Staffordshire Bull Terrier ~ HELP!

Hi Guy's my name is Tony and I'm from the UK and hey here is a new slant ~ So ok well I know what you are thinking ~ what on earth are you doin in here, well it is a long story;
I'll start at the beginning, I have always owned German Shepherds ~ you know 'proper dogs' bet that gets a few hackles up, only jokin.
We moved recently into a smaller house and guess what we have next door ~ 'The Neighbours From Hell' ~ loads of those pesky things over here in the UK, we breed our own.
Anyway we were thinkin' bout gettin' another dog but her indoors has laid the law down ~ no more BIG hairy dogs, no matter how much pleadin' I try, so I have just about persuared her into gettin' a Staffy ~ as we call them in the UK, but I do not know anything about them, this is where you guy's can help!
Back to the neighbours, never in my life have I known of such selfish, self centred, inconsiderate morons. Their dog barks incessantly, the kids howl continously and the parents 'well the parents', enough said. The kids balls are continuously over the fence, followed by the kids, six or seven times a day, sick and tired of plants gettin' broken my knuckles are gettin' sore knocking on the window and as I said to the missus if we still had the dog, {she was called 'Tia' obviously a lady dog {tried to post bit*h}, but it was rejected, no swearin' in here, forgot, and what a dream, she was absolutely gorgeous, but sadly she passed away, old age} we would not be having this trouble {her prescence would have seen to that} she was really good at barking charging over to intruders in a really menacing manner and then, well ................she licked them to death, but I do not think the little brats of neighbours would have even got close enough for her to do that were she still here.I know you guys must be thinkin' this is gettin' a bit long winded but bear with me...............
What I need is a dog that looks menacing ............. has a bit of a reputation .................... enough to keep neighbours and their pesky kids on their own side of the fence, and be excellent at puncturin' balls on command.............but at heart is as soft as putty, must be able to be trained to be 1001% obedient, biddable, excellent guard dog as we live in the English countryside in the middle of no-where, bliss, {or at least it would be if I could get rid of the neighbours} and 2001% safe with the other half ~ the wife that is and we are surrounded by stock ie; sheep, cattle and horses, so it must be 3001% safe with them or at least easily trained to be safe in their prescence. I have heard that Staffys can be a bit of a rebel!
So you guy's out there in Cyberworld ................
I would be extremely gratefull for any assistance or advice with this dilema ......... I could have opened a bag of worms here, I realise that.

Staffies are wonderful creatures. They take an experienced owner - of large dogs - which you are. They can be incredibly stubborn, typical of anything in the Terrier family. They look ferocious, but a well bred Staffordshire Terrier is not overly human aggresive, although they are excellent defenders.

There are several American Staffordshire Terrier owners here who can give you their personal experiences and opinions on their dogs - much better than I can. I love the Staffordshire Terrier, but we have an Angus farm and need herd dogs that can also handle the large coyotes we have, so we have Fila Brasileiros.

Actually, the Fila does fit all of your criteria. A common part of the language in Brazil, where they originate, is the phrase "faithful as a Fila." This is completely true. I have had some wonderful dogs in my life, but I have never felt as safe as I do with even one of my Filas. I very seldom recommend this breed to anyone, as they are extremely different from most dogs. They really must be well socialized, though, as they are bred to have a strong aversion to strangers and they need to understand the difference between a normal encounter and a threatening encounter. There are reportedly some truly excellent dogs being bred in Europe. A good source to read about them is http://www.mindspring.com/~anableps/fila.html .

Another dog you might consider seriously is a well-bred Doberman. Once again, you've really got to do your homework on the breeders with the Dobie.

A good place to do some breed research would be www.molosserdogs.com . There are many different breeds, but most share the traits that you are looking for.
Keep us posted on your search! Believe me, most of us understand and sympathize about having neighbors from the dark side. (lol) Just ask Shredhead!

Hi there Renee, 'Neighbours from the dark side' ~ I like that, thanks for the quick reply, geeze it is unbelievable when you think bout' it, goodness knows how many miles away.

