Becky and her pal Ch. Rockstaff Mr. Pibb CGC
Hello, my name is Elizabeth Harris, thank you for visiting Rockstaff's website. I became involved in Staffys (as many people affectionately call them) after I got my first girl, "Sadie", in 1999. If this is your first look at Staffordshire Bull Terriers you may want to visit the AKC site and read the breed description. We obtained our first Staffy when my family decided we needed another breed of dog for our family. We had 3 Border Collie and Australian Shepherd type dogs that were great till my little sister came along. She was is a rough and tumble, in your face type kid and the herding breeds we had couldn't handle this. They would snap occasionally and eventually one nipped her below the eye. After this incident we decided to find another breed. The new breed had to meet the following criteria:
1. Short-haired: I live in the South and have had my fill of long-haired dogs and all the extra work and care involved with a longer coat.
2. Medium size: Big dogs need more room and space, but a small or toy breed wouldn't be sturdy enough. I was looking for a dog that was, "just right", around 40lbs.
3. Durable: These were going to be farm dogs and out with us on the property so I looked for a breed that had enough stamina to keep (but wasn't hyper or high strung) and be around our livestock.
4. Absolutely LOVE KIDS!: I don't consider any breed 100% reliable around kids all the time and I would never reccomend leaving a child unattended around any dog. Having said that, I looked for a breed with a long history of people friendliness. My folks had a U-pick farm and families with kids are constantly coming and going, so a people friendly dog was a must.
Enter the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. After a long search I got my first Staffy and haven't been disappointed yet. These dogs have a way of growing on you. My Dad has always looked on dogs as a tool to be kept outdoors. "Houses are for people", he'd say and swore he would never have a dog in the house but if you were to look in our window on most any night you'd probably see him moving "Duke" over on the couch so he can sit down. I believe we found the right breed.
