my Husband was walking our year old Staff Giorgia in the woods yesterday. There was a woman with a cross breed off the lead and the two dogs started kissing each other and playing. She then turned to my Husband and said your dog is a nasty breed and they frighten me , put her on the lead !  but she made no attempt to put hers on the lead and they were quite happily playing together. Of course my Husband refused and I would have thought told her where to go... politely.
But isnt it annoying for us Staffie owners to come across this stupid attitude, the stereotyping of Staffs is about their aggression to dogs not humans so she didnt know her facts anyway and couldnt she tell from the way the two dogs were happy together that our dog is the most soppy dog you could meet.
Two days before I was out with her and out of nowhere came a dog as big a a great Dane, dont know the breed, I could have shouted and complained when the owner eventually turned up about 5 mins later, but despite his size, they were fine together and Giorgia was sitting under his body at one stage. He even tried to follow us home later.
I wish people would realise that Staffs arnt always to be suspicious of and I have had incidents with a GSD and a Labrador that has caused Giorgia to bolt in fear because the dogs were aggressive and large.

tell me about it i had the same responce when i was walking my little sox (SBT) the other week and she only a baby, i never let my older staffie abbie off the lead now because i got sick of standing and arguing with people

kerrie

Don't have to repeat my stories!! Im with you on this one.

Its very disheartening :( 

I never realised people had such a problem with staffs before I got my two (soon to be 3).
I was brought up with Ladradors and they were lovely but when I decided that I wanted to have a dog I decided on a staff straight away because I knew they had such great personalilites, I never realised tey had such a bad stereotype..

yes,there are loads of staffs that are lovely,but there are some & i believe it to be increasing,that are poorly bred ,poorly socailised & really dog agressive & owned for the wrong reasons,ie NOT for the  love of the breed but for some sort of macho image. now the problem is IF you meet one of these dogs & they attack then it is worse than a average dog scrap,as they really mean it.& i be;lieve would fight to the death.

i really feel sorry for all you responsible staff owners out there having to put up with this reputation,if you own nice dogs. but if i meet a staff i dont know,i just wouldnt risk it,untill wed been introduced.
there is nothing wrong with owners been cautious is there?

no I agree totally Michelle, but as I say this woman wasnt concerned about her dog and mine but was scared for herself ! as I say I would have thought their body language and behaviour and the fact that my husband had also said that Giorgia was friendly( sorry I forgot to mention that fact) should indicate that Giorgia was a 'nice' Staff. It seems sometimes that even if you are a responsible owner and you reassure other owners which we do every time we see another dog being walked that that is not enough for some people. Perhaps next time I see a GSD or large great dane type dog that I'll stereotype them due to my experiences and immediately ask them to put their dogs on a lead and see what theri reaction is. I just wish people would assess each doggie situation when it happens, instead of prejudging the breed.

oh ok! i see your piont!!! bloody stupid woman!!!!

thank you Michelle and I mean this, for you to agree with me knowing your concerns about Staffs I think we must be doing something right whilst out walking with our Staff. We'll continue as we are and ignore any bloody stupid women we come across.

if i met more nice ones & more responsible owners id be alot happier than i am. its pruely being on this list & talking to you staff owners that i have some hope!!!!

i am a very responsible staff owner....my dog is dog aggressive because he was jumped upon by a GSD, but i keep him on the lead an always warn people that he does not like other dogs. its the people who think its ok for there dogs to go round off the lead bullying other dogs and people that give staffs and thier owners a bad. i wish my dog did get on with other dogs but he does'nt.

thats what I worry about as well Sarahanzorro, Giorgia hasnt had a major confrontation yet although as I said she has bolted on two occasions. Luckily nothing has made her dog aggressive, I just hope it stays that way. There is nothing like seeing different breeds of dog play together, we love it

Thats what i miss, before this happened he would play with anyone.....like most dogs he's very boystrous and it would be great for him to be able to play but no matter howw much we tried to get him used to other dogs again he just won't entertain them..his outlook now is he's going to get them before they get him. i really hope your dog never has reason to become dog aggressive it make walks so much more complicated.

