Staffy advice

[John W]

I was on this forum a few months back asking for advice on Boston Terriers as I'm semi-retiring in March, moving into a house (currently in a unit) and i want a dog to grow old with me. Over the last few months though I've been leaning more and more now to a staffy, I have my reasons not least of which is the robust health of a fit staffy.

 

Which brings me to my query. I've been going through the registered breeders on this site and frankly there's a squillion of them and I know from stories related to myself there's... let's just say some breeders more concerned with the health of the breed than others who are more concerned with the colour. Personally I'm very very skeptical of breeders promoting colours, particularly the latest fad dog - the blues, because I just wonder if they're breeding for colour, what about the rest of it?

 

I want a dog (bitch, which will be de-sexed) bred for health above everything else, but I don't know where to start sorting through that list. Because I'm on the Central Coast of NSW I'd like one close, but if not at least in NSW, because I want to go see the kennels.

 

Now I'll be a bit hypocritical here after mentioning my skepticism of breeding for colour, but I'd really like a red. I'm not exclusive on it but I would prefer. Am I risking what I'm trying to avoid looking for one? Second choice is black, same risk? again I'm not red black or nothing about it, just preference. The only colours I rule out is white, because I had a white cat once that I was forever applying sunscreen to and it still got melanomas, and pied because.... well... without meaning to discriminate... i want a pretty dog, and blues because I just don't trust the "breed for blue" way.

 

Anyone with any breeder recommendations or advice on how to find them, or on picking a good staffy or anything you got for me is appreciated.You can PM me if you prefer not naming recommended breeders publicly (or the ones to avoid).

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited October 22, 2018 by John W

[sandgrubber]

I'm not at all bothered that people have a preference for a relatively common color in a common breed.  If there's too much to choose from, it's fine to use an arbitrary criteria to narrow the field. 

As for reading through the list of breeders, you can get a sense of what they emphasize in their descriptions. I worry if it's all about ribbons without much on health... and I look for specific mention of what they do to breed for health.  It's good to find a breeder who can tell you about the health status of great grand sires and dams...if they are still alive, and if not, what they died of at what age, etc 

[Spiritze]

I think the most important thing to look for while looking for a breeder is the state of the dogs and the health testing.
As for colour, I personally wouldn't have my mind set on a colour, I think it's best to meet the puppies and watch their personalities and how they interact with eachother and yourself. 
You might fall in love with a completely different colour 

[Tassie]

I don't know how easy it is for you to get to a show or two, but that's often a way of getting a look at some different dogs, and seeing if there are dogs that take your fancy.  Depending on how busy people are, you can often get chatting about the dogs, the breed in general, health., temperament  etc. without being in specific "[puppy buyer mode".  Also several of the people you see may be just owners, rather than breeders.

[Tassie]

@juice      You might be a great go to person for advice here.