Staffordshire terriers and children.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, I'm sorry to hear this. Situations like this are so difficult.

First of all, know that this kind of problem can happen with any breed. It's not necessarily *because* they are staffies. With that being said, I have seen the odd Staffordshire that can just flip out with aggression. 99% of these dogs that I have seen are extremely kind and gentle. But I have a few in my clinic that will suddenly turn aggressive for no real reason. And these dogs are very scary because staffies are extremely muscular and have great potential to do harm if they bite.

My first thought whenever I read a question like this is whether the dogs are spayed. Even though they are females (as opposed to testosterone filled males), hormones can affect their attitudes. Having the dogs spayed can sometimes make a huge difference in how they behave.

You are probably not going to like the next bit of advice that I am going to give. When I see a family who has one or more dogs with aggressive tendencies and also has young children, I always recommend that the dogs and the children have absolutely no unsupervised access. And even then, if you are in the room with them together, you've got to be super watchful. I know it sounds horrible, but all it takes is one wrong move and there could be an awful situation. Most staffies are angels around children. The children could be pulling their fur out and sitting on them and they do nothing. But, with your dogs we don't know what kind of things set them off into being aggressive. It would be so awful if they did turn on your little girl. In my mind it's not enough to say, "They're always gentle around her so it's unlikely that anything will happen."

The other thing that you could consider is speaking to your vet about a behavioral consult and possibly some medication. I have had some dogs with aggression issues that do well with a medication called Reconcile, in combination with training (and spaying or neutering if not already done.)

This is a very difficult situation and I wish I had a faster and more concrete solution for you.

Dr. Marie.


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