Should Staffordshire Bull Terriers Be Put On The "dangerous Dogs" List And Be Banned?

[RATTER15]

Personally, I would say "no" at this point in time, but due to the type of people owning them and the status now attached to these dogs I thing the breed is going down a very rocky road indeed.

What used to known as the Nanny dog for its gentle and protective nature is now a dog that people will cross the road to avoid.

Just yesterday, a young girl of about 9 was holding a beautiful blue staffie outside a shop, the dog was well behaved, no problem. As we approached with our three wolfhounds the staffie looked excited and clearly wanted to play with our hounds. The girl was now struggling a little to hold the dog back, she asked if our dogs liked other dogs? Yes they do I replied, but if things get out of hand it would be impossible to separate them. I think the girl was rather put out by this comment.

The problem I saw, Staffies can be quite "dog aggressive" this dog showed no signs of this, however!, if something switched in that dogs head and decided to "have a go" it would be a very difficult and unpleasant situation indeed.

I am 100% sure that my hounds would not have started trouble, however, they would protect me and Carakeel with their life.

The breed is known for their very gentle ways and very, very rarely will you hear of a Wolfhound being nasty, I have never heard of it myself!

I just had visions of this young girl being dragged around by this Staffie weighing about the same as her and getting caught up in a situation that could have resulted in her getting seriously hurt.

I was holding 3 Wolfhounds a total weight exceeding 30 stones. It would have been bedlam!!

We meet other breeds every day of the week and we just stroll on by without an issue, but a young child in charge of a Staffie in public is a very bad situation just waiting to happen!


I have been doing a little research on Staffies and I can see this breed going exactly the same way as Pit Bulls, more down to the owners, but the breeding and the biting characteristics of this breed is just a nightmare in the making.


https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=staffordshire+bull+terrier+attacks

[Tilly2]

'more down to the owners,'

[ummmm]

Well, my dad had a staffie and I wouldn't let my children round her. She was a nice dog (he inherited her from my brother) but she could lock her jaws. I was taking no risks.

I watched her jump up to a tree and she swang from a branch just by her mouth.

She was very nice to the tortoise though.

[RATTER15]

Yes Tilly, I agree. However not all, is down to the owner, it is an inbuilt trait. Its a bit like training a collie not to heard, it is instinctive, yes it can be trained not to but you can never guarantee it.

Even if it is"down to the owners" how do we keep people safe from these attacks, we cant stop the "bad owners" from breeding, and seeing some of them, it would be worth considering!

I love the breed myself, just not a breed I would want.

It is now a breed that is getting a very bad name because some owners are honing in on a breed with the capacity to fight and look ferocious.

I see you have a lovely looking Staffie. This is not a a post about making staffies look bad, it is more about irresponsible Staffie owners and the bad reputation they are getting, and I am sure you see this problem as well?

[Chipchopper]

I've often thought that scrapping the dog licence was a big mistake.
At present there are no controls about, who can keep a dog.

[RATTER15]

Chipchopper, the dog license "as was" was no kind of control, anybody could just go to the post office and buy one for a very small amount regardless of anything, you didnt even need a dog!

[Tilly2]

One of the main traits of pure bred Staffies is to have no aggression towards humans. Another one is to go for the nose (of the other dog) and hang on.

You bit of research is rather one sided, Ratter.

[RATTER15]

Tilly, "Another one is to go for the nose (of the other dog) and hang on."

Well thats Ok, then, so you feel that is a good point.

My argument is not at all one sided, I have stated that I like the breed, and that as you stated it is "more about the owners) I understand that you want to defend the breed, you own one of them but the facts are very plain, do the research and see how many people have been attacked and see the appalling injuries that they have inflicted.

Please point out to me what I have said that is incorrect.

[RATTER15]

//One of the main traits of pure bred Staffies is to have no aggression towards humans.//

I said: //The problem I saw, Staffies can be quite "dog aggressive" this dog showed no signs of this, however!//

The problem is, many people get badly injured when trying to break up these dog fights.

[Tilly2]

Ratter, I didn't say that hanging on was good. I just said it was a trait.

I didn't say your argument was one sided, either. I said your research was. Typing in 'Staffordshire bull terrier attacks' is only going to give you negative results.

Got to go now. To see a man about a dog. Bye!

