Breed in crisis so what can be done?

I have started a new discussion here in relevant section.

It's no secret that Staffordshire bull terriers are currently overbred to the extreme.

With huge numbers being put to sleep every week for no other reason than no homes for them, what is the solution ?

There sadly seems to be an us and them attitude between rescue and breeders/ show who don't seem to work together particularly well and support each other. With the breed in such crisis what is the solution?

It's foolish to think that every staffie in rescue is from a BYB or puppy farm as this simply isn't the case.

Staffies are overlooked by so many wonderful homes down to miseducation via the media portrayal they receive and the perception the public have of them, which sadly is not helped by the " stereotypical" chav owner that we have all met.

What is the solution to this tragic crisis currently affecting our breed?

I would like to see a break in breeding of most staffie breeders for at least a few years and a huge concerted effort between rescue and the good breeders to work together to get this breed out of the gutter. We simply cannot continue with the current situation where no one works together to try and help keep the breed the wonderful one it should be.

I would like a nationwide education program to re educate the public about the breed and get these Staffies that are loitering in kennels into homes.

What is the solution?
I don't want this to be a breeder versus rescue debate it shouldn't be - that in my opinion is part of the problem

The staffie situation is getting worse by the minute. Its naive of breeders to think that only poor bred staffs end up in rescue. Sadly the amount of good breeders is few and far between. The mainstay of the staffie breeder is the back yard breeder. Breeds for money with no care about where the pups end up. I too would like to see a ban on the breeding of staffs to try and get the numbers down. In an ideal world, all breeders would have a responsibility to take back any pups that cannot be cared for but sadly this is rarely seen. Maybe some sort of compromise needs to be sought. How about banning breeding for a year. That wouldn't have a hug impact on ''quality'' breeders but would hopefully slow down the amount of dogs coming into rescue. Then after that year, anyone wishing to breed from their staff must get a licence to do so. And make it expensive! I know that may annoy the good breeders but surely it would put the byb off. And even then, only a certain amount of litters per year should be licensed. Its not an ideal situation but breeders need to realise that if the breed they love so much carries on they way it is, our kennels will be full of nothing but staffs and the body count will continue to rise.

I agree with stopping staffies being breed for a certain amount of time, so If someone wants one they have to go through rescue or private rehoming, hopefully meaning that there is more consideration put into the decision of getting one.

Educating the public is going to be the key I think. Having more staffies being involved in things like agility and even being PAT dogs should be publicised to change the publics general perception of the breed. We have to change the way staffords are seen as a whole.

I do think that the public need to be educated in general as far as breeds are concerened. Its seems to be the general concensus that there are certain types of dog that are agressive and things like labradors/ golden retreivers and spaniels are all fine and wont put a foot wrong when infact ANY dog regardless of breed is capable of being agressive, not just bullbreeds and things like rotties/gsd's

Dani what an excellent post and excellent thread.

I have to say until getting to love the breed I was oblivious to the plight of the SBT in rescue. Some up to date figures for theSBT in rescue in scotland are (as supplied to Ian robb)
"These are the figures supplied to me by dog rescue centres in Scotland with regards to the percentage of all Staffordshire bull terriers and crosses of the breed currently in the centres.

HFAA Angus 60% Brown Street Dundee 25% PADS, Perth 35% SSPCA 40% Haven Rescue, Fife 80% Langdykes, Fife 65% 2nd Chance, Fife 20% (limited spaces allocated for SBT) Staffie Rescue Scotland Inundated with people looking to rehome SBT Argyle Rescue Dogs Trust Scotland 25% (limited spaces allocated for SBT) Dumfries and Galloway Rescue 25% (limited spaces allocated for SBT) Edinburgh Cat and Dog Home 35% "

These Stats are based on "pedigree" and croosses.

I fully agree that rescues and breeders need to work hand in hand to safe this wonderful and yet very exploited breed. I appreciate that ethical breeders have worked long and hard to create what the consider to be the best lines and their litters meet with the official breed standard and i fully understand their concerns about not wanting to lose the lines they have worked hard to achieve, and I believe that is one of the reasons that they are against breeding control measures.

If a ban on breeding were to be introduced I understand why as etthical breeders they would feel they were being prosecuted whilst other un ethical breeders continued to breed regardless, but I personally believe there has to be a start somewhere.

Yes breeding as a whole almost every breed, should be better controlled but for the purpose of this discussion and my own personal interests and going on the stats up and down the country I can say pretty conclusively that there are a huge percentage of SBT's and their crosses in rescues up and down the country.

If there was a temp ban or restrciction on breeding no matter what you are looking for in an SBT, even if you are looking for a particular lineage in it's breeding I would hazard a bet that with time and effort you could find such a dog in rescue. Sad but true.

