# Our Brindled Staffy obsessing over a red squirrel



## American Horse (Dec 3, 2009)

Which was teasing her from a limb above.  She guarded her "swimming" pool to keep the squirrels from drinking from it.  I put the pool - a round four foot kiddy pool - just far enough from the tree trunk that the squirrel could get "caught short" in it's get-away, but close enough to be irresistible.  This arrangement set up a tension between our dog "Babe" and the squirrels.

She caught one on occasion.


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## xsited1 (Dec 3, 2009)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ22BmVEIZE[/ame]


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## American Horse (Dec 5, 2009)




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## xsited1 (Dec 5, 2009)

American Horse said:


> Which was teasing her from a limb above.  She guarded her "swimming" pool to keep the squirrels from drinking from it.  I put the pool - a round four foot kiddy pool - just far enough from the tree trunk that the squirrel could get "caught short" in it's get-away, but close enough to be irresistible.  This arrangement set up a tension between our dog "Babe" and the squirrels.
> 
> She caught one on occasion.



Our dogs kill anything that enter their backyard.  That includes rats, snakes, possums, raccoons and squirrels.


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## American Horse (Dec 5, 2009)

xsited1 said:


> American Horse said:
> 
> 
> > Which was teasing her from a limb above.  She guarded her "swimming" pool to keep the squirrels from drinking from it.  I put the pool - a round four foot kiddy pool - just far enough from the tree trunk that the squirrel could get "caught short" in it's get-away, but close enough to be irresistible.  This arrangement set up a tension between our dog "Babe" and the squirrels.
> ...


Our dog (was) a Staffy, which lots of people confuse with a Pit-bull-Terrier. To make sure people didn't complain too much, and just in case she got off her leash, I chain-link fenced about an acre of our semi-wooded back yard.  Occasionally a cat would get in there, and there was no way it could get away by climbing a tree because they would always stop and look back to see if she was still after them; a fatal mistake.  She would run straight up the tree and grab it if they didnt get high enough.  Once on the ground she would violently shake it to death, and the same with squirrels, ground squirrels, snakes, whatever,  and then lay the body down and watch for any kind of movement.  She would prod them with her nose, or turn them over with a paw to see if they would respond.  The least amount of movement earned them another violent shake.  

We had moles in our front yard but none in the fenced-in area.  She would stalk them by sound, watching for any movement in the blades of grass. 

One day from a distance I saw her shaking a large red squirrel. Immediately she began burying it in an area sparsely covered by leaves.  By the time I took time out to have a look she had buried it so well that I couldn't tell where it was buried.

Another time outside the fenced area, in the open, she pulled the leash out of my hand - I wouldn't allow someone as small as my wife take her on a leash - to go after a very large ground-hog which was taking up residence tunneling in the dirt floor of our barn.  I had to get close enough to pull her off and then fell on my arse while doing it.  Thank god this big old ground-hog took the opportunity get away by running under the sheet-metal skirt of the barn because she managed to squirm away from me to go after it.


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## strollingbones (Dec 5, 2009)

American Horse said:


> xsited1 said:
> 
> 
> > American Horse said:
> ...





seems you just admitted you cant control your dog....as a doberman owner i find people who cant control their dogs.....irresponsible at best..idiots at worst.


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## American Horse (Dec 5, 2009)

strollingbones said:


> seems you just admitted you cant control your dog....as a doberman owner i find people who cant control their dogs.....irresponsible at best..idiots at worst.



Thank you for that Bones.  We lived in a secluded area which I still did keep fenced.  Any time I was around people or any other possible prey I double wrapped her leash around my hand, recognizing that she weighed 65 pounds.  this was  a suirprise appearance by the ground hog in a place I felt entirely safe, our barn lot. Also this dog was absolutely no threat to people, only animals.  

But again thanks for your opinion, and the opportunity to clear things up a bit which you just gave me.


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## strollingbones (Dec 5, 2009)

you should always be in control....regardless of the circumstances...you know that....face it..we are fighting..."dangerous dog" people all over the place...i cannot get a blanket policy for my insurance due to owning a doberman....it just goes on and on....and one thing that doesnt help....any large dogs committing any small infraction....just look a manie's threads on pits...and i assure you...mani makes no distinction between the staffy and the pitt...my dobie is a sweet loving dog...but he is like a bowling ball to a group of wee ones..they just go flying...so i have be real careful...he is 100 lbs....but dobies are sweet...the staffies i have been around have been too..except to little things....a friends could chase down a mouse..kill it and be back at your feet before you realized it.


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## AllieBaba (Dec 5, 2009)

My terrier kills her prey then walks away from it. It takes her two seconds, she's not interested in it once it's dead. It's like it NEVER HAPPENED.

