Anti Bsl Pictures BSL

I couldnt agree more that it is the humans at fault and not the dogs but to continually give people the idea that thats what they were bred for isnt going to do the breed any favours. If anything you should be here to educate people that fighting IS NOT what this breed was originally bred for, these dogs were around long before pit fighting and you as a staffie owner should be promoting the good points of this breed instead of trying to justify the bad points.

I am on the same side as you Hayley i just find it strange that you would not want to change the attitudes that some people have of staffies. To tell someone well thats the way they are, i cant see that standing up in court, i am sure all your dogs are wonderful animals and it would be nice to hear that a bit more rather than promoting them as "naturally" dog aggressive and have the attitude that we shouldnt try to change that. Staffies are not my personal choice but i seem to be trying to drum it in to people that these dogs were not "originally" fighting dogs where as you are constantly saying that they were.

You're not a closet hoodie are you??

Just to add, they may have been bred to fight bulls or bears but they were not bred to fight each other!

Just a little bit of Stafford history,

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier first came into existence in or around the seventeenth century. As bull baiting declined in popularity and dog fighting enjoyed a surge of interest, it became necessary to develop a dog which possessed a longer and more punishing head than the Bulldog and also to combine strength and agility. It is therefore believed that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was derived from the fighting Bulldog of the day with some terrier blood introduced. This cross produced what was known as the Bull and Terrier or Pit Dog; these dogs were renowned for their courage and tenacity and despite their ferocity in the pit were excellent companions and good with children. In fact it was not unknown for an injured dog to be transported home in a pram with the baby!

Although dog fighting and other barbaric pastimes of the day were patronised by the aristocracy - Lord Camelford reportedly owned a famous dog called 'Belcher'- fighting dogs were also owned by the poorest of families. The pit dog was a favourite with miners and steelworkers and was prevalent amongst the chainmakers of the " Black Country " where the dogs were not only fought for entertainment but provided a working man with valuable extra income when worked against badgers or as ratters.
With the introduction of the Humane Act in 1835, baiting sports and dog fighting became unlawful and a group of men in the Staffordshire area endeavoured to preserve their breed by introducing them to the show world. After much discussion the Standard was written describing the dog's physical attributes and this dog was named the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to differentiate him from the English Bull Terrier.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was officially registered by the Kennel Club in 1935 and the first club show for the breed took place in August 1935 at Cradley Heath in the West Midlands where 60 dogs and bitches were entered . The founder club was named The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club and is affectionately known as 'The Parent Club'. There are now a total of 18 clubs in Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranging from the North of Scotland to the West of England.

Dog fighting was part of the Stafford History,
And that is where it should stay!
Aggression isn't and has never been part of the breed standard.
I know i'm off topic ~sorry

We should ALL be concerned about BSL. Its not scaremongering, its not being over-dramatic, its being realistic. I can understand why people are burying their heads in the sand, its a scary thing to have to deal with, but burying heads in sand isnt going to make this go away, dogs are being killed in THIS country, right now. Obviously bullbreed owners are going to be more afraid for their dogs than some other owners, but we all owe it to our dogs, whatever the breed, to be their voice. Things are going to get a lot worse than they are now, and no breed is 100% safe from this. The UK will follow Europes lead, as they always do. Dont think your breed is safe just because it isnt a Staffy, ABD or similar.

Would any of us have thought this would be going on, in UK, right now ? Family pets being taken and killed JUST because of the shape of their head or length of their legs? If someone had told you 5 years ago this would be happening today, wouldnt you have disbelieved it? Wouldnt you have thought "No, this is the UK, we are civilised, we have rights, this wont ever happen here!!"

Dont be too complacent, your dog could be in this position in 5 years time, or less.

so vodka vixen will you argue with sallie's post?
Stafford where bred for fighting!
Im not gonna to lie about their history!
I promote staffords well, i just have to argue it out here because people pretend, or are mis informed!


Staffords are wonderful animals, i wouldnt never own a man biter and the way the staffords where bred was never a man biter, its the owners these days who cause this and parents for leaving thier child and dog together alone!

