Boogie
(Stafford Cross)
Viper
Bandit (Meadows Fiery Rebel)
Pudding
Blazer
Jai (From Australia)
Xena
Elmo
Pudding
Pudding
is owned and loved to pieces by Rebecca Owen & her son Jamie.
Jamie and Pudding are best friends, the bond is especially close because 7
year old Jamie is autistic. Puddings last owner was jailed for 6 months and Rebecca
says that they feel lucky to own her, I'm sure Pudding is one very lucky, happy little dog
herself and it is fantastic to see from the photograph what a fantastic impact she has
made on the Owen family. Staffords are known for their affection for children and
Pudding certainly deserves her place on this page. This is Pudding's story by
Rebecca (hankies at the ready);
We have had Pudding now for about 3 years, originally we decided to not
have a dog, but we made the mistake of going to an RSPCA open day and there she was, we
all cried because we could not believe how much we just fell in love with her on the spot.
We had to have her, and after a home check we were lucky enough to have her. I
have never felt so lucky, we all did. 
Pudding's history is that she was "kept by a
so called breeder", she was in a cage for most of her life and used for breeding.
After the RSPCA, got involved the "breeder" concerned got 6 months in
jail, and he had to move away from the area as his name and address were released in the
paper. When we got her home we learnt several things about her on a daily basis, she
had never seen stairs, she had never been walked, she had never had a bed (now you cant
get her out of it) and she had never been loved. Now she probably sits in her bed,
going "oh god here they come again"....(smile) Both my children jump into
bed with Pudding and talk to her like she is human, to them she is human. Jamie gave
her the official title of Pudding Owen, or after rather too much food "Piggy
Pudding". She is now an old lady at the grand old age of six and due to the bad
start in life, we really do have to look after her. She has to wear a coat and
really looks at you if to say "You have to be kidding", when I put it on
her.
From the time we got her to the dog we have now, people cannot
believe it is the same dog, she is amazing and Jamie's best friend. For Jamie, she
provides a best friend, as life for him at times in not easy. They have a unique
bond, to the point now she sleeps with him on the top bunk of the bunk beds, because they
can't bare to be parted. You can walk past the room and it is hard now to wonder who
snores the loudest.
We
have now got another rescue dog called "Vera", she to has her own story and
again she has meant to come from a "breeder". We will let you know how it
goes. It is hard to believe that a dog who was kept in such appalling conditions, is so
amazing with children. I only hope this story gets people to think about adopting a
rescue staffy, and if you are the previous owner of pudding I hope you read this and are
ashamed.
Bandit
Bandit was owned and loved to bits by Sharon
Lang from Nottingham and he was her first Staffford, I think you will agree Bandits story
tells of a super ambassador for the breed and began the 'passion' for the breed for
Sharon.
This photo was taken in 1995 and to this day I
have never heard of another Staffie who has been trained to jump through fire. From
the age of about 8 months of age till his untimely death in 1995 bandit was a member of
the Old Park Farm Dog Display Team and travelled throughout the East Midlands area most
weekends through the summer doing Obedience and Agility displays the finale of which was
the fire jump.
The
fire jump was done for charity and Bandit and his'collegues' mainly shepherds, collies and
rotties collected many hundreds of pounds for various local charities.
Bandit who was also a show dog (meadows
fiery rebel) was extremely passionate about agilty and lived for his time on display his
favourite being the fire no one else could get a look in. On one particular Sunday
during a display due to his extreme excitement, bandit collapsed whilst out on display
through heat exhaustion. We took him away to recover and at the end of the display
he had recovered enough to stagger back into the arena so that the worried audience could
see he was ok, ever the showman he spotted the fire jump about 200 yards away across the
arena and off he went to jump through as he mustn't disapoint his fans, of which he had
many.
