FD26

IMO- if a 9 yr old is to be handling the pup/dog.. a desexed male would be less trouble in the long run Even if you have a dog with the sweetest calmest temperament in the world- another entire male will perhaps get a whiff of male , and start an argument with your dog.... Plus, you don't have that awful smelly dog pee everywhere! We'll see. If it were a cat I would desex it in a heartbeat. But, because I've fallen in love with staffies I would like to spend some time considering breeding. If down the line we decide we're not interested or that he's not suitable we will have him desexed then. If you're buying a pup for breeding, he'll need to be on Main Register and you'd better tell the breeder! You should be thinking about showing him too! Yep. I've looked into it all. We've spent about 4 weeks learning as much as we can about what to look for, and the details before we got the pup. I would show him before I bred him if I decide to go that route, as I think that would prove whether he's worthy to be bred. I think that was one of the reasons it was so hard to let go of these two - I feel like I've been looking night and day for ages, so to finally find what we're looking for it was hard to let go!

IMO- if a 9 yr old is to be handling the pup/dog.. a desexed male would be less trouble in the long run Even if you have a dog with the sweetest calmest temperament in the world- another entire male will perhaps get a whiff of male , and start an argument with your dog.... Plus, you don't have that awful smelly dog pee everywhere! We'll see. If it were a cat I would desex it in a heartbeat. But, because I've fallen in love with staffies I would like to spend some time considering breeding. If down the line we decide we're not interested or that he's not suitable we will have him desexed then.

I'm so jealous that you get to visit yours! Ours is all the way in QLD! Holding out for the next pics though...

They're 4 weeks, so 4 more to go! It's torture, isn't it? We've been looking for a few weeks now, and you just want them right away! aww tiny babies. yes so bad trying to hold my excitement in is well just dosent happen lol. i looked into breeds for about a month before doing the whole research on the staffy breed i have had 2 staffys in the past *loved them* but i was younger then and forget everything so re looked at everything then found some lovely breeders now just have to wait...... so hard. do you have names picked out im getting a male too We don't yet! Knowing us it will take us ages to pick a name for him. My son's keen on "Zero" lol, but I don't know about that.. I used to be a fan of cattle dogs, but my partner's converted me...I don't think I've ever been so in love with a breed as I am with staffies.

Because unless you live in Fort Knox and have a 24 hour body guard for your dog, he's at risk of theft!! Entire male Staffords disappear from family homes all over Australia on a regular basis.. stolen for fighting rings. Where's the insult in me pointing out that entire, your dog is at a higher degree of risk of theft? People get followed home from walking their dogs.. and their dogs are gone. Ah. I see. I'm not immune, but our pup won't be outside on his own at all...it will be a virtual fort knox, simply because of how we lost our last guy. We've turned very paranoid! Sorry if I took what you were saying the wrong way, then...

Which is understandable. I have two very happy desexed cats, and I'd be up in arms if someone wasn't going to desex theirs. It was just how it came across..

I've read heaps of it already! (Been lurking for awhile now). It's been really tricky to find a good breeder though. You think you're asking all the right questions, and then something comes up...or you just get "that feeling". It doesn't help that being in NT we have to look interstate. Not to mention there seems to be a lot of conflicting info around about staffies lol. Edited to add: We've found a breeder though, and I'm smitten with her. She seemed to have all the right answers AND ask all the right questions. So, we're now expecting our (one) pup in the beginning of March.

Basically to protect him. The thought of my beloved family pet ending up in a fighting pit is beyond horrifying. Sorry, let me reiterate. Why would you think that a dog *I* owned be in any danger because he's not desexed? I found your comment insulting, was my point.

You shall all be happy to know that I've let go of my determined spirit long enough to truly consider things (rationally) and decided to forgo the puppies. I think the main two things that prevented me from getting these puppies were that a) I've started questioning the breeder after all was said..it's hard to write her off as just naive, and b) we lost our last staffy in an attack (so it's been very painful to hear all of your stories, btw), and my heart breaks at the idea of getting ourselves into any sort of risk with our next baby(s). It didn't feel right to get just one of these dogs..so we've decided on a new breeder entirely. I hope I can enjoy the rest of my time on this forum after getting off to a rough start. I've truly fallen in love with staffies and want to learn as much about them as I possibly can, and I do hope this will be a good resource for that.

I just want to clarify the rehoming bit. I would NEVER get a dog (or any pet) with the INTENTION of rehoming it.

Just curious about what led you to this comment? Because the last thing you need with two young male staffords is for both of them to be loaded with testosterone and entire male staffords are the unfortunate target of dog thieves. Please tell me you weren't considering leaving both of them entire. No, we weren't. I was just wondering why you'd said even if we got only one to have them desexed.

Gosh I have a lot to learn about the "technicalities"! I just googled "dominance theory" and agree with you that I wouldn't use that sort of training. Isn't it most likely to produce agressive dogs in general? I know that kind of training wreaks havoc in pit bulls. In the past I've always gone towards a general rule of disciplining dogs much the same as I would discipline a toddler, with firm guidance and redirection. If dogs learn from play fighting what about single dogs? Of course we'd train the pups not to guard their food, but this can be done one on one. What we're thinking at this stage is giving them "together time" for about an hour in the afternoons.. These are some of the websites I've found about littermates, what do you think? http://www.caninedevelopment.com/Sibling.htm http://www.doglistener.co.uk/choosing/siblings.shtml

Just curious about what led you to this comment?

and that's the catch It may not. Yes, unfortunetly that's true. But that would also be the case if we got one down the track as well. If all fails, ultimately we would have to rehome one of them.

I think you might be right, no one has a clue about what I do/don't know. My partner grew up with staffys, and most of our family has them. We've had one in the past as well, and I've also had a cattle dog and a pit bull previously (in the states). But no, I have never had more than one dog at a time of my own - which is probably why I had no idea what I was initially getting into by deciding on littermates! However, a few people in our family have multiple staffies and are a good source of information. We've also lost a dog in an attack (with a neighbouring bloodhoundxmastiff), so we're very paranoid puppy parents, and we won't leave anything to chance. We have always had multiple cats - but obviously they're quite different from dogs (with their own set of problems!) We'll definitely be going to obidience classes (seperately) and will seek out advice at the slightest sign of a problem...which, I don't think we'll have any problem identifying. I agree with you that it's brave. It's actually daunting. As silly as it may sound I just really feel like these dogs have picked us, and I'm determined to make it work now, and truly have faith in our ability.

Why be on the defence at all? Nobody is 'slamming' you, they're just giving you their opinions and you're not liking the answers. That's the idea of a public forum. Did you want everyone to tell you it's a wonderful idea? Makes no difference to me or anyone else here how many pups you get. Get ten for all I care. Now if you said you were buying two blues to breed with every season and make big bucks, then you would understand the meaning of being 'slammed'. lol Sorry, it was just that I made it pretty clear in my initial post that I wasn't asking to be told not to get them. It's pretty frustrating when that's the brunt of the advice being given. I didn't want to hear it not because I want everyone to tell me it's a great idea - I don't expect that. Just that I have come to terms with the fact that it's not ideal and now I'm trying to move past that and onto how we make it work.

Statistically speaking, an alarmingly high number of horror stories are from owners who report that they use a "dominance theory" approach to dog training. Easy enough to say that "those ones got it wrong", but I'm sure they all thought they got it right and many of them no doubt still do, despite the evidence. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it might be more successful in a much larger pack (say, 7-10 dogs). Again, statistically speaking, fatal dog fights are most likely to occur between littermates of the same sex. From a practical point of view, if you plan to separate the dogs continuously you make an enormous amount of extra work just providing basic care and social contact. This could soon turn into a nightmare if one or both dogs isn't suited to this sort of living. There isn't much upside to this for you OR the dogs. If you are hell-bent on doing this then you need to focus on conditioning very reliable responses to commands to go to place (e.g crate or bed), drop, and recall. To be honest, living with a dog who will fight and working with a lot of dogs who will fight, I can't imagine why ANYONE would entertain the idea of willingly entering into an arrangement that produces a statistically higher probability of it occurring. Better to wait 18 months between pups, not only do you lower the risks dramatically, you get to enjoy puppies for TWICE AS LONG! Thanks. From what I have read so far it says to keep them seperate unless supervised, and then limit the time they are allowed to play together...during which time if any play fighting happens they're to be seperated. So..seperate feedings, seperate training, seperate sleeping, seperate walking. The goals of seperating them would be so that they don't get too attatched and form their own identity, and so that they don't become too "doggy", and that it makes it easier to establish the relationship with us. Keeping them seperate won't mean keeping them seperate areas alone all the time in this house, as there's the three of us I imagine we'd just alternate. Since I am at home during the day, I would aim for a schedule where I can give one attention while the other slept, and vice versa. I do understand why it isn't the ideal situation, and honestly I wouldn't have set out looking for 2 littermates at all...but it's the prediciment we've found ourselves in and now I want to learn what I can to deal with it the best way possible.

