hello everybody

i have this morning picked up my staffordshire bull terrier pup.  he is black and white and he is a little brute who is to be named winston.  although this is my first post i have been a regular visitor of this site for months now and have learnt vast amounts.

all this is my first dog....me and my girlfriend bought our first house a few months ago i have been brought up with my parents owning border collies whilst my girlfriends parents have always had labs.  i have always wanted a staffy though and im chuffed i now have a pup of my own.

the big fella is currently laid out in his bed......in fact since we got home he hasnt been out of it....i suspect im in for a busy night.

one thing i have not discovered about staffy's is there ability to swim?  we live in a coastal village and while in one direction we are half a mile from the beach in the opposite direction we are close to farm land and wood land.  is the beach a good place for excercisng a pup / young dog or will it be too much.  as running on sand is considerably harder than running on grass?  any advice will be greatly recieved.

thanks

The beach, between high and low water, is a good place to take him to play before he's completed his injections. After all, it's thoroughly washed twice a day!

Our staffy doesn't like to get his paws wet let alone go for a swim, but then he is unique. Winston is a cool name and I am sure he suits it well. Once his injections have been completed, take him to training so he can socialise with other dogs. Staffies tend to prefer people to other dogs but if trained well, are great with both.

The beach is a great place to exercise...however SOME dogs can get an upset tummy from sea water.My staff used to have a really upset tummy after going to the beach and so the sea side was banned!
Archer

Staffs are not generally good swimmers because they are bulky and heavy but some do like water!
I have 2...Hollie will paddle for ages and maybe risk a tenny swim but Raffie won't even get a paw wet!

Love the name BTW...my sister had a Staffie called Winston!

max loves the sea!
in fact he loves water!

Max is like my shadow he will follow me everywhere, he even finds a way of jumping onto the side of the bath whilst im having a shower and laps the water!!

He loves the beach though!!

Poofs them right out!!

Ashleigh

Our 14 week old staffy loves the seaside, he's not too sure about going in the sea but loves to paddle in the shallow pools of seawater and run on the beach.
In fact, taking him to the seaside seems to have had a strange effect on our venerable 11 year old cross breed who has always been totally terrified of ANY ammount of water bigger than his drinking bowl...since we've had the puppy, Seamus (the older dog) has been paddling and swimming in the sea and has really enjoyed it!
Saffron 

Whichever way you decide to exercise him, please remember the 5 minute "rule" - 5 minutes exercise for each month of his life, i.e. if pup is 3 months old, then only walk for 15 minutes.  You can, of course, repeat after a suitable rest period.  Congratulations on your pup - enjoy :D :D :D