Boy Attacked by Dangerous Dog!!

Photo from Lancashire Telegraph.

No, the dog is not a Staffie!

This time it's a..... 

Yorkshire Terrier!

You can read more here.

I feel sorry for Owen Poole... Hope he'll be brave enough to go out on his own again.

What amazes me about this story is the comments left by the readers... and for some reason the comments are no longer at the website!!! 

There were comments about how Owen must have done something to the Yorkshire Terrier and that's why it attacked poor Owen. They were blaming Owen.

Now, if it was a staffie, the comments would have been the staffie is a devil dog and all staffies should be banned blah blah blah... 

I am not saying that it was Owen's fault that he was attacked. It might have been his fault. It could have been the Yorkie. Who knows?!

Anyway, I just wanted to make the point that Yorkshire Terriers can cause damage too not just Staffies!  It was interesting to see how quickly the readers can blame the boy when it is a cute little Yorkshire Terrier but quick to blame the dog if it is a Staffie!

Are Staffordshire Bull Terriers dangerous?

There has been a fatal dog attack in the UK recently. A 14 year old girl was killed at her friend's house. She was mauled by at least 4 dogs. The breeds of the dogs have not been confirmed but they are thought to be Bull Mastiffs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and an American Bulldog. 4 of the dogs were killed by police and one other was found in the house. 

This is obviously a terrible tragedy for everyone involved. However, as usual there are people demanding that all staffies be banned. ALL of them. Yes.. ALL... including the nice ones. Funny no one mentioned the Bull Mastiffs.. 

There are name callings on twitter, facebook, the internet.
There was even a troll -who told a lady that he wished her kids will one day be savaged by a staffie! What kind of person says that? 

We are responsible dog owners and we do not wish harm on anyone. That's why we train and discipline our dogs! 

Some people say staffie owners are more aggressive than staffies. Do you blame us? We are sick of people accusing our dogs of being killers. Whenever I hear of a dog killing someone, I will think, "please please please not be a staffie" because I know there will be idiots who will start calling us names and calling for all staffies to be killed. We just want to defend our loyal friends.

Staffies are not dangerous. 
Staffies are intelligent, fearless and loyal. That's why they are called nanny dogs. They protect the child.  They are always eager to please. 

Unfortunately, these are the reasons why drug dealers/chavs use them as weapons! They are so eager to please they will do anything for their Master! It's not their fault. It is how they are brought up. 

In the case of Jade Anderson, there were 5 dogs in the property. The owner wasn't home. I am not sure what happened but the dogs are in a pack. Jade wasn't part of it. The house is theirs as far as they know. And why are there FIVE dogs in a small house?!?!

If you look at most dog attacks, the owners were never there when it happened. It is their responsibility! Children should never be left alone with dogs..even if it's a Labrador, Chihuahua or Yorkshire Terrier! Children should also be taught how to behave around a dog. 

"It was six months before Millie-Jo could remember what had happened to her that terrible day last August. She told her mum she had been trying to tuck a toy into the dog's collar when it had gone for her."

Can you blame the dog? It was only trying to protect itself. 

The owners and the Government should be blamed.

The owners for not training their dogs, for not looking after them, for not exercising them enough.

The Government for not putting in place measures to protect its people. So what if all dogs are microchipped? All drivers need to get car insurance but do they? (In 2009, it was estimated that about two million motorists in Great Britain drive uninsured!)

The chavs would not do that. 

All breeders should be licensed. If you are not a breeder, your dog should be spayed or neutered. There are too many dogs in the world... It also keeps their hormone levels down!
Of course there will be people who will breed illegally. There need to be tough penalties for people who are caught doing that. 

So back to the question, Are Staffies dangerous? 

NO!

You must be thinking, I'm saying this because I own two staffies... Damn right I am!! But i'm not the only one to say that.

The American Veterinary Medical Association agrees with me! Or rather, I agree with them.. :D 

The Top 10 most dangerous breeds are (based on a 20 year study!!):
10. St Bernard
9. Great Dane
8. Chow Chow
7. Doberman
6. Malamute
5. Wolf Dog Hybrid
4. Husky
3. German Shepherd
2. Rottweiler
1. Pit Bull

Can you see "Staffordshire Bull Terrier" in the list?

I challenge anyone to come meet my staffies. They will not bite. I can't say the same for myself! 

Ban all Staffies? Well you can kiss my staffy ass!!

I heard a rumour..

The rumours about my dogs being killer dogs are circulating again!!

It doesn't end does it?

Apparently, someone from the rugby club heard the story and told the lady that runs it about the incident - mostly false information of course!! She owns a Golden Retriever puppy (Rosie). I met the dog a few times before.