Two very well respected and experienced breeders of Staffords have already replied in this thread. Lots of breeders run on litter mates to show so I'd say they have a better insight than you would think. Owning A Stafford myself there is no way in hell I would consider two same sex litter mates. I've come home to a dead dog in my yard before, trust me it's something you won't ever forget. If you have to get two, get one male one female. I think you need to actually do more research on the breed as you don't seem to understand about their ancestry. *pulls hair out* Would anyone else like to tell me what I don't know while we're at it? Considering I've already had such a warm welcome... I wasn't referring to the horror stories here, perse..but other ones I had read previously, in other places. I wasn't saying the people responding here weren't aware of training or pack mentality, I would obviously have no way of knowing what they do/don't know. Blech...sick of being on the defence, but it's a bit hard when I'm trying to do the right thing and I just get slammed left and right.

They're 4 weeks, so 4 more to go! It's torture, isn't it? We've been looking for a few weeks now, and you just want them right away!

No , the majority of the horror stories come from people who are very well versed in the breed, are good trainers and can manage a pack. Precautions and early training will most likely not be enough to stop them from challenging one another. These are just some of the things that will cease to happen in your home if your two dogs decide not to tolerate one another * no more rides in the car, unless in seperate crates or behind a cargo barrier * no more walks together on leash, unless two adults are prepared to go together * no sitting on the lounge or enjoying their time with you together in the house * no play time together in the yard what you will be doing * constantly checking that doors to dog runs and gates are shut properly * constantly asking the family where X dog is before you let Y dog out of it's run, open a gate or door or let it into the house * checking for yourself that x is indeed where the family says he is what you will hope * is that the family didn't stuff up what they've told you * that x is indeed where you think he is * and if you do stuff up, that you can somehow seperate them before the damage is excessive Just out of interest what colour are the two pups ? From what I've read so far it's not recommended to walk them etc. together in the first place, at least until they're older. One is brindle, and the other is black/white pied.

We seem to get most of our animals in pairs in this house! There are a few reasons behind wanting two. First of all was the impulse of falling in love with the pair of them (as it usually goes). After consideration, we have the time at the moment to put into two puppies...as where we might not down the track. We've always known we wanted two eventually. My MIL has a pair of older staffies and they get on famously. It seems to me they are happier to have each other than other staffies who are just the one. My son has taken a liking to one of them, and before when we had just the one dog he used to feel quite left out as he'd be sleeping in our room or spending time with us. I think he's old enough now to take on the responsibility of having "his own" pet (of course not sole responsibility). All of that was before we'd realised the problems that can be associated with littermates, and it was something thought about for awhile once we did. I do believe that if we put in the hard yards now they have a good chance of getting along in the future, otherwise I wouldn't even consider it.

I guess I've made a mistake in thinking this was the right place to look for advice. I know there are horror stories, obviously this is what has led me to realise I need to take precautions and start training early. But I also know it can be done successfully, and that's the help I'm looking for. It seems to me that most of the horror stories come from people who are utterly unaware of proper training for littermates and pack mentality. Which is why I'm asking questions. Geez, damned if you do, damned if you don't...

Two Staffy males.. .are they both pups? Have you considered the very real possibility that they won't get on as they mature? Yes, and we plan on taking all steps to minimise that. I've just written another thread about that...

What she says. I've raised several litter mates, this includes Stafford males, Pointer males and Stafford pups of the opposite sex. It's a bloody lot of hard work when it comes to training and socialisation to ensure the needs of the dogs are met and to ensure they are both well adjusted individuals. You are, in all probability going to need the ability to seperate them. They can and will most likely take a dislike to each other at some stage. If you are purchasing them as family pets, then I'd forget about it. There's a real chance that you will need to keep them seperate at some stage and this is a real juggling act. It can be especially dangerous if you have children in the home, it's very easy for them to leave a gate open, open a door at the wrong time. We plan on keeping them seperate unless they're under supervision for at least the first 12 months. We'll be buying two seperate kennels. And down the track when they're older we have plenty of room to keep them seperate as well. Children aren't really an issue, as we only have one (very responsible) 9 year old. Look, I know there's a lot more work involved, but we're willing and able to put that in. I'm just looking for insight from people who've done it successfully. You said you've raised male SBT littermates, do you have any advice on the actual process?

Hi! I'm new to the forum, though I've been lurking for awhile. Ah...or not! Now we're expecting just one male staffy in the beginning of March. A gorgeous little black guy.