rescue don't have them.

djstratton wrote:

Caryll wrote:Any breed, any colour can suffer from alopecia or skin sensitivities, but blues have far more problems than others, especially if they have two blue parents.

Will you be getting a pup or a rescue adult?

We would consider rescue but since we will be travelling throughout europe for holidays (and going through France every time), we've been advised that a dog with papers would be better as we will need a pedigree proving that the dog is not a mixed breed and dogs from rescue don't have them.

In that case, make sure you buy from breeders who have used a sire & dam that a) have been tested for the following..
http://www.staffords.co.uk/sbtbc/health_issues.htm
and b) are not both blue or blue/white.

Good luck! 

Caryll wrote:

djstratton wrote:

Caryll wrote:Any breed, any colour can suffer from alopecia or skin sensitivities, but blues have far more problems than others, especially if they have two blue parents.

Will you be getting a pup or a rescue adult?

We would consider rescue but since we will be travelling throughout europe for holidays (and going through France every time), we've been advised that a dog with papers would be better as we will need a pedigree proving that the dog is not a mixed breed and dogs from rescue don't have them.

In that case, make sure you buy from breeders who have used a sire & dam that a) have been tested for the following..
http://www.staffords.co.uk/sbtbc/health_issues.htm
and b) are not both blue or blue/white.

Good luck! 

Don't worry, we plan on really investigating the breeders and their practices and hopefully I'll be able to get some recommendations here when it's time to start looking for breeders. Just like dogos, there are definitely some dodgy breeders out there who have no regards for the betterment of the breed and only think of the $$$$. We have no intention of breeding our dog and just want the healthiest possible with perfect temperament.
Living here in Jakarta, there are so many dogos now and EVERYONE but us are/were breeding dogs who have no right to be bred. Lets just say that my husband upset a few people when asked his opinion on their breeding their dogs :p