Staffordshire bull terrier

Roarty-07

hello i am new on this forum i am from galway and am looking to buy a staffie could anyone helpme to find one near enuf to galway??also can u get american pitbull terriers in ireland??

arybvtcw0eolkf

Why buy when you can rescue & save a life?...

Look here; http://www.egar.org/ before buying a dog. They're out in Galway too!.

I was in the market for a Staffie for a few months, and shirked the idea of a rescue from the people here on this forum until I was put in touch with the guys over on www.dogsindistress.org and www.egar.org where I found 'Jericho' my now 13 week old male staffy.

As regards the American Pit Bull, I'm not entirely sure.

Roarty-07

nice is that all the dogs they have on their site or do they have more?? do u hav ne pics of jericho???

Schlemm

You could check out www.irishanimals.com too, dunno if they have any staffies at the moment but I know I've seen some on that site in the past looking for homes!

EGAR

Hi there,

yes, I have lots of Staffies, Staffie x and APBT but I do strict Hc's before and after as well, as I need to ensure the dogs will end up in the right hands .

Sarah

Roarty-07

oh yeah dats fair enuf i wud b lookin 4 a new pup rather than an older dog if u hav ne new pups?? where abouts in galway r u located??

arybvtcw0eolkf

Roarty-07 wrote:

oh yeah dats fair enuf i wud b lookin 4 a new pup rather than an older dog if u hav ne new pups?? where abouts in galway r u located??

Don't rule out an older dog yet.

Only reason I did was because it was very important that our Staffy would take to our cat from the word go.

My sis-in-law fosters Staffies all the time, and the older one's just make the most wonderful pets too, without all the chewing and house wrecking that comes with a puppy!...

ie, let someone else do the hard work for ya

cowzerp

Agreed mairt-the older staffs are great and usually so chilled out...and always the ones to be put down..

stcatherine

We rescued our staffie X when she was 3 and she's been an absolutely fantastic dog, can't fault her .... ( well except for the fact that she's a terrier so anything smaller than her is fair game ...sparrows, flies, spiders, squirrels etc).

As the others have said please consider adopting an older staffie there are so many being PTS .

As for the cat thing, ours is one of those that sees a cat as has to have it come hell or high water ... however we owned a cat and at first we had to use stair gates so the cat could get away if needs be, and we had a few hairy moments with the dog having said cat in its mouth, but after a lot of patience and hard work we were finally able to have them in the same room without all out war (sadly our cat had to be PTS due to kidney trouble and dementia), but it proved that even the hardened cat chasers can be reformed.

philly.dang

hi i am from dublin and want to know if there is any staff breeders around and have pups for sale with papers thanks!!!

enda1404

Snip again

Whispered

The thread is nearly 3 years old.

DryBlanket

Hi,

Need a bit of advice here.

I was entering a restaurant in Dublin at the weekend and a gentleman was sitting outside with his SBT. Although he later told me the dog has never been anything but docile the dog growled angrily and made several attempts to bite me. It succeeded in ripping my clothes but luckily that was as close as it got. I have to admit is was terrifying.

He let it slip that the dog had been bred to fight by a previous owner but got dumped.

I can probably trace the gentleman as he seemed to know the staff there by name.

Should I trace him and have the dog reported? Or should I trust the gentleman and let it go?

any advice welcome

DB.

andreac

Just wondering, if you were entering a restaurant, how did you have time to find all this info out? Did you stop to talk to the man who had the dog? Was the dog on a lead?

Im bit confused, who do you want to trace and you say he knew the dog by name, but of course he would if he had the dog??

DryBlanket

I talked to the man afterwards. He took the dog away and came back to apologise..

When I said he knew the staff there by name I meant the people who worked in the restaurant (sorry for confusion).

Dog was on a lead which was on the leg of the gentlemans chair. Everything could have been so different if it hadnt been. Obviously the dog was not muzzled.

Havent relaxed in the two days since to be honest.

Kev M

DryBlanket wrote: »

I talked to the man afterwards. He took the dog away and came back to apologise..

When I said he knew the staff there by name I meant the people who worked in the restaurant (sorry for confusion).

Dog was on a lead which was on the leg of the gentlemans chair. Everything could have been so different if it hadnt been. Obviously the dog was not muzzled.

Havent relaxed in the two days since to be honest.

