Just been down the town and there was a staffie that just ripped into this GUIDE dog :( What is going on??? The staff owners had it on the lead and had a small child too....Guide dog rushed to vets, blood everywhere :(

Apparently people started gossiping and were saying it was a pitbull.. But it wasnt.

How awful.  I do feel genuinely  sorry for the dog and people who had to witness this attack. 

However, I am getting so tired of people posting incidents about staffs, if this was a jack russell/labrador or whatever that attacked the guide dog.  The heading of your post has also upset me - SIGH - as though to say 'oh no another staff again'

Its such a shame that ALL staff incidents/attacks get posted on this board because it just makes people so negative about them when really they are such good dogs, granted some of them are not the best of breeds to mix with other animals. If the owners were more responsible and took the time to train them properly they wouldnt have such a bad reputation.  

If every single incident/attack was put on this board and we counted them up I bet staffs wouldnt be at the top of the list with the most incidents.  

Just getting rEally miffed cos every time I read this board there is some sort of negative discussion about staffs. 

That is complete rubbish, If it was ANY dog I would have posted the exact same, I said sigh (not that I feel I should even explain myself) because of the owners!!! And for your information, MY dog once attacked a jack russel a while back who now wears a muzzel whenever out and I posted it on here as well..So please dont just write rubbish, just so happens it was a staff, I will not appologise for posting!

why not!!!!
i think there is sometimes aabit of a look the other way with staffie owners sometimes. responsible owners need know what their breed can be capable of, & if we dont hear about these attacks then how will the staffie owners on here know what is going on?

plus the reason they do get posted is because the attacks are HORRIFIC & really scary,much more than any other dog attack ive ever witnessed

Michelle
you know I have always been a su;pporter of yours in your fear of Staffies, trying to reassure you etc and other Staff owners on this website do so as well but sometimes your choice of phrase can antagonise the situation. All attacks are horrific and yes we do know what is going on but again that suggests that it is only Staffs and their owners that have problems. I dont think anyone can say that a Staff attacking is worse then any other dog attacking, that viewpoint really infuriates me.Also by the same token it is not only Staff owners that look away. As in the GSD incident that I posted about awhile ago. If that dog had attacked her I would have been terrified
 
I should have posted this earlier but a week ago Giorgia was attacked my sisters Collie and terrier cross. One had her ear in its mouth resulting in a long deep cut where the ear joins the head and incisor marks and the other was biting and scratching her throat which resulted in her tongue being bitten. There was blood all over my hands which frightened the life out of me. This occurred beacuse my sister made a fuss over Giorgia and she went to my Sister and her dogs got jealous. Giorgia did not retaliate physically only verbally . My sister as much as I love her does not understand dogs at all, I've tried to educate her with the little I know but she just ignores me. her dogs have been told off for growling at babies in prams,jumping up at people and children they meet. The collie is a complete nightmare and wont come back when called. Giorgia,the stereotypical Staff on the other hand has good recall, has been praised for her obediance and the local kids follow us and call her by her name.
So please do not stick all us Staffy owners and our dogs in the same group or the breed for that matter. So far we have had bad experiences with a collie, a terrier cross, a gsd and a labrador!!

poor giorgia,im sorry to hear that she was attacked
if i do get abit OTT on the staff posts it is just because it brings back flynns attack.i honestly thought he was going to die you see & i was so scared

collies can be nasty,very.very sharp & very quick.
your sister dosent sound like a right person for a collie  :(

I now know that fear Michelle, I was terrified especially when I saw the blood. You see thats what I'm trying to say, all dogs are capable of inflicting terrible injuries, some more than others but not only Staffs. But Giorgia was fine after a few days and fortunately it has not tempered her enthusiam for other dogs. My husband was convinced that she would become dog aggressive after that. And you're right my Sister should not own a dog full stop!! Hope Flyn is ok.
You are a very important person you know, we need you to be the voice of reason for our breed. Your reticence of Staffs makes you a perfect candidate. If you can show that you are open to the view that not all Staffs are bad and you will still socialise Flynn with them, even after what happened(I know you do) then other doubters can be persuaded

thanks! he does have staffie friends that we meet at ob comps.

the thing is theres so many staffs around now days,that cant be good for anybreed can it?over popularity

the thing is, where we live in Wales which is quite rural we dont see many Staffs. Since we have had Giorgia I have seen maybe half a dozen in total, thats during walks and vet visits so thats not many really. They are a breed that can never be underestimated in their need for love, companionship and attention. The more affection we show Giorgia the more she gives back. Its a shame more people do not do their research before being owned by one and I mean that. We were first time dog owners and some might say that we were irresponsible to have a Staff but we were fully prepared and as you know our world has been turned upside down by her

How many dog attacks HAVE you witnessed???