It looks some dog ' The Fila ' but as I was saying, Sue my other half does not want another BIG dog, she recons' the house is too small, hmmm, well no good arguin' with you gals, if we know what is good for us.

You breed Angus cattle, you lucky thing, best store cattle you can get absolute beuts' {as in beautys} being a Scot I would have to say that, but they are anyway.

I used to have a doberman ~ never again ~ it was a rescue and a phsyco, it savaged, well bit my nephew, twice ~ it never bit a third time, sorry to say.

I would far sooner stick with the Shepherds as I know the breed so well, but as I said before I know what is good for me and I just say 'yes dear ~ no dear' or whatever I think she wants to hear, then she thinks she has won and that is her happy, no I am not really being patronising, just terrified of her, tsk, tsk .

So I recon' I still have to research the Staffy a bit more, but havin' lived on or around farms for a lot of my life I am fully aware of the risks involved.

Oh and thanks for those links, I am off to check them out, cheers Renee

Oh and by the way what a great site this is, having read your posts you guys are ACE.

You're a wise man, Tony.

I've had German Shepherds ever since I was 12, all of them but my first were rescues, and they are so wonderful. I have one now, with the Filas. Bimmer's got a bit of wolf in him, which he needs to hold his own with these girls that are twice as big as he is!

I must admit I wasn't all that enthused about the Filas at first, either. I'd never wanted a humongous dog with a droopy face that I figured would drool all the time. And Charley has never cared for German Shepherds. Now, he and Bimmer are thick as thieves and I love these big, loving and devoted girls so much. They're also much better house dogs than most, even if they are big. As long as they get to go outside and exercise, they're big layabouts in the house. As much as I adore the Staffies, the Filas are much easier inside.

I think what sealed it for me was when I realized that any time I was outside, all I had to do was reach out my hand and there was a big head, insinuating itself for a pet, looking up at me with the most incredible loving expectation. And the first time I saw one of them go "on guard" for me . . . well, I'm not afraid of anyone, now!

That's terrible about your Dobie - and the reason I was so careful to use the term "well bred." We've done some terrible things to so many great breeds of dogs. The modern German Shepherd is another breed that's been decimated by reprehensible breeding practices.

So you're a Scot, eh? My Charley's a bona fide, red-headed, Celt blooded descendant of Irish and Scot settlers - as am I. Joyces and Hollidays and Hardys and Hamiltons and Harringtons and Watsons; all from western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and eastern Kentucky. We both come from long lines of troublemakers. You should see people's reaction when they realize we've got two redheads in one house.

A well-bred Staffordshire is a very good dog. I've never met one that was human aggressive, but of all the ones I've known, they're big-time barkers/growlers. (But most will lick a stranger once they are inside the yard, LOL)

A barking, growling Staffy is a menacing looking thing on its own. BONUS if you can teach them to bare their teeth in a "smile".
One thing I wouldn't do if I were you, is teach the dog to actually bite. You really don't want to add to the Staffie's bad reputation...

Personally I wouldn't recommend a Fila Brasileiro.. (Sorry Renee ) Unless you have lots of time and experience on your hands, and are prepared to spend LOTS of time socializing, densensitizing and training a very powerful, strong-willed, and potentially dangerous dog, I wouldn't even consider a Fila. They are nothing like German Shepherds.
BUT, if they are well-socialized, trained, and they are experienced enough to have good judgement of character (A dog that is never socialized will NEVER learn to judge someone's threat to you & your property, because they haven't been around that many people) they can be excellent family members and guardians.

No need to apologize, Grace. You notice that you're the only other person I've ever even hinted at a suggestion of considering the Fila. I've just got a feeling about Tony, and his having grown up on a farm is a real plus. And you know us red-headed Irish and Scots types: we're a wee bit fey with our knowing sometimes. (g)

I was talking to Judy at Defender Filas the other day and she commented that there are some real problems in Idaho with rogue Fila breeders, breeding dogs that are too large, aggressive, intractable. A well bred Fila, oddly enough, doesn't really need for social lessons to be repeated over and over. We really haven't had to spend excessive amounts of time with socialization, just occasional trips out in public, a little meet-and-greet here and there, and (it's hard to believe, even for me) literally no time with training. The three we've had just seem to know what's expected of them. Buffy, our first one, didn't even have to be house trained. Not one single accident! Charley didn't want Buffy taken off the farm until she was a year old, and she was a very "hard" Fila, but even so, I could put her on the leash and take her anywhere and she was perfectly behaved. But I will give Bimmer credit for teaching them what it means when I say "where are your manners?" (lol) I didn't teach him that, I just asked him that one day when he was being too rambunctious and he immediately laid down quietly and looked at me. Go figure!

