Ignorant people

Hope everyone had a wonderful christmas! We celebrated with family and had a lovely evening.

My mothers boyfriends daughter (what a mouthful to say lol) has tried to start a conversation with me. We started talking and she told me about her dogs. So I told her about mine and when she found out what Cecil was she looked at me and said "oh, I thought those type of dogs are not allowed to be adopted into a family with children!"

Well let's just say we did not talk as much afterwards haha
It makes me sad when I walk him and people cross the raod and he is wagging his tail because he just wants to say hi!
He is a great student in puppy class and everyone always stops and watches him but as soon as we leave the store people grab on to their dogs for dear life! Not all but most do and it just upsets me a little because this dangerous dog is the first to give my kids kisses when they get hurt and cuddles with them everynight! He is my first staffy but I have to say this dog is byfar the smartest one yet and he fits just perfectly into our family

Just needed that little vent

Most people will never know the love a Staffordshire will give out to there loving families.

There's no point trying to educate the uneducated & she sounds like one of them.

Sadly this happens all the time, but what a shame for it to happen in you family, albeit extended family. The best way is to show by example, trying to talk people into changing their views is hard.

Maybe offer for her to meet him, see him with the kids, and you never know!

Had a very similar experience with my next door neighbor. She was like "Why have you gone and got a vicious dog like that!", within a week she was offering to dog sit for us and now adores Flo.

It's purely ignorance based on false and inaccurate press reporting, in fact, if they reported how manychihuahuas bite people then they would be the most vilified dogs on the planet !!

Good grief!! What absolute ignorance at it's best !!

I grew up with Border Collies and my Staffie (my first) is by far the most softest and soppy dog I've ever lived with/owned. He absolutely loves kisses and cuddles and I could never do that with the Collies. His only vice is he doesn't like most dogs, but hey, nobody's perfect!

He is amazing with kids, so gentle and careful. We had family over at Christmas and one of the kids who is 2 absolutely loved my boy. Always closely supervised of course, more so in case he accidently knocked the little one over, but he was as gentle as a lamb with her. He didn't even attempt to try and take a cocktail sausage from her hand which she wandered about with for ages!! Mind you he did follow her about hoping he would get it, but massive praise to him!

Cuteness photo attached xx

What a lovely photo.

It's so sad the (wrongly deserved) rep Staffords have, they are truly the silliest, soppiest dogs in the world. They way they know how to be gentle with kids is amazing. I'm not a child type of person so Misty isn't around children at all. The other day we werr waking down an alley and suddenly a tiny child(I have no idea what age) comes running up, arms outstretched towards us. We had no where to turn as we had people behind us. My heart stopped as like you I was dreading her jumping up and knocking the kid over. Well as usual I have nothing to worry about, Misty let the kid stroke her and was very very calm. I cannot believe how they just know 'oh this is a little person and I'm far too big to jump on them'.

Staffies really are an amazing dog.
Completely irreverent but it's funny that around my way apart from one other, my hubby and I are the youngest to have a staff. All the others (and there are loads) are owned by little old ladies and that's the truth. Hopefully people can see the oldies with their staffs and it will get them thinking.

It's amazing how much damage the press can do, any mention of dangerous dogs they show a picture of a staffie (usually yawning) My mum was worried when I said I had got Katy, my sister got a German shepherd the same week & she wasn't worried about that!!! Now mum will come round & have Katy sit on her & get kisses. She won't go round my sister's unless the dog is shut in another room as she's aggressive!!!!!!!

Yes sadly it's a fact of life for us owners.

After a year research and meeting both her father and mother before the litter happened, we felt we had made a great choice and we would be "open to others opinions". My 9 year old adores Roxy and when you come into the house, Roxy will run past you to welcome my daughter, first and foremost.
Our pals were weary of our new arrival, and we gently introduced Roxy to all her pals in small groups and play dates, so now her pals parents know Roxy and accept her as part of our family.
One good friend, got a handbag dog (mixed) for her daughter at Xmas (the daughter never picked the dog). Just recently my daughter, Roxy and I were playing ball in the tennis court (She just loves to run and jump over the net) when they passed by, as pals of course the two girls wanted the dogs to play.. but all I could do was hear my pal tell her daughter that Roxy was a dangerous dog and would hurt the "handbag dog", I was so hurt and so was my daughter but we didn't make any response. Within a few minutes this furball (12 wks old) was chasing after Roxy and trying to nibble her legs, it was a moment I could see something bad happen, but decided we were in the tennis court first, if the other dog wasn't on a lead it wasn't our fault... But Roxy was so set on playing ball, she let Jessie nibble and run after her, without making a fuss.
Roxy made us both so Proud, to this day we still think how great she was, (of course it could have been a different story if she wasn't playing ball)

When I told ppl we are getting a Staffy my sisters (whom another one is actice dog show official) where furious and upset to me for taking a big, drooling and vicious animal to a family with kids and third one on the way...