Ive seen some bloody awful fights, one between two gsd bitches, one between an OES and a collie, i could go on and on and on.

Yeah, staffies can attack, so can ANY dog, they all got teeth and they all have aggression as a tool in their box of tricks. But ive seen bloodshed caused by anynumber of breeds known to be 'easy' and 'good with other dogs, and its EVERY BIT as horrific as what a staffie can do!

Em

Seems as though people cant wait to get on here and start slatting staffies :(

I've got 3 and they are gifts from god!

Again rubbish...Didnt I just read a post about a GSD attacking a horse?? MY breed!!! Maybe I should have complained about that.

Whoa! Whoa! Before this turns into a slanging match...I think I can see both sides here. Zoe has posted about an incident she witnessed which was very sad and happened to be about a Staffy. I don't think any particular grudge was meant against Staffies in this case. However, I do see where the others are coming from too, there are an awful lot of posts coming on here about Staffy attacks. Maybe it was a case of Zoe's post was that one too many and Staff owners have had enough. Don't fall out over this guys, try to take the op as it was meant, reporting a scene which no doubt shocked Zoe and she wanted to talk about it. Hope you're ok Zoe and the guide dog too. :-)

hasent this happened to a guide dog before? in plymouth a few months ago? that one had to be retired,although i think in that case the dog that attacked was off the lead in town

ITs just the "sigh another staffie attack!" Its never "sigh another Labrador" or "sigh another Jack Russell"

You make it sound as though its the norm now...considering the amount of dog owners out there the number of dog attacks are very small.
I've read on here that the dog breed listed with the most attacks are Labradors

There's a story on another board about a Staffie attacking a couple of horses. Apparently the police are going after the owner (dog off lead) under the DDA and the owners of the horses have to pursue costs through the courts.

Unfortunately, this breed is one that is truly a victim of its own success and popularity. The sheer number of staff pups sold to incompetant owners doesn't bear thinking about.

Yes if you have witnessed a full blown staffy attack they are HORRENDOUS I totally agree, there is nothing more distressing than a staff fight.  They are very strong and once they have lost it they are a nasty piece of work and can do a lot of damage BUT these are the staffs that are not trained properly and owned by irresponsible owners who let them run about willy nilly and they let the majority of responsible owners down and give the breed such a bad name. 

I dont want to get into a slanging match but I distinctly remember the last time I logged on - the post was entitled 'guess what another staffy' and iv just logged on and read the title 'sigh' and thought - here we go again another I bet this is yet another negative post about staffys.  Its upsetting for us good staffy owners.

When did I say 'sigh another staffie attack' blond?

You didnt have to say it, it was the tone of your heading, 'sigh' like I have just said in my previous post I knew it was going to be about another staff.  It was very sarcastic and thats not just me being touchy - Blondiflops posted virtually the same thoughts as me at the same time. 

No...its because you own staffies and you jumped to conclusions thinking that I was being sarcastic.... I love all breeds of dogs, My next breed is going to be a staffie or english bull terrier... I wasnt going to say cos I dont feel like I should need to but clearly you are thinking the worst of my post.

I have to say Zoe I did not read it like that, being a rottie owner I know what its like to be stereo typed but I did not take it as sigh another staff attack, I read it as it's sad that this happened esp in town where loads of people could see, I am sure you would have done the same thing had it have been a Yorkie doing the attacking?  Maybe if I owned a Staff I would have took it differently ;)

I'm afraid i think you are being harsh on Zoe. The fact is that it was a staffie involved, and there have been lots of reports of staffies in trouble just recently. I don't think it was a sarcastic "sigh" - just an expression.

