Is a Staffy For Me?
If you are really considering buying a Staffy for a pet, wether from me or someone else, I first suggest you read all you can about them. My history page has a little background of the breed but a couple of books I suggest you read are, "Staffordshire Bull Terrier" by Dieter Fleig and "The Staffordshire Terriers" by Anna Katherine Nicholas. There are also many other fine books on the breed and lots of articles on the internet so get as much information as you can. Having said that I'd like to stress a few points that may help you decide if this breed is for you. Before purchasing a Staffy please consider the following:
1. Staffys are not a breed you can just let run loose around the neighborhood. Staffys are a breed with a fighting heritage and although breeders have worked to lessen dog aggresive behavior in the breed some still remains. If you let your Staffy out loose in the neighborhood sooner or later they are bound to get in a fight and you will be in trouble.
2. Staffys need to be on a leash when around other dogs. Staffys are not a breed I suggest you take to the dog park and let run free with the other dogs for the same reason as in number 1 above. Your Staffy may go for a long time with no problem doing this, but that one time it gets in a fight with another dog will make you wish you had kept the leash on. Staffys are serious about fighting once one begins and hate to quit so you need to avoid the problem and not allow it to happen.
3. Staffys need good training. If you don't train your Staffy they will train you. This is not a breed you can purchase and then just forget about when it comes to training. If you have never trained a dog then consider a dog obedience class. Training should begin with socialization as soon as the puppy shot series has been completed. The young pup should be taken around as many other dogs and people as possible to make them a well rounded social dog.
4. Staffys need interaction with their owners and exercise. A Staffy will be quite content with a couple of good hard exercise sessions a day. If you just put them in the backyard and forget about them they will get bored and jaws strong enough to crack hickory nuts can do a lot of damage when they are bored. Staffys love their owners and really need time interacting with them.
5. Staffys should never be taught people aggression. If you are looking for a guard dog find another breed. I often have people come by looking for a guard dog. When they ask if a Staffy makes a good guard dog I tell them yes and no. No because they have such a people friendly nature and yes because their looks scare people so I call them a psychological guard dog. My folks take one of my Staffys with them when they pick up left over bread at a mission in Marietta to feed their livestock. There are a lot of questionable people walking around down there yet my Mom leaves her purse in the truck while they load bread. With the Staffy in the front seat they have never had a problem. Now all the Staffy would do is lick a person to death but their looks keep folks away. That is what I mean by a psyhcological guard dog. You can make any dog people aggressive, even one with such a people friendly nature as a Staffy. To do this with a Staffy though shows a extreme lack of good sense. If you want to train a dog to guard get a different breed.
6. A Staffy should be the only dog in the household. Because of their occasional lack of tolerance of other dogs, a Staffy should be the only household pet. If you have other dogs (or cats) a Staffy would be a poor choice. I know other breeders who keep more than one Staffy in the house and my own Staffys play togther outside, but I don't leave them alone togther when I leave. I'm always in hearing distance so I can break up a fight if one gets started. It's rare that my females get into it, but if they did, and I was not around to break it up I would probably be minus at least one dog. You are better off with 1 Staffy as the only pet.
