STAFFY OWNERS HELP PLEASE urgent

viktory

suki1964 wrote: »

I can assure you that cocker spaniels are not the bundles of fluff and complete stupidity people are perceiving them to be - they can and will attack other dogs and do just as much if not more damage as a staffie could. It is wrong to pigeon hole breeds....

Yes I know. Are you deliberately missing my point? The point I have been trying to make for what feels like most of my life now is that the dog is not to blame but the OWNER is. S/he knew that the dog takes against other dogs and went on the assumption that no one else would be around and so it would be safe for her dog to be off the lead. Her dog attacked another dog. My point was that on this occasion it was a bigger dog, a GSD. What if it had been a smaller dog such as a cocker spaniel. I was using the CS as an EXAMPLE not pigeon holing any breed. It could have been a pug, a Great Dane, a Boxer, a Yorkshire terrier etc etc.

Staffies can do huge amounts of damage and have the infamous lock jaw. My point all along has been that the owner of this particular dog has been irresponsible in letting her dog off the lead unmuzzled - knowing that it dislikes other dogs. It should be on the lead and/or muzzled. The owner does not want to walk it on the lead because it looks sad. !!!!!!!

ali-t

emma12345 wrote: »

My staffie also has a dislike for alsations. For some reason this breed is more likely to go for him so he feels he has to retaliate. Maybe your dog remembers one from his earlier years and feels a bit nervous around this breed?

.

mine, like yours, also has a hatred for GSD's. she appears to feel threatened by their herding like/guarding behaviour as they often run towards her barking. This is enough to set her off as she perceives an attack. I have lost count of the amount of GSD owners who say 's/he is only playing'. It drives me crazy - mine isn't playing and will retaliate but they don't see it as a problem that their dog started it.

As I have stated previously on this thread my staffy is always kept on the lead if other dogs are around but it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who let their dogs bound up to a dog on the lead - WHY???? Dogs on the lead are usually on the lead for a reason and people need to start respecting that. Grrrrr. :mad:

Anyway to bring this back to a moneysaving thread - if you invest in a good flexi lead and do some work on distracting your dog so s/he pays attention to you when there are other dogs around then you will save yourself a fortune in insurance claims and legal costs. :cool:

user55

ali-t wrote: »

it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who let their dogs bound up to a dog on the lead - WHY???? Dogs on the lead are usually on the lead for a reason and people need to start respecting that. Grrrrr. :mad:

Bang on. As it happens mine is only on the lead so I don't lose him as he has zero recall and a very strong chase instinct. But I still don't want strange dogs bouncing all over him. He doesn't like it, it spooks him. Hence the muzzle.

sad_dog_lady

ok, thanks for all advice, i have done so much training, i have always been told that he is a lovely dog, my frieds and neighbours pet him and he rolls onto his back for more love, some dogs he loves, some he is scared off, and now this is the fourth dog he has had a go at.... ok, he is two, he is castrated and microchipped, and we got him at 12 weeks, he'd been beaten bitten and starved. so yes its all my fault, there must have been something i hadnt done, some where ive got it wrong, he's been off lead for two years with usually great recall, but this is the fourth incident, my staffies halti is a bigish one and he has a tiny muzzel, he's quite undersized for his breed cause of his being a little runt i supose, he cant bite with it on, ive just tried it with his pull toy. blame the owner and her waste of time energy and money.

suki1964

sad_dog_lady wrote: »

ok, thanks for all advice, i have done so much training, i have always been told that he is a lovely dog, my frieds and neighbours pet him and he rolls onto his back for more love, some dogs he loves, some he is scared off, and now this is the fourth dog he has had a go at.... ok, he is two, he is castrated and microchipped, and we got him at 12 weeks, he'd been beaten bitten and starved. so yes its all my fault, there must have been something i hadnt done, some where ive got it wrong, he's been off lead for two years with usually great recall, but this is the fourth incident, my staffies halti is a bigish one and he has a tiny muzzel, he's quite undersized for his breed cause of his being a little runt i supose, he cant bite with it on, ive just tried it with his pull toy. blame the owner and her waste of time energy and money.

For a start, dont beat yourself up because of some un thought out posts to this thread. You are doing a great job and you just need to keep at it with some support

I know how you feel because when my lad was going through the worse of it I was at my wits end and just hated walking him cos I was just so on edge the whole time.

