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

[Mad Doug Biker]

Our first dog, Bruno, a rescue was a Staffie Alsatian Labrador..... everything cross (a Pedigree Heinz 57 we used to joke), and he was as sound as a pound despite having been treated badly before we got him.

I would hesitate about getting a Puppy too as there are many older dogs out there who desperately need a home, but who are, like Bruno, quite the most gentle and placid of souls. If you go to the rescue shelter and actually ask the staff about the dogs, they will be more likely to lead you to the right one as a pose to you choosing one on spec.

Bruno became a Therapet and visited the Old Folks Home regularly.

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.

Its just the instant judging of every single dog of a certain breed that I hate, that's all.
You simply say 'A DOG' what kind was it?
Going on what I KNOW, a Staffie will want to lick your face, yes, I get it, but to bite? No, there had to be something else going on there, be it that it had been aggravated beforehand or it was just overly excited (unfortunately it does happen), dogs don't just go about biting everything that moves, it really goes without saying. Poor little darling nothing.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Hey - yeah were going for a puppy rather than a rescue dog purely because of the kids. Yeah am seriously looking at a cross lab/staff for that reason

thanks

Read what I said about Bruno, ASK the staff to recommend you a dog for your circumstances, they will know the dogs better than anyone, we got a true gem as a result! Besides a Puppy can be just as big a Pandora's box, if not more as their character hasn't been set yet.

Also, so many older dogs (even ones that are 1 or 2 years old) needlessly get put down every week as everyone wants a cute little puppy. Please DON'T get a puppy and contribute to that!!
See if you want to do a good deed and save a dog's life, rescue one NOW as many shelters have to start destroying animals just to make space for the usual retard Christmas season.

 

[slowmotion]

MDB. Actually it was a terrier that went for my face. Yes, you are right, some breeds get a bad press and they may not be accurately reported. I find dog attacks on children almost unbearable to hear about in the press, that's all.

 

[User6179]

MDB. Actually it was a terrier that went for my face. Yes, you are right, some breeds get a bad press and they may not be accurately reported. I find dog attacks on children almost unbearable to hear about in the press, that's all.

Small kids and dogs is not a good idea , why take the risk I think!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

My parents' neighbours had two really nice Rottweilers, and two uncontrolled kids. There was a commotion one day when one of the dogs finally failed to see the joke in being pulled backwards from its food by his ears by one of the children, snarled at him, and pushed the boy away. The boy freaked out, ran crying to his mother and an hour later, both dogs had been put down ...

My parents were really upset about it, especially since they had been pleading with the neighbours to stop their children teasing the dogs.

This makes me SOO mad! Some people shouldn't be allowed to have Children never mind dogs!!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

This makes me SOO mad! Some people shouldn't be allowed to have Children never mind dogs!!

...... And yes, I prefer animals to humans ANY day, because humans are stupid and have the capacity to be as such on purpose, whereas an animal merely behaves on instinct and/or what it's been taught. It isn't the animal's fault if something goes wrong.

The most dangerous animal on the planet is a human. Fact.
I have brain damage and even I can figure it out!! The sooner we as a species eradicate each other from the surface of this planet in WW3 or similar the better!

...... I'll even agree to assassinate Franz Ferdinand to start it off

 

[snapper_37]

I'm no staffie hater by any means but I certainly don't trust them since my pooch was attacked a few years ago. Probably for the fact that I live in an area where they trawled round in da gangsta fashion, they are trained to be aggressive and the are treated like sh*t. The local rescue is always 70% full of them.

Saying that, I do have a Heinz 57 who has staffy/lab/collie in her. To the OP, go rescue if you can, they make smashing dogs if treated and trained properly.

Any excuse........

 

[crazyjoe101]

As far as the chav-staff steriotype goes, it exists for a reason. A large proportion of tracksuit donning youths with dogs have staffs, you see them all over the street on the leed but I've only seen about 2 or 3 in the park or woods (where dogs should be) having a nice run about in the last year. It's almost as if they just have them as ornaments. By no means am I saying all owners of staffs are like this, just that many use them and other similar looking breeds as a fashion accessory. It's sad as they clearly do not know how to care for an animal and treat it properly.
I think another breed with a bad reputation is the German Shepherd, some people I've met have been absolutely terrified of my Mum's German Shepherd because they think he'll be aggressive; strange since many of them happily let their kids pat the lab GS cross... That said German Sheps need A LOT of training and attention, especially if you buy a lively pup

 

[Linford]

Staffies, can be very nice dogs with the right handling. Daughter has a litter of 5 week old puppies up for sale now.

 

[LarryDuff]

Cocker spaniels are an ideal family pet. Our dog (sadly deceased last month aged 12) was never cross or snappy ever. Very loyal and loving pet she was.

 

[Scoop940]

Cocker spaniels are an ideal family pet. Our dog (sadly deceased last month aged 12) was never cross or snappy ever. Very loyal and loving pet she was.

Agreed, we have a Cockapoo, so half the same, just over a year old. Brilliant with the kids (10,9,5,4) and will even share the garden with our 4 Guinea Pigs when they are running loose Only bad habit she has is chewing stuff, anything that is left on the floor, kids toys etc. She's ace!

In her "It wasn't me pose"

 

[Saluki]

Small kids and dogs is not a good idea , why take the risk I think!

My Dad had dogs even when we were tiny. I fell off the coffee table when I was less than a year old and was nearly eaten by foxhound puppies. My Dad was heard to say that it would have been a glorious death not so sure myself.

We had GSDs in the house and I was never hurt or damaged by them. I grew up respecting dogs and they were never a problem. Of course GSDs moult like buggery and nowadays - unless you find a good working type - have hideous hip issues. The horrible show types seem to be half dog half frog.

Kids and dogs, IMO, are fine as long as the child respects the dog and that the dog has somewhere to go so he is undisturbed when he or she has had enough of the kids. We knew that when our dogs were in their baskets, or eating, that they were not to be stroked or mithered.
Staffies are good with kids, although its not a breed that I would have myself. I like JRTs they are such characters but I wouldn't trust either of mine for a nano second near kids as they have not grown up with them.

What about a nice trawl around the rescue centres and see if you can pick up a nice young Bitza. You'll not go wrong with a Bitza.

 

[compo]

I am a Lurcher fan. My last dog was a greyhound x saluki with some deerhound in the mix somewhere. He was brilliant. When I lived in the area he used to go around Sizewell beach and catch his own food. We always had plenty of rabbit in the freezer. He slipped up one day though. I took him to the beach on one of my overnight fishing trips. I didn't notice him woofing down my pack of lugworms which made him feel very poorly and sick several times. He got no sympathy from me!!

 

[Sandra6]

Sounds like you really want a staffie.
I'd recommend Jack russells as a good family dog, they don't shed masses and are friendly and fun. Well, mine is - but they do have that "small dog" mentality and tend to think they're the size of a great dane and want to prove it!
I'd love a cocker spaniel, or a beagle. We did have a beagle but unfortunately he thought our youngest was another puppy and it wasn't going to end well for one or the other so we rehomed him.
I think the important thing to remember with any dog, is that it's up to you to train them and ensure they are good with your children - and vice versa, you need to ensure your child is good to the dog too.
A tip we've found works out well when picking a dog is not to go for the most boisterous of the litter, or the most timid, go for that one in the middle.

 

[Leodis]

I want a collie but the wife says its a no go when we both work full time away from home