I posted some time ago explaining my problem with Staffs and said that the next person I met in the park with a Staff I would approach and ask to pet their dog.  I posted again saying I did this and met a perfectly lovely Staffy.  I must confess to still being slightly wary (irrational fears do not go over night) but my Cocker has always been slightly intolerant of other dogs (better with bitches) and if she is badgered too much, after a couple of light warnings, she does become agressive.  Now I know this is not on and will soon be considering a muzzle if it continues, but I am yet to meet another dog owner who's dog has had a good telling off by my dog to be confrontational with me.  In fact because she is such a pretty little Cocker they tend to laugh and blame their dog for badgering her and say along the lines 'well my dog was warned' as if it's their fault.  I wonder apart from  Staffys having all that bad press a few years ago, and being the sterotypical hard man's dog, that because they are so powerful they are considered a threat.  The same I would imagine for other powerful breeds too.  It seems to me that 'softer' looking dogs, no matter how agressive, are deemed feisty rather than vicious.  I sympathise with you all despite still being wary of the breed.  But as I said, I'm working on it :)

Maudlily, at least you're willing to try which I think is wonderful ,some people wont even do that, when they see a staff they're gone.

I'm really sorry for you, you and Zorro dont deserve that at all. You are the other side of the 'stereotyping' coin, your poor dog was fine until another non staffie attacked him. The more you speak out the more good you are doing for us, thank you lots

sarah,

I have the same problem with my staff.  He is absolutely brilliant with people but will rarely tolerate other dogs.  He was fine up until he was about 2 years old then he got a bit too boisterous with other dogs, they retaliated and snapped and this ended up in a scuff and I think this is why he is not good with other dogs. 

I do let him off the lead when there are no other dogs but as soon as we see one he is back on the lead immediately.  What really annoys me though is people who walk their dogs off the lead they come running up to mine and i hear them shout 'he/she is ok' and before I can say 'well mines not' mine is pulling my arm off to get at this dog.  If it does result in a fight then guess who gets the blame and abuse....... I will not put a muzzle on him because I believe that other people should have their dogs under control and if they choose to let them run up to him then its their own fault. 

here, here Brigham

I have developed a good way of dealing with these people. My middle collie is aggressive if pestered but has never bitten, just barks and curls his lip. If other dogs keep away he is not interested. To be on the safe side I call him back if I see another dog approach at speed unsupervised. I get hold of his collar and wait until they go. Incredibly, some people will ignore us and leave their dog wandering around us. I used to stand there like a lemon until they had gone but now I wait a while and let him go. If there is a problem then it is their fault for not getting their dog out of the way. I am not going to stand there forever! I suppose the real difference is, he will not actually attack, he's just a bit sharp.

But I will say again, I have never met a nasty Staff and trust them more than a lot of other breeds or crosses. I judge each dog on it's own merit and by the owners apparent attitude. I think what I find the strangest about this incident was that this woman was afraid for herself, not the dog. If she was really that worried that your Staffy was going to aggressive towards her, what was she doing letting her dog play with Giorgia? Wierd. Maybe she was being deliberately funny with your OH because of the breed rather than being genuinely nervous.

I know Claire, it did seem strange, we just put it down to ignorance and stupidity on the woman's part. Bloody annoying though as you can tell!

Brigham,   could`nt agree with you more,  can`t tell you how many times  people let there dogs run up to mine, and say " its alright he is friendly" when i say well she does not likeher space invaded, they look at you like you droped of an other planet.

Once had a man go to hit my boy with a stick, because his dog ran up to mine , and mine said" Excuse me but where are your manners"

jackie

Agree with Brigham and Jackbox, can't believe how many times that has happened to us in the local park. 
It enrages me!!!  People shouting "oh its ok he/she is friendly", as there dog is trying to mount my girl - she REALLY loves that - NOT!!!
Try dragging a staffie away from a dog that's trying to mount it, it's nigh on impossible, especially when the other dog is so much bigger!!

Dear me Jackbox, I would have had a few choice words had someone tried to take a stick to my girl!!!!

So would Tessie, she'd have probably tried to grab it off him!!  :D

Tessies Tracy, He made me so angry,and i did have a few "nice " words with the bloke.
Lucky bandit did not try to take the stick out of his hand,"Bandit loves sticks". Probably would have said my dog tried to bite him.

that's probably what he was hoping for - silly man!!!!  What did he hope to gain by trying to hit the dog???
I can imagine you must have been very angry!  Makes me mad too!!  If only they really knew most staffies and knew how loving and kissy and slobbering they can be!!   :D

I just collected my dog from the vets; lots of stressed people looking very worried or sad. In there was a huge Staff with a half white face. He was making the most ridiculous, and very loud, noises I ever heard coming from a dog. Within 10 minutes there wasn't a straight face in there, all these worried faces cracked into a grin and then started talking about the dog. A boy asked if he was friendly, they said he was and as I left, the boy and the Staff were on the floor together, keeping each other occupied and [almost] quiet!