You have to assess whether or not you think the man will be able to take proper care of that dog (as in keep it out of trouble and advance its' training now that he knows it's liable to bite)... You can make this call better than anyone on here because you spoke with him... If the dog was from a bad background and this man is trying to make him an acceptable 'member of society' then maybe he should be given that chance. What do YOU think??

andreac

Sorry thought you meant the dog when you said "staff".

Did the dog injure you in any way? break the skin etc? If not then id leave it be, if you arent hurt then theres not much to report really.
If the dog had a history of being used for fighting then god knows what startled him but maybe have a word with the owner and ensure he muzzles the dog and keeps it under better control.

DryBlanket

andreac wrote: »

Sorry thought you meant the dog when you said "staff".

Did the dog injure you in any way? break the skin etc? If not then id leave it be, if you arent hurt then theres not much to report really.
If the dog had a history of being used for fighting then god knows what startled him but maybe have a word with the owner and ensure he muzzles the dog and keeps it under better control.

I dont believe that escaping without injury means there is nothing much to report! This unmuzzled SBT tried to attack me. For no reason.

Any owner will give me whatever assurances I ask for. They will find out what I want to hear and let me hear it. Anything to make sure the dog is not reported. And that is what this gentleman did.

But what is the best advice to do in a situation such as this? Can an SBT actually be trained to not do something like this again? Or is it a case that zero tolerance is the best approach and once an SBT acts like this once they should never be trusted again?

For the record I do not hate dogs. Some experiences in my youth mean I dont trust them but I do not hate them. I dont want to see this dog put down but I need some peace of mind about the whole thing. If the dog can be so trained and I can be given proof of the training then I think that might do me!

thanks everyone for all the replies and help

DB

Mr. Plow

DryBlanket wrote: »

If the dog can be so trained and I can be given proof of the training then I think that might do me.

Are you going to visit the owner to oversee the training? It's unfortunate what has happened and that you're upset but I don't think it's up to you to police the issue. If I were you I wouldn't be inclined to report it, however I would have sternly reprimanded the man for not keeping his dog in check at the time.

Whispered

DryBlanket wrote: »

I dont believe that escaping without injury means there is nothing much to report! This unmuzzled possibly agressive dog tried to attack me. For no reason.

Any owner will give me whatever assurances I ask for. They will find out what I want to hear and let me hear it. Anything to make sure the dog is not reported. And that is what this gentleman did.

But what is the best advice to do in a situation such as this? Can a possibly agressive dog actually be trained to not do something like this again? Or is it a case that zero tolerance is the best approach and once a possibly agressive dog acts like this once they should never be trusted again?

For the record I do not hate dogs. Some experiences in my youth mean I dont trust them but I do not hate them. I dont want to see this dog put down but I need some peace of mind about the whole thing. If the dog can be so trained and I can be given proof of the training then I think that might do me!

thanks everyone for all the replies and help

DB

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I fixed your post for you there. The breed is irrelevant.

In answer to your question, yes, dogs who display agression for whatever reason can be helped.

I find it hard to believe that this happens regularly with the dog, if the staff knew him and him attacking other customers was a regular occurance, surely he would be refused service.

How did the dog make several attempts at biting you, if you were just passing? How did the owner react at the time? What exactly did the dog do, did it lunge at you or snap around your ankles? Did the owner reprimand the dog at the time? If he came back to apologise for your distress (and you are of course entitled to an apology) I would be thinking that he will make sure it doesn't happen again. If he didn't care, he'd likely have just laughed it off.

How would you expect to get proof of the dogs training?

Very little can be done if you reported it. It's your word against his really.

Cherry Blossom

Whispered wrote: »

I fixed your post for you there. The breed is irrelevant.

That's just a little bit patronising Yes the breed is irrelevant, but had it been a labrador or whatever the OP would have written that.

To the OP: It seems the owner of the dog was mannerly and appologetic and therefore it could be assumed that he could be an honourable person. He may not have had the dog very long and was not expecting this from it. It could also be that the dog could have maybe seen some sort of resemblence in you to some not so nice individual in it's past. If you've had some bad experiences with dogs and were wary it, consciously or otherwise the dog may also have picked up on this and became wary of you in return. I would give the owner the benefit of the doubt in this case. Had he been rude or dismissive of you I would be advising you otherwise.

