Wife has agreed to let me have a dog! now trying to decide what breed...

[Fnaar]

I hate short haired male dogs with their knackers hangin' oot the back

 

[Archie_tect]

Avoid Burmese/ Lab cross... they eat everything including any excrement, including their own + decaying or rotten carcasses they find, oh and whole live chickens... all of which they defend and won't let go... unless this is all just my cousin's dog's traits, despite early puppy training and specialist help to try and overcome the problems.

 

[Archie_tect]

I hate short haired male dogs with their knackers hangin' oot the back

Couple of bricks....

 

[swee'pea99]

well my thought was that (although we will train the kids as well as the dog to respect each other) my boy is a strong lad who likes a wrestle (with me) and I need a dog that can play along to a degree and wont be scared/get aggressive if he takes things a step too far, which no matter how much I educate him in the way of the dog, he will do at some point. I've read that certain types of dogs really dont mix well with kids. Make sense?

Hate to be a spoilsport, but a strong lad who likes a wrestle, a dad who actively expects him to take things a step too far at some point, and any kind of dog sounds like a recipe for grief. And I'm sure Staffs can be wonderful dogs, but when grief involves a Staff, the grief can be very serious. Personally I wouldn't get any dog till I can be absolutely 100% sure of my kid's behaviour, and I sure as hell wouldn't get any kind of a bulldog.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I would really like to have a dog again. My best mate was a golden retriever for 14 years, I'd get a retriever again in an instant, also an English cocker spanial, used to have one of those too. Bit restrictive though as a single fella...cant leave adog alone too long etc..

 

[slowmotion]

I grew up with terriers and we have had one of our own until recently. They are enormous fun but complete anarchists. They do what they want and a big FU to the rest of the world. Don't ever consider dogs with short legs and long backs. They can get terrible disc problems and be in pain. Then they get seriously cranky. Big dogs die young. I think that a Great Dane might make it to six. Small dogs usually soldier on to at least double that. You must seriously consider the exercise that they need. It's not fair to have an active dog prowling around your house bored out of its skull. I'm sure Staffies are wonderful. There was an article in the paper that said that they bite far fewer people than Labs. The difference is that they don't bite your leg or hand, they go straight for the face and don't let go. Not a great trait really in my VHO.

The most delightful dogs that I have ever met were a cross between a King Charles Spaniel and a German Shepherd, an unlikely match. The gentlest, most playful souls you could ever wish to meet.

 

[Black Country Ste]

Staffs are brilliant. Good looking animals, loyal, bloody intelligent. Playful, prone to restlessness. They're only aggressive if trained to be.

Of course, the breed was defined in the Black Country.

 

[User6179]

GSD is the correct choice - don't join the chav dog trend of staffs,bulldogs etc.

Beautiful dogs but they take casting to a whole new level

 

[User6179]

[QUOTE 2723440, member: 9609"]This was me winning an ugly mutt comp with my first best friend

have you ever seen an uglier bairn[/quote]

 

[slowmotion]

Staffs are brilliant. Good looking animals, loyal, bloody intelligent. Playful, prone to restlessness. They're only aggressive if trained to be.

Of course, the breed was defined in the Black Country.

"They're only aggressive if trained to be."

But they have been bred to have that aggressive streak. Isn't that the point? There are very few cases of whippets savaging toddlers to death, and plenty of SBTs.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

[quote="slowmotion], and plenty of SBTs.[/quote]

Usual Staffie hating crap:

No, if you see the news, they very often say of an attack that it was

'A Staffordshire Bull Terrier type of dog'

The key word here is 'type'. Quite frankly that could be a variety of different dog breeds.

Oh and as for Whippets, Greyhounds, etc, they have been bred to chase down small furry animals and, if given the chance WILL genuinely attack and kill things.
Its why you see Greyhounds with muzzles on.
Yes, it might not be people they are after, but they still are dangerous too.

 

[User6179]

Whenever a

"They're only aggressive if trained to be."

But they have been bred to have that aggressive streak. Isn't that the point? There are very few cases of whippets savaging toddlers to death, and plenty of SBTs.

Don't you think if staffies were half as bad as they are painted in the press they would be on the banned list!?

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

don't join the chav dog trend of staffs,

Blah blah blah stop reading the daily mail, we have a Staff (a 3 legged one if you must know) and I can assure you that nobody here is a Chav, Ned, Kev..... Whatever

Really, what gives with all the crap about Staffies? Not everyone and not every dog are the same!

Really, what is going to be the 'Devil Dog' breed that you can all moan about next?

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Whenever a


Don't you think if staffies were half as bad as they are painted in the press they would be on the banned list!?

Yes, there is no denying that if not trained properly they can have a bit of a temperament, but as I pointed out, if you are to read most press reports, they say

'A Staffordshire Bull Terrier type of dog'

The problem is that Pitbulls, etc look similar, but hey, why let the facts get in the way of a good Staffie Witch Hunt story?

 

[slowmotion]

I was bitten on the face by a dog once. Its fang went through my nose septum. The other side of its jaw crushed the other nostril and gave me a huge nosebleed. It is quite amazing how much blood came out of the puncture wound and the bleed on the other side.

No, I don't like dogs that instinctively go for the face and are bred to do so. Perhaps they are good with kids...I wouldn't know.
Edit: I guess it just had " a bit of a temperament" , poor little darling.