I am trying to decide on a dog to buy and have contemplated every breed that there is and have a shortlist of about 6 i really like but only 2 of these that my girlfriend will allow me to have.

One of the 2 i can choose from is a Staffordshire bull terrier. I think they are a lovely dog with a great and fun loving temperament and would like to ask you people a few questions regarding them.

1) How well would they protect my girlfriend if say she was approached by a stranger who wants to harm her.

2) There is a Japanese akita nearby and it attacks almost every dog it walks past, how would a staffie be able to defend itself against something such as that.

Thank you for your time

David

Have to say that it's not a great idea to depend on a dog for protection for your girlfriend. Not sure what kind of area you live in, but please don't train the dog to be an attack dog -- it could result in a dangerous problem. That said, I've read that many people are less likely to attack someone if they have a dog merely because it's more trouble to do so. I have a lab and although he would never hurt someone that attacked me (would be more likely to lick them), I've noticed that people are wary of him simply because he's a dog, and no one knows how a dog can act.

If there's an Akita that attacks dogs, you should really contact the authorities to make sure that this is stopped BEFORE you get a dog. Any dog fight can end up with one or both dogs badly hurt or killed, and I'm sure that's not something you want to be involved in.

Hello

Could you give us the name of the other breed that is in your shortlist of breeds that you would like?

Staffordshire Bull Terriers are lovely dogs , but i do find both questions you asked very strange indeed.

No one can determine how any breed would react , when owners are approached by *Joe Public* Staffordshire Bull Terriers are very people friendly (99% of the time) , and i would be very weary of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that wasnt.

If there was an Akita that attacked any of my dogs whilst out walking them , for no reason , i would do as the other poster stated and report it.

I was raised with Staffordshire Bull Terriers , and the dogs i grew up with never even barked when people came knocking at the door !

HELEN

Thanks for the replies, the other dog on shortlist is a border collie as i wouldn't mind getting into agility and obedience training. I know my questions seem a bit strange but i would like a dog mainly as a companion, but i would also like to think that if someone did attack my girlfriend it would protect her. As for the Akita, it is on a lead all the time but when a dog walks past it it almost kumps on them. I used to walk a corgi for a neighbour a few years ago and it was attacked by a boxer which i had to jump into stop. I said to myself after that, that if i ever got a dog i would get one that could protect itself.

I do NOT want an aggressive dog, or a viscious one, please let me get that straight

Staffies can make good watch dogs but not good "guard" dogs - generally that is. By this I mean if someone knocked at your door the do usually bark but if someone broke in as someone has already said they would probably lick them to death :-)
However, they do love their owners from their hearts so I do not think they would stand by while their owner was being attacked. Ideally your girlfriend would be avoiding places where she was likely to be attacked though
As for defending themselves with other dogs - they could certainly do that BUT WHY would you want to deliberatly put your dog in that position. Surely it would be better to avoid the places the Akita walks or if you see it, cross the road. Responsible staffie owners try hard to make their dogs other dog friendly but having another dog attack it would have the complete opposite result!
Some people want a staff at the end of their lead as a "look at me I am hard" symbol. Do not allow yourself to fall into this catogory - not saying you are but just how your motives could be interpreted :-)

Hi there,
I'm a owner of a 11 month old staffordshire bull terrier and as a companion he's great and very loyal but he's a very people friendly dog and as for barking whilst some one knocks at my door it doesnt happen he just thinks hey another happy person coming to say hello to me!!
though i say this i'm sure he would protect me or my partner if a stranger came up to attack and i know he would'nt start a fight with another dog but if a dog so much as starts barking at him he will go back at it which could really be very frightening you must realise that although staffies are a great loving ..loyal dog they are also very powerfull when put into the wrongs hand and a a big victim of being put into the wrong hands alot of them are used as a status symbol and end up in some very sad and awfull situations so my advice is to think long and hard about taking a staffordshire bull terrier .......staffymad
I'm not saying you are one of these people just mking you aware of what this breed ca be like in the wrong hands..hope this helps..

Most dogs will not, contrary to a lot of popular opinion, naturally protect their owners during attack unless they have been specifically trained to do so. If they have been trained in manwork properly they will NOT restrain the attacker EXCEPT on command. This is a "Lassie" myth.

Also be aware that you could be charged under the DDA if your dog did, for whatever reason, attack, bite etc another person and the dog could be destroyed!

Hi Dave, just read this thread and wonder what your partner's objections to the other 4 breeds on your shortlist are? Does she really want a dog? Choosing a dog also depends on whether the dog would be happy with your lifestyle eg how long would s/he be left alone, how big your home is, whether you have a garden or not, other pets, children in the house /visitng/living near you, how much time you are able to spend caring for the dog etc.Sorry if stating the obvious. Agility and obedience can be done by any breed or cross breeds, not only collies. What age of dog would you prefer, and would a nice mixed breed rescue suit? :)

im sorry, but ive gotta disagree with the post that a dog wouldnt defend its owner..... dogs are pack animals - even in when in a domestic situation and as such would react to an attack on a pack member in the same way as in the wild and defend them.

i thought i had to put my view in even though in real life, i would never expect or walk into any situation with my dog either expecting of allowing the dog to show any ferosity towards people or other animals.... i have an irish staffy - a dog which inherently comes with a bad reputation (totally undeserved) which i will in no way do anything to further.