[Togo]

Ratters.You point out that the girl was holding a Staffie that weighed nearly as much as herself. You also say that you had 3 Wolfhounds that had a combined weight of perhaps 30 stone. If the girl was in peril of being overpowered by her dog so were you. Is it wise to take 3 such dogs out in public on your own, with no chance of controlling them in the advent of something startling or frightening them. You would appear to have no more control than the girl in such a circumstance.

[Dee Sa]

I love staffies they make great family pets if treated with love and affection, I live in "Staffyland" i.e. Dagenham, Essex, I had a rescue Staffyy/Shar Pei cross Minnie who had been treated so very badly we had her for 12years she died from stomach cancer and she was the most obedient good natured dog I have ever owned & we loved her.

[mikey4444]

Once we start to ban certains types of dogs and not others, we are on a rocky slope. Staffies are by no means the only dogs that can kill and maim. To single them out Ratter, is just a knee jerk reaction.

In the case you have mentioned, the owners of the dog are to blame, for leaving such a potentially powerful dog in the sole charge of a young girl.

[RATTER15]

Yes Tilly, I that is what I wanted information about 'Staffordshire bull terrier attacks' I know how cute and well behaved they can be. I was researching the other side of the breed and the dangers of meeting them in the street and the possibilities of problems arising.

Please dont think I am attacking all Staffie owners, I am totally behind Staffies and their responsible owners, this post is about the future problems I envisage the breed going through. If you read my posts with both eyes open, you may see that I am on your side.

I would like to see another category to the dangerous dog act and have introduce a licensing scheme where such dogs could only be owned by people that have gone through a specific training programme and are licensed to keep such dogs.

This would drastically reduce the unemployed teens and youngsters keeping these dogs that have no idea of how to keep a dog, let alone a potentially dangerous dog, and then to have compulsory insurance for them.

[RATTER15]

Togo, I appreciate what you are saying, the difference being, my hounds are very well trained, and the breed itself will avoid trouble whenever it can. I have no problem controlling them, they would only get involved if they were attacked or if we were attacked.

Do your own research and see how incidents you can find of Dangerous Irish Wolfhounds.

[Baldric]

///This is not a a post about making staffies look bad,///

Could've fooled me!

///Should Staffordshire Bull Terriers Be Put On The "dangerous Dogs" List And Be Banned?///

///do the research and see how many people have been attacked and see the appalling injuries that they have inflicted.///

///The problem is, many people get badly injured when trying to break up these dog fights.///

Perhaps if you had Googled 'Staffordshire Bull Terrier'
without the word 'Attacks' on the end you might just have appeared less biased!

[woofgang]

Ban them and the people who want a "hard" dog will turn to another breed. There is enough confusion already over dog breed legislation and its implementation. Dogs are seized because of what they look like regardless of their behaviour. DNA tests on dogs are iffy at best.
One police "expert" on dog breed identification has said that because Pit bulls are immune to pain, if you press hard between a dog's claws, on the web, and it doesn't react then its a pit bull....I mean What The Funicular? Of course if it does react then its a dangerous dog. Its the Morton's Fork of modern day policing

"I am 100% sure that my hounds would not have started trouble, however, they would protect me and Carakeel with their life." And you are also sure that they would never misunderstand a situation and attack without good reason?

I do agree with you that children should never be left alone with dogs, let alone in charge of ANY dog whether in public or in private but that's not a good reason for banning a breed.

Sorry RATTER, but you are on a hobby horse here and riding it nowhere.

[woofgang]

Thank you Baldric, more good sense.

[RATTER15]

//Is it wise to take 3 such dogs out in public on your own, with no chance of controlling them in the advent of something startling or frightening them.//

These hounds are also used for Animal Assisted Therapy, they are trained not to react to anything that frightens them, so no, this would never happen, we frequently take them to places that may cause issues to keep them highly socialised, we take them to firework displays where they will usually lie down and go to sleep.

We had an example just a couple of weeks ago where in a large crowd a drunk came up from behind and give one of our hounds a really hard slap on her rear, she is a little more nervy than the other two, but she just stepped aside, the look of the other hounds looking at him ensured he didnt attempt the same again! I did give him one or two remarks to show my disapproval of his actions.

[RATTER15]

//Perhaps if you had Googled 'Staffordshire Bull Terrier'
without the word 'Attacks' on the end you might just have appeared less biased!//

I have already answered that one.