flynn was attacked by a staffie on the beach this morning,it just appeared like a bullet from nowhere & just went straight for him,just bowled straight in & went straight for his throat.as i saw what was happening i shouted & waved my arms which sort of alerted flynn, he was just trying to get back to me whilst the staff just kept trying to pin his neck to the ground,he didnt fight back just wanted to get to me! i was trying to grab hold of the staff before he got a good hold,i had no fear at all for myself as i was sure the staff was going to kill him,he could of bitten me to shreds i wouldnt have cared just HAD to rescue my dog, luckily flynn has a huge ruff & that protected him & he wasnt hurt
the staffs owner came running & got the dog off,he was really apologetic , hed just been putting his coat on & the dog had just gone before he realised, i dont blame him as he always walks him on a lead normally,luckily flynn wasnt hurt though,as i may not have been so forgiving!
the owner thinks tyson (the staff) was scared of my dogs cause there were three of them,dont really agreewith that,cos the dog just went straight in to attack from when he appeared,flynn wasnt even looking!
its scared me alot,for the first time im FULLy aware of what a stafford could do!
i have no doubt he would have killed him if flynn had gone into the submissive position,no doubt at all.

i know a few staffs & dont think will ever trust another one, this dogs head & jaws were wider than his body,cant even bear to think of the damage if he had got a hold of flynns wind pipe which is what he was going for

a very upset

Hi I do hope your dog is ok now. good luck.

oh hes fine!!! its me whose a nervous wreak!

That's really horrible Michelle.  Hope you and Flynn both get over the shock soon.
But, I have 2 staffies and trust them completely.  They've never shown any agression to anyone, dogs, or people.  Unfortuantely, there are nasty dogs of every breed, just like people.:rolleyes:  I've been bitten by a Jack russell and a pomeranian, hardly your typical 'vicious breeds'.  And only a few weeks ago my sisters dobie was attacked by 2 border terriers.  The scars on her mean that she is unlikely to be able to be shown again. 
Of course we were angry and upset but I always try and take each dog as I find it regardless of the breed :)

So very sorry to hear about your horrible morning so glad Flynn's okay.

Karen (staffie owner)

how lovely to have staffie owners responding! thank you.
im just soooooo relieved hes ok!

that is very true! but what i was shocked about was how this staffie just went for flynns windpipe! sort of instinctively!
all the other dog fights ive seen,between other breeds,all bits get bitten,head,legs etc,

i found it quite shocking,he was like a "professional",knew where maxium damage would be,thank god he didnt.

i was also suprised by the massive "maternal" instinct i felt,with by dog under attack & the total disregarde for my own saftey! i really love my boy!

Luckily, I've never seen one of my girls get in a fight so not quite sure what they' do.  But like you say I think it's probably an instinctive thing.  Please don't think all Staffies are like that though, Flynn needs to meet my girls, then he'd not have a Staff-phobia! :)

he does know quite a few nice staffs! so hopefull will be ok!
i just dont think i will ever think about them in the same way though!

I'm really glad hes OK.

Lindsay
X

Pour yourself a stiff drink ;)

thank you!! so am i!
& i think the staff owner is just abit relieved too!

I know what you mean!  There are certain breeds that I'll never think of in the same way again -won't name names! ;), but when I meet a new one I'm always surprised at how lovely he/she is!  So that's why I'm trying the take each dog as I find it thing :)

i know alot of people dislike collies,but are always amazed when they see what lazy softies mine are!

the staff we met today was totally fine until he reached about two years old,since then hes always on the lead,but dosent lunge or bark at passing dogs  or anything! -the total no warning thing was abit of a shock too,cos i could have sort of understood it if he was sniffing around & flynn looked at him in a collieway,or were having a boy  moment that got out of hand,but the fact that he ran onto the beach then flat out onto my dog was a real shock! like a black bullet he was!! hes not a huge staffie butis very heavy & muscley & a reall doggy dog!
im really glad also that the owner was so geniunely sorry,that made a big differance!

Sorry to hear about Flynn.  I don't think it is just Staffies that go for the throat, I had a GSD do the same to one of mine once, it was very scary.  Like you I think I was more shaken then the dog.

As it sounds like the owner was genuinely upset and sorry, hopefully he will muzzle him when out in future, he will have a more relaxed walk incase it ever happens again.

Hugs to Flynn
Sandra

OMG poor you and Flynn! Hope you are both OK. My dog has been attacked four times whilst out and every time he was on his lead! I will not say what breeds these dogs were, as others have said ANY dog is capable of unprovoked attacks, its just that Staffs seem to make a lot more noise and fuss when in a scuffle, so it often sound worse than it is. Thankfully in your case no harm done, but I'd watch Flynn in future as he may now have an adversion to Staffies ;) I should say that Max is a Staffie and has never started a fight, but I never walk him off his lead as I dont trust any other dogs :)
I hope people reading this thread wont blame the breed in general for this, perhaps its kinder not to mention breeds in future, as some people are fond of jumping on the 'dangerous dogs bandwaggon' and stirring up bad feeling. I am not accusing you of this so please dont take offence
Take care and hugs to Flynn xx

Its not just staffs that go for the throat it is very much an instinct in all dogs. Even when my 2 play its always the throat.
All staffs arent nasty Im sure. The thing thats scares people is the potential arm they can cuase. I have an Akita and she is very friendly but Iam always aware of what she could be capable of.
Glad all is ok.

exactly sharonb! this staff was only have the size of flynn but must have weighed more than him,of pure solid muscle!!!!

i know what you mean trhat in play they go around the throat area,but in all the dog fights ive seen there have been bites /injurys everywhere whereas this staff was only interested on going for the throat,maybe this is why flynns not actually that hurt,as there were other bits the dog could have bitten but was so focased on the throat that he didnt bother

all i can say was this dog was trying to cause maxium damage & it was as scary as hell, i was totally convinced he was going to kill him & thats really really scary!

i have seen loads of dog fights,but NEVER seen anything like how this dog was,apart from on films.
i tell you id never want to see two staffies going for it

he has got a little staffie friend or two,hes not really the type of dog to be bothered though to be honest! hes very laid back!

im not really blaming the breed,& indeed its not their fault that some lines may have this very strong instinct,but more as a warning really,just to be careful :)
im always quite careful around staffs as collies give a little too much "eye" at times which seem to wind the staffies up abit, but in this case it was totally unprovocted,flynn didnt even see him till he was on top of him

Its true different breeds do attack different. I have 2 Huskies and 1 Akita all bitches. I got my 1st Husky and my Akita together as pups. As everyone knows Huskies are very friendly playfull and energetic. They got on great but as they got older I found my Husky wanted to play all the time whereas Sheena just wanted the quite life.
They had a couple of scuffles but nothing serious untill 1 day for no apparent reason Sheena just went for it. She wouldnt let go of Keetahs throat.
Keatah tried to protect herself by the occaisional bite of Sheenas leg feet anything she could grab. Sheena just threw her around by her throat. Keatah (Husky had pups over 2 yrs ago we kept a bitch and they have been together since day 1 and never had 1 scuffle.
We did manage to split them up. They are now housed seperately and they do have contact for short periods of time, but only when my hubby is with them.
Sheena is a lovely friendly dog with both people and other animals in small dosees. Its just scary what is possibe. 

defintally!!!!!!!!!!!! im sort of feeling better today :)
getting over it........;)
flynny got over it in about 2 secs,as soon as hed had a cuddle!!!! bless! :D