She obsesses over birds that are stupid enough to fly over our yard. She watches them. And if they make the mistake of coming in for a landing outside the fence and the fence  happense to be open, she can race through the gate, around the yard, and grab the bird while it's 4 feet off the ground.

She also nailed a mole that was wreaking havoc with our yard. mole hills all over the place, drove her nuts. Finally one day I came home and found the thing, dead, outside the fence. She grabbed it, shook it, let it fly. It only takes her one good shake.

You have a big dog your wife can't control that kills things, keep him in the compound. And pray he never gets out.

My son has an 80 lb pit bull. He can take him anywhere. He does pull on the leash, and he is rambunctious. But he's not vicious and he doesn't kill things. Love kids, and the only dogs that bother him are aggressive, large males who contront him in a threatening manner. Even then he doesn't jump right on them, he just steps up and waits to see what will happen. By then the situation is under control, even if it means my boy picking him up and carrying him away.

Every opportunity he gets he sleeps with whomever will let him, and he hogs the bed. When he comes to visit, before we had Mylo, I was the lucky person. He thinks I'm his mommy, he minds me better than he minds his real mommy and I think better than he minds his daddy as well. But I am pretty tolerant of his occasional over-exhuberant racing around when  he first shows up, and that ridiculous tail. I keep telling the boy to take bolt cutters to it (just kidding). My son is like, "He needs it, I don't want to have it cut" and I tell him, "What the hell does he need that ridiculous whippet tail for? He just lashes people in the face with it and knocks things off table with it".

But we watch him like a hawk. He's never done anything bad, and he'll never be given the opportunity to do anything bad. He is well socialized, and knows better than to mess with little critters. I have two cats, he doesn't touch them.

I don't know if a Staffordshire is a terrier (are they????). Terriers are the only dogs I've ever seen that  you can't out-train that instinct completely. Thankfully, I only do the small ones. Never been interested in immense ones..though I suppose technically Pits are terriers. At least they call them terriers. But like I said, though he's well trained and loved, and controllable, we keep a flipping eagle eye on him all the time.


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## Midnight Marauder (Dec 5, 2009)

> *Our Brindled Staffy obsessing over a red squirrel*


My unbridled stiffy obsesses over Courtney Friel...


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## American Horse (Dec 5, 2009)

strollingbones said:


> you should always be in control....regardless of the circumstances...you know that....face it..we are fighting..."dangerous dog" people all over the place...i cannot get a blanket policy for my insurance due to owning a doberman....it just goes on and on....and one thing that doesnt help....any large dogs committing any small infraction....just look a manie's threads on pits...and i assure you...mani makes no distinction between the staffy and the pitt...my dobie is a sweet loving dog...but he is like a bowling ball to a group of wee ones..they just go flying...so i have be real careful...he is 100 lbs....but dobies are sweet...the staffies i have been around have been too..except to little things....a friends could chase down a mouse..kill it and be back at your feet before you realized it.



Well said.  
I always advised any one who saw our dog and decided they wanted one like her to not do it unless they were prepared to take their dog out for a long walk, if possible, every single night, for up to an hour.  If they could not commit to do that they would not be doing that dog a favor by becoming its owner.  

This breed - and I assume the same is true for Pits - can suffer terribly from inattention or from being cooped up and not being allowed to do what they were bred for, to hunt small game, especially burrowing creatures.  Also they are working dogs and want time with their human partner.  

When I took her for long walks on our own 40 acres I kept her on a leash although she would drag me under limbs and through brush. The leash insured I could drag her away from some digging project in search of animals she knew were there or in some hollow tree, or avoid other mischief.  Her problem was that she would dig so voraciously that she would clog up her throat from the combination of dirt and mud mixed with her saliva as she used her jaws to excavate.


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## strollingbones (Dec 5, 2009)

now i hate little dog owners who let their little mutts run up and jump on peoples legs...and think its cute...my grandmother was diabetic...some scratches could be major problems...i always wanted to kick the mal outta those owners...


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## Douger (Jan 24, 2010)

Bulldogs, Mastiff types, Molossers , if you will, are all fine animals provided the owner is smarter than the dog.
Probably the finest animal companions there are.
The terrier gene puts a lot of gaminess into many of them.  The Staffy is a born to raise hell hunter. the pit can be as well.
I'm an American bulldog, Catahoula Bulldog person since I raise lots of animals.
They seem to "know" the difference between "catch" and "protect".
 A dozen newly hatched chicks or a baby parrot, or rabbit, puts them in " protect mode"
A raccoon, coyotes, or pizote gets the shred treatment as do any other dogs, or cats, of either sex.

