Hi, Im new to the forum and am looking for an Irish staffie (being taller and more lean than the traditional English staffie). I saw one in the Bullwell high street, Notts and even spoke to the owner, who was a bit freaked out I think! The reason I liked the dog so much was that he reminded me of my old boxer bitch who unfortunately died recently of cancer. Since Twister, my Boxer died, I have been looking for a dog to take her place. Unfortunately I live in France, but would be willing to come to England if I could find a suitable dog. Im not looking in France, because I dont speak the language well enough. Can anyone help me?
Good question. Twister was the runt of the litter. She was not a typical Boxer, being obviously smaller and thinner, more like this Irish Staffie that I had seen.
my freind has a leggy boxer, he isnt a runt. so you might get lucky, you could search the rescues. you are more likely to find a reputable legal registered breeder of a boxer than an irish staffie. this is because no such breed is recongised by the irish and british kennel clubs. irish staffie is just a description, as opposed to a breed, and has long been known to be a psydeunonmyn for pit bull type, for those breeders that breed illegal pit bull types. such breeders dont have standards and tend to be backyard or puppy farm in their approach, more concerned with quick money than ethical healthy breeding.
Unfortunately, not living in England makesit more difficult for me. On top of which, my Boxer was a gift and I have no idea from where she came. I am totally against the idea of dog fighting and pit bull type implications, so dont missunderstand me, but thanks for taking the time to write and explain things.
HI, I don't think Kruse was implying you were after a pit bull, but as he says, reputable breeders breed to a standard and many back yard breeders are breeding Staffies taller and leggier to resemble Pit Bulls, then you have the danger of your dog being seized as 'type'. Have you considered a rescue? There are lots of Staffies and crosses in rescue needing homes.
`Irish` staffs are usually SBTs with a mix of another bullbreed. The problem is they tend to look like Pit Bull Terriers which are banned in France so you may well have a problem there. There are loads of dog Rescues in France with homeless dogs. Or, if you just buy locally, at least you can go back to the breeder if there are problems.
Thank you all for your replies, I am grateful. By the way, Kruse and Loki, I didnt misunderstand or take offence at all, I just dont want people thinking Im after a fighting dog. Thanks Claire. I did go to the dog show recently at Albi where there were some American Staffies which looked nice. I also saw some Peruvian hairless dogs which were great. Wish I knew what to do, my Labrador/boxer Steph misses her playmate.
If your in france pop over the border to belguim there are some good kennels over there with irish strains