Hi, I'm looking for a bit of advice from someone who knows their staffys. Myself and partner have moved into our home 4 months ago with our staff Cassie she is coming up to 10. Before moving out we lived with my partner's family so there was always someone in the house but now there is only the two of us and we both work shifts, we are constantly having to get people to come and check on Cassie as we hate her being alone all day. She seems a bit fed up and always wants to play constantly as soon as we come home which is understandable. We hate to think that she's fed up all day whilst we are not here. This is why we were thinking of getting her some company but we don't really know where to start. She's not had much to do with other dogs she seems fine when we take her out with other dogs for walks if they are smaller. We know that we aren't going to be able to just introduce her to a dog and thats it I understand they won't be able to be left alone etc, but basically the main thing we wondered was whether it is best to try and mix her with a young dog of the same breed or a smaller dog of a different breed? Any advice would be much appreciated we just don't want Cassie being fed up and lonely when we're not here. Thanks for your help!

As a breed they are not the most dog tolerant (far from it in many cases, especially same sex) so if she has had little in the way of canine companions/friends I would not inflict one on her now.

TBH if you won't be able to leave her alone with them, and I would be wary if she's not really bothered about dogs, it defeats the point of getting her canine company in the first place.  I would leave things as they are.

I think we all sometimes humanise our dogs too much, I'm just as guilty, and worry about things that they couldn't care less about. She's a mature girl who, from reading your post, has been an only dog all of her life. I find that the bull breeds are quite a lazy lot as they get older ( have lots of experience with a friend's Bull Terriers) and she probably spends a lot of the time when you're out asleep. Do you leave the radio on while you're at work, radio two is the station of choice for my friend's bullies.
My friend's bullies all have to be kept separate in her house as they do turn on each other very quickly and have caused serious damage to each other in the past. I'd carry on as you are,lots of fuss and exercise while you're at home and let her chill out when you're at work.

What does she do when she is let out during the day (bet she is like my friends dobes who I had to turf out of their beds to get them to go out), they acted Like I'd needlessly disturbed their rest.

They got an hours walk before they went to work each day and a similar or shorter walk on their return, until they got aged.

As there's no guarantee having a second dog is going to be accepted by her, especially as she's clearly upset enough with the move and change of circumstances already, I'd give her time to settle down, getting somebody to keep an eye on her during the daytime, rather than bringing a second dog in.   Somebody would have to be there to watch what's going on, initially, in any case and even if she accepts another dog in with her, you could well end up with 2 dogs missing you, not just one.

Is she really missing you, or are you just feeling guilty at being out all the time!!  Another idea, could you drop her off with your partner's family when you are going to be away longer than about 4 hours?

Thanks for your reply! I think that's what we're doing probably over thinking it. Sometimes we leave the tv on but then my other half panics about there being a fire! He's a natural worrier and Cassie is the most important thing in his life (more than me I think :D) I may have to invest in a radio that we can leave on for her and carry on getting family to pop round, they only live at the top of the road so it's not too bad.

Hmm that makes sense. I think we're just both worrying too much and we'd hate to think she's not happy. Up until last year she did have a cat with her and they got on quite well but I think that was a special case I definitely wouldn't introduce another cat to her now. After we moved out his family got a puppy so unfortunately we can't drop her off there but they only live at the top of the road so it's not far for them to nip round and check on her. Thanks for your reply!

Thanks for your reply! She's actually the opposite she's full of energy she always wants to go out in the garden and will quite happily sit out there for an hour running around and barking at the wind bless her! She had a cat with her up until last year and they got on really well but she was a pup when they were introduced and I definitely wouldn't risk another cat. I think we will just have to stick to family popping round and leave a radio on just in case. I only work 3 days a week so at least it's not everyday.

I meant how does she react to the other people who come in when your not there.  I expect her to be ecstatic when you come home LOL but it doesn't' mean she moped when you were not there.

have you thought about making a cd or tape of your voice that you.can play when you are out

I personally would not add another pet. Give her a little more time with the new house and routine.

Nessa

I honestly believe that the only reason to get another dog is because you yourselves want another dog. To get one to stop another dog from being lonely isn't the best of reasons. There are no guarantees that they would get on and if you got a puppy you would certainly need someone else to come in to help out with the puppy as they need a huge amount of attention and interaction.

Most dogs tend to sleep when their owners are out and are naturally pleased to see them when they return. If you are able to have family pop in during the times when you are out I wouldn't worry about her being by herself.