She told a dog walker she had to hid behind the trees whenever she sees me as she's worried my dogs would attack her and Rosie!

Luckily, Karen, the dog walker, told her it's all just a rumour and she knows us and has no problems with our dogs. Karen told her to tell everyone that it is all a lie! I am so grateful to Karen!

I was out throwing the ball for Buddy yesterday and turned round to see a man and a woman watching us. They have a pug. The annoying pug that barked at me a few times before! They picked up their pug and walked the other direction! I was a bit annoyed but felt better after knowing they will be walking through the muddy path! Ha!

The man who owns the pug annoys me too because firstly, he spent £1k on the pug and was thrown out of his house by his partner and dumped the dog on his poor dad! His dad knows us and has no problems with my dogs. His son however, is very annoying!

There was once I opened the back gate to bring the dogs out. I didn't see him round the corner. Peanut went over to say hello and wanted to sniff his dog and what did he do? He picked it up! Every single time! He does that every time! He kept saying, "Your dog is so big.. *nervous laughter".  grrr  I was in a bad mood then and said, "They may be big but they are not dangerous! They are curious".  Also, he lets his pug shits everywhere and he never picks them up! Scum!

Anyway, this afternoon, my husband took the dogs out and met a lady who confessed that she thought our dogs were dangerous but Peanut won her over by sitting down and giving the lady her paw - for a treat! Buddy wasn't too fussed as he was running after the balls. She said she only reacted to what she has been told and now she thinks our dogs are very soft!! I hope she tells everyone she sees that our dogs are not killers!

This rumour thing made me think of the song - I Heard a Rumour by Bananarama.
So why not listen to this song as you look at some dangerous dogs pic for erm.. the day/week/month.
Sorry for the lack of updates..

Happy Birthday, Peanut Butter!

Peanut Butter is three today!
I sang her a birthday song but I don't think she cares!

She spent her day sleeping. She seems tired. Perhaps age is catching up on her.

The year before last, we gave her a piece of pork bone (raw). She enjoyed it but it made her sick the next day. She had a funny tummy and spent the day in her crate. So no more pork bone this time.

I had a slice of Victoria Sponge to celebrate her birthday. She had a bit of it too and enjoyed it of course.

Happy Birthday, Peanut Butter!

"Dangerous Dog" Pic of The Day

I woke up to news of a dog attack incident in Swindon. A two year old boy has been mauled by dogs BELIEVED to be Staffies. In my opinion, the media only reports the breed when it fits into the ludicrous 'dangerous dogs' category and not otherwise. The media would never report the breed to be a Labrador or a mutt, even if it was, as it doesn't make a story.

I've read some comments saying that Staffies should be banned! Grrr! I'm also very happy to see many people defending the breed.

Update: Just seen the news, reporter said a witness has said it's a bigger not and it doesn't look a staffy and one dog was involved. Not TWO! Why can't the media get their facts straight before putting any pictures of Staffies on their sites? If it's a Staffy, fine, put a pic of a staffy. If you are not sure yet, then don't!! 

Did you know that Dachshund can be agressive too?? No? Check this out. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2254479/Sausage-dogs-are-the-most-aggressive-dogs.html

>> I can't find any updated stats but I am sure Staffies are not on top of that list!

Not all staffies are dangerous. Some are trained to fight by idiots.. most are just trained to be good family pets. 

Here's a pic of Peanut Butter. Taken a month after we adopted her. I'm not sure who this boy is. He was at the pub and kept asking if he could play with Peanut Butter. I watched them play to make sure Peanut would not do anything bad to him or him doing things that Peanut might not like! We even took Peanut for a quick walk round the pub's beer garden while his mum was chatting to her friends!

Boy mauled by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier... NOT!!

Peanut's Story - Part 2

Part 1 of Peanut's story can be found here.


Our previous experiences in trying to adopt a dog had dampened our initial enthusiasm so we took a couple of weeks to think about what we were going to do next.

I had a day off on my birthday and decided we should go to the RSPCA to have a look.

The RSPCA officer asked us a few questions - are we employed, what hours do we work etc. We told her we were interested in Jess, the Staffy that was featured on their notice board. She told us that because my husband and I had not owned a dog together before (we'd both had dogs before we met) and we had no experience in a bull breed before, we couldn't have her.

She took out a folder containing details of the 25 dogs that are suitable for re-homing and went through each one and then said.. "Ah.. here's one. She might be suitable." Just ONE out of the twenty-five! It was a black labrador. Two year old.. and dumped by her family because it didn't like the baby..(ARGH!!) We met it but she didn't seem keen on us.

The lady then said.. "We have puppies".  That's it..we have to see the puppies! You should have seen my husband's eyes light up!