There is no doubt in my mind that breeders and those who advocate rescue are passionate about the breed and that both sets of people want the best for the breed it therefore is such a shame that every week our chosen breed suffers the ultimate penalty because of over breeding.

My own opinions of what should be done are
1) Temporary restriction on breeding
2)Active prosecution of failure to comply (trawling adverts in papers gumtree free ads etc and reporting individuals - i know this would be a costly exercise to enforce this but still worthwhile
3)Education about the breed the real nature of the breed in schools and youth groups
4)Education about dogs as a whole in schools in much the same way kids are taught the green cross code
5)Continued education throughout the UK about the real plight of this wonderful breed

I think everyone should work together, if you truelly love dogs why wouldn't you do all you can to help them? And lets face it if your mopping up while the pipes still leaking, no matter how hard you try not much is gonna change until the source is stemmed at least, nothings gonna change. I also think that rescue dogs can be campainged at dog shows, espcailly the big ones where there are lots of members from the gp, with special classes, there are some great dogs tucked away at centres, some of them probally as well bred as some in the show ring, if anything to show the gp another way, that they don't have to go any breeder, that what they want in a dog could be sat in a kennel waiting for them.

I understand that the PDSA is considering non-treatment of un-neutered dogs? (In the Undercover Boss prog)
That would be a good start.
I would also like them to stop treatment / checks / cheap wormers etc for puppies.
Let the breeders pay for treatment and it might slow them down.

I don't agree that it is an us and them situation.

The biggest supporters of rescue are responsible breeders and show people. Constantly fund raising holding auctions and at East Anglia Champ show there was a Mass Plank in the interval and raied a lot of money,

The breed rescue co ordinaters are very often show people as well and affliated to a breed club.

In the breed record suppliment the numbers of Staffords being bred are dropping except for those that are coloured blue.

I have a 7 year old dog in my house that I bred while his owner is away from his home hopfully he will be able to have him back in January. I look after my own always.

I believe that all dogs should be identified permently and all pups should be micro chipped before they leave the breeder with a legal responsibility to inform the data base of new owners when the dog is moved on, or you stay responsible.
When the dog ends up in rescue owner is financially responsible. Breeders with a high level of pups ending up in rescue penalised also.

Yes some people will get around this.

If all the good breeders stopped breeding for a couple of years the gap will just be filled by people who just do it for money.
Where there is demand there will always be someone willing to fill it.
I have not had a litter for almost 4 years but that is not because of the amount in rescue.

I would like to see something along those lines, or that you can only buy a Stafford from a KC registered breeder, and breeders must take their dogs back, but I don't think this is realistic.

I have met MANY staffie owners who breed - they all want a 1st litter and to make a bit of money. They are not breeding because they love and want to improve the breed, for temprement or looks, but because they can.

I wish that education would help - programs showing just how many are PTS each year anad how rescues are overrun with them. Sadly I'm not sure that the people that are backyard breeding would care enough to stop them.

I thought the idea of the Blue Cross not treating staffies unless they are neutered was a good one - this would only affect a few breeders but anything is better than nothing.

Leadstaffs your breeding ethics demonstrated above have to be commended and I truly wish there were a lot more like you, I know there are some dam good breeders out there but taking BYB out of the equation there are some horrendous breeders too - yes I know the same can be said for most, if not all breeds of dogs but when considering the amount of SBT in rescue I truly believe the bad bredders in the SBT world contribute, literally to more death sentences. And That is a sad sad fact that really does make my heart ache. Every week beautiful examples of this stunning breed along with their crosses and also examples which do not conform to the standard are needlessly killed due to the over production of the breed.

The chipping and breeder being responsible is an excellent plan and yes I do think that would be a great introduction.

I think if not a ban on breeding for whatever reason then a stricter licencing procedure with like you say the breeder being legally responsible for the offspring for the life of the pup should anything go wrong with the home the pup 1st goes to.

Perhaps the area you are in fund their breed rescue but in Scotland that certainly is not the case. We have had dogs that come from so called good breeders who won't take there dogs back or pay for them to stay in kennels etc.

When was the last time you walked round a rescue centre? What's your solution to this problem?
What if the breeder doesn't come forward for there dog? There isn't anything that can be done by the rescue to make them, they just have to pick up the pieces.

I am not against good breeders, but I am against breeding dogs when there are hundreds of the same breed put to sleep through lack of homes, there has to be a better way.

Thing is someone who bought a dog from an excellent line could then breed from said dog because it's got papers and had good bloodlines etc but then could give those pups to inappropriate homes who then go on to breed again from them... That's part of the problem, breeders who breed from a good dog but without the appropriate fallback measures in place- how do you deal with that?