Peaches, a success story told by Kent & Lynn Davis
Peaches before Kent and Lynn
Peache after Kent and Lynn
We live in a rural area in the South Carolina mountains. Last July, one of our neighbors called and asked if we were missing a dog. They explained that a stray dog that looked something like a "black boxer" had arrived at their house which they had been feeding for a couple of days. They said the dog was very affectionate and would follow them around. We told them to bring it over and we would decide what to do with it. (They knew we are suckers for homeless dogs - and particularly for boxers - and undoubtedly figured we would take the problem off their hands.)
At the time, we had no intention of taking on another dog. In fact, the long term plan was to reduce our "pack" (via attrition) to no more than three dogs. We were even making progress, as one of our elderly dogs had died recently taking us from seven to six.
When they showed up, an extremely emaciated Staffordshire Terrier hopped out of the car. She had apparently had a recent litter of puppies and her tits were full of milk. We quickly recognized that she was a special dog. She was so affectionate, attentive and expressive. Like our boxer, she would constantly follow us around just to be near. Years ago, we had owned a female boxer/pit bull cross that turned out to be one of our favorite dogs of all time. We knew instantly we would keep her, even though this would (regrettably) bring us back to seven dogs. We named her "Peaches" as it was the height of peach season. (I wonder what her name would have been if she had arrived this year?)
The first trip to the vet revealed she was infected with heartworms - a death sentence had she been taken to a shelter. We fed her for 6 weeks before she was able to be treated for the heartworms, which is a somewhat lengthy process itself. Total "start-up" costs, including spaying, inoculations and a new "invisible fence" collar were in the $800 range.
We enrolled in Dog Works April obedience class. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but she made me look very good. She has been very trainable.
From our research, Peaches exhibits classical Am Staff personality traits. She is not aggressive, but we did have a few incidents relating to feeding which precipitated a few conflicts. She had a very low response threshold if one of our other dogs growled at her. It's easy to see how these dogs can be trained to fight. Once the trigger was pulled, her tenacity is frightening and the size of her opponent makes little difference. But the aggression is purely situational and after sorting out our feeding practices we have had no problems. She has not exhibited any aggression to strange dogs away from the house (such as obedience school), but I am still a little wary of how she might respond to aggressive behavior directed at her. Fortunately, her relatively small size makes her easy to control.
She plays with our other dogs and they get along just fine. In fact, maybe a little too well. She has a habit of teaming up with our coonhound to pursue some little critter under a tree stump. Some of her "projects" have resulted in prodigious holes in the ground. It is fortunate we live in a situation in which this is not a major problem. She is very intelligent enough to understand which projects are unacceptable to us. She hasn't been too much of a problem with the landscaping around the house.
Peaches has never exhibited aggression toward people under any circumstances. She loves children and will sleep with my niece and nephew when they visit. In fact, she is ready for a ride with any stranger who opens their car door in our driveway. "Dog people" take to her immediately. The people at the vet's office just love her. It's fortunate that some of our other dogs make good watchdogs, because Peaches tends to love and accept anyone regardless, and she is not much of a barker.
Bottom line, if Peaches is typical, the Am Staff is now our favorite breed. She is not too big, not too little and has a sleek, low maintenance coat (very important to us). She is intelligent and loving with a great temperament. Am Staff's do have courage and tenacity in abundance which is why they have been exploited by immoral owners for the purpose of fighting. But the idea of these dogs being inherently vicious is simply not true. Peaches is a wonderful dog and the Am Staff is a wonderful breed.