So in the puppy area, there were lots that were already reserved but there were these three staffies in the pen..wanting to get out for a play. 

I was attracted to a brindled one, and I thought my husband had spotted the same puppy, but when the one he asked to meet was taken out of the pen....it was the smallest copper coloured dog with the super tongue! Her name was Medusa - probably because her tongue was like 20 snakes! She also had a very bristly chin which even penetrated thought my jeans! First, she ran the wrong way but then the lady called her back and she saw  all of of us waiting she ran up and the licking commenced :-)

MIL and I were very keen to adopt this puppy but my husband wasn't sure as we would have to house train it. We told the lady that we would think about it and call back should we want to adopt her. We discussed on the way back to the car. Will we be able to train her? Will we be able to deal with the mess before she gets house broken? 

Before we had even got into the car, we had made up our minds. We went back to the RSPCA and said, "Yes, We'll have Medusa please!" The lady at the reception laughed and said that was fast.

A few days later, someone from the RSPCA came to check our house and said every thing should be fine and said someone will call us back and we can arrange for a time to collect Medusa. In the mean time, I was busy reading Cesar Milan's book - How to Raise the Perfect Dog!

On April 14th, we went to collect Medusa who shall now be known as Peanut Butter! I will always remember this day. 

We took her out of the RSPCA, a big truck went past us and she hid behind our legs. Awww! We got her into the car and she was shaking! She hated the car. She sat on my lap and was on her way to her forever home!

Peanut Butter's First Day at Home

She's dog tired...

Peanut's Story - Part 1

After finally getting our first home, my husband and I decided it was time to get a dog.

We looked at various rescue websites and they were mostly Staffies! My husband and MIL suggested getting one but I wasn't sure because I was a bit worried after reading all the bad press about them. (I'm sorry! I was one of those idiots!) but my MIL told me how nice they are and I did some research and decided "OK! A staffy it is!"

So we contacted a rescue centre and enquired about a few dogs there. One of the ladies came over to check our house and made sure that there's enough space for the dog etc. She then told us about the dogs in their care and we told her we were interested in Milo a two year old Staffy. She gave us a bit of his background. He was given up by his owner who bought him in a whim after getting a divorce and now doesn't have time to look after him! (ARGH!)  She gave us the details of the foster home and we went down the next weekend to meet Milo. They told us more about Milo and he seemed like a nice dog.

To cut the long story short, we decided we'll have him and made an appointment to pick him up and sort out the paperwork the next weekend. I was really excited. We bought a doggy bed for him, toys etc!

When we got there, there was the lady from the rescue centre, the fosterers, a dog behaviourists, us, my MIL and her dogs. We wanted to make sure that Milo would get along with MIL's dog. When we got there, the first thing the dog rescue lady said was.."Are you interested in having two beagles instead?". I went "huh? What the hell is this lady talking about? We want Milo!" Anyway, I could feel some tension in the air. It was strange. The rescue lady and the dog behaviourist seemed really nervous..and kept trying to sell us the beagles!

Anyway, we walked to a nearby park. I can still feel the tension. I think it came mainly from the dog behaviourist because of the way she handled Milo.. MIL's dog didn't seem to like Milo very much because of his behaviour. 

When we got to the park and let them off the lead. Milo ran around like a giddy pup and kept jumping on one of MIL's dog who was crying in distress! The main problem was that when MIL's dogs would tell him off he would escalate the problem. I knew it was all over... 

Then one of them mentioned that he's not very good with other dogs and he fought with the foster carers dog and there was blood! OMG! I was so annoyed because they didn't tell us this when we met Milo the first time! We said we can't have a dog like that as my MIL visits often with her dogs. The dog behaviourist suggested that we put Milo in the kennel when my MIL comes visit! That's ridiculous!  What kind of dog behaviourist are you? How can you suggest this? How can I boot my dog out for the day or weeks when my MIL comes visit! It's unfair to Milo!

I knew it then that we are not going home with Milo... so I cried! I was so disappointed...

We were really annoyed with the rescue centre because they weren't honest with us in the beginning. We told them we can't have Milo and the lady kept asking us to get the beagles! We were so annoyed and said we will think about it and left. 

I cried in the car on the way home.. :( 

A few weeks later, we revisited the idea of getting a dog and visited the Dogs Trust. I really like the profile of this old dog, Wilson, we read on their site. "I think this could be our first dog!" I said to myself. We went to Dogs Trust the next weekend and asked to see him. They took us to him and said.. "oh he's not very friendly now.. bit someone the other day". :((( Kennel stress... sigh. They said he's not suitable to be re-homed at the moment. We also met a lovely young lurcher called Jimmy. He was too energetic for us..

So again, I went home disappointed. :(