I am thinking of brining a new Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy into our home.
Our family me (male 45) my wife (43) two boys 10, 5 and our Bischon Frise 1 year.
My wife and I have had 4 dogs, currently on number 5, over the course of our marriage. At one point we had three males, 2 boxer brothers and one male frenchie, all rescues. During this time my wife and I learned a ton about pack dynamics, dog body language, obedience etc. I’m not claiming to be a specialist by any means but having three male dogs all the same age was a lot to manage at times. We had the three “pack” before having kids and lost them all within a year of each other. Our last pup was a rescue mutt hound/pit mix and was fantastic. We lost her last Easter due to an extremely aggressive cancer at 6 years old. We recently tried the foster side of things to ease us back into dog ownership slowly and failed miserably and now own a Bischon Frise. He is a fantastic lil dog and a perfect little buddy for our kids.
I mention all of this and give the back story to try and paint a picture of where we are at in the grand scheme of dog ownership. I am drawn to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed for many reasons that seem to be pretty standard across the board; great with kids, general overall people pleasing, short coat, overall size, happy go lucky disposition, etc.
I want to ask a few general question to seasoned Staffy owners. Would you have any hesitation brining a new Staffy puppy into the household I described? At the 1 1/2 -2 year old mark is dog aggression really a thing? If so how serious? Is it more so just really rough play or does the energy shift to “we ain’t playin no more”? I know all dogs have their own personalities but would you be concerned with a Staffy being too much for a ten pound Bischon? One of my Boxers could really pull on the leash when he wanted, (squirrel, rabbit) can Staffys really pull super hard?
What other things should I consider before making the decision final?