Unfortunately Bandit died in a tragic accident
at the age of just 4 but his legend lives on. Strangers still ask me if I was the
one who had that 'mad Staffie who went through fire' He would have been 11 years old
now and would not have been happy being old and full of arthritis, so he is forever young
- R.I.P mate
Sharon currently has 3 Staffords Meg (Bodicea Herself), Stella (Kakeala
Stella by Starlight) & Ruby (Stellas Starlit Beauty). Meg is now 12 years old and was
shown in the breed ring and was also a member of the display team, she could jump higher
and faster that most dogs on the team. Meg also competed in Obedience taking a number of
1st places. Stella is 6 years old and has been shown at Crufts, she was also Obedience
trained although never competed competively she did however provide us with 2 adorable
puppies one of which is Ruby, which Sharon kept and is currently campaigning at breed
shows. Stella and Meg however have retired from the show ring but are kept very busy
looking after Sharon's children, Kirstin and Adrian.
Meg recently took part in the easbtc agility display during the clubs
2003 Championship show!!
Blazer
Blazer is owned and loved by Rachel Redsun and lives near San
Francisco, California.
Blazer (USA Ch. Trumate Shadows Showcase CGC, NA, NAJ) was proudly bred by
Teresa Stewar and is by USA Ch. Countryboy's Shadow (UK Imp) out of Bulvan Hot Spice (UK
Imp) he discovered agility at a demonstration at a dog show -- he really liked it.
When Blazer was younger, he would act stupid to get out of doing things - if that's not
clever I don't know what is.
It was a bit hard to find an agility class that would
accept an intact male, but within a couple of months we found one and started training. We
didn't start all this until Blazer was 2-1/2 years old. Agility is a partnership,
you become closer to your dog while training. Blazer would correct my handling mistakes at
trials when he could, he is a wonderful dog for Novice classes. He's had some
success in the show ring too with a handful of group placements. He is a happy
veteran in retirement now, although one day I set up weave poles in my garden, over a year
since he last used them and he still remembered how to weave.
Xena
Xena is owned and thoroughly loved to bits by Paul & Michelle Steel &
family, she certainly deserves her place on Clever Staffords by simply doing what
Staffords do best 'Loving their families with every ounce of their bodies'. This is
Xena's story in her families words.
I have a clever staffy. She does not have any
medals or letters after her name. But is an STAR in our family. We have 2
children a 10yr old son and a 19 month old daughter and Xena loves them both. Xena
looks out for them. And protects them. We are from Lancashire, UK and we would love to
see our little Xena on your page. Xena is 3 year's old on 27th july 2002 and I might
give her a party, or at the very least buy her a big cake!
Boogie
Boogie is a Stafford cross and is
owned and loved by Sally Jones. Despite a terrible start in his life, Boogie has
certainly landed on his feet, and this is his story.
On January 2nd 1991, I was greeted back to work from the Christmas break with the news
that I was redundant. My husband suggested this was a good time to get the second dog as a
companion for our gentle whippet cross bitch.
As I had already discovered agility I had an image of this wonderful collie cross that
would be sitting at the rescue centre waiting for me. However, I was drawn to a cage
with a skinny, squirmy black and brindle oaf with an equally long tail and tongue.
That was 'Boysie', a crossbreed of about a year who had been cruelly treated by several
of his previous homes. As well as living in a high rise flat he had also had his
mouth bound with elastic bands and burnt with cigarettes.
Boysie was taken out of the dark cage for me to have a closer inspection and I
exclaimed "He's a Staffie cross!". The staff all dived for cover and denied it
vehemently as this was the same week the Dangerous Dogs Act had come out and they were not
supposed to rehome 'that kind of dog'. I loved him. I loved his broad Staffie head on a
tall skinny body - he was a Staffie on stilts.
Boysie
became Boogie within days. We had both recently read Mark Wallington's fabulous travel
books about going walkies with a socially inept black mutt from the inner city. That was
our boy. He was the antithesis of our gentle Florence, who came with integral owners
manual and obedience upgrade already installed. Boogie was a thug - a nice thug - but
clumsy, over-enthusiastic, loud and with the ability always to do the wrong thing atthe
wrong time. He was painfully thin and wasted and could not even corner at speed but as he
grew in strength we realised why he had had so many homes. It was daunting and his lack of
house-training in our open plan house with cream fitted carpets was a big problem.
It was then I really discovered dog training. Boogie and I went to a local group that was
splendid and slowly but surely we rose to top of the class.
