For anyone who has ever owned a staffie

Hi, I have 2 staffies, bessie and Borris,

Bessie is 19 months old now, she has 2 walks, her weight seems to be a problem, not a massive one, she is a lil over weight, she does not eat that much, she has liver, sausages, turkey, beef mince and bakers comp for her dinner, only one type of meat for everyday of the week with a small amount of Bakers, she has 2 dog treats a day. She plays with our puppy like a mad man on the run, always skitting around. She also gets a frisbee when she walks so we chuck it for her so she runs, she also eats stones, so when she has the frisbee she wont!! She has just come in to season and I heard that they put a lil weigh on then! The vet says up her exercise, which is why she has 2 walks a day!!

Is walking better for losing weight than chucking a frisbee for an hour a day?

Also Bessie is the love of my life and I adore her!! She is amazing with children , elderly women and men, amazing with women, and all dogs. She has a major problem with the Postman and she also hates Men who she has never met before and can be dangerous, we have many signs on our door, like enter at own risk and beware of the dog! Also a post box outside of our gates. Poor Postman! Also a door bell and is shut away when the doorbell goes, we dont like doing this, she even tries to barge the door down with her head!! we cannot risk bessie, as if she bit someone then The dreaded may happen!

Does anyone elses staffies have the same worries as me with thier Staffies?

StaffieMad

roadwalking and free running (ifshe is ok with recall, etc.although not recommended when in season with other dogs about ) is the best thing for Jazz to get her in shape, i am sure other staff owners will come along with their advice too

Shes amazing with recall, shes a dream off lead, she a nightmare on she pulls like crazy!! I cant walk her at the mo as shes on season, which sucks as she hates it!! and cus to many dogs were i live and they will all be at my door!!

Out of interest how is she offlead when she meets strange men ?

Hello Staffiemad,
I to have two Staffords, and I don't have any human problems, postman or otherwise, if anything they are overly friendly with humans. With regards to your query on exercise the dog itself plays a big part in this, if your dog is intense in it's exercise then it can do more in 30mins than others will do in 1hour. Hard physical exercise is more benifical than walking and will certainly acheive weight loss if done regularly, in adherence to controlled diet, eg.no crisps, chocs, or similar.

All her ridges goes up and she just barks at them and growls, i always put her on a lead if i see a man she dont know!! I am nervous around strange men when i am with her as she may bite them and i dont want that, She has never bit some yet, but i dont want to risk. If i shout very loud she will stop and come to me!! She has been known to guard the shop when my dad is standing outside with her in town! She very protective of me and my mum!! Shes an amazing guard dog!!

Just walk-walk-walk- and cut the feeding back a little, you will see a great difference You cannot out walk your dog, ive been told

Your weight problem isn't specific to staffies...maybe you should have titled it 'weight issues' and you'd have gotten more responses.

I made Shelby overweight when I rescued her because I spoiled the snot out of her! It took about a year to take it off of her. I cut out ALL treats and cut her food back by a 1/4. That, coupled with 2 walks each day, took the weight off very slowly.

If you feel that you're not overfeeding her and she's getting plenty of exercise, you may want to take her for a blood test and have her thyroid levels checked.

Staffys are not reknowned for their guarding powers as a rule due to their amicability with humans- have you had her from a pup or is she a rescue?

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I came across this site surfing the net it is a credit to the breed see for yourself !!