American Staffordshire Terrier

[888sally888]

Has anyone encountered one of these with some pit bull bred in too.

One of these attacked my 6 month old bedlington last night - took 4 people to get it off. Spray, water and someone trying to prise its jaws off her neck. Someone had to punch it repeatedly on the head and then nose to get it off. One of the other people was just about to get a hammer. Luckily my dog is ok but WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE THESE DOGS? Am still really shaken this morning, but have taken Pickles out to mix with other dogs and hope it hasnt scared her.

What does everyone think of this?

[kita1]

What happened to the other dog? Have you reported the incident to the police or dog warden? Even if you don't know who owns the dog it is still worth reporting as the police may already know about the dog and are just waiting 'for something to actually happen'.

On saying that though I recently heard of a staffie attacking a neibours dog (who had to have stiches) and the police said that it 'was dog on dog' and there is nothing they can do!!!

It all depends on the individual police officer that deals with you.

I always carry a spare lead slung round my shoulders with a heavy choke chain hanging off it, this can be used to pick up stray dogs (what I tell the police) or can be used as a weapon. Sometimes you have to watch out for the owners as well as the dog!

Luckily you had other people around kind enough to help you. I usually stick to areas where there are other dog walkers around nowadays.

Glad your dog is OK. Take care.

[Noweia]

Not just pit bull types, but even Staffies are known for not being friendly with other dogs - they're great with people, just not other animals.

Once a dog of that type has locked its jaws onto something it is impossible to prise them off by force.

I agree with the above answer that you should notify the police as soon as possible, even if you don't think it will help you. They may be able to do something about it, they may not, but it's better that these things are recorded in case it happens again.

[garner]

Lets face facts...Its people who breed these dogs for a speciasl reason, and these dogs are doing what they are bred for.Terrible as it is I feel so sorry for these dogs and its the owners who should be taken to task and the breeders who should be banned from doing so.Hope your Pickles is ok and that its not left her in fear of going out.

[kaylamay]

We have an American Staffie and her name is Kona. We live in California. She is a love muffin and everyone loves her to bits. She is the most gorgeous brindle color. We take her to the off leash dog park and she runs around like a loony and is fine with other dogs unless one messes with her little Lasa Upso(SP???) brother then she comes to the rescue although she has never attacked anyone, human nor animal. She is the apple of my husbands eye and she sleeps in bed with her head on a pillow. She's very soppy. While growing up we owned 2 pure Pit Bulls and they were soppy too. My whole family worships animals. Some of my cats are more vicious than our Staffie(she's scared of the cats!)
MIkala

[winny]

Hi, we rescued a staffie to keep the gsd company. She attacked the old boy several times with increasing ferocity. He had a few wounds and the vet said percevere see it she settles. She did not. I am NOT a believer in violence against a dog but I had to kick her quite hard, squirt water at her and it did not work. In the end I had to twist her collar till she choked and let go. I realized the partnership was doomed but before I could trip back to the rescue the did it again and I resorted to stabbing her with a dining fork which did the trick. Needless to say I felt very bad about this but the vet assured me it vas wholy necessary as she went for his throat every time.
She went back and I still wonder if I could have done anything else to help her but apparently staffies are renouned for not liking other dogs. She was only a year old and I dint know her history but poeple should not let them loose if they know this could happen.
It is not the dogs fault however as something makes them think this way and it can only be what we humans have done to them.
I am pleased Pickles is ok as I know how distressing it is to watch a nasty fight like this and feel helpless. The old boy went on to fall in love with a lab puppy.

[888sally888]

Thank you for all your advice and help. Pickles is still quite quiet and her neck is very sore and tender - she normally loves tickles but is very wary at the moment.

I took her out this morning and a nice lady let her say hello to a big (but very old) labrador and she gradually became braver.

I reported this dog and owner to the police tonight as well as the local dog warden. The police are coming to see me in the morning.

Thank you again - think I have just about stopped shaking now but feel very tearful at what might have happened.

[winny]

It is best to try not to think about what might haves cus they didnt. Pleased with some tlc and friendly dogs that pickles seems as if she will come round. Lots of love xxxx

[bicker]

This may sound cruel but it works. Any dog that has a firm grip on a person/child HAS TO BE RELEASED. Do this: grab hold of the dog firmly, two people or more if possible. Then Bite the dogs tail. Dog yelps, mouth opens, dog bites you if you are not carefull. If biting does not work try poking a stick up his/her rear end. When all else fails a pair of Molegrips on his testicles. But the dog has to be removed ASAP or infection may well set in, in the wound. Now I await those animal lovers & do-gooders remarks. Normally the biteing of the tail works. We humans MUST be in charge. Treat a dog like a human being & he/she will treat you like a dog. BUT if you treat a dog like a dog then he/she will treat you like a human being. We are the masters, not animals. Yes I love all animals I am just trying to be practical. Bicker.

