Sandra777

And buyers certainly have the right to be informed that paying WAAY over the odds for a dog just because it is a certain colour is in no way guaranteeing their puppy is a healthy specimen of the breed. I have no issues with people who breed certain colours no matter what those colours or breeds are - I have major issues with people who breed for colour. If you are breeding a high quality healthy dog and trying to keep it a specific colour then all power to you and charge whatever you like. If you are churning out certain colours because idiot buyers think they're "special" or "rare" then expect to get bombarded.

They're technically Liver - I guess that'd be enough to put most people off Sorry sandgrubber - what about what I have said is ''incorrect'' - the ''chocolate'' in Labradors is the same gene that is called ''liver'' in other breeds. Perhaps I'm wrong in believing that people who buy for colour would like owning a liver dog even more than a chocolate one - but I don't think so

They're technically Liver - I guess that'd be enough to put most people off

Yes, puppy's do need other dogs to learn how to be dogs, but you have to be so careful to choose the dogs properly, not just let them randomly meet dogs in public park. Sadly many of the dogs you'll meet there are unsocialised and quite possibly damaging to a young puppy, and for small puppies, very occasionally fatal. Another choice is to find out where the local dog obedience or conformation showing classes are and just go along, no need to participate if you don't want to, but your pup can meet other dogs and you will find some people who understand dogs well enough to know which of their dogs (if any) shouldn't help with your puppy's education. If you choose to do this just be sure to keep out of the way when the serious stuff is happening

You can't send him to school - you'll have to take him. He's going to be past a critical socialisation period shortly so the window is closing on your chance to get him started. I cannot think of a worse place for a young Stafford pup than the local dog park where you have no control over what sorts of dogs he meets and even less over how they treat him. You don't want your dog roughed up or hurt. If you'd not turn a toddler loose into the middle of a rugby match then I'd avoid the dog park. If friends have vaccinated, well mannered adult dogs, they represent a good opportunity for your pup to do some meeting and greeting under more controlled circumstances. I hope those walks aren't more than about 5-10 minutes long. He's only a bub so you have to be careful not to over do it on growing bones. X2 Dog parks can be terrible places for well socialised adult dogs - for a small puppy it's a disaster waiting to happen. The whole concept of allowing a bunch of strange dogs, many of which are probably rude and unsocialised themselves, to run around together is just bizarre to me - dogs are naturally inclined to like their known and familiar pack (dogs/human/feline/watchever). Getting out and about picking up the kids from school is perfect - this is the sort of socialisation dogs in the olden days used to get - no preschools for them!

Certainly Choc Labs, which are neither rare or unusual!

The breeder or shelter where you are getting the pup should be able to give you piles of advice - any breeder or shelter willing to place a deaf puppy should be ethical and experienced enough to supply the new owner with a virtual book of information on any potential issues.

Lucky you to have a dog with no teeth. I am 99.8% confident that none of mine would react like that to a normal approach from a non threatening person. I would never gamble their lives on the assumption they would never react like that regardless of the circumstances. I would never put any of mine in a situation where harm could be done to them by moronic people so no I would never ever take them to a shopping centre and leave them tied up alone - however that is because I don't trust people to have brains not because I don't trust the dog.

Not sure I understand the problem. The only time I have problems is running dogs together or bitches together - dog and bitch together is fine. Segregating the dogs from the bitches would cause problems here not solve them :D

A single oxtail bone is much too small for a dog his size - a whole tail then a different story sorry. I wouldn't give a dog anything it can conceivably try to swallow first go. If he chews chicken bodies then stick with them IMO. Problem being of course that you give them something bigger and they chew pieces off and try to swallow them whole. I've never found a way to solve this reliably but the odd one will be OK if you give them an amount of softer food to take the edge off their greed (hunger?) then give them the bone. I have had a dog choke and die on a brisket bone (yes he was supervised) so I fully understand how scary it is.

Personally so long as not too much of any one thing is given and absolutely no cooked bones, I don't have issues with dogs getting table scraps. It would depend on the size of the puppy how much would be appropriate as I wouldn't be keen on more than 5% of the diet being bread/cereal/pasta and another 5% vegetables. Obviously this would vary over the week, I'm not obsessive about balance every day Allergens - this depends on breed a lot and also IMO on early exposure. Ask the breeder if there are specific allergens common in the breed. I certainly wouldn't be changing or adding to the pup's diet for a week-10 days after it coming home but I guess you know this already since you seem well prepared. Adult dogs IMO can live quite well on scraps and a high quality food - be that dry food or raw food according to your preferences. Ours get all the left overs here (including things they actually shouldn't get) but with only 2 adults there's not a huge quantity of these anyway - and our pups are always introduced to weird leftovers before they leave - they particularly enjoyed the surplus bread rolls at Christmas time and had a great time ripping them to bits and spreading them on the lawn for the birds

x2 After being in season all bitches have the same hormonal changes whether pregnant or not. Mine are always very quiet and affectionate for the first couple of weeks after their season whether mated or not, if they are pregnant they continue this way, if not they generally go back to being their real houligan selves

Oh dear, more loonies on the loose. What consititutes a breed? IMO breeding excluding outside bloodlines for a period of time sufficient to establish a specific type/size/temperament/characteristics. IMO the SBT qualifies as a breed on this basis alone. All canine registries (including the APBT recognising UKC) consider the SBT a separate and distinctive breed all over the world, not just in Australasia.

Wow, everyone places their dog above their friends??? Crate for the dog, supervision for all and let friend and toddler have your baby's room, dog in crate in lounge room, your baby in your room. Personally I think it could be a good learning experience for all - dog learns some toddler manners, toddler learns dogs aren't scary things.

Who you callin'peculiar lookin'

Gremlins

Think you want to edit this to read Bulldog - the Bull Terrier is even more modern than the Bullmastiff...

:rofl: :thumbsup: This is the weirdest interpretation of Staffordshire Bull Terrier history I have ever seen. Jackij, do some research using reputable sources before uttering such total nonsense.

Y'kin fix most ears with enough glue :D ;)

Oh bugga there goes my idea Black and tan kind of goes against the grain too, but shave it and I'll make allowances Doesn't the nose give you issues?? :D

You've been to two shows so you base this observation on what? I can assure you that the dogs in the 1980's were a heck of a lot longer and lower than they are now! I do agree that in some instances the muzzles are getting too short - but there were plenty of super short/unable to breath correctly dogs around in the 1980's and before. And this would probably be because the SBT isn't the ideal agility dog, and the really competitive and "agility devoted" people will go for a breed which will be the most competitive. I have trained a couple of SBTs in low level agility myself and while they and I both love it, I would be the first to admit that as a breed they are not perfect for the job, far too happy to think of a funny way of doing things when they get bored. Not like the Border Collie types who will turn themselves inside out trying to figure out what their owner wants them to do - if the SBT gets bored or confused it'll just go 'stuff it, this looks like fun, I'll do it this way'. Well there's me for a start. Deliberately breeding for colour which automatically makes the dog fail a section of the breed standard is not a great example of trying to make the dog the best it can be..............

I'd tend to agree with this as being a major factor. Dilute Alopecia certainly does exist though. Once you get "allergies and itchies" in a line there's not much to be done except ditch it and go elsewhere - which won't happen of course if the breeder is only breeding for colour or just to sell puppies. Badly bred non blue Staffords are also prone to skin issues, so much so that a lot of vets believe "Staffords have skin issues" and try to sell my puppy buyers this line (along with the death in a bag out front of course). Sometimes a carefully bred ones do too, nothing in life works perfectly

Most of the blues I have seen have yellow-ish cast eye colour, some approaching a strange sort of fawn-yellow colour. The dog in that photo has considerably darker eyes than most, however for a SBT he has extremely red-toned eyes (which is not pretty on the black brindles ) assuming the eye colour is true in the photo. IME the ones with red-toned eyes tend to have close relations with light pigment throughout, brown/pale nails, indistinct/muddy sorts of coat colours.

Simple genetic lesson OK? Unless it's red a Stafford will not be a solid colour. Staffords are red because they don't have the gene to express black pigment. (White is not a colour it is an absence of colour) Staffordshire Bull Terriers do NOT come in solid black. Every single "black" Staffordshire Bull Terrier is genetically brindle. The very occasional one will not show any brindling - the huge majority will have some, even if only a tiny amount. Blue is a dilution of black pigment so every single "blue" SBT is actually brindle. Brindle is a pattern - Blue is a dilution of the black pigment in the Brindle. They are different genes and exist at the same time in the same dog. More than one series of genes goes in to making up the colour of the dog. A very brindle striped SBT which also inherits the dilution blue gene from both parents will be blue brindle, blue with a varying amount of fawn strips. A really stripy one will appear to be fawn with a few blue stripes, but the base colour is black/diluted to blue with a various amount of striping which is controlled by other genes. A very sparsely brindle striped SBT which also inherits the dilution blue gene from both parents will be an "almost" solid blue - it will still have some brindle (fawn) hairs on it, but much less than a very stripy brindle. A "black" SBT which also inherits the dilution blue gene from both parents will be a "solid" blue. In reality, it is still genetically brindle and so still has the ability to produce a various amount of striping in it's progeny. "Black" Staffords very rarely produce a majority of "black" progeny - so there is no science to believe a "solid blue" will produce a majority of "solid blue" progeny.

;) No good, the show starts at the same time. Is there a website where I can see when the next one is on?