Are American Staffordshire Terriers Good with Kids and Babies?
Thinking of getting an American Staffordshire Terrier and wandering if American Staffordshire Terriers are good and safe with children?
Find out all about American Staffordshire Terrier’s child friendliness, how to spot signs of jealousy and more here.
Are Staffordshire Bull Terriers Good Family Dogs?
Staffies are affectionate and friendly dogs who love to be in a close-knit family, they are active and enjoy life, but the main thing they love more than anything is being part of a family.
A sweeping statement that all Staffies are born to be “nanny dogs” would be inaccurate. Every dog, just like humans, is different. Depending on a Staffy’s upbringing and breeding, a dog can end up nervous, highly strung, and anxious, leading to shows of aggression.
Staffies Love To Have Fun With Children
The playful nature of the Staffy makes them amazing playmates with children. There is nothing my Staffy enjoys more than playing with my 3 year old niece. She will do tricks, play hide and seek, and fetch essentially anything she throws.
When visiting my niece my Staffy is glued to her for most of the visit. She will follow her from room to room and be near her always. This is very common behavior of all Staffies and not just mine. The attentive and playful behavior is very well suited for games with the kids.
Responsible breeding practices of Staffies has been one of the main contributors to why Staffies are so affectionate. There is however a long history of human friendly behavior that was highly valued in the early barbaric days of pit fighting. Some of the best qualities we know of Staffies today come from this era.
In the early 1800’s when Bull-baiting sports were outlawed in England, pit fighting between dogs became more prominent. The cruel sport of dog fighting was much easier to hide from authorities and became a disgusting form of entertainment and gambling for many people.
Owners of these early dog fighting Staffies would often need to enter the pits and handle their dogs in close proximity. Stopping a fight and being close to the dogs meant any form of human aggression was not to be tolerated.
Through selective breeding gamblers and pit fighter owners developed the bull and terrier breeds to be extremely human friendly. These dogs were bred to show no human reactivity and when they did often they were culled.
As a result the bull and terrier breeds, including the Staffy became very loving, loyal, and trustworthy dogs when it came to humans. Despite the horrific treatment and being subjected to these awful bloodsports.
Many owners of these pit fighting dogs were regular working families looking to make a little extra money on the side. These dogs were often family dogs kept in the home with children and had to be just as reliable with them as their handlers.
Watching my Staffy interact with various people and children is always amazing to watch. She can play a little rough and tumble with an adult when encouraged. Whether that’s putting in a full effort during a game of tug, or play chasing in the yard.
When it comes to children however my Staffy totally switches gears. Even during games of tug she will not give her full effort and be very willing to drop her rope or toy for the child. She knows the intensity level with kids has to be turned down, and this was not with any additional training from me.
I have to admit my Staffy to this day still has a bad habit of jumping up on people when she gets excited. Not always, but it does happen when she is really pumped to see someone. She will never do this to children though. My Staffy knows to be gentle around children and has never jumped up on one, even when she was bursting with excited energy.
Staffies are incredibly gentle dogs when interacting with children. My Staffy is no exception or one off case. Ask any Staffy owner and they will confirm that Staffies behave and interact with children, especially small children much differently.
STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER WITH CHILDREN AND PETS
When you think of Staffordshire bull terriers what do you picture? Many imagine an intimidating looking ‘status dog’. But separate the reputation from the reality and you’ll find that staffies can make wonderful family pets…
Seeing a Staffordshire bull terrier looking forlornly out of a kennel is sadly a common sight at rescue centres. Blue Cross takes in over 400 unwanted and abandoned staffies every year.
Heartbreakingly, staffies really struggle to adapt to kennel life because of their sheer love of spending time with people – a need which, as hard as we try, is difficult to meet like an owner would in a home environment.
Charities like Blue Cross are inundated with requests to take in staffies and their crossbreeds because of the growing numbers being over-bred and abandoned.
On top of this, they can take a lot longer to rehome because they have a reputation for being a status symbol, so people don’t see them as family pets – but you might be surprised to find out that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
A survey we conducted last year revealed that nearly three quarters of people would definitely or probably not consider rehoming a staffie. However, 80 per cent of people acknowledged that the breed’s bad reputation was down to irresponsible owners, rather than the dogs themselves.
Jay Cruikshanks, Rehoming Centre Manager for Blue Cross in Tiverton, says: “It’s heartbreaking to see so many of these lovely dogs immediately being overlooked because they have been given an unfair label.
“I wonder if they were in a ‘different costume’, would they be given more of a chance to show their true personality?
“We know that people who don’t have any experience of staffies are sometimes wary of them, because of the bad reputation they have due to a minority of irresponsible owners. But we have so many sweet-natured staffies at our centres – we would urge anyone thinking of rehoming a dog to look further than skin deep and come and meet some of them. Once you get to know them you will realise they can be fantastic, loving pets.”