Approximately 9000+ Staffordshire Bull Terriers are killed every year... but why?

One of the problems that you face when working with animals is the knowledge that you gain and the distance it puts between yourself and those that do not work with animals. Anybody that has spent time around an animal understands that they are anything but emotionless, or thoughtless, or that they lack a consciousness. The ignorance and general unwillingness to bend on false truths that people believe they know, without any experience or first hand knowledge themselves can make your life away from the animals very difficult. And the biggest problem of it all is when lives are put at risk, because of this lack of knowledge.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a dog that has an incredibly negative reputation amongst the British public. This dog is believed to be uncontrollably aggressive, especially towards other animals, and cannot be trusted. No civilized, high society person, would dream of owning such a menacing breed – or at least that seems to be the general opinion. However, the people who believe this will never have spent any time around a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The closest they will have come to a Staff is probably at the end of the lead of somebody who looks unrespectable, even dangerous, or at the very least a hoodlum. They will probably be blind to the Staffs running about the parks playing with other dogs, or being walked by kind, gentle people that are not youths or uncouth individuals. Or at least that is how I feel it must be, because nobody can spend time with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and not find themselves smiling as the little, happy, dog smiles back at them, tail wagging and large warm eyes twinkling.

Nobody who has spent any real time with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, even those with intense issues with other dogs, can understand that the why the breed is portrayed so harshly by the media. Anybody who tells you that Staffordshire Bull Terriers are naturally aggressive dogs and are a danger to be around, especially for children, have never looked into the beautiful, soulful gaze of a Staff. They have never spent any time around one. They have never given one a cuddle or even a little pat on the head. They haven’t researched or read around the breed, they don’t know their breed standard and how the Kennel Club itself states that Staffordshire Bull Terriers are not only “highly intelligent and affectionate especially with children,” but also, “totally reliable.”

As with all dogs, the animals raised in horrendous, steroid induced, hateful conditions where they are pitted against other animals to fight for their lives or face the sharp stab of a cattle prod, will become products of their environment. All breeds have the potential to be aggressive. All breeds have the potential to be abused, or the potential to feel they must protect their owners – for many dogs are truly loyal and would throw their lives on the line for their family. All breeds have the potential to snap when a child pulls at their ears, pokes them in the face, tugs on their tails. The media will only tell you about those dogs that do snap. They will not tell you about the hundreds that sit happily with a child draped across their back, hugging them so tightly they can barely breath, but just soaking in the attention they so love to receive.

The most human aggressive dogs that I know are not Staffordshire Bull Terriers. I have never known a people aggressive Staff, I am not saying they do not exist but out of the many, many dogs I have worked with, I have not yet met one that is people aggressive. The dogs that I do know that are people aggressive are primarily terriers such as Jack Russells, Westies and many other little breeds that people wouldn’t dream of considering viscious. And that isn’t to say those that do show signs of aggression are viscious! A dog will only bite you if it has a reason to bite you. Dogs do not lash out for the sake of it. They either feel incredibly threatened, and this threshold of what is threatening varies between dog to dog, or they have a medical condition.

As an example, my last dog bite came from a long haired, handsome little Jack Russell Terrier. He bit me because I went to stroke him when he was curled up in his bed, which was idiotic of me as I knew this dog and I knew that he had trust issues with people due to years of abuse when he was young. The moment after he bit me, because I was invading his safe space, he panicked and didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t want to hurt me, he just felt threatened and in his mind, the only option he had was to give me a bite, a warning bite at that. I was fine, more concerned about him – it was my mistake, I had threatened his safety, albeit unwittingly. This dog often sits in my lap and enjoys soft, gentle, reassuring affectionate strokes but only when he comes up to me. Only when he jumps into my lap or comes to my hands, will I tentatively stroke him, because it is his uncertainty and distrust of people that makes him lash out. And what amazes me, is that although he suffered abuse at the hands of people – he still seeks the comfort of human touch! He wants to be around people, he wants to trust you, he wants to feel your love, but he struggles because of what people have done to him.

Like I have said before, and like I will most likely say again, all dogs have the potential to lash out. No dogs will lash out because of their breed. It all comes down to the individual dog, the individual incident, the way they were raised, the home they live in, the way that the person being bitten has treated them, or the mental/physical health. People see themselves on such a higher level than animals, but when you truly look at it, we are very much the same. All beings are the product of their environment. Yes, some may have a higher tolerance for invasions of privacy, or even abuse, and some may be more affectionate and seek out comfort more than others, but nobody is born evil. All animals are fresh, blank canvasses, at birth. I just wish people remembered this, both when dealing with animals and when dealing with other people. And also, nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes.