As Sailor rolls over to have his tummy tickled it is hard to believe his breed is considered one of the most dangerous.

The English bull terrier is one of the dogs at Rosedene Boarding and Rescue Centre that has not been bought.

Scott Robottom of the centre says it is dogs considered dangerous,that they struggle to sell.

“All the dogs are brought in as strays by the warden,” says Scott, aged 20. “There are weeks when dozens of people come to claim their lost dogs and at other times we don’t get any.”

The Rushall, Walsall, centre has 15 Staffordshire bull terriers, eight German shepherds, six rottweilers and two English bull terriers – a situation mirrored at other rescue centres.

“Staffordshire bull terriers are over-bred as people either use them for fighting or breeding,” says Scott. “Whenever you look in the newspapers or pet shop windows there will be people selling them to make money. Staffies can be sold for anything between £50 and £350 per puppy.”

He says a lot of dogs are abandoned because people fear they are going to attack their children.

“A lot of rottweilers are coming in because of the bad Press they have received,” he says. “We had three brought into us in one day and eight in one week and it is puppies as well as adult dogs. ”

Rottweiler Donte, aged three, was found underweight in Dudley two weeks ago. Scott says: “They are used for guard dogs because people think they are scary but Donte loves going to the park and being made a fuss of. Some people can buy a dog just because they want to appear to have a tough image. A lot of German shepherd owners also don’t know anything about the breed, but just want it for the image.”

Many dogs that come into the centre thrive on love and affection from staff. Scott says: “One of our German shepherds, Cassie, who is six-months-old, will follow you anywhere and loves to roll around. Another, Jerry Lee, is nine-months-old and he was quite nervous when he was first brought in as we believe he was beaten.

“We work hard to build up a dog’s confidence. Some dogs don’t make a sound when they first come here because they are too scared to bark as they will have been punished in the past.” Rosedene has been going for 20 years and takes in about 600 dogs a year to be rehomed. Its staff encourage people wanting a dog to approach an established kennel rather than back-street breeders.

“A lot of breeders are just in it for the money and the dogs are kept outside and can be treated badly,” says Scott. “Sadly, it is always the dog who pays the ultimate price for the owners selfish behaviour.”