They can be, however, as you know, devious and conniving Monsters.

One thing I would worry about with the Staffy is the proximity of livestock. They have so much energy and athletic prowess, and they do love to run and chase, and that's a quick way for a dog to get shot, even if it's not chasing livestock. Just running in the same field can get a dog - particularly one that people have so many prejudices against - summarily killed with no questions asked.

Actually, a Smooth Collie might even fill the bill.

Just my small input here (I am not as knowledgeable about breeds as others on this site for sure!!) Don't think I can spell this early either..........BUT I've found that some of the smaller breeds are a bit more rowdy indoors than some of the large breeds!! I had a Cairn terrier for 16 years which amazed my vet because he felt that the smaller terriers were 'hyper' and that helped to decrease their life span. Don't know if that's true or not.......but my smaller dogs have all been more of a handful than my shepard. As far as the ole shedding hair all over the place......in my house it is the cat that is the menace on that subject! If those children are really a big headache...don't know if a dog will help.....they would probably cause the pup to be overwhelmed and these neighbors don't sound like anyone I'd want to face in a lawsuit....in case the dog bit someone.



LOL....'neighbors from the dark side'....I LOVE THAT!!!!! Strange...no matter where you go....there seems to be a set!!!

LOL @ Renee.....'2 redheads' soooooooo funny!!

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/staffordshirebullterrier.htm
hope this helps

I don't have any direct knowledge about staffies but they are a bully breed and I know a bit about american pits. From what I can tell they may be the breed for you. A well bred staffie should have no more chance of human aggression than anything else in my opionion. Plus they usually are great with kids due to a high pain tolerance. They are great at showing off agression to avoid a fight contrary to popular belief. As far as the animals around they should not present a problem if you socialize as a puppy. As stated above they are stubborn but with experience with shepards you should be able to handle a staffie. Just my opionion though. Definatly do alot more research and make sure you find a good breeder.

Yep i reckon staffys are a great breed, you need to be careful with the breeder though, I see alot of staffys with skin allergies which cost the owners a lot of money to treat not to mention the stress which comes along with skin problems, IM not sure whether or not the breed has these problems where you are but alot of them do here in oz (its hereditary) so make sure you check out the parents and check about whether they have any problems before commiting. Good luck!!!

I have a pit bull terrier, and they are very loyal to their owners. They want to protect you. My dog has never and will never bite anyone, but she will defend her property. They are also very jealous dogs. They need to be by your side ALL the time or their just not happy. A few days ago, I was laying on the couch with Beulah and a friend of mine just walked in the door. Beulah jumped on and stood over me and barked and growled until I told her it was ok. She wasn't going to attack him or anything, she was just keeping guard. I love that she does that for me. Being a single girl living by herself, it's nice to know that your dog will protect you if the need arises.

Welcome to the boards, nice to see another local (ish) face!

Just wanted to add that if you're doing any research that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Staffordshire Terrier are different breeds, the latter being the taller American version. Not anything like as common over this side of the pond. SBTs are like a big dog in a little dog's body! They are rather exuberant in general but in your situation I bet he/she would have a whale of a time!

Also...unfortunately Filas are banned here. My other half is bessotted by them and wasn't best pleased to find this out.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

www.champdogs.co.uk is a great site for finding good UK breeders for virtually any breed.

It's true they can be prone to skin complaints, BUT I've known my boy's parents since they were 8 weeks old and they've never shown a sign of it, whereas Hoofa has super sensitive skin that gets rubbed by everything.