He then started agility lessons and was less of a star. It was all too exciting and he
would grab my arm, grab a jump bar, grab a poodle. However, I taught him to weave at home
and when he made his weaving debut at club they were astonished as he was so fast. A
couple of training sessions in a soft muzzle and he also stopped mouthing everything he
could reach. His first agility show was Longleat in September 1991. He entered just two
classes and had a clear round in one of them. I had been told that I would never have him
under sufficient control to get him round a course but we had proved them all wrong.
Boogie's
agility career was interesting. He was fast and talented but he rarely put the whole of
his attention on the job in hand. There were so many other things in the world to
investigate such as the judge, the burger van, the rubbish bin, the person lying at the
side of the ring propping their head up on their hands - they all had to be investigated
and licked profusely. About one in twenty of Boogie's runs was sheer genius, the other
nineteen being pure comedy. I never knew what he would do but on many occasions he stole
the ring party's refreshments, he also emptied himself in the ring more than once and had
a good roll and shake if he felt like it. At shows where the public was present he
learnt to cruise the front row and has been reward with a yoghurt pot, a chocolate cup
cake and a hot dog complete with onions and ketchup.
Two years into his agility career he won me out of Elementary and two years after that
he won me out of Starters, beating the border collies at last. In Intermediate he
also had some great results and even won through to the final of the Anything But Collies
competition. But I never knew from one moment to the next what Boogie would do. I made
loads of mistakes in his early training and really wish I had discovered clicker training
before 1995 - it would have made a big difference to use a method that utilised his
intelligence rather than methods that controlled his exuberance. Boogie is now about 12
years old and is still slim and shiny with hardly any sign of his advanced years. I still
have to apologise for him quite regularly. He ran his final agility round in veterans
jumping at Longleat in September 2001, exactly ten years after starting at that show, and
he had a clear round in just 26 seconds and loved every bit of it.
Boogie shares his Devon home with seven other rescue dogs and my husband, Steve, and
me. His hobbies now include rising to the bait of a recently rescued terrier cross and
picking and consuming fruit and digging up and consuming vegetables. He has had the
fullest life that I dared give him.
The Dangerous Dogs Act has meant that he had fewer trips to public parks and beaches
than other dogs because I did not want any moron to accuse him of looking like a 'you know
what'. But he has trained in obedience, working trials and agility and has taught me more
about dogs than any I have owned before or since.
Boogie's story hadn't been here a day and Sally emailed me saying that
Boogie now has another member to his family, a 9 year old Beagie!
Viper
Viper (Sonshine's Viper) is out of Sonshines Bingo of Solidrock by
Sonshine's Rusty and is owned and loved by Brett Williams of the USA, here is his story.
Viper has been the easiest and best dog to train for Flyball. My career in
the sport started with Malinois (Belgian Shepherds), and then Dobermans, and a variety of
other breeds and then came the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Viper took to the sport like there was nothing more important to him in life. He loves
the game and is currently one of the fastest Staffies playing the game.
But life with a Staffie is more than just playing games, they are truly a companion.
Viper's love for Flyball is only rivaled by his love for me. We spend great hours sitting
on the couch and watching TV, he spends the night sleeping under the covers, firmly glued
to my side and sits by my feet while I work on the computer.
At my office, I am begged to bring Viper by. The office staff all
love having him around. He is friendly and greets everyone that comes by with a quick
inspection to see if they are going to give him some loving. People that bring their kids
by are always happy to see how gentle and friendly he is with children.
Viper is by all account a true Stafford in every since of the breed
standard and in the heart of what we want the breed to be.
Ambassador, Viper certainly lives life to the full and sounds like a
popular lad with a passion for Flyball and undoubtably deserves his place on Clever
Staffords.
Jai
Jai is owned and loved by Kerry Althoff from Australia, another Clever
Stafford and super ambassador for the breed.