Two of my dogs very rarely interact with each other and if I had got the last one as a companion to the others rather than because I personally wanted another dog I would have been disappointed.

> I honestly believe that the only reason to get another dog is because you yourselves want another dog.

I feel quite strongly about this.  Harley is right.  3 different lots of prospective puppy owners have been refused a pup from me for exactly this reason.  So good point from Harley.  Years ago I delivered a pup just helping someone out.  When I arrived he said to a dog under the kitchen table "Look what I've got for you."  Yet he didn't make any effort to fuss over the puppy.  I left for home with puppy.  I would not have felt happy with that situation.

> Sometimes we leave the tv on but then my other half panics about there being a fire! He's a natural worrier

Me too (worrier).   I only leave the TV on if I know there are no thunderstorms expected in the area.   I use the radio, playing soft classical music.  Re fire, I have a 'we live here' notice alongside the front door and my neighbour knows where our key is, in the event somebody needs to get in.  When I was having to go back to work (we hit one of our 'bad patches) although I couldn't ask my neighbour to come in to deal with my lot, she did have my contact number at work, in the event of some emergency.   I wasn't so much thinking about fire (always possible) but at the time, out in Canada, if the power went out that would mean no heating, or air conditioning, depending on the season.   So I needed to know she could phone me to get home.

I'm the same about the TV!  So at present my guys have youtube running on my PC (indie-folk is their music of choice), until I can locate a very cheap/free hi-fi.  Phoebe has her own system upstairs but it has to stay up there in case of nighttime fireworks/thunder so I need to get another one for the lounge.

I've noticed a lot of people mentioning that getting another dog is a bad idea if you have a staffy or if your staffy hasn't been too social with other dogs, I just want to add to this with my own experience, in which I've noticed this isn't the case. We have a staffy that is 15 years old and HATES other dogs! She can't walk past them in the streets without going crazy (This is due to another dog attacking her before we got her and since then she's hated dogs). But she started to have less to do as she got older and so we thought to ourselves, a young dog would bring her back out of her shell. So we went ahead and got a puppy (She lives with cats and gets on fine with them - Well she's more scared of them than they are of her....) Anyway, we separated the puppy and herself between a baby gate so they could see each other and she didn't even acknowledge the puppy, so we held her and allowed the puppy to walk on by her feet and again, nothing. So we decided to allow them to just wander together and she never cared about the puppy. He's now 6 months old and makes her look tiny! (He's a Staff/Akita) and she gets on so well with him, she's now more energetic, playful and all around a happier dog than she was 12 months ago.

So I wouldn't say go ahead and get another dog etc but don't listen to all the staffys aren't good with dogs and they won't like another dog as company crap, because as much as people think they know about dogs, they don't know all that much, every dog is different and each reacts differently to various situations. If you put the time into getting another dog and train them together then you'll probably find she'll become a totally different and happier dog for the company she's been given.

The main point about the opening post was that the older dog was left on her own while the owners were at work. In your situation do you have long periods of time when your two are left alone together?

Just a thought, you could contact a 'Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue Centre' explain your situation and ask do they have a 10 Year Old Male (Castrated) that would like some female companionship (make 2 dogs 'Happy'). I would imagine the people at 'The Rescue Centre' will help you (make sure both Temperaments are compatible for each other). Cheers.

Please don't try out a puppy or new dog with a 'dog aggressive' individual, it's totally unfair on the newcomer.

Hi Lauren.

From reading your post, I would suggest leaving Cassie as she is.  i.e. a single dog.

And I tend to agree with what a few others have said too - she may need a little longer just to get back into her 'rhythm' with being in a new house etc.

I owned my two Staffords for 10 years +, and although they got on very well, they were always separated when no-one was at home.  Which would defeat the object in your case, of providing company for Cassie.

Another dog could cause more harm than good possibly, and upset the balance you're already getting.

My male Stafford has been without our female Stafford now for 3 years (we sadly lost her to cancer).  He is a single dog again.  He's of a similar age to your Cassie.  And he's absolutely fine with his own company.  Quite happy to mooch around during the day and nap, and then whizz about and play games with us in the evening.

(I should add - I work from my home office, so I am with him during the day.  But that has not always been the case, and he's just as happy whether I'm at home or not).

As a side note - I was very unsure how he would behave with another dog in our home.  Our son arrived home just two weeks ago for a visit with his 12 week old German Shepherd pup.  Chaos ensued!  lol  In a good way.  They got on great.  But I would still not leave them unattended.  Staffords are Staffords.

I hope Cassie settles and you find some harmony :)