Whispered

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

That's just a little bit patronising Yes the breed is irrelevant, but had it been a labrador or whatever the OP would have written that.

So is a wink

Dryblanket specifically asked if a Staffordshire Bull Terrier can be trained not to act a certain way. I was simply pointing out to the him/her that yes, it can, as can any dog. The breed is irrelevant. The fact that the dog is possibly agressive is not irrelevant. I even put a little smiley face in there to try make sure I was not taken up the wrong way. though obviously you decided to take offense on behalf of Dryblanket. I'm sure s/he will be very grateful.

As I said though, the main thing in my opinion is that the owner

came back to apologise for your distress (and you are of course entitled to an apology) I would be thinking that he will make sure it doesn't happen again. If he didn't care, he'd likely have just laughed it off.

Cherry Blossom

Whispered wrote: »

So is a wink

Dryblanket specifically asked if a Staffordshire Bull Terrier can be trained not to act a certain way.

DB has said though that s/he does not trust dogs due to some incidents in his youth, as a person not seeking contact with dogs surely he wouldn't have a huge amount of knowledge of training dogs and whether or not there is a difference in one potentially agressive dog to another potentially agressive dog of a different breed so was covering the fact that (to his knowledge) the breed may have been relevant.

Whispered

Exactly, so how would someone find out that breed is or not relevant without someone saying so.

You picking my tone up wrong is hardly my fault.

Cherry Blossom

Whispered wrote: »

Exactly, so how would someone find out that breed is or not relevant without someone saying so.

Yes you did say so and rightly so, I just felt it wasn't necessary to fix his post for him into the bargain.

Whispered

And I feel it unnecessary for you to post 3 times afterwards to tell me how wrong you think I am. First time fair enough, I explained how you picked it up wrong. Second and third time telling me how wrong I am? Probably easier for you to just report the post which offended you so. It's not really your place to tell other posters how to respond to a post, thats what the moderators are for. (Irony :pac:)

I tried to answer the question, you picked my tone up wrong. That's your problem really.

Bullseye1

"IF" that poor dog was breed to fight it shouldn't have been put into a situation to fail. He should have been muzzled. That owner wouldn't fill me with confidence. A dog which was breed for fighting has got to be handled by experianced dog people and not left unmuzzled in public places.

Whispered

I agree; if the dog was agressive then for it's sake it should be muzzled, we can only hope the owner realises this and does the right thing.

Fighting dogs are very rarely human agressive and the new owner may have thought the dog ok with people. I think the fact that he apologised might indicate that he is trying his best.

DB I wouldn't bother following this up any more to be honest. It will be a lot of hassle for you and I think from the reaction of the owner (removing the dog from the situation and finding you to apologise) it is likely it wont happen again.

If you do follow it up, it will be a case of your word against his and what will you gain from it anyway. I can understand you are feeling shaken, most people would, but it seems the owner did what he could and i think we have no reason to suspect him of doing anything less in the future.

Is it an area you regularly visit? If you are both local, maybe you could see how the dog is the next time you see it. If it's the same case, then I would consider reporting the owner.

DryBlanket

Hi all,

Thanks again to you all for the advice and help.

I couldnt leave the matter as it was. I had no peace of mind. The dog lunged at my groin. My shirt which was hanging out was ripped. My trousers were ripped from the pocket down to near my knee. The dog made for me before i even saw it so 'sensing my fear' could not have been part of it!.

I made contact with the owner and I found him very genuine. If he had not been understanding then I would have had no choice and would have reported the dog to An Garda. I believe my statement plus the statements of witnesses plus my shredded clothes would have led to only one outcome.

We made an agreement. The agreement states that...

1) Owner gives me a letter (along with a copy of the dog licence and picture of the offending dog) stating that he will never again have the dog in public without a muzzle or a leash.
2) Owner takes the dog to training (he only has the dog 5 months (abandoned) and does not know its history).
3) Dog trainer to provide me with a letter saying that he "reasonably believes the dog does not pose a threat to the public"
4) The guy offered me a bit of cash but I turned it down as that is not what this is about.
5) We arrange to meet in a safe enviornment (for me) after the training and we see if my presence triggers the same reaction.

As I said - I dont want the dog harmed but I do need peace of mind. I promised the owner that if I see the dog without a muzzle or hear of any further incident that I will make a complaint to An Garda. I imagine such a complaint would be treated differently when one has signed a letter acknowledging a previous act of aggression.