And, for what its worth, I love staffies... but they could really do with some seriously positive marketing at the moment as a breed!

Both yourself and Blondiflops maybe more sensative to this though as you both own Staffies.  I had no preconcieved ideas of what it would be about before I opened it after all it doesn't even say its about a dog attack.  Unfortunately there are alot of irresponsible owners out there OF ALL BREEDS and these people obviously fall into this category.I just hope that the poor guide dog is ok and will be able to continue its so valuable help it gives its owner.

Zoe

In general that it the term that is used...

Thing is that the majority of CD staffie owners are very responsible, its the people on the "outside" who need to know not us! We know what are dogs are capable of that is why we keep them under control at all times.

These threads always turn out the same way

Erm...eh?

I never posted to tell people people on here that they should remember to keep their dogs under control. LOL blimey, Im the last person that should ever be telling anyone off about dog attacks. I posted cos it was a horrible sight... I thought this was somewhere people came and talked???

BF surely you want to know though dont you?as a lover of your breed that there is a big problem with some owners & their dogs?
i know you are reaLLY RESPONSIBLE & a great staffie owner,but there are others out there that are not so great, & others out there that have the head in the sand approach.like the guy whose staff attacked flynn,he never thought that his dog was like that until it happened. nor did i. maybe if id read on here about random attacks i would have been more wary & he may have been also?

I know there is a problem out there Michelle but unfortuantly there is not much we can do about it other than make sure our pups dont get into the wrong hands.....

There are always going to be bad dogs and breeders out there :(

in all breeds of course,its just an agressive out of control stafford is going to do alot more damage than alot of other breeds,& they are so numerous now.

the thing is,i think the government (which is SO anti dog) may bring in legalisation against this breed aswell if it gets too out of control.i dont think anyone wants that.

are some lines "too game"????????

ive witnessed two,one on my dog.
i also know LOTS of lovely staffs, & since the two attacks ive seen ive gone out of my way to meet & make friends with nice ones.

if i owned a nice staffy,that was freindly,id (think i would) look at these "not again" posts as a warning/something to think about.
eg.why is my breed been sold to totally unsuitable people????
is my breed getting more dog agressive ?or is it just certain lines?
what attracts a "certain" type of person to have a staff?

TBH its these idiots that is damaging the rep of your breed ,not people who post on here in total shock to what they have seen.

however to stand up for your breed is a good thing of course, :)

TBH its these idiots that is damaging the rep of your breed ,not people who post on here in total shock to what they have seen.


Yep - them and the backyard breeders who sell pups to unsuitable owners!

Im not attacking someone and Michelle is right it does make me think and makes me even more careful with my dogs than I am now if thats possible!

Being a responsible owner it just gets my goat to read these thing when I know what a fantastic dog they are but all we ever seem to here are the negatives :(

Im just defending my breed, Im not trying to be harsh or mean :)

Actually, every post I have read about staff attacks people also comment after that they are a lovely breed, so it isnt that we all think they are bad but just hate some people owning them.

of course you have every right to defend your breed. if you saw that staffie attack that zoe saw,you would have posted it on here wouldnt you,so would have i!
i would have put a worse heading i expect & really dropped myself right in it!!!

i didnt read the "sigh" title as nasty,but as quite sad :(

i think its sad  :( that there are so many staff attacks,i dont believe that they are all on here either. IF they are increasing,why do you think that is? bad breeding ,uneducating,
do you think theres anything that can be done? to improve your breeds "positive" reputation?

Yes I agree Chloe. 

But sadly it is a fact, it happens and it happens with every breed only the thing is an untrained, unsocialised staff can be a liability to other people/animals. 

If any staff owner who reads this board on a regular basis is not miffed off about these negative staffy posts then I would be very surprised.  I understand the need to post/report incidents and share this with other people on the board but the majority of posts seem to be about staffs.  Being staff owners we are bound to stick up for our breed which seems to be constantly slated on this board. 

is this because they are the posts you home in on? or because there are more attacks now? or because they are such bad attacks that people are shocked into writing? i know i was

im not sure,but it should be disscussed

bringham if you had seen what  zoe had seen,would you have put it on here?