I am
writing from Australia to tell you about one of my clever staffords – her name is Jai
and she is the oldest dog in the house (4 turning 5 this year 2002). I know that does not
sound very old but Jai nearly did not make it past the age of 11wks. We thought we were
doing the right thing by taking her everywhere with us when we got her. She had had her first shot and know one told us
not to take her out before the second (we know better now) just a couple of days before
her 2nd shot was due, Jai suddenly started being really sick we took her to the vets and
they thought she had an obstruction – then a couple of days later while jai was still
on 2 drips and very weak they thought she had Parvo – I was devastated because all
you hear are the bad things the Parvo does. But
after a week of isolation at the vets we got to take our very skinny but alive and happy
to be leaving the vets. dog home. We thought
that after this we should start taking her to obedience for some socialising and training
because as soon as she was well again we had the problem of a pulling staffy!!!!!!!. So we started obedience and in a few short months
we were in the highest class. We had
the trailing instructor telling us that I should be ready trialing. So we trained and learnt as much as we could and
after the first three trials we entered we had our CD title and the Top Local Dog award
from our club – funny thing is a Stafford came in a close second for that award. We then moved to Adelaide from our country town
– and started looking for the right club that had good instructors. In between that
happening Jai was selected to try out for Top Country Dog of South Australia (which we
got) at the state championship we came second to the city top Novice Dog so I was pretty
pleased with that as we were the only non sporting/working dog at that his event (someone
pointed that out from the stands).
It took a while to find a club and I started training Jai by myself with the
help from a couple of other trailers – we got our next title CDX in 4 trails and I
still thought that was a great achievement. We
got third top CDX dog in the state, this year. While
this was all happening some friends introduced us to Agility, which our dogs did for fun
and fitness. Until we noticed just how good
‘Stafford’s’ are at this sport – not many Stafford’s do agility
in SA, or obedience – Jai picked this up quickly and now I am hoping to gain her AD
title this year while training myself and Jai for the UD title as I know that UD is a lot
of hard work – so I thought that while we are working she could have some fun doing
agility.
During Jai’s 4yrs we have been in the paper
twice –1st in our town of Port Pirie about our obedience club. Then when we moved to Adelaide our club was asked
if they would mind letting some of the dogs and handlers be in their photo shoot promoting registration and other dog laws.
News 22 June 2002
Kerry has just sent in an update on Jai's Progress - she has now gained her AD title and her JD title we stafford
people really showed those "working Dogs" out there by gaining these in 3
straight trials for JD (one weekend of double trials) and 4 for the AD we had a mishap
with Jai running of and over a wrong Jump last time. I am still waiting for my Boy
to gain the last leg of his CD title as i promised not to start Jai's UD till then (but
think we will anyway) and my partnersDog Mags (you'll get a page for her soon) had reached
CDX and now having tme of for babies (2nd and last time) crossing her fingers she has a
girl.
Elmo
Many of you will of seen Elmo on the internet, this is his story.
I got Elmo
through SBT rescue in May of 2000. He was nearly 4 years old, and I later learned that I
was his 4th home! He had no formal training, but was a basically well-behaved dog with
good house manners. I wanted adog to compete in dog sports with, so as soon as we got to
know each other, I started training him. I started with him in obedience. He learned the
exercises easily. After I got his Canine Good Citizen certification, in January of 2001, I
decided we were about ready for competition. We finished his Companion Dog obedience title
(the certificate on the left, in the photo) in March of 2001. I started working him on the
exercises for the next level of obedience, and in the summer started training for agility.
We went to our first agility trials, a 3 day affair, over New Year's weekend. The first
day we just had fun, and got used to the idea of running agility with an audience. Elmo
liked that part! His happy attitude earned him a lot of fans, who were there to cheer for
him the next couple days when he started to qualify. A couple weeks later, I had him
in another trial, and he qualified again.
This earned him the Novice Agility title (the certificate on the right, in the photo);
in 3 straight trials, with 2 first placements and a 3rd. By the way; in September of 2001,
I had him temperament tested, which he passed easily, earning the TT title and
certificate. The tester commented that Elmo has an exceptionally stable temperament, but
is very curious. I think he's just a Stafford!
We are currently competing at the Open level in obedience and agility, and hopefully
will have some more titles at some point. We are having lots of fun, which is the most
important thing. I always have people telling me how much they enjoy watching my smiling
dog!
His full name is: Yankeestaff Lickle Me Elmo, CD, NA, CGC, TT
BTW, he has a website at: http://www.homestead.com/elmothesbt/index.html
Sarah
Do you have a Clever Stafford - Email me
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August 13, 2003