I know that this topic has the potential to blow up into something ugly, but I seriously do not want it to. In light of the recent attack on a toddler by another Staffy, though, I would love a calm response from a Staffy owner/defender to a question I have.

I had a friend that once owned a staffie, and she would get quite offended if anyone asked her if it didn’t ever make her nervous, or if they, as a visitor, had anything to be afraid of. And that is a response I often get from responsible staffie owners.

Fair enough.

Except that, in light of *statistics that show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when it comes to staffies, their propensity to attack is no simply a result of irresponsible ownership, I wonder how they can continue to be defended, and how they continue to be so popular here in Britain. Indeed, at the seaside today, I could not believe the number of staffies there were compared to other breeds.

So, quite seriously, why should people still be allowed to own them?

*These statistics:

Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, U.S. & Canada,
September 1982 to December 26, 2011

By compiling U.S. and Canadian press accounts between 1982 and 2011, Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People, shows the breeds most responsible for serious injury and death.
The combination of pit bulls, rottweilers, their close mixes and wolf hybrids:

77% of attacks that induce bodily harm
73% of attacks to children
81% of attack to adults
68% of attacks that result in fatalities
76% that result in maiming

Read study highlights »
Report: U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities January 2006
to December 2008

A 2009 report issued by DogsBite.org shows that 19 dog breeds contributed to 88 deaths in a recent 3-year period. Pit bulls accounted for 59% followed by rottweilers with 14%.

Of the 88 fatal dog attacks recorded by DogsBite.org, pit bull type dogs were responsible for 59% (52). This is equivalent to a pit bull killing a U.S. citizen every 21 days during this 3-year period.
The data also shows that pit bulls commit the vast majority of off-property attacks that result in death. Only 18% (16) of the attacks occurred off owner property, yet pit bulls were responsible for 81% (13).

EDIT: incorrect dog name used in topic name

Us dog stats are not relevant. We don’t have pit bulls here (no, staffies aren’t pit bulls)

Whole lot of stats there mate but theres no such breed as a Staffordshire pit bull terrier.

Pit bulls are very different from staffies. Even visually it’s usually pretty obvious which is which

Remember a lot of people will call their Staffy a Staffy simply to get around the dangerous dogs act.
Staffy’s are no more dangerous than any other breed.
My 35kg Staffy was strong.
The ownership of Staffies needs greater control.
They are beautiful and intelligent animals that strive to please their owners.
Please don’t make the mistake of confusing other dogs with Staffies.
EDIT: Before cutting and pasting some random statistics, could at least make the effort of getting to know a few Staffordshire Bull Terriers, please?

You’ve quoted statistics for dogs you dont/cant have in the uk.
Staffys can be/are lovely pets, problem is, some of the owners are idiots who shouldn’t be allowed a dog.

You’ve quoted statistics for dogs you dont/cant have in the uk.
Staffys can be/are lovely pets, problem is, some of the owners are idiots who shouldn’t be allowed a dog.

Question answered. Sorry about the confusion, but this article from the Independent excuses me somewhat!

Never believe a journalist.
Some just write whats needed to sell papers.

From the dogs Ive seen at dog school whilst trying to train our mongrel, the staffs seem to be consistently the most naturally biddable and easy to train. Even very small pups seem to be absolutely focussed on their owner. Great dogs, shame they pay such a high price for their reputation.

Having read the article, I think the problem is more a question of prohibition. These gangs exist and will fight with whatever weapon comes to hand. Guns are realatively easy to control, knives become the weapon of choice until they are banned. Cue the next level, dogs.
What will be the next weapon of choice after we’ve banned the Staffordshire Bull Terrier?
Neither the gun, the knife or the Staffy are the problem, something else is.
Resolve that and baby robins will be saved.

Your 35kg Staffy is either grossly overweight or not a true Staffy. Breed standards suggest males come in at 13-17kg.