A lot of effort on my part unfortunately but I felt the owner was worth it. Its probably as much peace of mind as I can hope for without having the dog PTS.

All I can do now is hope I have read the owner right.

again, thanks all

DB (still distinguishably male thank God)

Whispered

DryBlanket wrote: »

The dog lunged at my groin. My shirt which was hanging out was ripped. My trousers were ripped from the pocket down to near my knee. The dog made for me before i even saw it so 'sensing my fear' could not have been part of it!.

I made contact with the owner and I found him very genuine. If he had not been understanding then I would have had no choice and would have reported the dog to An Garda.

I think you both have been very understanding (you in particular of course but I'm glad the owner was willing to play ball) Well done on a very fair outcome.

dr ro

if the dog had've bitten you, there'd be no question of whether to report it or not. The only reason it didn't was because it got your clothes not your flesh. It tried to bite/maul you. Apologetic owner or not, he was being illegal and irresponsible by not muzzling it. It's some chance to take that it won't grab some child that happens to be wearing the wrong colour clothes or whatever it is that sets the dog off, cause the owner obviously doesn't know what it is. So the owner said it was totally out of character for the dog? Where have we heard that before? Bottom line for me is that it would have attacked you if it hadn't been restrained.. Fair play to you for the lengths you're going to. It is very generous of you. It does however seem even more irresponsible of the owner, considering he only has the dog 5 months. Hope it works out for you.

Chopper77

Hi all.

Just back to the origianl point of this thread even though its years old.

I'm looking to get a staffy. One thats a couple/few years old. I want to get one from a pound. Can anyone recommend any places or links online ?

Thanks

Shanao

You should try contacting EGAR here on the boards, she runs the only bull breed rescue in Ireland.

toadfly

Was going to suggest EGAR too..

http://www.egar.org/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/East-Galway-Animal-Rescue/169411475888

Toulouse

Or A Dog's Life - lots and lots of Staffies looking for good homes, all taken from the pound before they were put to sleep.

http://www.adogslife.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=54

cjf

Super Staffy chap looking for a home

http://www.dogsindistressforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6729&sid=ce2b8e5e079626843ff0593e7a6bd4b6

He is a big lad but a fab fella!! Must be homed with another dog thou as he was homed on his own and was depressed so he defo needs canine company!! How cute!! Just love this lads face if my house wasnt full id have him in a shot! Love my chunky boys!!

DBCyc

cjf wrote: »

Super Staffy chap looking for a home

http://www.dogsindistressforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6729&sid=ce2b8e5e079626843ff0593e7a6bd4b6

He is a big lad but a fab fella!! Must be homed with another dog thou as he was homed on his own and was depressed so he defo needs canine company!! How cute!! Just love this lads face if my house wasnt full id have him in a shot! Love my chunky boys!!

I was just thinking the same thing, how I wish I had more space for more staffies

Bubs99

There is a rescue centre for dogs in Galway called MADRA, go to madra.ie.

They currently have a lovely little male staffie who needs a new home, he is 10 months old. I believe EGAR deal specifically with staffies also but Im not 100% sure but these are both based in Galway.

Good Luck.

BengaLover

I had an American pit bull x Staffie and I can say is they need 100% commitment to training.
By nature they like to compete and get the upper hand and are tenacious in that they wont let anything go until they have won..
i dont know if that was the pit bull side or the staffie side of our dog, but she became so determined to be the top dog over me that it was no longer safe to keep her.:(:(
Beautiful animals but so so strong, so lots of control is needed.

toadfly

Bubs99 wrote: »

There is a rescue centre for dogs in Galway called MADRA, go to madra.ie.

They currently have a lovely little male staffie who needs a new home, he is 10 months old. I believe EGAR deal specifically with staffies also but Im not 100% sure but these are both based in Galway.

Good Luck.

Ya MADRA is out Connemara way about an hour from Galway City and EGAR is near Loughrea in East Galway. EGAR is the only bull breed rescue in Ireland.

sligopark

Hope this helps ...


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056055643


EGAR

'Gizmo'

4 yo Male Blue ABPT

EGAR wrote: »

Cherry Blossom

sligopark wrote: »

Hope this helps ...


