Staffordshire Bull Terriers are most appealing and popular dogs. The puppies are beautiful, cute and cuddly and frequently appear on calendars, posters advertising and a host of other media.

However, they are also dogs and owning a dog is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

These days many regulations are in place for owning a dog and one must also meet National and Local bylaw requirements in order to give your dog a happy life in your home and your environment.

Breeders often state that puppies are "sometimes available to approved homes"

For serious and dedicated breeders, this would mean that a potential puppy owner has not made an impulse decision about buying a cute puppy, but that they have considered carefully the obligations and responsibilities of owning a dog for the rest of its life.

Some questions likely to be asked:

What previous experience have you had with owning a puppy?

What do you know about the breed and welfare?

Where will the puppy be housed, how long will it be left on its own, how secure is the intended environment, are there very young children and any other animals in your family?

Who is going to be the main carer, trainer and protector?

For the above reasons many breeders will not sell puppies to homes where they will be left alone all day. Dogs are pack animals and left alone for hours on end will quickly become miserable and lonely and then bored and destructive. A puppy also has no understanding of things dangerous and could hurt, choke or poison itself on all manners of ordinary items found in the home.

Puppies are also very time consuming and all the hours spent training and socialising your puppy in the beginning will later make your adult dog a pleasure to live with and you a proud owner ---- instead of having a dog deprived of company, always needing attention and not knowing how to behave.

Many dogs are rehomed [or worse] at this point as they have become too hard to cope with and are destroying the home and are often nuisance barkers who have attracted the attention of neighbours and council rangers.

Parents with very young children should think carefully about adding another "baby" into their lives. There may be not enough hours in the day to do justice to a puppy as well as to your littlies. It may well be better for you to wait until your children are a little older.

If you think that you are able to offer a puppy a home where it can reasonably expect to live "forever" and that you are committed to offer everything for its health and well being then it sounds as though a Staffordshire Bull Terrier is for you.

BUYER BEWARE

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club together with all official breed clubs throughout Australia strongly advise never to buy a puppy from a pet shop or from a ‘backyard’ breeder. Without having documented registered papers and health clearance certificates for both parents, there is a very high risk that not only the cute pup you’ve fallen in love with is not a pure bred Stafford but is also carrying potentially serious genetic disorders that will cause both you and your puppy pain and suffering.

Puppies are sold either on the Main or Limited Registers. Limited means that the pup must not be bred from unless the breeder at a later date agrees, they can not be shown in the conformation ring but may be entered in sanctioned Obedience and Agility trials. Puppies can also be sold without papers usually with an agreement that it will be sterilized by a certain age and never to be bred. Whatever method is agreed upon, all puppies should come with a printed pedigree, copies of all health certificates, diet and puppy guide and a six week vaccination certificate.

When you’ve decided on a breeder make sure that you understand fully any conditions and or contracts that maybe attached to your purchase. Don’t forget to ask questions and seek advice from others.

For all puppy enquiries please check our Breeders and Club Info pages.