Newbies and Oldies

How and why did we all decide on a Stafford as a breed? I did much reading and research before deciding, so knew it wouldnt be easy but oh so rewarding!

I must say I didn't do any research I had finally talked my oh in to letting me get a puppy, he wanted a jrt I said no way!!!! We looked at staffie x cockers which were gorgeous but they messed me about Then oh spotted this gorgeous little face in the fridayad When we met her they had named her Roxy, a 6 wk old staffie pup, full of character & teeth!!! She is now Katy & the other love of my life, cant even think of being without her

Hi I did research on Internet, and a good friend and sister had one and knew they were great dogs dispite what you read when one attacks ( only Staffys reported not any other breed ) am so glad I got Blue, he is loving, loyal, funny amazing to have and glad I do, he has a great temperament and have helped to prove ( to people in village) that they are the best dogs by far imho, he is next to me having a wee sleep till his next moment of excitement. Love him

By chance! We were looking for another rescue dog as we knew Mung wouldn't be with us for that much longer. I was looking though the dogs on DogPages and saw a listing for a Great Dane x. I adore Danes, so opened the thread. There was my sad Bobbert, emaciated and pleading, and I was smitten. It was only when I went to meet him that they said 'you know what his mix is, don't you', that I found out he was 1/4 staffie (and no Great Dane at all!).

Bobbert was so staffie in his ways and we fell in love with them from the moment we met him. So when we decided to look for another a few years later, a staffie or cross was what we wanted. We didn't even look at other breeds. And that's how we met Chaos.

As you say, Inez, they're not necessarily the easiest dogs in the world but they have to be amongst the most loving, playful, quirky and just absolute best in the world. I love all dogs, but nothing comes close to a staffie.

I knew a staff was the dog for me due to their short coat , and small frame how wrong I was about their cleverness and loyalty better than most humans . I came across mia purely by accident as originally I wanted a pup. though I had mias pup for a short while sadly I had to rehome her but the person still has her to this day wouldnt have another breed of dog she has taught me so much about her breed

My friend had a staffie and came to the house with him my kids fell in love and wanted one as well but hubby said no as we had other pets as well. All the promises were made by kids he still said no. That Saturday night we were out and had a talk with him and got my way but also videoed him saying yes. Next day 6 puppies went up on ispca site it was meant to be emailed them had home visit on Tuesday and Thursday we had a gorgeous new pup. He's everything and more what they say about staffs I'm glad I made the right choice and so is hubby.

I grew up around them so just a natural fit

I also grew up with the breed and was heartbroken when I began working in rescue and realised that my childhood pets had taken such a fall! There were hundreds of them in kennels and Bug was likely to never make it out alive, so she came home. I love lots of different breeds but I'll always have a Staffie

Good topic and thread.
As some of you will know, Stella came to me unwanted as my son bought her from backyard breeder while we were away.
Didn't really know about the breed or dogs in general as we were mainly cat people, although I remember an Irish Setter from way back.
Well... didn't take me long to realise that she was the best ever unwanted present to come into our lives
The change to our lives was wonderful.  No internet for me all those years ago so I bought books to help me with training etc.
No other breed can compare with a staffie.
Tyler (lab) is so much more independent and quite likes to be on her own at times but Stella needed to be near me, touching me all the time.  Different characters of course but the intense love from a staff is rather AMAZING

Hubby and I had talked for about a year to see if we could provide the exercise needed for a dog. Once we had proved we could the next thing was to find a breed. Labs were out as I could never replace my family lab so we started doing a lot of online research and Staffy kept coming up. I had never met one before but hubby had very fond memories when he was at school his friend had one and all the kids would go round at lunch and this dog would spend each lunchtime going to each kid for kisses and cuddles. By pure coincidence we went for a walk and there was a guy with a dog who wouldn't stop staring at us. Hubby said its ok if he wants to say hello so the guy brought him over and he was the most lovely dog and he was a staff x boxer.

So we had decided on a staff, originally we wanted a pup as I wanted papers as was scared of bsl. Then looking at some of the purebred pups for sale they all had mum's and dad's that were related. We then decided to rescue and one day I was on the net at work and Mistys pic came up. Honestly it was love at first site. She was so beautiful I couldn't believe people wanted to rehome her. We met her the next day and that was that. Best decision we have ever made.

Some lovely stories here ,,,,, more please

I first had a Staffy in my life when is was a young teenager. Helen was her name and she was gifted to us by her owner who's other 2 Staffies wouldn't allow her in the same house. Helen was a pure bred with papers but we didn't have them on the understanding that we would never breed with her.

Helen was the most fantastically loyal, loving and clever Staffy I have ever had the pleasure to know and she split her time between me and my mum when I moved out and in with my now wife.

Now that was 30 odd years ago and I really didn't have the time for a dog when my kids were small but that all changed on a second visit to Battersea dogs home. We had gone with the "we're just looking" thing but ended up with Flo on the back seat of my car on an Easter Monday with no food, no bed and no toys.

So I first fell in love with the breed a long long time ago and having Flo with us now just completes the family

Awww, reading all these comments has made me cry. So soppy really but they really do steal your heart don't they. And we all know there is no breed like them.

I wanted a family dog and I had three young children aged 18 mnths 3 and 5 yrs old. OMG what was I thinking. I did my research, went through the kennel club etc, rang breeders of all different breeds and the dog that was coming out top with young children was the nanny dog. I was very dubious at first and read every negative article about them and nearly had a nervous breakdown when my toddler in nappies used to roll around and wrestle with her arm in Daisys mouth.

I decided I needed to get a grip and get her trained as best I could as I was on my own majority of the day with kids and pup. I took her to training for two years and built the most incredible bond with her. She has been my rock and I can't imagine life without her, but I know I am on borrowed time now and cherish every day with her.