I love Staffs and rarely worry about getting bitten by them but I think a large part of the problem is cross breeding for these larger pit bull types and irresponsible or deliberately bad owners. They do also have a tendency for dog/dog aggression too which causes many problems.

The problem arises when one of these large Staffy crosses does attack the results are scary. Some dogs that bite like collies etc usually nip and run. Staffs however launch and attack. When 1 goes for you it means to do you real harm. Similarly Akitas are also bad when they go for you.

Breed them back to the true standards and the problem would lessen. partly because they wouldn’t appeal to the same people. Most Staffies are loveable fools who are great pets

My cycling partner was attacked by a Westy Terrier as we rode (very slowly) past it the other day. I’ve witnessed far more attacks from those ‘orrible hairy things and am personally far more nervous of them over Staffs when approaching.

Staffs are 99% of the time immensely friendly and live to make their owners and anyone in close contact happy.
However, their ‘look’ attracts thug life types, who would frankly turn any dog into a dangerous weapon given the opportunity.

The only problem with Staffs is that they are very strong, so if one ever does turn, it does damage.

I’ve personally been bitten by an Alsation, a Golden Retriever, a couple of Westy’s and Yorkie’s, but never a Staff…but i’ve probably met 3x the amount of staffs.

It’s all hype.

35kg for a Staffy? Thats not a staffy. However I will concede it may be a lovely dog.

Staffys are inexorably linked via their “bull” name. Many many dogs if not all have a potential to be dangerous. However my personal feeling is that its the owners that raise dangerous dogs wether that is through lack of knowledge and understanding about their specific dogs breed needs or just stupidity.

Its hard work being a dog owner and a huge responsibilty. Unfortunately not everyone sees it as such a serious undertaking.

I notice that you reference various breeds in the stats however there is not a realistic statistical breakdown in the US statistics, its rather a generalisation.

My GF has owned a fantastic staffy for 13 years. Such a sweet dog.

Seen loads of them similar.

However people can cross a solid dog like that with something else and then train it to attack/fight/hate.

People cause the problem not the dogs. However the Dogs suffer.

In respect to stats on that basis cars need banned. Again car not the problem it’s the driver.

Boiling it down to human responsibility for their actions (or lack of)

Even taking all the above well reasoned arguments into account, I woud still ban them. Just too many thug owners, I have seen them being trained to be aggresive in my local park. All the staffie ‘lover’ would just have to get a budgie

Even taking all the above well reasoned arguments into account, I woud still ban the idiots that own them. Just too many thug owners, I have seen them[u]the idiot thugs[/u] being trained to be aggresive in my local park.

A runaway staffy came through a gap in the fence yesterday when the kids were playing outside. Terrified both me and the kids, scooped em up and got them into the back garden ASAP. I gave the owner a bollocking for scaring us all… Like she gave a shit. Nice dogs maybe but how are we supposed to know if it’s been trained as a babysitter dog or a side weapon? I dont want to sound all daily mail, but would happily see all strong dogs banned.

Anyone who wants to meet a true Staffie is more than welcome to come visit me and mine whilst in South Wales, gog her as a stray/unwanted dog 4 years ago from the kennels and admittedly she was bonkers to start with, and still is actually but in a good way, like any dog it is about asserting yourself as a pack leader. However I would never leave her unattended with a child, but the I don’t think that any dog should be left unattended with a child, but that is just my opinion. I confess I was never a fan of the breed before owning one but I can safely say that my mind has been changed. Now if we could only do something about the idiots that own then as status symbols. Remember guns don’t kill people….

They’re on the same list as rotties in my head. Can be lovely dogs, can be out of control nut jobs. The problem being that when you meet a new one you don’t know which one you’re dealing with. Not helped by having their tails cut-off making it that bit more difficult to determine what mood they’re in.

Great with people.
Shit with other dogs.

I dont want to sound all daily mail, but would happily see all strong dogs banned.

A supporter at last, if you want all strong dogs banned I’m quite sure that you’ll agree with me that all children should be banned from bars, restaurants and should be under control (on a lead) in other public spaces.
I see the a promising start to this campaign.

