We have a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that is nearly a year old - my husband is self employed who works outside a lot so she goes with him to work most of the time - there is the odd occassion when she can not go with him but she is never left alone for more than a couple of hours as we arrange for my mother-in-law to call in and see her if we are going out for longer  - she is always well behaved and never destructive - now the thing is my husband would like to get her a friend in case she ever gets "lonely" - I am slowly being talked into it (it took him 10 years to persuade me to have a dog) but would like suggestions of what would be a good breed to go with her - we've been to dog school and when she was at dog school she didn't particularly seem keen on the larger, boundy or rough play dogs although she does like rough play with my husband but seemed quite content for the smaller puppies to crawl all over her - any help would be greatly appreciated

Staffies are pretty robust dogs aren't they and when they play they could quite easily squish a more 'fragile' pooch.  Is your girl good with other dogs?  If not then she will be perfectly content being an 'only dog'.  If she is good with other dogs then what about another Staffy?  Obviously you'd have to see how they both interacted with each other on 'neutral ground' before you brought a new dog into your home :)

maybe anouther staffie would be best u already know about the breed and there are always loads of staffs inn rescues in you didnt want a puppy

my husband would like a puppy and she does get on well with most other breeds although we were told by the dog trainer not to let her "wrestle" with other staffs in the class and she did make great friends with a westie pup that's why I was thinking of something on the smaller size

How big is your Staffy?  I ask as you mention that you want something smaller but I wouldn't say that a Westie is much smaller than most Staffies I've seen...

IMO Westies are pretty robust little things although they do require a fair amount of grooming.  Why not pop along to your local resuce centre and have a looksie at the pups and see if you get any ideas :)  The only thing with a cross puppy is that you wouldn't have a fixed idea of how big it would grow...

The only thing I'd be concerned about with a smaller dog would be that your Staffy girl could simply overpower it and in an excited state may cause some harm.  My cousin has 3 Staffies and although they are brilliant together when playing with other dogs they really don't know their own strength :rolleyes:

the odd thing is she doesn't seem too keen on other staffies

hi willowfriend. we have a female staff and on sunday19th we collected our 8 week old male staffy pup. i must say that they get on really well at the moment. hope this has give you some food for thought. all the best steve

Fair enough!   If you like the idea of a Westie and you've seen your girl interacting well with them then I'd suggest a male pup if you're happy and willing to get a young puppy that is :)  Just remember to get any purebred puppy from a reputable breeder who does all the relevant tests :)  And of course make sure the pooches meet so you can tell whether or not they hate each other as if they did that would just be a disaster waiting to happen!  Good luck with finding your girl a bezzy mate :)

Westies are great! But given their popularity, do take great care to ensure you only buy one from a reputable breeder and be prepared to wait if necessary for the right pup.

Without wanting to pour cold water on the idea though, please make sure you get another pup because you want one! Not because your husband has persuaded you into believing that your current dog needs a friend! Unfortunately dogs don't have the same view of friendship as humans and don't always appreciate the efforts we're making on their behalf in this respect. So be prepared for a period of settling in.

I'm trying to be the "adult" in our relationship :) thats why he's had to "presuade" me it's a good idea - we haven't got kids and I think the dog is a bit of baby subsitute for him - I'm not set on a westie it was just that she seems to get on better with the smaller breeds rather that dogs her own size or larger and was looking for suggestions. It's not that she gets agressive or anything with the larger dogs it's just that she's very placid and doesn't seem to like the rough play that some of the larger breeds enjoy a friend of our has a yorkshire terrier and she loves playing in the garden with him when we visit them. I have been looking at various breed pages at temprement etc but I'd prefer a recommendation for someone who has experience of mixing a staff with another dog

hi willowfriend. me again, we also have a x breed mongrel 14 years old. when we got our female staff pup they got on really well and still do. i don't know how it will be the other way round your staff gettting on with another breed. but like they say one can only try one's best. good luck in getting a companion for your staffy. all the best steve