Reputable breeders

I'm currently in the process of searching and wanting to get in contact for breeders who could help me (and my family) when it comes to time to add a staffy to our family and I'm hoping that you guys can direct me in the right direction of who to contact.

A little background about us... We're actually Australian although haven't lived there in more than 13 years and lived in Thailand, Spain (still home for us) and are currently based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Our dogs at the time of moving have also moved so we've had some well travelled dogs too We plan to move back to Europe towards the end of 2014/beginning 2015 and live in Andorra. My husband and I had owned rottweilers for more than 10 years before moving onto the Dogo Argentino that we also owned for more than 10 years as well. Our latest boy just very recently passed away at 2 years of age and we've decided that we will wait until we move back to europe before we add to family again. There are a couple of reasons why we've decided not to stick with the dogo after so many years, even though we still the breed with a passion... the first being that our 9 year old daughter has been left devastated with the passing of first her "older brother" last year who was with her since birth and her younger brother. She says that there are too many memories and she wants another breed who doesn't remind her of them. The other reasons being that when we move back, we plan to travel when we can throughout europe and travelling with a smaller stature dog will be much easier than a 50kg dogo. BSL/Dangerous Dogs Legislation is also a concern and while we had no issues living with dogos in Spain, travelling around europe with them might be a different issue. I know that the Staffy is also on the list in some countries but the countries that we plan to visit mainly or go through don't seem to have issue with them as long as they have pedigree papers stating that they are 100% what we say they are. Fortunately in Andorra where we will be living, no such ridiculous laws exist.
We would've loved to get a rescue but the fact that they don't come with papers would be an issue for when we travel.

Sorry for the novel, but I know within the dogo community - they can be a real tough bunch on these online communities because they are extremely protective of the breed and take extreme caution and can be seen as "hard" with newbies before they are accepted in their world. I have no doubt that you guys here are any different and I wouldn't have it any other way. I know from seeing it first hand that there are many people who own certain breeds for wrong reasons and I can guarantee you guys that we are just a family who treats their 4 four legged as part of the family. We have no intention of breeding (never have with any of our dogs) and we do have experience with strong willed and bodied breeds.

So what are we looking for in a staffy? Health 100% and exemplary temperament.
In regards to colour, when we were first looking at the staffys, we did have our heart set on the blues. This has now changed with information I have learnt here and it is not as important anymore especially if it means compromising on health. While a blue stuffy would be awesome, it is definitely secondary to health and temperament.
We’re willing to travel to the UK or anywhere in Europe as well.

Any help we can get would be really appreciated.

The first thing you should do is contact a couple of Kennel Clubs! I believe that Spain has one, although I've no idea of the contact details. Some UK kennels will send a pup abroad, but not many. They mainly want to meet the people the pup is going to, for a start, and of course a pet passport means that the pup will have to be kept by the breeder for a couple of months longer than usual.

I don't know if this site will be useful to you, but have a look at it...

http://www.dogbehaviouradvice.com/dba/readarticle.php?id=152

You probably don't need to be told what to look for in a pup & the parents of that pup?

Very interesting article and thanks for sharing that, will be looking at that site in depth... Think I will also contact our dogo breeder friends in Spain who we trust to see what he can also recommend as well as contact the Kennel clubs there like you suggested.

Thanks for explaining why some UK kennels don't send them abroad and it makes total sense. If we couldn't find anyone in Spain, we would definitely consider a visit to the other breeders where ever they are as we would also like to see their dogs in person. I know the reputable dogo breeders I know are extremely careful with who they also sell to and usually only sell to people known to them. Its not uncommon for them to also have limited breedings with the pups already reserved based on the parents, so making connections/contacts with these kennels is important. I'm assuming legit staffy breeders aren't any different.

Yes I'm pretty familiar with what to look for in the parents and pups for the dogo argentino, but I'm assuming it isn't to different to the staffy or other breeds in general. I do know that I also shouldn't "assume" so I've been going through the links here and online looking specifically at the staffords. The health conditions to look out for and tests weren't a surprise but it was the CDA that really caught me and one that I'm so glad to have learnt about.

Just checkout that article and tried out the links it mentions and both the spanish and english ones aren't active anymore. Googled the blog and it hasn't been updated since 2008 and the forum on the site isn't very active at all. Oh well, I'm sure between my contact there and the Real Sociedad Canina de España, hopefully I get some contacts but I'll still be interested in contacting others.
Have also found the Spanish Stafford Club link as well http://www.clubstaffordspain.com

My only concern with going with a spanish breeder is that they aren't as interested in having the health tests done like the UK kennels are.

That's a shame.

You could try contacting the main Stafford breed club over here and ask for their advice?

http://www.thesbtc.co.uk/

There are a couple of good breeders who will ship abroad, but they would probably need references of some sort I would imagine. The club might be able to point you in the right direction.

Caryll wrote:That's a shame.

You could try contacting the main Stafford breed club over here and ask for their advice?

http://www.thesbtc.co.uk/

There are a couple of good breeders who will ship abroad, but they would probably need references of some sort I would imagine. The club might be able to point you in the right direction.

Thanks for this, I will definitely contact them to see that they can recommend.

Just wanted to say its refreshing to see someone very interested in researching the breed before buying. I really hope you get your dream dog

Hayley wrote:Just wanted to say its refreshing to see someone very interested in researching the breed before buying. I really hope you get your dream dog  

Researching is what every dog owner should do especially when it comes to different breeds that are new to them. It still amazes me when I hear people get a dog first (usually on a whim), then look into the breed later and then finding out that the dog is totally unsuitable for them or their family.