[winny]

In a sense I agree Bicker as I could not believe at the time I did what I did but needs must. It is a sad situation when we have to resort to such things due to the errors of some orher human bringing the dogs up wrong.

[Snappy]

Dogs cant lock their jaws! Bull breeds have a shape of mouth that allows great grip, and their heads are pretty much all muscle which means they are a lot stronger than non bull breeds.

[Bigeye74]

Bicker, I agree in principle, but i'm not really up for biting an animal that is designed for biting better than I am.
Sally, my understanding is that any emotional effect on your dog is down to your reaction to the situation. So the next time you see a dog try to ensure that you don't pass any nervousness on to pickles. Dogs fight naturally and get over it as soon as its over. Having said all that, its easy for me to say because i have a big solid dog that can take care of itself.
As for the owner of the other dog, they need to take a good look at their dog handling ability if their dog feels the need to attack. Hope your pooch gets over it all.

[Noweia]

Snappy when I said about dogs 'locking their jaws' of course I didn't mean it literally!

Dogs of that type were bred to fight and hold on, so that's what they do - and it's hopeless trying to prise their jaws apart once they've decided to close them, because they are so much stonger than anyhting we can throw at them.

[888sally888]

Hi Bigeye

Yes i have taken Pickles out 3 times since the attack and made sure she has socialised with dogs of all shapes and sizes. I checked with the owners that their dog was friendly first and explained what had happened. I have to say everyone has been great and i feel much better now.

Pickles is back on form now and we are back to puppy training on wednesday as before.

The police and dog warden are looking into the dog and its owner and i hope action is taken in case next time its 'prey' is a baby or toddler. My main concern is for the situation to be handled approprately to save anyone a terrible experience.

Thank you to everyone whao has offered advice - it really helped me.

I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

[cornishgal]

im sorry but i know some who has two staffies and they are both loving its not the dogs fault its the way they have been brought up and if you are true owners then you would realise this, dogs are taught how to behave by their owners. i no alot of staffies and not one of them has bitten another dog or another person they are good as gold with children, adults and i would rather leave the staffies in with two new born babies than two adults they are protective little animals perhaps they though that you dog was going to harm something they obviously loved.

[888sally888]

Just an update, the offending dog has been taken to be tested as to whether it has pit bull bred into it.

I should know next week the outsome and will let you all know. Thanks again for all your help and advice.

[888sally888]

The dog was a pit bull (found out this morning). It will have to be put down unless the owner refuses to sign the papers. If this happens, he will be prosecuted.

Depsite everything, I feel very sad.

[Bigeye74]

It is a shame to put it down but probably the right thing to do. Someone else ruined this dog and the situation would probably have got worse anyway.

[BUSTERBOYS]

all bull terrier breeds have the potential to be aggressive towards other dogs,so the owners should note this at all times,we have all heard the saying"hes never done it before"
but it is to late after the fact so anyone owning one of these dog types should be extra careful to avoid other dogs on or off the lead as it will always be your fault should anything go wrong.irresponsible ownership of these loaded guns on leads should always expect the unexpected even if you think you know your own dog,even if you have to go out of your way to avoid other dogs.also other dog owners should avoid letting their dogs run across a field to play with any bull terrier breeds just in case,there is of course always an exception to any rule but be warned respect this breed for what it is a dog bred for a purpose and should the worse ever happen the best thing and i have owned and bred stafford for 17 years is to use smelling salts to release a dogs grip which most careful sbt owners carry with them when out with their lovely dogs....bbs

[riapnash]

HI There

I have read your postings and am so sorry that your dog had to be put through this. It makes me so mad that dog owners who know their dogs 'have a problem' continue to persist in letting them off the lead. Within the last 2 months, I had a bad incident with a rottweiler. Whilst out walking my dogs, I met a couple with a terrier, the terrier came up and said hello to both my dogs - growled then went to pitch into my dobermann ( I shouted at him and he turned tail). What I didn't know was that down a 6ft bank in the stream was a rottweiler, who, when he heard the terrier growl, came up over the bank (I had never seen a dog move so fast) - I literally had to put myself between him and my 2 dogs who were behind me as I didn't know what he was going to do. His teeth were bared and I ended up smashing my walking stick into one side of his jaw (the top has a 3 inch lead casing) - the impact from the metal casing broke a number of his teeth and the impact of what had happened stopped him in his tracks. Now I am not a violent person, infact I do not condone violence of any type, but on this occasion when a must for self defence came into play, I had no choice - it was either I got bit or one, or both, of my dogs suffered serious injuries. The owners of course completely lost it and called me all the names they could and said they were going to take me to court for causing harm to their dog. I turned round and said I was going straight to the police to report they had a dangerous dog (which I did) and they said that the rottweiler acted they way he did to protect the terrier ..... so he obviously had a problem they had never addressed. Consequently, after filing a complaint I found out that several other dog walkers in the same area, have come forward to make complaints of the same incident - the owners are being taken to court in the next month or so. I don't know what I would have done, had I not been carrying the stick.