TBH i do not really post that much, i just read the posts.  I only responded to this one because it upset me.  If I had seen what Zoe had seen then I would be absolutely devastated but being a staffy owner I would not post it because it would only add to the numerous other negative posts and right now I do not think the staffy reputation needs it. 

I'm worried here. Are you saying that attacks should be 'swept under the carpet' to avoid damaging a breed's reputation? :(

IF staffies are attacking more,do you not think people should be aware?

they do have a bad rep with other dogs, a more positive way to deal with it is to accept the bad but build up the good bits.

Daz (that white deaf staff )goes to obedience shows in my area,look what hes done to promote the breed.

No I dont think attacks should be swept under the carpet.  I wouldnt report it on here because there is not much anyone can do about it.  If I witnessed someone with a staff or any breed that attacked my dog or anyone elses because of an irresponsible owner then I would report it to the relevant authority. 

 

The police were called... The dog may be put to sleep as the attack was so nasty...

ok,would you put on here,any other attack youve witnessed? eg a GSD or rottie attack? or a poodle attack?

No I wouldnt, like I said I would report it to the relevant authority. 

To be honest I dont think I would post an attack on here, after all the posts I've read etc the threads just turn into a war of worlds.

I have to say that what worries me more about staffs is that folk want to breed them with everything! Just makes me wonder how many report are actually of "staffs" as opposed to "staffie types". There was a post on here a while ago about crossing staffs and danes - where is that going to lead!!

I have never seen a Staffie attack only being attacked!

As you know my Staffie was attacked by two different labradors and on another occasion a boxer and a number of Champdoggers blamed my dog! I think there is prejudice on here towards staffies

Its like people there are some fab ones, but there are some evil ba***ds

If a dog is crossed  a staffie with say a Labrador why is it always the Staffie bit that is seen to be negative?

" Oh it was a staffie x" rather than a Labrador x....does that make sense or am I talking balls?
:)

It does make sense - staffies just have that bad rap, sadly.  I'm not a huge fan myself, but I don't hate them - they just aren't my kind of dog (I like tall, lean ones :)).  People of the public, tho, seem to get their "opinions" from the papers, giving the negative skew of opinion on staffs that we're all seeing.

I won't lie - I am wary of staffs I'm going near if I don't know them, but then I am of any dog I don't know.  I try not to be prejudice against a breed because of hear-say though - It's more on experience.  For example, labs I keep an eye on because I was bitten, and my dobe attacked by one; GSDs I keep an eye on because almost every one that came in when I worked in kennels was nervous, and several were fear aggressive, in or out of the kennel.  But, I do know some fabulous labs and GSDs.

Sadly, many people prefer to absorb the headlines and make their judgements that way - there's nothing you can do about it.  I have had a few people go down the middle of the road to avoid my rottweler X GSD, but she's harmless.  I just have to grin and bear it - their loss for not meeting her :)

It doesn't matter what is said on this thread there will always be people who disagree.

Staffies have a bad name, no matter whose fault it is, most people would cross the road if they saw a staffie coming. That might be people stereotyping all staffies, it might not be very fair either, but I know that if there is a staffie coming that I don't know, I would rather cross the road than take the risk of having my son attacked.

Although I have had my views changed a bit since coming on CD, I did use to think that ALL staffies were nasty but since reading arguments of a 'proper' staffie owner, I now know that they are not ALL bad, but most people don't come on CD to find that out for themselves.

It comes down to once again - peoples own ignorance.

i dont think your son would be at any risk(may be licked to death) they are brilliant with people,just some arent brill with other dogs

infact id trust a strange staffie for ME to talk too,above most other breeds including my own :O

Well there you go - people's (or in this case, my) ignorance!

I think what I was trying to say, is that no matter whose fault it is, Staffies have got a bad name - this will probably only change for the better when this fad of having a dog to make people look hard dies off, and all of the dogs that have been bred to satisfy this owner market, have either been (sadly)destroyed because they savaged some thing, or when they have been re-trained. Which, even I as a novice-dog-owner-to-be, can see will take many years.

The sad thing is, is the owners (and their Staffies) who do their very best with training and everything else, who get lumped in with all of the other Staffie owners!

just for the record,when i say staffie & aggression in the same sentance i only mean dog aggression,totaally not to people! they are one if not the mostt people friendly breed i know