They probably bite as often if not more so than a Stafford or Pitt,why are they not in the media or press as much - simple it doesn't carry as much impact as the bull breeds!

In my opinion one breed is no different to another,they all have four legs,fur,eyes, ears, teeth and can all bite and kill,usually it's human error at fault.

I don't buy papers why because they are full of trash,they belong in the toilet!

I was brought up with BCs. And the only dogs that I've ever been bitten by are Collies and Collie crosses (three in total, none of them our own dogs). I would not choose to own a BC now despite our family dogs being wonderful pets. They are just not the breed for me.

SBTs are known to be dog aggressive in many instances. This does not mean that they are any more likely to attack a human than any other breed. The majority that I know are not dog aggressive and are absolute darlings with people.

The DDA came about as a knee jerk reaction to a few events that happened at the time. Not all involved APBTs or any of the other 3 breeds specifically named. It was an ill thought out act at the time and has always been nigh on impossible to enforce.

Incidentally, Collies are on the Dangerous Dogs list in Italy (along with my own breed and several others that will make most people go 'huh?!?')
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-25-2003-45847.asp

Ah. Now i get you.
You agree that all breeds can be aggressive.
But the way you would decide which breed should be banned and which shouldnt is which ones the newspapers like to write about.
But wait a minute.....there's a problem..they like writing about Rotties too. So i think you should re-think your decision to exclude them from your list.

We have a LOT of problems with dog aggressive Staffies in the kennels and we also have had a lot of people aggressive "Staffies" of late. I use quotes in support of what Suze is saying, a lot are NOT staffies but their owners say they are, I understand her on that point.

Sal.
I commend your support, but you know as well as I do that a Staff can be incredibly nasty, Im sure Tyler is fine as you quote, but can you say the same of meg? (with other dogs?) Can you see how some people may be alienated towards them given what they are capable of, and the fact they can inflict such terrible injuries in a short space of time? Not wanting to argue here, but all Staffs are not nice, however I dont think they should be banned, because for the most part they are super.

I will say that at present I am boarding 3 Staffs and one that is supposed to be but isnt. The 3 are all male and ALL are people AND Dog friendly. The one that isnt is lethal with other dogs, nervous aggressive with people and has to be isolated from the other dogs in the house because of the damage she has done to them, including one dog they had to rehome because she ripped most of his neck and shoulders off him! So, I do understand where Suze is coming from in some parts, although I dont agree with a lot of what she said.

Hi Dawn,
I completely agree with what you say.
Tyler is a fantastic dog,all round no hassle with him at all.Now yes Meg can be firey with other dogs,not all dogs,but some she dislikes.I don't expect her to like all dogs she has her own personality pretty much like us humans don't like all the people we meet.I am very much aware of this and keep her under control at all times.

I am very much aware of the damage they can do,and injuries they can infinct I saw this first hand for myself,as much as I trust mine together,I would never leave them unsupervised one stupid thing could spark them off.
I know all Staffords are not the same and yes I am aware of why some people don't like the breed.But dog to dog aggression does not go hand in hand with human aggression.

I also blame the media and press for hyping up hysteria about certain breeds.

You have articulated my feelings on the subject as well Dawn. Despite what may have surmised from my earlier post, i dont deny there is a disproportionate amount of staffies that display aggression, although that is usually dog aggression, not people aggression.
Like Dawn says, it was other points Suze was making that didnt add up or make much logical sense.
If Suze had expressed things as sensibly as yourself, Dawn, she wouldnt have got into so much bother.
Like you, i think it wrong to add Staffies to the banned list. If only for the reason that breed specific legislation has proved it doesnt work, so we should just drop the idea of going any further down that road, and look at other measures instead.
But like you, i also have kennel experience.
I have seen all manner of problems in all manner of breeds, but there is some reality which says that certain problems do show up more regularly in certain breeds.
Boder Collies - Herding aggression, especially with children.
Rotties and GSD's - nervous kennel guarding aggression.
Greyhounds - cat aggression
Jack Russells - boy, they were our worst case biters.
Quickly defensive and bite the hardest straight off!
Labradors - food aggression. And i lost count of the number of planks who sent me emails about the labs on our site saying they just cant be that bad, as everyone knows Labs are nice family dogs. Yes, but they are also gluttons, and can learn food aggression if not trained correctly at an earlier age. Just as these other breeds can learn "their aggressions".
We had hospital treatment cases from Labradors and Collies.
And yes, Staffies - dog aggression.

So you have to be realistic in these issues too.
And yes, a good proportion of people that are attracted to Staffies are council estate macho idiot types.
Who encourage the tendencies. These people tend to gravitate toward Rotties and Akitas as well.

Just as i heard many stories of middle class suburban folk who gravitate toward Labs and Retrievers and think it perfectly reasonable for their dogs to bound over and jump on other dogs, and haughtily protest at your afrontery to complain to *them*, as their dog "is only playing".

I just wish that the press covered all the dog attacks and not the individual breeds which sell papers but it just aint going to happen,xxxxxxxx

Krusewalker.
Have to agree 100% with the Lab points, same with many Golden Retrievers with unpredictable aggression. We actually wont board male GSD's that are mature adults for a first time, as their kennel guarding is such in some cases where the dog cannot be exercised or cared for properly.

yes they do like writing about rotties too - but they are nor as common as other breeds like staffys and pits - dotn get me wrong i think its sad that they are so picked on - if i didnt hear as much about staffys as i do and see what i have they i would obviously have a totally different opinion

fair comments


now you undersand my point (not agree with me fair comment!) - i know as well as you some can be as nice as pie -you get the odd exception like any breed obviously you say you are aware of the damage they can do (not your dogs just staffies in general -im am not refering to your dogs in any way!!) this is my point - you are aware of the damage they can do - and have done - this is my problem -

yes the media definately hype things up - totally! but thats their job to report things - no matter what we do or say - people believe the majority of the time what the media says (i blieve the daily express personally) - the only paper i read and believe what they say - the sun - what a loada crap! -

at the end of the day no matter what breed of dog,poodle,collies stafy,rottie lab the list can go on and on all have a trigger point of turning biting or attacking