Trisven13 Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I have a pair of sweet little 6 month old pups in foster care. Their most likely heritage is Staffy X Italian Greyhound by appearance but obviously they could be some other mix. I have a very, very nice family who have been fostering the little girl and decided they wanted to purchase her. They were specifically looking for a small, short-haired, gentle dog and this little girl completely fits the bill. The family suffered a tragedy 12 months ago when the husband/father was killed and as a result their in-laws have quite a big say in their lives. The lady's brought the pup back tonight in tears as her father-in-law has said that they can't have the dog (which he acknowledges is beautiful and well-behaved) because it is a Staffy mix and they are dangerous and will maul the children. So - this is not about people posting about how silly he is and how wrong he is etc etc, or that she shouldn't be listening to him. Please just accept that this is a loving family who have been through a tough time so the words of a 90 year old man are important because he is family. They would really love some information to show that staffy's aren't the dangerous killing machines that he thinks that they are - where can I find some statistics????? Real statistics - not just people's opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 (edited) Flinders Uni collects bite stats. I'll see what's online. What you do have to remember is that staffies and staffy mixes are among the most common dogs in Australia. The higher the number of dogs, the more likely it will be to feature in breed bite stats. Top of the pops in Canada is the Golden Retriever - and its also the most popular breed. Perhaps if you suggest they do some reading on what makes a dangerous dog they may be able to understand that the way a dog is raised and supervised and not its breed is the most important factor in how safe it is with kids. Edited to add links as I find them. Kidsafe Medical Journal of Australia American Academy of Paedatrics Another medical article Another way to tackle this is to ask the FIL what breed of dog he DOES think is completely reliable.... hope like hell he says Golden Retriever and I'll give you the material to shoot that assumption down. Edited January 11, 2009 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 Thanks PF. The family really want this dog but at the same time they want to honour the FIL's beliefs as he has obviously been a very important part of their family since their tragedy a year ago. Initially I was really angry but after talking to them I've realised that they're just between a rock and a hard place trying desperately to do the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernStarPits Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 some dog bite stat table from NSW 07 I dont know if thats the sort of thing you were after. you will have to rotate it. dogs_table.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Just what I was after - thanks heaps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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