I couldnt think of a better title sorry...

When i was a wee slip of a girl the fad dogs of the day were the GSD and Rotty. Over time i know all breeds have become fads but they
have never really lasted as long as the Staff.
Does anyone have any opinions on
a) why the Staffy has continued to be the dog of the day? apart from cost of feeding maybe why the staff as opposed to another bull breed or guarding breed?
b) can anyone see the day when the fad will change and what would you think the new "in dog" will be? Do you think they will be phased out y a different type of status dog or do you think they are here to stay?

Very good question and no idea!  I think the reason they were latched onto is their whole package - small size so economical; easier to handle because of size; easily trained; good with people; the right 'look' for the wrong people.

All of that makes an ideal status dog I think - the small size would make them easier to handle while aggressive and for separating fighting dogs :-(

As to how long they'll go on - I think the idiots have tried to adopt other status breeds - I think akitas and DDBs among others had a bit of a go there but I would imagine that if they did kick off they'd be very hard to handle being large and powerful.  I think the staffy just fits the bill for what the yobs want which these days, seems to be primarily a weapon :-(

IMO i think that the staffy has continued to be the fad dog , as they are very overbred and the average price for a unregistered puppy can be as little as £150. I think that staffies will always be very popular, but more and more i see the bigger dog breeds becoming the new fad.

I have two DDBs and when i first got one there weren't that many of them in my local area but in just a year, there are more around and often with young teenage lads.

Since then, the amount of dogue's being put into the rescues has gone up considerably and the amount of unregistered puppies is on the rise. Just browsing throught the free ad sites, shows the amount of adverts of people offering their dogs up for stud. Sadly in my opinion, i think the DDB may be the new "in dog" :( , so sad to see though.

I think the answer lies in the fact that they look very tough but are relatively easy to handle in that they are very good with people and very biddable and trainable.
Other tough/impressive looking breeds like the Akita or Rottie have a strong guard instinct which I think makes them more of a challenge to train and to live with. I see so many staffs being really yanked around by stupid, ignorant owners; some even being belted hard with a lead or kicked. The dogs just seem to take it- part of the stoicism bred into them, I suppose. Can't see many other breeds with the same physical power readily taking the abuse that is so often served up to the staff.

Bull Terriers seem to be the in thing around here, I know of 7 on our estate alone all being walked with gangs of lads.

My next door neighbours have one and so does their daughter,they have had several rotties which were never allowed in the house so I thought when they got the smaller breed things would change, they didn't he sleeps outside in all weathers and is restricted to a small area at the side of the house and one walk a day if the weather is OK.

Fashion dictates!

Plus avalability and cost.

When I was a slip of a lass it was toy/miniature poodles :-)
Every high street had a poodle parlour and most middle class ladies aspired to having one.

At the time it was common for breeders of other breeds to keep a couple to make money with...just like they do now with cavaliers :-(

unfortunatly I think the staffie will remain number one abused fad dog for a long while to come. main reason is their sweet loyal nature to their owners- most other breeds abused in such ways would turn on their owners but not the poor staffie.

Hopefully as the generation who are so keen on SBT's now grow up and out of swaggering about and hanging around on street corners like a bad smell, the fad for Staffies will die out and leave the breed to people who truely love them for what they are, and not as an extension of their dangly bits.