Not one of the people in the waiting room looked nervous or afraid of the Staff and yet he was a big lad and not one of the soppier looking Staffies I've ever seen.

Please take heart Staffy owners. There may be the odd ignorant doughnut out there, but most people love 'em and I bet most of the people in there today will go home feeling grateful to that dog for making them feel better; I know I did.

Sending big hugs to all the Staffs whose owners are on CD,

Claire

ClaireH, big hugs back, it restores my faith in human nature when I see comments like yours.  Our vet has nicknamed our dog 'the nutter', not because she is unfriendly but because she loves nothing more than a trip to the vets, it's all her birthdays come at once.  We have to drag her out of the vets as she wants to stay and play with everyone and there is never a straight face in the waiting room when we are there.  Best wishes to all other responsible staffie owners out there, keep up the good work :)

I totally understand your frustration.  I have very negative reactions every time I take our 5 year old staff for a walk, most of the time I bite my tongue but there are times I do make comments, although this probably doesn't help our cause!  OK, they have big heads, great big mouths and sound like a steam train when happy and excited but I can honestly say that ours has NEVER growled agressively.  She growls/barks when happy which I can understand can be a bit off putting to people but you can see straight away that she is being friendly and not agressive, she wags her tail and back end so much I'm sure she is going to do herself an injury!

Word of advice to any would be staffie owners who think they would make good guard dogs, don't bother, they are the world's worst guard dogs, lol. We certainly didn't get our dog for this reason, we got her to be a family pet and she has exceeded our expectations.  We are her protectors, not the other way round, any would be burglars would be welcomed with a friendly growl and a toy to play with.

I am glad to see there are lots of responsible staffie owners out there.  They have truly unique doggy traits that you don't see in any other breed and once you have been owned by one you will never look back.

So true about them being rubbish guard dogs! Once Hollie was in alone and my hubby came home from work early. Instead of coming in the front like her normally does he used the back door and went straight in the kitchen to look for something.
He heard Hollie having a little growl so went to see what she was upto and she had hidden behind the chair and wee'd
She barks if anyone comes to the door when we are in...no idea what happens if we are out!

One of my dogs was attacked as a pup by a terrier cross that was off the lead but "didn't like other dogs!!" As a result of this when strange dog get in his face or start sniffing round his bits (he is neutered) he can sometimes snap. When I am out if I see a dog that we don't know I always call him close to me and if the other dog is then put on the lead I also do the same. 99% of people are very understanding when I explain why I am so careful. He isn't an aggressive dog and will play happily with every dog he meets but he has to be introduced properly and that does not involve a strange dog charging up to him. On one such occasion I took them out and walked across the field at the back of where I live. I heard some people and their dogs coming along the path behind and turned to see two beautiful SBT with a couple and a pushchair, one red and one black, both dogs. I put my monster on the lead and carried on walking. Both dogs charged up to us and introduced themselves to my other boy who gave a quick tailwag and lick and then ignored them as he is only interested in playing with his mate when they are together. They then turned their attention to my on lead dog, one in his face and the other underneath him sniffing, he wet himself and snapped at them, the whole time I was calling the owners to please come and get their dogs. I had abuse hurled at me about how they were F****** friendly and was was my problem? They only wanted to play after all.  Once I had explained the situation to them they calmed down and apologised and all the dogs were eventually introduced properly and played quite happily for 10 minutes before we continued on our walk. I do not assume that SBT are agressive dogs, in fact quite the opposite and I think they are a wonderful breed but the end result could have been so different if they had taken offence to my dog snapping at them as he wouldn't have stood a chance :-( It is because of incidents like this that people are so wary of them, the owners of these dogs simply didn't think that just because their dogs were friendly that it wasn't ok to allow them to charge up to a strange dog on a lead. The problem is that people tend to remember incidents like this more so than with other breeds and the media doesn't help with their ignorance and hysterical reporting and assumption that if someone gets bitten it is a "bull terrier" or "bull  mastiff" or "devil dog" as they have recently been calling them.

