Staffies! Is it the Dog? Or the Owner

Staffies! Is it the dog? or the owner that is the problem?

  • Staffy

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • Owner

    Votes: 23 95.8%

  • Total voters
    24

Matt_S

A few posts under my belt
Hello Stafford Forum

Just wanted to stop by for some of your opinions regarding the Staffies and are they dangerous or is it down to the owners.

We have had a huge reaction to the story so far on Social media and our website and ill be doing a full followup next sunday talking to people "in the know" about the breed. Get your voice heard on this issue.

You can let me know your views ready for next Sunday's show by:
- Just commenting below
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/weareSFM/posts/707667132651303
- Twitter @matty_sarg
- Website Comment box http://www.staffordfm.co.uk/staffies-is-it-the-dog-or-the-owner/
- Email: Matt.sargeant@staffordfm.co.uk
 

dawnofwar

Well-Known Forumite
I am of the opinion that it is solely down to the owner, perfect example of this is I volunteer at the Staffordshire Regiment Musuem and the Staffords mascot is a Staffy. He is currently Watchman V and i had the pleasure of meeting him and his handler when i was in one day.

He was such a lovely character and fantastically trained, completely placid and never got bored or grumpy when he had to pose for the millions of photos (some with school children on a trip).

All of the above is of course my own opinion, but having been a dog owner i do believe it is down to the owner themselves.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Watchman V
mascot.jpg
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
It's both!

They are certainly a breed owned by a certain 'type' of person, i.e those who are looking for a status symbol and who fail to properly train or socialise their dogs when young. these people allow their dogs to act in a way unacceptable to many

BUT

I know a couple of Staffie owners who do not fit the above stereotype, who have trained and socialised their dog properly but still have problems.

Put it this way, put a dog under certain pressure and it will always revert to breed type. In other words, as nice as some Staffie's may seem, and as well as some owners train and socialise them, when the shit hits the fan, the reason they were bred, i.e to fight bulls, and the aggression required to do that will always come out.

We need a both button on the vote............
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
It's the owners, not the dogs.

Having said that no dog, whatever the breed should ever be left alone with kids or ever entirely trusted, no matter how placid or loved they might be.
 

PPPPPP

Well-Known Forumite
All dogs are potentially dangerous. The bigger the teeth and muscles, the more damage they can do. No matter how soft and 'good with children' Fido may have been in the past there's no guarantee he won't turn nasty. Ultimately there's nothing owners can do about the latent wolf, and I have the scars to prove it.

Anyway, if Stafford FM wants feedback, how about telling us why you're apparently ignoring the story about police investigations into the council? It's been front page news everywhere else, so why not on what's supposed to be a community radio station? Kind of blows your credibility and claims that the management has no influence.
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
I've had 2 staffies. Both adorable dogs, one was pure one was a cross breed. I also have best friends that had one too, amd a sister in law with one as well.

As a puppy (up until 18 months) they can certainly be quite excitable and a bit nippy when playing - but then that can apply to any breed! In general I'd say it's usually more down to the owners. Unfotunately there is a HUGE stigma attached to staffies due to the type of person that generally keeps them... and is the reason why 80% of the dogs in shelters these days seem to be unwanted staffies.

Would I take one in from a shelter? No. Not if you have young kids around. But again that comes down to not knowing the dogs history, how it's owners may have "roughed it up" etc.... but yet again that can apply to most dogs in shelters (even the select few that aren't staffies).

It's such a bloody shame.
 

Moby Dick

Well-Known Forumite
Take time out to go to a Car Boot sale and generally the answer is before you. So many staffies are paraded about by folk you would cross the street to avoid.

I love the breed as I do any dog but I too believe that under duress or stress they become unpredictable as is their instinct.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Staffies are the dog of choice of pussy chavs, they want a big vicious status symbol but are too scared to get a dog that is actually dangerous by nature. So instead they take a dog that looks hard but usually soft as shite and treat it badly to make it appear angrier. Never be scared of a pussy chav.
 

Mudhoney

Well-Known Forumite
Staffies are famously soppy dogs who by their nature who wouldn't hurt a fly. In Victorian times they apparently were know as 'Nanny' dogs because they were one of the few breeds deemed to be safe to leave alone with young children. Every family owned Staffie I've ever encountered has been daft and playful and not in the slightest way aggressive. Unfortunately for the breed, because they are sturdy and have an incredible bite strength, they've become the weapon of choice for a generation of psychotic thugs who brutalise these poor animals until breaking point.
 
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