As for standing in court, i wont be there because my dogs will never bite someone, so i dont need to pretend it will happen, if my dogs bites, then i will pts! But that wont happen because my dogs are under control!

If my dog bit another dog, i would be deeply upset with myself, not the dog as i know that its within my breed! but i control my dogs, and because i dont let them have 'doggy friends' does not make me a bad dog owner! Bessie is fine with other dog till they push her, shall i take that risk and let her maul another dog? is that promoting my breed?

I will not change, lie and mis unform people about my breeds history to suit others!

good post and agree with

The only part of your post i can't agree with Hayley. Why ? Because KC Reg Stafford owners will be in court in the coming months in Merseyside and there are still rumblings that the Amnesty may move around the country.So through no fault of your own or your dogs you may well end up in court.These days your dog does not have to bite someone for you to end up in court.Which is why this fight is one we have to win.

totally agree steve and do understand, but i meant i wont be in court because my dogs has bitten someone.

Sorry Hayley,my bad,I misread your post.

no probs hun, u called always give me ossie if u like lol!

I'm not from the UK and I am 100% anti BSL. It matters to me because it's a dog issue, and I love dogs. Pure and simple. I have fought and continue to fight BSL legislation in the U.S. Fortunatly, in my area, we've been successful in both preventing BSL from passing, and in having BSL repealed or rewritten to exclude any list of banned breeds. I want to be a part of the fight in the UK because I feel like we are one world one people. We are all dog lovers and I hate that this is happening to any dog lover anywhere in the world. If there is anything I can do to stop it, I will.

So please don't tell me I don't care, because I don't own a bull breed, or that I shouldn't be involved, because I don't own a bull breed, because neither could be farther from the truth

Hayley how can you sit there and say you will never be in court because your dog will never bite?

Nobody can say 100% that their dog wont bite, even the most docile dogs can bite!

As for not mixing your dogs with other dogs, well thats just plain stupid. Chance is great with other dogs, why? because he was socialised with them since a tiny pup!

Dog on dog aggression is a terrible terrible thing Hayley, retaining that part of any dogs nature does absolutely nothing to show any breed of dog in a good light, especially in light of recent events. We are hearing of many people on this forum being visited by the police, people who stand the possibility of having their dogs taken away from them, these are very worrying times for ALL bully breed owners plus I see no chance of it all being put to rest just yet, it will get much worse before it gets better, IMO.
I really don't want to fall out with anyone BUT please read up on the Stafford history proporly Hayley, yes they were fought in pits against other dogs, but that was NOT what they were originally bred for, they were bred in mind to be Bull & Bear Baiters it was only when this took a decline that they were introduced to the pit. Also lets not forget that they are in the 'Terrier' group, the 'Terrier' group also includes the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Terriers were bred in mind to hunt and kill vermin, this could also include the Stafford because of the very nature of the tasks the dogs had to be energetic, tenacious, brave and determined which explains the Stafford to a tee So lets not just concentrate on a part of their past which is totally irrelevant now dog fighting was banned 170-180 years ago and holds not place in todays society, it don't mean squat to the dogs and what they should stand for now.
Dog aggression especially dog on dog aggression should be bred out of any breed that possesses that trait, it won't make them less of a dog and at least they wouldn't suffer for it like they are now because of recent events and because of people who have no idea about the breed belive them to be.

ok nicci tell me how would you breed it out?
for the last time staffords where bred for fighting! sorry but this is correct!

My dogs will never bite anyone i will make sure of that, i would not own a man biter, a true stafford would never bite a human!

Listen to you, you dont know your dogs at all

Now the last Bull Baiting took place in England 1832, it was banned in 1835..

***Please note that 1601 would have been the first year of the 17th century, so Staffords have been around as long as this according to their history***

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was originally bred for Bull Baiting and dog fighting (Yes dog fighting, dog fighting comes second to bull baiting read the history correctly, it's all there in black and white Hayley very searchable on the internet) a breed of dog developed by James Hinks.

Mini i do understand what you are saying here and to a certain extent i agree with you,but there are breeds in that list that have been associated with the DDA/BSL by the Merseyside police,Lord Baker and others.Also like i say other EU countries have banned many of these other breeds,how long do you think it will be before Britain follows suit?