MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Talk me out of it...
I think it would suit you down to the ground.
Me too.
Fugly things, get a Staff.
I like staffs but they are way too common up here and seem to be the scally dog of choice, which is a little unfortunate as they have a cracking temperament. EBs are pretty rare and ugly in a good way. Plus they are great with kids.
I'd worry about staffs now too as they are, in my opinion being overbred due to popularity.
EBs are pretty rare and ugly in a good way.
I have to disagree on this. 😉
I like staffs but they are way too common up here and seem to be the scaly dog of choice,
That's unfortunate because they're ace.
the scally dog of choice
+
don simon
😆
Won't someone please think of the children™?
DS, do you have a staff? Does it ever go riding with you?
EBs are good looking when young then get uglier.
Sandwich - MemberWon't someone please think of the children™?
[url= http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/breeds/display.aspx?id=3080 ]Why?[/url]
@Loddrik, yes and no. She has more breathing problems than me.
[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/5395746764_bbd5b7db35.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/think180/5395746764/ ]snow 280111 006[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/think180/ ]simoncarter.es[/url], on Flickr
the rescue centres are jam packed with the chavs favourite, poor things. maybe think about rescuing a staffie?
get one,their great dogs 🙂
I would have but I have two small kids and two Siamese cats so it'd need to be socialised from a puppy. Couldn't take the risk with a dog whose history I didn't know.
Ben, the rescue staffie
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Thomas and nasty, two alive Siamese cats
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Ben loves the cats,he even sleeps with them 😉
He also let's Henry pick on him,
Henry is a toy poodle and half the size of the cats
Henry
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this is way better and will satisfy any tough guy/Bill Sykes/patriotic aspirations you may be subconcsiously harbouring
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It doesn't really matter what breed you get, just make sure you get a proper pedigree or a full-scale mongrel. There are loads of ads around for dogs for a couple of hundred quid that aren't pure pedigree, usually "both parents can be seen". These are the dogs most likely to have health problems. My wife's friend turned up for a walk with her "bargain" Staffy pup last week, its rear legs/hips are all over the place and it tried to attack a massive labrador that just wandered over to say hello.
For god's sakes man don't buy from a breeder. Just Google rescue centres there's loads of dogs out there looking for a home.
we got this american staff terrier mix{she was a stray from Mexico}last week, she's a fantastic dog and hasn't done a thing in the house, she has a bit of an aggressive streak on the lead so we have a trainer coming round to help us, we wanted to give a dog a home but prefered ones that had been in a foster home to ones in cages as then you know what your getting a bit more
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My mate had one from a pup,great with kids but dumb as F*&^.Oh & his kids thought it looked like a pig when it was a pup so called him that,which ended up as his name because it was the only one it would come back to when out on a walk 😆
For god's sakes man don't buy from a breeder. Just Google rescue centres there's loads of dogs out there looking for a home.
As I mentioned above, I can only really look at a young pup as I have two young kids so cannot take any risks with temperament. If it were just me I'd happily have considered it.
loddrik, get yourself a labrador, brilliant dogs and good for family especially if you have 2 young kids.
My father had a friend who lived in India some decades ago and had a house with a veranda looking out to the jungle.
One day his baby was in the cot on the veranda and a tiger came out and was about to take her from the cot, when his EB came round the corner and promptly committed suicide attacking the tiger, who ended up going back into the jungle with half a face left.
loddrik, get yourself a labrador, brilliant dogs and good for family especially if you have 2 young kids.
Why not a Staff? I'd rather have a Staff with kids than a labrador.
I think I want to get an English bull terrier..
Strange, those two are mutually exclusive
I like English bull terriers, bloody ugly but cute at the same time. Seem good with people too. If I remember rightly though I think they do have a few health problems as a breed. Obviously they don't all gave illnesses but its worth researching.
I'd get one, or maybe a Ridgeback
Pugs are ace little things too, but you won't look as ard 😉
+1 Don simon.
Big staffie lover here,used to show mine,miss him sooo much 🙁 showing took up most of my time at one point,met some great people and breeders,and some real quality dogs on the scene,
i would'nt have anything else to be honest other than a staff,
do love all the bull breeds though,nowt wrong with wanting a english bull,
overall staffs are the nanny dog with kids over the other bull breeds,soooo good with kids.
Apparently, I read somewhere last week, the Staff is the only dog recommended by the Kennel Club for homes with children, which is why I'd like to hear from matchstick. 😉
I'm sure EBT are lovely dogs but it's the only breed of dog which puts the fear of god in me. My landlord has one, it's a monster of a thing, biggest one i've seen, scares the c**p out of me.
Did someone mention ridgeback ?[IMG] 
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Also like english bull terriers.As said above very cute in a ugly type way.Very headstrong though,not a good idea to get one if your a first time dog owner.
Some great comments in that article. 🙄
Nah, what you really want is a Bedlington Terrier.
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Laid back for a terrier, non-shedding, great with our 4 and 6 yr old and all-round hilarious...
Some great comments in that article.
Couldn't have agreed more with some of them.
I do not agree that Staffies are not dangerous dogs. I have two Jack Russells and walk them twice a day. The only dogs which have attacked them without provocation or advance warning are Staffies. In our local park a Staffie has recently attacked children playing football, one of them so badly he needed stitches. Staffies may be good dogs at heart, but because of their strength if they are not trained properly they get out of control and then become dangerous.
Soline Druffin, London
?
Soline Druffin...my alter ego. Let's be fair though, she's only telling it like it is. Bloody nutcase dogs.
Had staffordshire bull terriers (SBT) around me for 40 years. I have one (Sky), sisters both have one, mum has two. Never any problems.
Brilliant with Kids, especially the bitches, due to their stoic and placcid nature and high nuture instinct. Not nicknamed the nanny dog for nothing. Ironic given the chav trophy dog thing and a good reason why so many end up in rescue.
I agree though that they are getting overbred, and also WTF is happening to their size. An SBT should be about the size of a springer spaniel (without the hair). Certainly not more than 18-20kgs. Have seen some around that are 25kgs +.
BTW my sisters previous dog Poppy is the reason for the L-2-HGA DNA test given to all pups now, as she was the first dog diagnosed at Newmarket with the condition.
Anyway heres Sky, my 6 yr old rescue (currently downstairs crashed out after nailing Whytes Level at Afan today 😆 )
[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5124/5313626259_759a0d016d.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/23986078@N05/5313626259/ ]P1000648[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/23986078@N05/ ]carlos_fandango[/url], on Flickr
Even with kids I'd still recommend a rescue dog, again particularly a neutered bitch under 2 years.
English bull terriers (EBTs) are a lot madder (and more overbred). Will eat any object lying around and regularly need their stomach opened. For inspiration check out the art work of Ray Richardson. I have a print of this:
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Are staffies dangerous? Well a couple of observations here!
"Staffordshire bull terrier" is a term use to describe a very wide range of dogs from overbred pedigrees to pitbulls.
SBTs do attract bad owners due to the child eating image.
A poorly trained SBT is worse than other breeds for sure because of their strength.
Because of all this SBTs attract a bad press.
Having said all that, there really is only one destination for any dog that is persistantly agressive to other dogs let alone people. I was musing on this with my Barber the other day, also a long time SBT owner and we agreed that due to all the crap thats happened with the breed and image it would be no bad thing if the whole breed were nuetered and allowed to die out 🙁
Don Simon my comment was very much tongue in cheek as I have a rather bouncy Dalmatian who is learning to be a respectable member of society. No cat is safe in our back garden though and that's the way it's going to stay as it's bad enough pooh picking after him.
