Sophie defends Staffies

A 10-year-old Masterton girl has offered to donate $50 to help get the message across to Wairarapa people that English Staffordshire bull terriers do not deserve the bad name some people have given them.

Sophie Clark attends Hadlow School and her family have two such dogs.

She was so concerned about the bad name attached to the breed she wrote to the Masterton District Council and offered the money to raise awareness of the breed's good qualities.

"People think they are aggressive but it's actually their owners who teach them to fight other dogs," Sophie said.

"They make really good pets."

There were certain rules that needed to be followed to get the best out of English Staffordshire bull terriers, she said.

"You need to let them know you're the boss," she said.

"Otherwise they'll assume they're the boss and then they're not submissive."

Training dogs needed to start straight away, she said, while they also needed clear boundaries and a lot of exercise.

Her family's dogs, Oscar and Maisy, had two walks a day, she said.

Sophie's dad, James Clark, said his family had learned "an awful lot" about being a responsible dog owner that they were not aware of before they became dog owners.

"You've always got to take good care of them and you need to learn how to commit to your dog," Mr Clark said.

Sophie had taken it upon herself to write to the council, he said.

"I had no idea. The first I knew was when the council contacted us."