My old Staffy was 27kilos he was very tall and rangy. I asked the vet about it and she said he was a throwback to what a Staffy looked like 100 years ago. I can believe that Don Simons pup was a big one. This was also the view of the rescue people who found him. They have shown at Crufts.

You can say what you like about any breed of dogs are West Highland Terriers dangerous, the one that bit me last week was.

Whole lot of stats there mate but theres no such breed as a Staffordshire pit bull terrier.

o I call them Petbulls. Round here there are almost no staffirs but many much larger petbulls.. Even the pitbull though isnt very aggressive towards humans. Its the way people bring them up. Its odd too because if i wanted a dog for protection i’d get a prtection dog like a rottie or german shep or that malanois someone paosted a pic of the other day, not a dog fighting dog.

Darcy my first Staff Caeser was awful with other dogs but the last one Badger was amazing never showed any aggression towards anything apart from squirrels. He had a real thing about squirrels, idiot hound.

Surely the staffie AKA bullterrier was actually bred and intended as a fighting dog?

Hence the hard bite they have.

Banning particular breeds is daft law tho – but jailing owners who allow their dogs to bite might do some good?

Great with people.
Shit with squirrels.

Great with people.
Shit with other dogs.

Entirely to do with the owner and socialising as a pup. Swap the words people and dog round and you have a reason for the extermination of the human race

You can tell a lot about somebody by the dog they own.
Sadly its the idiots that own the staffs who give the breed a bad name.
The breed had a reputation for being excellent around children. It was often nicknamed the nanny dog.
Unfortunatly alot of the idiot owners prefer their dangerous reputation.
They are then bred bigger and away from the KC ideal.

You can tell a lot about somebody by the dog they own.
Sadly its the idiots that own the staffs who give the breed a bad name.

That doesn’t sound quite right. Are you saying that all Staffy owners are idiots? 😛

Banning particular breeds is daft law tho – but jailing owners who allow their dogs to bite might do some good?

😯 I agree with TJ on a dog thread…nooooooooooo!!!!!!! 😯 but he’s right…

Great with people
Shit with TeeJ

 I agree with TJ on a dog thread…nooooooooooo!!!!!!!  but he’s right…

me too!

Entirely to do with the owner and socialising as a pup. 

not really, even a well socialised staffie wont run from a fight, compare staffies with say whippets very different characters which are breed specific.
Read a paper once that showed daschunds as being the most aggressive dog.

staffys are on the whole nice dogs.

people who don’t understand they’re capable are imo stupid. The stupidity and ignorance of some people astounds me.

Personally i’d ban them and the associated ‘status’ dog breeds. Unfortunately I think instances of children being mauled by dogs are set to rise.

I can’t imagine my labradoodle would ever hurt a child, but I would still never leave it in a room with any child less than 6ish. That’s just asking for trouble.

In my experience all dogs reeds can be good dogs or bad dogs. I currently have a staffy called Stan who is loved and therefore loves us. Have never had any cause for concern with him.

However once had a golden cocker spaniel who bit me with no provocation. So I think some people are being truly blinkered. If you take staffs out of the equation then all that will happen is the ‘thugs’ who are the root cause of the problem will find another breed to use, then we can all ban Labradors.

Someone said about knowing whether the dog is trained to be nice when it came in their garden! Well would you automatically assume that any other breed would be ok?

Did anyone see the pictures of these so called staffies??

they wasnt even pitbulls 👿

yest again the staffie name brought into question,
british press **** me right off.

having shown my staffords all over the british isles and was and still is my other hobbie,i would not have any other dog,and they are one of the best dogs out there with kids!

TandemJeremy – Member

Banning particular breeds is daft law tho – but jailing owners who allow their dogs to bite might do some good?

+1

I think I need a shower as I too agree with TJ on a dog thread

I’m standing my ground on wearing a helmet though….one can only go so far….