To anyone who owns Staffordshire Bull terriers, do you have other dogs as well and how do they get on?

When I was in the dog biz in the USA I found Staffys to be a bit belligerent and often dog and sometimes human aggressive. Here in Australia, they are much more common and most of them are the sweetest things you have ever met.

I think you can keep most any breeds together, depends on the individual animals, how they are introduced and handled. I have always had Akitas and Bouviers, akitas in particular are famous for their dog aggressiveness, however mine were never allowed to exhibit that behavior and do not show the tendencies, they lived with cats and birds and small dogs and big dogs and were fine. I was always careful though with strange dogs outside of my environment.

Some people here do not like Cesar Milan (I think he is great) but regardless of your feelings on his training techniques, it is amazing the way he runs that pack together and they all seem to get along just fine. Read his books or watch his shows to see how he does it.

I have a Staff (Henry) who I love to death. It’s all about how you raise the dogs. If you raise them to be agressive, of course they will be. We have Henry and then we also have a one year old Great Dane, my mom has a Shitzu-Poodle mix, my other friends have a golden doodle, and a German Shepard-Chow mix. He is great around all the other dogs, actually he lets everyone pick on him.

He still has his moments where he gets protective, i.e. when strangers come into the house he gets on edge for the first little bit, but after 5–10 minutes he’s his big lazy bum self.

Pit Bull Rescue Center a great website that I went to before I got Henry.

I have found in my experience that certain dogs have a natural tendency to behave in a predictable fashion. Hunting dogs have a nose and will generally use it whether there is a guy with a gun following them or not. Beagles use their nose and voice no matter what. And certain dogs who were bred to be protectors or guards have that tendency in them from their genetic makeup. If you do not encourage it, it hopefully will not become a predominant characteristic of their personality, but you have to keep in mind it is there.

And it must also be noted that the genetic makeup is more evident in some dogs than others. But if you have a dog with a super high genetic link to their past, it is very difficult to raise them in such a way that the tendency is completely quieted. That is why I suggest if you are interested in a specific breed, you should go either to a reputable breeder, hopefully observe the parents, and listen to what the breeder says, they do not want to place a dog with the wrong owners. If you want to adopt then go to a breed specific rescue organization. Dogs there would have been temperament tested and again the people in charge want to make sure that the right dog goes to the right owner.

Hope you find this helpful.

@rooeytoo I love Cesar!

The reason I ask is because I am about to introduce a one year old staffi (who is great with people and I have no reason to believe she isn’t fine with other dogs) to my dogs (all of whom are fine with other dogs). If I was getting her from a young puppy I wouldn’t be worried because she would have been raised with the dog but as she’s a rescue I don’t know anything about her history.

As a part time trainer I have never had a problem with Staffs and have always been a fan but by the same token I have always known them from pups and have never had a staff from a shelter which is why I wanted to seek advice from other owners.

@Leanne1986 – I understand and it is always wise to be cautious. I am sure you know the drill, all dogs on leads for intro and all that. Then proceed slowly and don’t let them alone together until you are sure. It is always more difficult with adults but depending on the dogs, can often be accomplished with not too much drama.

Keep us posted.

Not sure if anyone is still following this but as @rooeytoo asked to be kept in the loop I thought I’d update on the Staffi situation!

I had a meeting with Battersea dogs home yesterday about the Staffi, Zara, that I am hoping to adopt. I also spent time with Zara which only confirmed how special I believe this little dog to be and how much I want to adopt her. I passed all the little tests yesterday but the final one will come tomorrow when I will take my female Jack Russell Terrier to meet her. If the two dogs get on ok I will be allowed to bring Zara home. I am praying that all goes to plan.

Good luck. There is enough disparity in size between a jack and a staffi that one would think they will get along!

I often watch the Battersea stories on telly.

@rooeytoo All went well and new Staffi (Zara) came home with me today :)

That’s wonderful, put some pics up somewhere when you have time.