Refreshing

Took Flo over her little park this evening and met a lady with a lovely little boy Staffy and two chihuahuas (I know, odd mix). As we approached each other she clipped her Staff on a lead whilst Flo was preoccupied by the chauhauas and explained that her Staff wasn't so good around strange dogs so distracted Flo with her Stix so as not to cause a scene... How refreshing to come across a fellow Staff owner that knows their dog and reacts accordingly

We had a good natter and though his story is sad and how they ended up rescuing him tinged with the loss of another Staffy it was so nice meeting a Staffy owner that couldn't live without one in her life

One of those chance meetings I had to share

What a lovely meeting indeed
Thanks for sharing

It’s a shame a lot of other dog owners don’t react like this. There are so many unfriendly dogs off lead.

She sounds lovely. I bet the staffie chi combination looks odd though!

I have a bigger problem with owners of breeds other than bullies, to be honest. We don't go to the Heath anymore because I'm sick of other dogs being allowed to rush up, mostly labs and that sort of super friendly dogs.

Exactly liz, collies are our biggest problem up here. Even after a dog has been nasty we still see them off the lead on future walks.

It's so nice to meet other Staffy owners isn't it Ian. With the exception of one all the other staff owners around here are so nice and super friendly. They all seem very respectful and give other owners space if needed.

It's like being part of a insider gang, all the staffy/alsation/rottie etc owners always give misty and me a smile when they see what breed she is!

So true. My pet hate is dog owners who let their dogs off lead without a thought for anyone else, even when their dog's not friendly. It just doesn't seem to faze them.

Lovely story it’s definitely a staffy owner thing as there’s a few here that know exactly how to act around other dogs and other staffs just a shame other breed owners do not.. I’ve mentioned before about the lady who has 4 sheep dogs all off lead and one doesn’t like other dogs yet still had her off lead and warned me not to approach her with hank! We since started going another route because hank gets so excited seeing other dogs I didn’t want him to think he was doing anything bad.

I have now put yellow nervous signs on Katy's harness as people seem happy to let their dogs charge up to her even though i'm shouting at them to call them back

I totally agree with the points mentioned. It's a while since I've had a dog and I'd forgotten most of the potential problems! I've had -

1. meeting people with their dog on a lead who insist on shoving their dog into your dog's face and then go off tutting if your dog doesn't like it. 2. Allowing their small, snarling, usually obnoxious dog to run loose and expect your dog not to react to it's nipping and growling. 3. People expecting your dog to discipline their dog - i.e. 'he needs a nip - keeps him in his place'. Do they realise staffy strength and damage potential?

If Leah is loose and other dogs are on the lead, hers goes straight back on. I see it as a basic courtesy because you don't know the temperament of the other dog. I've found that she prefers to meet new dogs off the lead so if she is being charged by a loose dog I unclip her and it diffuses the situation.

We met a female staffy and her owner at doggy school on Tuesday. She watched us the whole lesson and after we'd finished complimented us on how pretty Chase was and how well we handled his unrulyness.
Her staffy was very well behaved but she explained a year ago she was in the same place as Chase and everybody hated her dog.

While in Hampshire a couple of weeks ago we met a very old staffy whose owner shouted before we got near that he was a nervous boy and might lunge and seem aggressive so we walked on by with a close lead.

Staffy owners are the nicest and always seem so in tune with their doggy friends unlike yappy ankle biter owners!

Before we approach another dog I’ll ask well before the dogs meet if their dog is okay around other dogs because hank is still a baby he just wants to play and I understand that is not the case with all dogs, I let him say hello and have a sniff about then walk on