I will be the first to admit that a Stafford was not my ideal dog given the publicity surrounding the breed. Who would want a dog that is viscous, destructive and violent?
Having recently brought a house me and my partner decided to go to Sunny Side boarding kennels near Wolverhampton (which I fully recommend) to have a look for a dog.
Staffords were over populating the kennels, there were all ages. A sad sight for anybody. However only a few cages in and we found the dog we wanted, in fact I think he picked us, but yes a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, estimated at 6 months old.
Taking him outside was not a problem, greeted with a huge dog smile and out faced covered in slobber, we knew this was the one.
Both sets of parents had 2 different types of dogs. One a Munsterlander and the other a Lowchen, one bigger and one smaller. Sunny Side allowed us to get all of the dogs together to see how they reacted. There were had no issues.
Skipping a few weeks forward my partner decided to walk him over a quiet local grassy area. Having had no issues around other dogs she decided to let him off the lead. Another smaller dog was also off his lead but was a distance away. However, this Jack Russel cross soon came sprinting over to have a growl. My Stafford didn't react, as soon as his back was turned there was an almighty grown as the Jack Russel was clining on to my Staffords ear, yet he didn't react. We got the dogs clear and did the necessarily things to clean the dog up.
Shortly after, walking my Stafford along the river (on a lead) I could see a family up ahead so made his lead smaller. He had never been around children whilst in our company so I was unsure how he'd react. The 2 other dogs with this family approached us. The Labrador came, sniffed and allowed me to stroke him, my Stafford didn't react. However then the other dog, I could'n't recognize his breed, as I went to stroke him I was shown a full set of teeth, my Stafford didn't appreciate and stood up and growled back. Having researched this act further, smaller dogs often suffer with little big dog syndrome. Similar to little big man syndrome in humans. Smaller dogs tend to do this to warn other dogs they will not give up easy.
Okay then moving on to Wales, bearing in mind he is still a pup (around 10 months). We were walking him around a market when Scottish Terrier decided to show a full set of teeth. My Stafford, decided to wag his tail and sounded his playful yap. So we moved on.
Now we are walking around a fielded area where a Border Collie approached my Stafford and decided to show aggressive tendencies.
All of the dogs mentioned above we all looked after by 'respectable middle aged' owners.
The next day we were walking around another busy market when from behind we heard a growl from behind, the dog turned and it was another Staffordshire Terrier, unlike the owners of previous dogs these looked more (trying to find a word not to offend) . . ...
My Stafford turned, tail wagging until he saw the teeth of the other Stafford, an older, much more 'experienced' dog. We got one growl from him and wanted to walk away. A comment from an older person 'typical staffies' was not appreciated by either owners, and the other owner soon made his opinion know, in front of his young child. Walking off we heard the other Stafford have another growl at a number of other dogs.
During my Staffords first camping tip, meeting new people, having to adapt to new surroundings we did encounter the above problems but a highlight was the way he reacted around children, Ages 2, 4 and 5. The allowed them to tap him, stroke him, he never opened his month (except to lick there hands) and didn't jump up. This was his real first encounter with children. He even acted the same once he was tiered.
We gained some important information that day from a Crufts eligible trainer / breeder, I would like to share it with you.
''If a person was to miss-treat another person over a period of time, they to will become aggressive''.
''A dogs only defense is his mouth, a dogs was to show he cares is his mouth, and the way a dog plays is with his mouth''.
''Remember a Staffordshire Bull Terrier is called a Nanny dog and yes they are exceptional with children, but remember one thing. They were bread for fighting, you can't remove that instinct from them''.
Shortly after, walking my Stafford along the river (on a lead) I could see a family up ahead so made his lead smaller. He had never been around children whilst in our company so I was unsure how he'd react. The 2 other dogs with this family approached us. The Labrador came, sniffed and allowed me to stroke him, my Stafford didn't react. However then the other dog, I could'n't recognize his breed, as I went to stroke him I was shown a full set of teeth, my Stafford didn't appreciate and stood up and growled back. Having researched this act further, smaller dogs often suffer with little big dog syndrome. Similar to little big man syndrome in humans. Smaller dogs tend to do this to warn other dogs they will not give up easy.
Okay then moving on to Wales, bearing in mind he is still a pup (around 10 months). We were walking him around a market when Scottish Terrier decided to show a full set of teeth. My Stafford, decided to wag his tail and sounded his playful yap. So we moved on.
Now we are walking around a fielded area where a Border Collie approached my Stafford and decided to show aggressive tendencies.
All of the dogs mentioned above we all looked after by 'respectable middle aged' owners.
The next day we were walking around another busy market when from behind we heard a growl from behind, the dog turned and it was another Staffordshire Terrier, unlike the owners of previous dogs these looked more (trying to find a word not to offend) . . ...
My Stafford turned, tail wagging until he saw the teeth of the other Stafford, an older, much more 'experienced' dog. We got one growl from him and wanted to walk away. A comment from an older person 'typical staffies' was not appreciated by either owners, and the other owner soon made his opinion know, in front of his young child. Walking off we heard the other Stafford have another growl at a number of other dogs.
During my Staffords first camping tip, meeting new people, having to adapt to new surroundings we did encounter the above problems but a highlight was the way he reacted around children, Ages 2, 4 and 5. The allowed them to tap him, stroke him, he never opened his month (except to lick there hands) and didn't jump up. This was his real first encounter with children. He even acted the same once he was tiered.
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| Bruno's Camping Experience |
We gained some important information that day from a Crufts eligible trainer / breeder, I would like to share it with you.
''If a person was to miss-treat another person over a period of time, they to will become aggressive''.
''A dogs only defense is his mouth, a dogs was to show he cares is his mouth, and the way a dog plays is with his mouth''.
''Remember a Staffordshire Bull Terrier is called a Nanny dog and yes they are exceptional with children, but remember one thing. They were bread for fighting, you can't remove that instinct from them''.
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