My staffie frightens some people with that horrid snorting/pig like noise she makes!

If someone says hello to her & she makes that noise they have somtimes thought she has growled at them :-(

The kids call her pig-dog :-)

Jo
xx

lol! sounds like my friends lab!!!!!

My collie does that too if he gets excited or when he has just woken up and then stretches he will snort and grunt away :-) perhaps he was a staffy in a previous life?

LOL, our staff also sounds like a pig and in certain angles looks like one :), we are sure she was a pig in her previous life!

i agree my staffy is so docile my toy yorkie who weighs only two pounds dominates her totally. my vicky is so gentle with all babies and children and other dogs, parrott and loves people. what more could you ask. She is always being attacked by other dogs. Once my neighbours dog s had a fight and vicky charged in the house and it took ages to encourage her to go into the garden again bless her. people tell me she should be muzzled as she is on the dangerous dog act. i just tell them where to go.

my dog smiles at people, the way his lips fall away from his lower jaw and he does the grunting thing. its just his way of saying hello but the moment he does this to people when were out they look at me like i have a lion on a lead and all he wants to do is say hi.

my dog too doe's the smiling and the grunting and he's allways panting....even when he's done nothing....i often used to take my dog with me to pick my niece up from school... he loved all the attention from the kids. most people were ok with me taking him to school but there were a few who gave us funny looks.....the one day for no reason some woman just attacked me (verbally) going on about me being unresponsible bringing a dog like that where there are so many children.....i should have more sense. i honestly could have slapped her if she had just taken a few mins to watch my dog she would have seen all he wants to do is play and that he has not got a nasty bone in his body. needless to say i don't take him to school anymore. just another example of breed stereotyping.

Am I the only person on here that has never had a problem with people and my staff in the park, they love him. Not once have I ever been asked to put a lead on him.

you must be very lucky...it seems no matter where i go people just can't belive that my dog is friendly.

guess that I must be, even this morning a man walking his dog said how nice and friendly Sam was, but Sam was sitting at his feet at the time. Sam doesn't mind other dogs but he prefers people and the affection they give him.

how old is your staff if you don't mind me asking...most people were fine when he was a cute little puppy but when he got bigger thats when people started to act differently towards him it's awfull he does not understand why other dogs are allowed to run around and why he has to stay on his lead. and he hates it when all he wants to do is say hi to someone and they do there best to avoid him..i just wish more non staff owners could take the time to get to know them then maybe they would realise what angels they really are.

I don't mind you asking at all. Our boy is 11 years old, so he is not at the cute stage anymore, he is just adorable.
I guess because he is not that playful, just wants a sniff and a stroke, people like him. I had a collie X GSD who recently died and people were more afraid of him as he had a lot more energy and wanted to play with the other dogs. There are other staffies in the park and no one has a bad word to say about them, we live in an area where people are tollerant.
There are owners with Rotties, Dobermans, etc  who all wander off lead and no one has ever complained. I love these Rotties so much that I am getting one soon, so I will have 2 dogs with bad reputations, but I know that we will not have a problem in my park and both of them will continue to get attention from other owners.
Yes, I am lucky.....

i like rotties too, my sister has one and he's the softest thing ever just rolls over when other dogs come up too him. it's good to hear that there are some places people an't so narrow minded...maybe i should move there 2.......

I have never had a problem whilst out with Giorgia on my own, only my Husband this one time. We take her to the seaside on weekends when we're off together and we always get stopped by families and a lot of older people who ask about her and want to touch her. She is a very pretty dog and has a lovely expression. I think thats why my Husband was so angry. I think it was more shock than anything because he had never experienced this attitude from people before

i think it's just people who don't understand our breed and/or believe everything they read in the papers about staffs. how old is giorgia coley?

She's 13 months old and very pretty, she's the long faced long legged type, she looked like a lamb when she was a puppy. Only looks like a lamb now when shes asleep!!

OH how sweet....my dog was georgous at that age then he got a bit ugly at about 18 months now he's just perfect.

I bet he wasnt ugly, or is that a stage they go through. I have always thought the same about school age chlildren they go from cute to awful, so perhaps its the same. Dont we love them!!

oh he was, he had this huge head that looked way too big for his body....just like a school aged kid...cute ugly if you know what i mean. love them to bits..(most of the time)