Staffies are lovely dogs with people but can sometimes show their breeding in not being the best around other dogs. As Phil said, there is no perfect breed, and you cannot expect to cross and staffy to any other breed to 'breed out' the problems. As Phil said, they have an extra soft tissue in the mouth so have breathing problems. They are also prone to bad skin and allergies. It would take a while to determine was breed would suit you best. When i say breed i mean 'type' so saying a working dog, a herding dog, a gundog or hound, toy, terrier, etc. The preferred size, coat type, temperament, look and trainability.
shooshoo once again I appreciate you helping me in trying to make my decision. Alright I'm gonna try my best to answer all your questions down there and hopefully make out which breed is perfect for me.
So;
We have established you would like a well defined dog, more muscled or basically masculine (even if female?) with a short coat (and remember, short coated dogs can still require oodles of brushing and can shed more than some long coated breeds) so how much brushing are you willing to do (a quick once a day after a walk, solid brush and detangling every few days, or more like never?)
Yes that's true, I just love the look of a muscly looking dog although that is not the utmost importance. Short coat is definitely a must for me and with the brushing, that could be done very easily. I'm not going to be bothered by the fact that I have to brush my dog everyday if it needs to. That's no worries at all. So a quick brush overall once a day for a short coated dog?
Obviously, you want a healthy dog, but are you willing to compromise on health for the sake of the 'look' of the animal eg a bulldog, staffy, bad hips or sharpei ears. Or are you more interested in getting a dog with as little chance of health problems as possible?
I definitely want a healthy animal but also have some of the characteristics that I like in a dog. Not all, but some.
Size, this is important. How tall/heavy, etc? some breeds are very tall but weigh quite little (greyhound, belgian shep, borzoi), others are short and heavy (staffy, bulldog, basset hound). Or do you height and weight (mastiff, rotti, wolfhound) or short and fine (cavs, small herding breeds, terriers).
I would love to have a short/height and heavy built dog (that just reduces my choices drastically right? lol).
Trainability, staffies are bumb as bricks, simple. Except them to completely forget all training when they see another dog, person, new tree or blade of grass. Herding, guarding and working breeds are all highly trainable. How important is this to you?
Okay this is definitely a hard one, for one I wouldn't mind if I can't teach it special skills but on the other hand I wouldn't want it attacking my family or people that are close to me either. If I had a lead when I take it out for a walk I can most definitely stop it from getting to other dogs and attacking them. So I guess from this one all I'm asking for is for it to be good with people but not so crazy that it goes on a dog killing frenzy!
Finally, exercise. How much would you like to do with your pet? Staffies/bulldogs etc have breathing problems and therefore need to be kept quiet in hot weather otherwise they overheat and can die easily. Do you want to run for 30mins/an hour a day, or do you want to go for a sedate stroll with your chum for a short while each day? Greyhounds are remarkably lazy creatures and will make do with a short stroll once a day with a short run around at a park in between. Or you could get a terrier, or kelpie, and have it never stop moving...
I'd definitely have time everyday for a long/short walk around the neighbourhood. I guess that's ONE of many reasons I wanted to get a dog in the first place, for companion while I go out on walks and stuff. So walking daily is a yes for me.
As you can see it is quite involving but if you make the effort now to make the right decisions you will reward yourself with a great companion for many years to come, as opposed to a poorly suited animal that does not meet your expectations and/ you fail to fulfil its needs.
On the matter of expectations... i had a client come in today with a border collie cross staffy today that told me they need a trainer for it. i asked them what sort of training they thought the dog needed and what they wanted from the dog. owner proceeded to tell me the dog had to be extremely loyal to the children, be friendly with all other people and animals, be exceptionally trained and always obedient and on TOP of all that be a reliable guard dog. i told them they had bought the wrong dog and they needed to re-establish what they truly wanted from the dog in order to be satisfied with their pet. expected a staffy to be an obedience trial dog and great with all dogs is not really going to happen. then to expect a border collie to make an amazing guard dog is also unrealistic (very sooky really).
anyway. think about it, and look into as many breeds as you can. if you answer the above questions we will all be able to recommend breeds that may suit your needs better
a cross breed may still suit your needs perfectly, you may just need to be pointed in the right sort of direction!
