Do Staffordshire Bull Terriers behave the same as other dogs? Discussions

Right ok, whilst I agree that specific breeds were bred to do a job, Staffords were bred to fight bulls long ago not people or other dogs, also the breed specific behaviours she talks about do not appear the same in the same breed. Some collies have rubbish eye stalk, some retrievers don't want to retrieve, just because they're the same breed doesn't mean they'll all be good at doing their breeds 'job'.

When she says inability I really hope she's not talking about the myth that is lockjaw?? There are ways of seperating dogs that are fighting, and I'd disagree that you can't train that out of them, like anything it's nature vs nurture. My dog doesn't know how to fight and when being attacked submits lying on her back, and lets the other dog attack her, so if that's just ONE staffie out of hundred of thousands then doesn't that disprove the rule or is my stafford a genetic freak?

No she is not a genetic freak

My EBT takes most things on as a challange, say no she goes straight back to whatever naughtieness shes up to, remove, she goes straight back, raise my voice she barks, she is a very challenging individual, if she decides shes gonna jump up at you, you can see a change in her eyes, they go like slits and you know sommits gonna happen lol, dunno if Staffs are like this I have never owned one, I know a lot and they don't seem to act like Toro, she just seems to like to get up to mischief, shes not a fighter, thankfully doesn't know what it is....YET !

myStaffy and my terrier used to go at it hammer and tongs and I managed to interrupt every fight they ever had, these days they tend not to fight although they have their moments, it's mainly all bluff and bluster these days. So not only can you interrupt a fighting staffy you can teach them not to fight. Mines not a genetic freak either.

The trouble ones in this house is the Lakeland not the Staffords

The website you link to gives no clue as to who set it up - apart from a bit of book-plugging which leads me to suspect it may be a marketing site.
I can find stuff on the net that `proves` we are descended from aliens, that the world was created on a Sunday afternoon etc etc...but I don`t get annoyed by it because this has the same veracity as idle chat overheard in a bus queue.
TC- why not start a discussion on reputable theories? And behaviourists who are recognised authorities?

Well it's all in the book. And also respected Canine expert Ray Coppinger touches upon it. I think the book takes it further.

Theories? How does information become a reputable theory?

If the book were correct then there would not be any sweet staffies or pits.

Generalising across an entire breed is stereotyping. Some dogs will always fit the stereotype but that doesn't make the stereotype a good tool for assesment.

Sure genetics is a big influence but you can't use the physical shape to predict the mental/emotional temperament. Gamebred/showbred/petbred/this line/that line - it all makes a difference.

Staffords are dogs, they have the same instinct as other cannines but like all pedigree breeds different traits have been honed to make the Stafford the Stafford.

The bitch I own now is confident secure and happy and will walk past a barkin/lunging dog and do nothing because she is secure in herslef and in her trust of me to prevent anyting escalating. Although I know she can and would defend herself I also know my dog and hopefuly my breed well enough to know what she will do I am not "stupid" with the breed - but I am aware that STAFFORDS get the blame regardless of who is intially at fault. So I make sure my dogs are never in the initial line up.

Just returned from a few days away at Weymouth and walked along Brewers Quay and Weymouth front and dogs lunging barking all around (cockers/borders/yorkies/labs/gsds) and we walked past all no problem. In all cases the cause of the trouble was the owner not the dog or the breed.

Sadly if the dog on the end of the lead is a bull breed then it become news worthy, if something kicks off...

my staffie is so gental and scared of dogs that growl its how u bring em up!!!

I knew a SBT called milly very well from pup to 2 years.
she is sweet!

This seems to me to be a problem spread by the press that a few idiots who use there dogs as weapons spoil it for everyone else because staff etc are seen as devil dogs then everyone who owns one is a problem its rubbish but is there a way out of this i dont know all i do is take every dog i come across as an individual and there must be 30 dogs within 200yds of my house alot of staffs and rotties the only 1 that causes any problems is a cocker spanial so it only goes to show that there all different

difference is your dog might be lovely but when challenged a true stafford will rise up to the challenge thats the difference and there have been many accidents when a person has had there lovely stafford and decided to get another one to find a blood bath when they have been out as there stafford that wouldnt hurt a fly has killed the other one.

All I am saying is there are two sides of the coin and its best to be preventative with staffords as I have known the most placid to suddenly have a pop at another dog and that is something you cannot take out of a stafford no matter how it is brought up.the idiots like to make there dogs human aggressive and that is why they have bad press.

But surely this can be true of any breed?!
I have known reliable old Labradors that have randomly turned and attacked another dog totally out of character...

Difference is a labrador would not do as much damage also they were never bred as pit dogs,trust me a stafford when it has turned you have to stop it straight away as they will click into one mode and one mode only

Tosh, piffle and Balderdash. Why do you insist on promulgating the Rude Boy lies about SBTs being `hard`? Any dog can do damage. And SBTs are just dogs, not weapons as you seem so keen to state.

Totally agree!!
They all have teeth- they can all do damage if they want to!!
I have known plenty of other breeds do LOTs of damage in fact.....and not just the ones you would expect!!

I know of a Yorkie that killed a whippet in my parents village last year in what seemed to be a random attack!!!!
I actually could not believe it but it sure as hell happened- my mother had to try and save the village 'community' from becoming an all out war zone over that little mishap!!!!!

its not the dog, its the owner.
my aunt has got a toy poodle and its the most bad temperd cantankerous dog i have ever met in my life, if it was a staffy or an ebt it would have been put down by now, but, because its little and fluffy people think its funny rather than dangerous, im just glad my cousins arent little kids anymore.
ive always had bull terriers, and my grandad had a pit bull when i was a kid (before dda) and as long as they are trained from a young age, well socialised and know aggression of any kind is not a good thing then they are the perfect pet.
i spent months teaching my pooch not to bark at sudden noises, to be calm with other dogs, and the difference between kids kicking a football against the fence and an intruder
although it was hard work it was worth it for the balanced family pet i have now.
do i think anyone could get into my property while im at work or in bed, not for a second, but she knows the difference and thats the important thing.

I don't think it means they are 'hard' just maybe they have an innate tendency to fight hard.
The poor dog is only doing what it was bred for initially and when they fight they love it.
Some say that during sexual maturity that innate behaviour can switch on.
I'm still on the fence about this one.

Without trying to pick holes here i have to say I find that pretty offensive. I've owned 3 staffies, all pure breed and and all for the most part well behaved. If Boomer is challeneged by another dog he has ignores it and does not rise to the occasion. I'm careful with him of course, but i'd be the same with any dog, no matter the size and strength. I don't see how my dog is not a true stafford just because it has the control not to fight.

Can you please clear that up for me as it seems to imply that any staffy who backs down from a fight lacks the proper breeding, I'd argue the exact opposite.