Hi there

[PeppermintPanda]

I'm the newish adoptee of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier X. Aston is an 18 month old (approx) brindle with a white chest and paws. He's a chunky dog weighing in at 72lbs and looks like a very large Staff. We think his X part might be Boxer but aren't at all sure. He's had a bit of a sad life as he was neglected by his two previous owners and came to me quite badly underweight and with no real training. Before he adopted me, he had never been to a vet's so had never been inoculated, neutered or microchipped. He had no formal training though he's a very sociable fellow and loves other dogs and people but, because of a lack of training, can be a bit of a handful. I've started training classes with him, though, and already there is an improvement. He used to be a real tank on the end of the lead but is settling down nicely now.

I came on this site, primarily for advice as this is the first Staffy X I've had and I know very little about the breed other than that they are victimized over here in the Press as 'devil dogs'. I live in the UK. Before Aston came into my life I had two mongrels, a brother and sister from the same litter. They were superb dogs with a bit of everything in them. Sadly Lucky, the boy, died from cancer age 10 and Belle died, age 17, from tumours on her heart. After we had Belle put to sleep, I found that I could not live without a dog in the house and so I adopted Aston on a trial period. He has proved to be a fantastic companion, a few rough edges, but, amazingly, no real problems and I have fallen in love with his affectionate and generous personality and his chunky, big-boy looks.

I would like to send a picture so that people more experienced in the breed than I am might be able to nail down the X part of his breeding but can't get it to work.

Any information or training tips about Staffs would be very helpful. Aston is willing to learn but does have a stubborn streak and an ability to ignore commands. So some tips on how to handle his stubborn moments would be wonderful, thanks.

[tidy]

Hello there! I too have just got myself a little 10 week old staffy *****, named Fizz! I'm in love but she's a handfull I got her under the impression that she had her inoculations and health checks were up to date...! When I was given there F/B account to keep in touch I found out that she was only 4 weeks old! This came as a shock, I have 4 children ranging from 17 to 2 years old! At first she was very quiet but I took her to vets just to make sure everything was ok with her! Luckily it was but I worry that she didn't have enough time with her mum and siblings ? We have had her 6 weeks today and she gets her last injections Wednesday, I'm really looking forward to taking her out to socialise her as she has been stuck in the kitchen apart from letting her play in the garden! I'm so pleased to hear your staffy seems to be getting better with training I've heard that they can be quite stubborn... Fizz plays deaf and totally blanks% me atr times! I'm determined to train her positively in to a family pet!

[Sabrina]

Welcome to both of you! Over on the Dog Training Advice forum, there's a post that links to a lot of useful info on this site: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11503

For posting pictures, check out this thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=623

For specific training questions, head on over to the Dog Training Advice forum and post them there - more people will see them and be able to help you.

Again, welcome!

[PeppermintPanda]

Thanks Tidy and Sabrina,

I wish I had Aston from a pup. I had my previous two from eight weeks old and they always accepted me as top dog in the house. With Aston, it's a different relationship. Not knowing much about his prior history other than what I have been able to glean from my daughter makes it harder to understand what makes Aston tick. I know he's been neglected, both by his first owner and my daughter, his second owner. He was very underweight when my daughter brought him round. I could count every rib and vertebrae, his stomach was well tucked up, his hips like wings, his coat harsh and he had cat fleas resulting in bald patches on his beautiful brindle fur. As I mentioned in my prior post, no one had taken him to a vet in spite of him being just over a year old. I wonder how much the neglect has affected him. He's still very needy and follows me from room to room except when I'm having a shower (because he fights the towels). Having him from a pup would have been so much easier as he wouldn't have been so neglected and I have no idea how much his first year of life has affected him Poor pup.

I must take him out for a walk now, as he's beginning to fuss a bit