In reply to the origional post lol (got there eventually) i dont wish to judge you in any way but from your initial questions were stated (whether intended or not) say to me that a smaller, less naturally dominant dog would be a better start. As for the Akita - report it and stay away!

I couldnt agree with Andy more - why go anywhere the Akita . If the dog is that bad report it .
Andy are you the owner of the ISBTand if so how are you both getting on ??
:)
Lel

hi lel yeah, i am the ISBT owner... We are getting on quite well thanks, im actually starting to win some of the battles of wills lol. Kara has settled in well and seems pretty happy with her new home.

Glad to hear it :D

Hi Andy,

Pleased to hear it too :D I'm sure you'll get everything sorted.

Karen

I'm wondering why both your posts allude to defence to possible attacks on your girlfriend and potential for aggression towards other dogs. You state you don't want a vicious or aggressive dog but imply as a possibility to those very traits.

Pottie, i implied nothing of the sort. Read through it again and you will see it mentions defence. An animal or a person is not aggressive or vicious if they are just doing what they can to defend theirselves from harm.

Have you got nothing better to do than analyse what i said?

Apologies - as you appear to have taken offence when none was intended. I no more 'analysed' your post than another reader did in thinking some of your comments strange - as did yourself..

I think so much depends on upbringing and also training, and also genetic influence. These days, because of the dastardly DDA, we all try to socialise our dogs so most of them love people. Staffies adore people but may not always a hundred per cent with other dogs. That's not to say they can't be happpy with other dogs or enjoy their company :)

There are quite a few staffie owners on here who love their breed and would give more info on what it is like to live with a staff :)

I sometimes tend to walk in remote areas where there are few people at times, and being a woman hope my dog would protect me; she is from a guarding/herding breed BUT i would not rely on it. Previously i had 2 BSDs, who were much more intimidating in looks, being more like GSDs and bigger than my current little bitch, so i would say that looks can be a good deterrent as much as anything.

For example many dogs will stare at people who seem "dodgy" and this may be enough to scare them.

Hth a bit

Lindsay

Edited to say: i don't think your questions are strange at all :)

I have 2 staffies, a 2 year old male and a year old bitch, Teddy (the male) is extremely protective of us, especially me. He doesnt let anyone near me if hes on his lead and also doesnt like anyone coming to the door that he doesnt know, twice now he has saved me from situations where I was in danger :)
I dont encouarge him to be aggresive at all but do encourage him to bark when he hears noise outside the door. Cassie on the other hand would be a useless guard/protection dog, lol, but saying that she does bark at people acting weird when we go out at night, lol. I agree that just the fact you have a dog with you is enough to put potential attackers off :)

Hello Dave

I would not reccomend the staff as a guard dog although they are very capable. The gsd would be a better choice and is also very good at agility.

Mick

Hi, we have Buster, nearly 1 year old Staffie ... he is beginning to be protective in certain situations that he is unfamiliar, i.e. we took him camping in the summer and as night fell, if a stranger walked past our "area" he would let out a very low growl, also my daughter took him with her down to the loo at night, a man walked past, and he did the same. However, having said that, at home he is the most people loving AND dog loving dog, he will lick anyone to death if he has the chance, and I suppose hasn't felt the need to be protective of us, he's been very well socialised and I believe we're reaping the benefits of that. Maybe it is possible to get a mixture of the both, but like others have already said here, we have never encouraged it, maybe it's their natural instinct? [First time dog owner!] Nicki

hello dave,

on reflection to your post i dont think you intend to purchase a vicious dog. But the other readers reactions are sometimes warranted, as many people do still want to own breeds purly because of their 'hard man' reputation!

I have an eighteen month old staff. He is extremely affectionate, loyal, obedient etc etc (love him to bits,can you tell). He loves everybody and anybody, is also very dog friendly (am lucky here, as not all staffs are).

Always thought that if anything ever happened to me he would s*** himself, he cowers to cats!

When out walking smaller breeds yap at him and he runs off, everyone thinks this is funny, and i am proud of him, he'd rather leave the scene than argue!

But on two occasions he has done both things that you mention in your post.

My brother in laws dog (a staff incidently) always agrivates my dog. My brother in laws dog is not really dog friendly, and on numerous occasions he has had a pop at mine. Taz (my dog) has always backed off. This particular incident however must have been of importance to taz as he didn't back off he stood over patch holding his neck. He didn't hurt him but he could easily have done if that was his intention.

Staffs are incredibly strong dogs and full of determination - i doubt that the size of a dog would make a difference if he ever was in the situation should he need to defend himself (but always try to avoid such situations).

During the day if anyone knocks at the door taz runs to see who it might be, no barking etc.
However any moise at night and he barks like mad, especially if we are in bed. (He sleeps with us).
Never has taz ever not craved a fuss of people, yet one evening on return from our walk the delivery man was knocking at our door, it was dark and taz could not see his face, He gave the most fearsom growl, the delivery man backed away, when i said "good boy, it's okay" he instantly stopped and once i spoke to the man he was craving atention from him.

I have no concerns about my safety whilst out with Taz, one because as it has been pointed out an attacker does not know how the dog will react. And two because despite Taz, being soft as a brush i know if i needed defending he would!!

Staffs are excellent.

Hear hear, or here here, whichever one it is, Staffs are the best dog you could have in my humble opinion.