Slight update on this, the wife now says if we get one it would have to be a SBT as EBTs are too big. I'd still hope for an EBT but she'll probably pull rank on me... 🙁
Could I take a SBT out on a 12-15 mile ride, not too high tempo, and he'd still be standing at the end of it?
No problem sandwich, but folks can misunderstand the truth about the Staffy. 😉
Loddrick, shouldn't be a problem if you get a good one, my last Staffy would run and run and run and run and run and run and run and run and run. Current one a lot less so.
Sky did ok on Whytes today. Overtook me on the all the climbs and the black bit 🙄 She happily (when not overtaking) tucks in behind my back wheel. Distance wise Whytes is 17kms and she was pretty unfit when I got her 7 months ago (couldn't run more than 200 metres without limping).
So long as you dont really start before the dog is a couple of years old it should be ok for that distance. Shortish legs dont make for a distance dog 😀
And pm me if want to talk through anything when getting one
English bull terriers (EBTs) are a lot madder (and more overbred). Will eat any object lying around and regularly need their stomach opened. For inspiration check out the art work of Ray Richardson. I have a print of this:
Oh really?
I've had my rescue EBT (cross) for 9 years and he's not needed his stomach opened once. He's never chewed a thing in the house that wasn't given to him. A cracking dog and very loving (on the verge of soppy), loves everyone and everyone loves him. Except cats, he hates cats.
I love English bull terriers 😀 They're so cute in a weird ugly kind of way.
the wife now says if we get one it would have to be a SBT as EBTs are too big
you could get a miniature EBT:
http://www.dogencyclopedia.org/Miniature%20Bull%20Terrier.htm
I have had two Staffs one was a pedigree that had an umbilical hernia, so couldnt be shown, the stupidest dog of all time but with a loving heart. My second one was a rescue, found running around Newport bus station,the brightest dog I have ever seen. He ate a washing machine 😯 literally.
EBT in my opinion are a bit twitchy, we had one living near us that was barking in a bad way, if me and Badger were walking we would go the other way if we saw it.
Badger was a tall Staff very strong but not overly muscley, asked the vet about this and she said that was how they looked 100 years ago, the massive musculature has been bred into them.
Badger loved everything except squirels, no idea why ignored rabbits etc
Yep dont exercise a staff until its over 2 years old,
there's alot more cross staffies out there than pedigrees.
and some massive looking things 😯
breed standard 16-18"
Got a staffy, brilliant dog, 21 months old and really starting to fill out, magic dogs, must say I too have a soft spot for the EBT, looks only a mother could love 🙂
I've never met an aggressive staffie. Had a friend whose parents had four of them, and a family friend had one too. My brother now has one from a rescue home. Every single one of them have been soft as anything - great around kids, very gentle, and usually very friendly to other dogs. It's a shame they're getting such a bad rep.
I like English Bull Terriers too, they're cute in an ugly sort of way!
We don't have a dog but if we did it would be an EBT or SBT , I'm a postie and all the bull breeds I meet seem to be quite friendly. Strange as it might seem it's your traditional family dogs (collie's and labradors) that always seem to be the most aggresive
Collies can be nasty - they are pastoral dogs so will protect. I like them for their intelligence but not sure I wouldn't have one as a family pet. They are bred to be well mentally and physically exercised. But they are very useful animals to have around, particularly on the farm due to their intelligence and ferocious streak.
tbh if it was a 'pet' I wanted I would go with a heinz 57 and get one made up of dogs I want bits of and I would get one from a rescue centre so I can save a dog and see what it is like fully grown to make sure it will fit in with what I want. My reasoning for the cross breed is robustness. I hate over-breeding but we do have a springer. They have their problems but a lot less than other breeds but they are the type of dog we want for things we want to do with it (shoot, scurry and mountain bike).
we do have a springer
been bitten by one of them!
i don't dislike them though, one of my best mates(lol , now my bro' in law) has had them since he was 9 years old and they've all been fine.
14-16" breed standard height, not what i said earlier 🙄