Humanoidz get held still,No flinching allowed, until I decide the outcome.They'll roll over for a belly rub and lick you to death, or........ rip your arms off. My choice .


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## Anguille (Jan 24, 2010)

AllieBaba said:


> My terrier kills her prey then walks away from it. It takes her two seconds, she's not interested in it once it's dead. It's like it NEVER HAPPENED.
> 
> She obsesses over birds that are stupid enough to fly over our yard. She watches them. And if they make the mistake of coming in for a landing outside the fence and the fence  happense to be open, she can race through the gate, around the yard, and grab the bird while it's 4 feet off the ground.
> 
> ...


Mylo is a great name for a dog.
No dog should have his tail docked Tails are how dogs communicate certain things. Like de-clawing cats, it just cruel mutilation for the convenience of the humans. People who do that kind if mal to animals don't deserve to have them.


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## AllieBaba (Jan 24, 2010)

xsited1 said:


> American Horse said:
> 
> 
> > Which was teasing her from a limb above.  She guarded her "swimming" pool to keep the squirrels from drinking from it.  I put the pool - a round four foot kiddy pool - just far enough from the tree trunk that the squirrel could get "caught short" in it's get-away, but close enough to be irresistible.  This arrangement set up a tension between our dog "Babe" and the squirrels.
> ...



Keep those rabies shots up to date.

My terrier obsesses over the tweety birds that do fly-bys over the yard. She knows them PERSONALLY, too. I've seen her rush out the back door, through the side gate, around the side of the yard to t he field behind the house and catch a bird that had just swooped over the yard IN THE AIR and kill it in flight. About 10 feet from the back fence.

That damn bird had been tormenting her for ages. No more.


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## Anguille (Jan 24, 2010)

strollingbones said:


> you should always be in control....regardless of the circumstances...you know that....face it..we are fighting..."dangerous dog" people all over the place...i cannot get a blanket policy for my insurance due to owning a doberman....it just goes on and on....and one thing that doesnt help....any large dogs committing any small infraction....just look a manie's threads on pits...and i assure you...mani makes no distinction between the staffy and the pitt...my dobie is a sweet loving dog...but he is like a bowling ball to a group of wee ones..they just go flying...so i have be real careful...he is 100 lbs....but dobies are sweet...the staffies i have been around have been too..except to little things....a friends could chase down a mouse..kill it and be back at your feet before you realized it.


  Rottweilers are another breed whose ownership insurance companies exploit to gouge people for high premiums.


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## AllieBaba (Jan 24, 2010)

I can see it with Rotties, they're a wee bit touchy.

But Dobermans? I've never even heard of Dobermans just randomly attacking and killing anything. They're like the sweetest dogs on the face of the planet.


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## Anguille (Jan 24, 2010)

AllieBaba said:


> I can see it with Rotties, they're a wee bit touchy.
> 
> But Dobermans? I've never even heard of Dobermans just randomly attacking and killing anything. They're like the sweetest dogs on the face of the planet.


The Doberman breed was breed from Rottweilers, I think. Bones probably knows more.

Of course, Dobermans are sweet. so are Rottweilers, Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Terriers and Golden Retrievers. All dogs have the capacity for unforeseen attacks. They are all dogs, not robots programmed by breeders.


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## Truthmatters (Jan 24, 2010)

My two now gone babies (an aussie and a 100 lab mix) once gave me a real fright.

I was in the front yard and caught out of the corner of my eye some movement. I looked over just in time to see my neighbors tiny dog slip between the rungs of my rod iron gate. I had to run completely arround the house and into the front and to the back door and arround to the side yard. Every minute I was invisioning the horror I would see once I got there. I turned the corner to see my dogs nose to nose rolling the little butthead back in forth in a mud puddle. I grapped the little invader and washed him off. NOT a scratch on the miniscule begger. I took him home and informed the neighbor of what the puny runt had done and how I hoped the dog would be kept from taking such a risk again.

Made me very proud of my big guys and their big hearts.


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## AllieBaba (Jan 24, 2010)

Anguille said:


> AllieBaba said:
> 
> 
> > I can see it with Rotties, they're a wee bit touchy.
> ...



THe stats do not bear out your nonsense.


Terriers are killing machines, it doesn't matter how small or large they are. THe large ones are naturally more dangerous.

Rotties rank second to pit bulls in dangerous attacks on humans.

