kima

Well I found this entire thread hugely entertaining, so many adorable quirks!! Marlo's strangest quirk is that he tries to bite my finger nails :s not my fingers though, he just tries to nibble on the few millimetres of nail that is longer than my finger tips. Maybe he does not like long nails?

That's awesome. We considered Omar, just so we could call out "Omar comin!" :p

We named Marlo after a character in the tv show The Wire.

We are with petplan. Have made two claims in the past few months and had no problems with them. First one took a few weeks to get the refund but the last one came back within a fortnight. I don't know what the other insurers are like so I can't say petplan are the best, but I've certainly been very happy with them so far.

I like to think he gets his good looks from his non-blue side :p After reading on here though and having a look at the majority of blue pups i realised that we got lucky. Marlo actually looks like a Stafford. A lot of the ones i've seen pictures of do have an almost deformed sort of look about the them so I can see why people get so concerned. Here is a perfect example.. I just wanted to highlight that not all people who buy blue Staffords have no regard for the future of the breed or the issues that can arise, i think it is just a lack of knowledge. That said i have a friend who recently bought a female blue Stafford and the first thing he said to me was that they wanted to breed her with my dog to have a litter, so there are certainly some of both out there.. Needless to say my friend will be quite disappointed to learn that Marlo is booked in to be desexed next week :p

With mine it is grandparents. That said, he actually has more non blue ancestors than blue ones.

I honestly don't think a lot of people are aware of the whole "blue issue" and not necessarily because they fall for the "rare" line, but because there isn't enough info out there. When we decided to buy a Stafford we were intent on doing it right. We researched the breed, we read the breed standard and we chose a registered breeder with champion blood lines. We looked into potential health concerns and none of the info we found referenced blue being an issue. At the time I didn't know about these forums. Based on all the info we gathered and the fact we were going through a registered breeder (and of course the fact blue is included in the breed standard) we chose to get a blue Stafford, based purely on the fact the breeder made a really good impression and I had a friend years ago who had one and we thought he was a nice colour. Only after discovering dol did I learn all the rest to do with blue staffords. And to be honest it almost made me embarrassed and ashamed to admit to people on here that our Stafford was blue. I love him to bits and I wouldn't trade him for anything but I wish I had have known before we got him, we certainly would not have made the choice we made. There is such a wealth of knowledge on this forum that it is a real shame that it is not more widely known about by the general public.

When people ask me what type of dog I have I say I have a Staffy, simply because then they know what I'm talking about. I've found a lot of people have never heard them referred to as a Stafford. Though maybe if I started calling him a Stafford I wouldn't keep getting asked if he is an English Staffy or American Staffy :p

Marlo has many an annoying habit.. - he tries to lick my legs whenever I get back from a run/get out of the shower - he insists on lying sprawled across the kitchen floor when I am making dinner. Usually in front of the oven/fridge/pantry/sink and always in the way! - he cries whenever I eat yoghurt - he barks at me and headbutts my feet when I am on the phone - when I tell him to go outside and go to the toilet he sometimes just walks round the corner and waits for a bit and then comes and stands at the door to be let in. But you always know when he hasn't gone cos he won't come in, he just sits there looking guilty. - he eats my books!!! As annoying as it is, it just makes me love him even more.

Awww!!! That is one of the cutest puppy pictures I've ever seen.

I think my Mr Marlo is a fair contender for cutest pup, though i do concede it is impressive competition! At 4-5weeks and about 4 months..

And I think the mentality that because their dogs are small and can't do as much damage it's ok. Know a someone with an aggressive chihuahua but because its so small they dont see it as a big problem..

I reckon good on you for reporting them :) some people just have no idea when it comes to their dogs sometimes. We have a lady round my area who walks her tiny fluffy dog off leash on the streets. Last time we saw them the dog rushed my Stafford and started growling and snapping at him. Lucky my dog is the biggest sook and just hid behind me. They may not be so lucky with the next dog it goes for. Worst part was that when I told her to control her dog and keep it on leash she just laughed and said her dog had never done that before. I feel sorry for that dog, its not its fault it has an idiot owner!

I've never really felt inclined to pat strangers dogs. It's nice to read that there are so many people here who ask permission first though. Our Stafford gets really excited and wriggley when he see's people approaching him and so many people just assume its fine to just walk over and pat him without asking. This annoys me cos not only do I find it rude but I then have to try and stop 19kg of over excited puppy from jumping up all over them to say hi.

I'd think a stafford would be pretty miffed at having to be outside a majority of the time and not having access to the full house/family. And if it only has a small yard getting half an hour of exercise probably wouldn't be enough IMO. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I agree with this. My Stafford is like my shadow, he follows me everywhere. He is ok with being outside when we aren't home, but if we are home and leave him out he just sits by the door and sooks till he falls asleep or is let in. He also gets quite destructive if he isn't well exercised and entertained. Wasn't able to take him for a run for a feed days as I was sick and he has dug up the sprinkler system.

I've heard so many conflicting opinions on this. Our vet told us that after the 2nd vacc we were right to go to the park etc. We did and had no issues. My advice would be ask your vet/the breeder/forum people their views (which it seems you already have :) ) then do whatever you feel comfortable with cos unfortunately I don't think you'll get a definitive answer.

Petplan here too. Had to make a claim a few months back and found the process straight forward enough and even though the wait was about a month they were helpful and polite when I called to find out where the claim was at. Think we have the most basic option, something like $44 a month.

When your humans drag you interstate so you can play with other dogs and sleep in their bed instead of going to a boarding kennel...

My Stafford was the quietest/sookiest in the litter... You would never know if you met him now though. He is about as boisterous as they come (but still a massive sook!)

When your humans expect you to move so they can also fit in their bed...

Thanks guys :)

Not sure how i missed this thread the other day! Coincidently i was trying to look for information on assistance with pets for homeless people and found this thread. In a related matter, is anyone aware of any services/vets/shelters that provide free/cheap vet care or assistance to homeless people in Melbourne? I work in the youth homelessness sector and this is something that unfortunately comes up on a regular basis! Additionally I work with alot of young people in the prison system and it is near impossible finding homes for their pets when they get locked up. And as i'm sure others have mentioned, sometimes their pets are the only positive thing they have in their lives!

I feel your pain cheekymonster, I am having similar issues with my boy. Except he goes for the hands mostly

I am lucky enough to have never had a bad experience with leash free parks. We have a leash free reserve near home and we take our Stafford there most evenings. Have never had any issue or seen any fights. Recently we have also been going to a dog beach every Saturday with a friend and their dogs and whilst it has been quite busy some weekends, we have never seen any aggressive behaviour between dogs. My Stafford and my friends Dalmatian and foxy have a ball running around with all other dogs ranging from small fluffies and Italian greyhounds to boxers and German shepherds. I'm not saying dog fights dont/can't happen, I have just found that most of the owners I have encountered tend to have good control over their dogs and constantly monitor what their dog is doing and how the dogs around it are reacting. Obviously this may not always be the case but this has been my experience.

Those photos are too cute! Marlo is also a back of the couch sleeper. He'll sleep anywhere though.