Don't judge a book by it's cover.........

It's a sad fact that Staffies have a very bad rep these days, mostly through no fault of their own but almost certainly through poor ownership and lack of training (or perhaps the wrong kind of training).  Like many of their type, Staffies have become a status symbol with the wrong people who train them as attack dogs rather than a family pet, the latter situation, which I might add, to which they are as well suited as any other dog provided they are given the correct training and a heafty dose of common sense is applied.
This doesn't apply only to Staffs, but to all dogs that live with us as companions and friends.

You may remember Jada, the brindle Staffie I walk daily.  She has the sweetest nature and wants nothing more than to make friends with everyone and everything, in fact of all the dogs I walk she is the clown of the group.  Not that it makes her immune to situations or to the reactions of other dogs but perhaps most importantly as I hope the following post will show, she possesses a remarkable lack of reaction in the face of provocation.

I had taken her out as usual this week, one of our favourite river walks and Jada being Jada had decided to roll in something not particularly pleasant.  To try and stop any further 'perfume' being applied I called her to me and put her on the lead to go back to the van.  We were crossing the carpark when a Jack Russel came over to her and immediately and without any reason launched itself at her.  After her initial surprise (and mine) she tried walking round it but to no avail and it came back for another go.  In all it went for her three times, whilst it's owner tried to get it under control, apologising that it was the first time she'd ever done this.  By the fourth time Jada was clearly unhappy and growled at it but still did nothing more.
Finally the dog's owner managed to leash it and pull it away, still saying sorry and explaining that perhaps she had behaved that way because she was in season!

Three things spring to mind, firstly, how proud I was of Jada, she acted impeccably in what could have 

been a very nasty situation. Secondly, why on earth would anyone let a bitch in season run around in a public area and last, but most certainly not least, that if a dog fight had ensued I have no doubt that Jada would have immediately been blamed before anyone bothered to find out the facts.

No one breed is all bad, in the same vein as no one breed is all good.  Any dog has the potential to harm, the fact is that most have caring and responsible owners that make sure they never get into situations where they can do so.