"In the US, in a 1997 report by the CDC, the Rottweiler was listed as the second most likely breed of dog named in fatal human attacks, following Pit Bulls, although at approximately half the rate of the Pit Bull. A 2008 study surveying breed club members found that while Rottweilers were average in aggressiveness (bites or bite attempts) towards owners and other dogs, indicated they tend to be more aggressive than average towards strangers."
Rottweiler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


And it's not all due to poor handling by owners. Most people who have dogs attack and kill (particularly family members, a.k.a. children) NEVER saw it coming and maintain that the dogs were loving members of the family up to the point of the attack.


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## Anguille (Jan 24, 2010)

Far, far less humans are killed by dogs of any breed than are killed by people. Your stats mean nothing out of context.


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## ncarolinadixie (Feb 1, 2010)

Sorry, but if you have to double wrap the leash on a 65lb dog you are NOT in control of your dog. I'm a slight 126lb female who walks, well walked, haven't done any walking since having surgery, a 132lb lab,pitt, great dane mix and a border collie, retriever mix with a slack chain and never once worried about them taking off or lunging. They knew better. They knew the ONLY reason that would be tolerated was IF something or someone was after me. Of course then I would just let them go. If your dog walks you instead of you walking him, you do NOT have control of your animal. 

Some may say it's a cliche but I believe it fully.....there are NO bad dogs, there are only bad owners.


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## American Horse (Feb 1, 2010)

ncarolinadixie said:


> Sorry, but if you have to double wrap the leash on a 65lb dog you are NOT in control of your dog. I'm a slight 126lb female who walks, well walked, haven't done any walking since having surgery, a 132lb lab,pitt, great dane mix and a border collie, retriever mix with a slack chain and never once worried about them taking off or lunging. They knew better. They knew the ONLY reason that would be tolerated was IF something or someone was after me. Of course then I would just let them go. If your dog walks you instead of you walking him, you do NOT have control of your animal.
> 
> Some may say it's a cliche but I believe it fully.....there are NO bad dogs, there are only bad owners.


I'm a 225 pound male, and you may rest assured that my dog (when when she was alive) DID NOT walk me.  Yes I let her lead me when we were in our 40 acres of woods, so that she could satisfy her curiosity about all the things that might be going on outside her 1-acre chain link fenced-in area, which during the day she could hear but not see up close.

While on a leash, I accommodated her as much as possible, even if that meant I had to follow her through brush and brambles.  I did not let my 125 pound wife take her for walks because I knew the risk.

I walked her nightly for 10 of the 13 years she lived (yes nightly), and she never once got "loose" from me when we were off our property.  The only time I recall that did happpen was on our own property, and that was when the ground hog suprised us while we were in the "barn-lot" when it (the ground-hog) came out of the barn.


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## ncarolinadixie (Feb 3, 2010)

American Horse....yet you still say you will not let your 125lb wife walk your 65lb dog because of the risks. In other words, your dog is uncontrollable. You are only able to do so because of your size. Your wife should be able to walk your dog the same way I walk mine. With not a care in the world. I walked both of mine at the same time and never once worried about any risk. I stand by what I said...if you have to double wrap the leash on a 65lb dog you do not have control of your animal. I'm sorry if that offends you. Also, by "accomodating" your dog he is in fact walking you. If you really had control of your dog you would never have had to put her on a leash while out exploring in the woods. We never do that with the mutants. They come when called and they stay pretty close to "mom and dad" while sniffing out all those things they heard from in inside of the fence but couldn't get to at the time.

I'm sorry for your loss. I know losing a companion like that is tough. I'm sitting here with one of mine's head in my lap and I couldn't imagine them not being here.


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## American Horse (Feb 3, 2010)

ncarolinadixie said:


> American Horse....yet you still say you will not let your 125lb wife walk your 65lb dog because of the risks. In other words, your dog is uncontrollable. You are only able to do so because of your size. Your wife should be able to walk your dog the same way I walk mine. With not a care in the world. I walked both of mine at the same time and never once worried about any risk. I stand by what I said...if you have to double wrap the leash on a 65lb dog you do not have control of your animal. I'm sorry if that offends you. Also, by "accomodating" your dog he is in fact walking you. If you really had control of your dog you would never have had to put her on a leash while out exploring in the woods. We never do that with the mutants. They come when called and they stay pretty close to "mom and dad" while sniffing out all those things they heard from in inside of the fence but couldn't get to at the time.
> 
> I'm sorry for your loss. I know losing a companion like that is tough. I'm sitting here with one of mine's head in my lap and I couldn't imagine them not being here.



Have it your way.

My purpose in the thread was to suggest to people who own a breed like staffies, or pitbulls, that they should walk them as often, nightly if at all possible.  I did that until she was old and crippled from strokes and arthritis.  She only knew love. (I'm sure you have doubts about that too.)


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