Lol, well if their annoyed that their dogs not DA tell em to send their dogs here, I'm sure I can find room somewhere but seriously, with a estimation of 68 dogs a day is it? Being pts why risk that number increasing by breeding more dogs from DA parents? Even with the pups not being certain to be DA is it not better to reduce the gene pool by not adding more to it in the first place rather then the killing of many healthy dogs in the future?

And by not breeding any staffords you just open the doors wide for poorly bred puppy farmed dogs.

Would not breeding really help the rescue crisis,I'm not so sure,the reg figures have dropped,however these only make up a percentage of SBT's been bred,it's those bred from BYB's and pet breeders which need to be stopped,not those responsible breeders who have good healthy dogs which are health tested and shown.

Would eliminating good dogs from the genepool for showing breed charateristics be a bad thing ? Given that you know my stance on the subject now, is it really necessary for me to answer that ?

If we all stop breeding well bred health tested pedigree Staffords, do you honestly think that the rescue situation is going to end ? Joe Bloggs is still going to breed his Stafford cross, with his mate next doors dog. Leading to more ill bred dogs in rescue being labled as Staffords.

In all seriousness, how many well bred health tested Staffords do you think find their way into rescue ? I am not naieve enough to think none, but i would bet everything i have that it is a very small percentage compared to dogs that have just been thrown together, crosses ...etc... That are all rehomed as Staffords.

I have spent the last few hours reading some old posts about dog aggression, predominantly Staffords. There are quite a few ! It seems that no matter how many Stafford owners have said similar to what i am trying to say, and even breed club snippets, echoing those sentiments, people will just not listen.

Snap !

Must have been writing at the same time

Well I've certainly had my eyes opened about the Staffie...I always thought the rumours about them being DA were just that some had got into the wrong hands, were mistreated, and occasionally, just became DA..like any other breed really.

I understand what those who know the breed so well are saying, if breeders stopped breeding then the market would be swamped with those poorly bred dogs, I take that on board.

However, I still can't get my head around using a DA dog for breeding purposes...surely if people had been more selective in their programmes initially then it wouldn't be a problem in the breed...I see that the breed standard states it is a breed trait, but surely that has had to be added simply because someone somewhere used the wrong dog/bitch in their breeding programme?

What was the staffie originally bred for? I thought it was bull baiting or similar, not dog fighting.

I'm not suggesting the dogs shouldn't have character but to knowingly use a top winning dog just because it is winning but never mind the temperament is beyond me. I'm pretty certain that in any breed there are just as good specimens waiting in the wings that perhaps belong to someone that isn't so "active" in and around the show scene, but that have good temperaments to go with their good looks.

Oh well, we live and learn

I'm sure the KC BS doesn't advocate DA as part of the temperament & character isn't it

Obviously someone has interpreted the bits in red as showing DA

Sometimes I really wonder at just what people want from a breed. I read similar posts on a Pit Bull forum about the pride the owners feel when their dogs 'turn on'. Strangely enough many Pit Bulls live happily alongside other dogs without incident. The same happens here with Staffies but there will always be those that get that kick out of owning what they think is a 'potentially' dangerous dog. Just beggars belief.

Since you are openly breeding from dogs you know to be aggressive, then you are knowingly producing puppies with more chance of showing aggression when older.

As it is often dogs that show aggression that end up in rescue, I can't really see where you are doing anything to help ease the predicament whereby thousands of Staffies are being killed on a regular basis.

Aggression does not HAVE to be a 'breed characteristic'. It is breeders such as yourself that are perpetuating this - and ultimately it is the dogs that are paying the price.

If I had the power I would lock the thread with this as the final statement. It completely sums up why we have such an issue with Staffies in the UK today. Complete respect to TabithaJ

Aggression is usually displayed when fear is felt. So this breeder is breeding timid dogs - or mistreating them so they feel fear. Lovely.