'Gizmo'

4 yo Male Blue ABPT

They are looking for a Staffie, not an APBT which is a very different dog. Although EGAR is still an excellent place to start looking for a Staffie. I've had no dealings with them but if I was every to consider getting any type of a bull breed they'd be first on the list.

sligopark

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

They are looking for a Staffie, not an APBT which is a very different dog.

sorry not very knowledgeable regarding bull breeds ... will take a check through a few sites now

sligopark

http://www.facebook.com/pages/East-Galway-Animal-Rescue/169411475888?v=info

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056147925

http://www.irishanimals.ie/boxerstaff_homes.html

http://www.dspca.ie/cat_animals_need_homes_detail.jsp?itemID=1308&n=0&p=0

http://www.dspca.ie/cat_animals_need_homes_detail.jsp?itemID=1054&n=0&p=0

http://www.ispca.ie/rehoming_details.aspx?rehoming_id=1548

http://www.ispca.ie/rehoming_details.aspx?rehoming_id=1537

sligopark

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=70155935&postcount=45

Chopper77

Thanks for all the help, I'm going to have a good look through all those links tomorrow

Just one question (probably been asked a million times on here) Which sex have the better temperament etc.. or are they pretty much the same ?? I've only ever had experience of a cross pitbull/staffy, though she was very hyperactive and got jealous when she wasn't the centre of attention

Whispered

I'd say they are both the same, or very similar. Hyperactivity and jealousy are exercise and behaviour issues that can be worked on, so if you're exercising and training properly from the start, you should have few problems on that count.

I found this forum brilliant for training advice (and sometimes support after a particularly tiring day!).

seamus

Chopper77 wrote: »

Just one question (probably been asked a million times on here) Which sex have the better temperament etc.. or are they pretty much the same ?? I've only ever had experience of a cross pitbull/staffy, though she was very hyperactive and got jealous when she wasn't the centre of attention

Hyperactivity can be exercised out of them. A hyperactive Staffy is one who's not getting walked enough. They're lazy beasts really, so a good 40 minute walk every day will usually keep them chilled out.

Jealousy/ADD is common enough in Staffs. They love their family and they love being petted and stroked. It's a dominance matter and you can very quickly find your Staff demanding your attention by plonking herself down on top of your feet or constantly nuzzling your hand with their head, like a cat. When Darcey was allowed on the couch, she also had a habit of climbing on top of you when she wanted attention.

All you really need to do is ensure that attention is given on your terms and not on the dog's terms. Another poster mentioned the NILIF technique to me, which seems to work quite well. NILIF - Nothing in life is free. Basically make your dog do something to deserve attention. So make them sit, down or do *something* in order to work for your attention. Actions which demand your attention (like walking into your hand) should be discouraged and the dog given a command before they get a stroke.

Chopper77

Thanks everyone that helped me with links and stuff. I'm getting a staffy on Monday. I seen him on the Dogs Life facebook page. I was out with him during the week and he was a great dog, so I'll get him next Monday

CL32

Chopper77 wrote: »

Thanks everyone that helped me with links and stuff. I'm getting a staffy on Monday. I seen him on the Dogs Life facebook page. I was out with him during the week and he was a great dog, so I'll get him next Monday

Congrats! You won't regret it. I've had the pleasure of living with GSDs, Daschunds, Irish Water Spaniels and Siamese cats and have friends with Basset hounds, Dalmatians, Corgis and Rotties. In my eyes (which are becoming increasingly more biased by the day) the Staffy is in a league of its own.

I've got mine about a year and a half and my mind is made up that its the breed for me. I just took a break from chasing her around the house to check this forum

As Seamus said, you've just taken on a dog-cat hybrid in terms of attention (with the sound effects of a piglet) but if you can handle that you won't look back.

You'll get some nasty looks unfortunately, which got to me a lot more than I thought they would. The best advice I got was become an amateur breed ambassador. I've changed the opinion of a couple of people we've met and that out-weighs all the bad IMO.

You better flood this place with pics too.

Enjoy

DBCyc

Chopper77 wrote: »

Thanks everyone that helped me with links and stuff. I'm getting a staffy on Monday. I seen him on the Dogs Life facebook page. I was out with him during the week and he was a great dog, so I'll get him next Monday

Brilliant - best of luck with your new fella. Staffies are fantastic, if I had more space, I'd have an army of them. Well done on rescuing too! Make sure to post some pics up here after he arrives