However he is now four, I have never ever muzzled him and I walk him off lead as much as possible (obviously I keep him on lead where there are crowds and too many other on lead dogs for comfort)

As you see, I don't agree with keeping dogs on leads esp if there are other dogs around because for a dog aggressive dog it leaves them with no option but to fight as they cant flight. What i do agree with is to train your dog to think that you are the centre of its world and the most exciting thing since gravy bones so he will come back to you when called or can be trusted to focus on you till you get past any possible perceived danger (in this case another dog)

My secret weapon? A couple of tennis balls and a pocket full of tasty treats (liver cake always works). My dog adores balls, would lie down and die for a ball. So the only time we have a ball to play with is when we are out. He knows there is a ball on me somewhere so wont go too far from me - always stays within a few feet of me and is totally focussed on me. So if we come across male dogs on our walks (always tell - the hairs go up and the stance is full on) then out come the balls, hes called and show the ball and I about turn so he follows me. Now if I cant walk around the "problem" then i put his lead on and walk past the "problem" talking to him,fussing him and praising him till we get past safely, then its a treat and back off lead. I always finish every walk with 10 mins of fetch so he does get to play with the balls eventually

Anyway that is what works for me and Im happy to walk him most open spaces now.


As pboae has already offered, dont give up on the trainers - you need to find one that works for you and your dog. Have you looked here: http://www.apdt.co.uk/ You should be able to find someone in your area.

And dont forget, you arent doing a bad job at all. If you didnt care and didnt want to do what was best for him you wouldnt be posting asking for help and advice.

Good luck and keep us informed on how its all going

suki1964

viktory wrote: »

Yes I know. Are you deliberately missing my point? The point I have been trying to make for what feels like most of my life now is that the dog is not to blame but the OWNER is. S/he knew that the dog takes against other dogs and went on the assumption that no one else would be around and so it would be safe for her dog to be off the lead. Her dog attacked another dog. My point was that on this occasion it was a bigger dog, a GSD. What if it had been a smaller dog such as a cocker spaniel. I was using the CS as an EXAMPLE not pigeon holing any breed. It could have been a pug, a Great Dane, a Boxer, a Yorkshire terrier etc etc.

Staffies can do huge amounts of damage and have the infamous lock jaw. My point all along has been that the owner of this particular dog has been irresponsible in letting her dog off the lead unmuzzled - knowing that it dislikes other dogs. It should be on the lead and/or muzzled. The owner does not want to walk it on the lead because it looks sad. !!!!!!!

So another one who thinks dogs can lock jaws. Thought we had educated people the last time this comment was made by someone who knew nothing about staffies

http://www.dogwatch.net/myths/lock_jaw.html

tbain

suki1964 wrote: »

So another one who thinks dogs can lock jaws. Thought we had educated people the last time this comment was made by someone who knew nothing about staffies

http://www.dogwatch.net/myths/lock_jaw.html

I think the way you go on is ridiculous. You always have to be right and ram your opinion down peoples throats. I may not be Barabara Woodhouse, but I am certainly not uneducated. I have a BA in History and as I have said in the past my husband used to own a Staffie and I have known people who have owned the breed. At the end of the day it is an expression Staffies , English Bulls etc have a tendency to lock their jaws onto other dogs. You are just a nitpicker, it was obvious that Viktory was using a Cocker Spaniel as an example of a dog that could be hurt , but you had to take it out of context. Just like you did when I said once that Staffies could cause a great deal of harm to a person and you posted a picture of a bite mark off a Shih Tzu! ( The type of dog I own. ) At the end of the day grow up , not everybody will share the same views as you, theres no need to be childish and go on about biting people!

mariagti

Hi i am a staffy owner. I have a male staff whose 7 years now. I had him since he was a pup he used to be fine with other dogs until he was attacked by an dog that was off its lead. My staffy had to have stitches in his neck. Now he hates most other dogs that come near him.
I would never let my dog off its lead knowing he doesnt like other dogs, any dog in public places needs to be on a lead whatever breed. I walk my dog over the fields opposite my house and always keep him on his lead as i know others go over with there dogs which are normally off there leads and coming running upto my dog. I have two leads for him one of those strecthy leads where he can run ahead and i can control how far he goes for when im in the field. And a chain lead for when his on the path.
Could you not keep your dog on one of those stretchy leads so it can run ahead but you can pull it back short when you see another dog coming?

orlao

Hi sad dog lady

I used to have a male staffy years ago and he was very dog aggressive.....my fault as I didn't socalise him well enough....

I don't think you need to put your dog to sleep, unless you really can't cope with him anymore. That might be an option then rather than try to rehome him because as you say there are so many already in rescue.
That said, IMHO you do need to keep him on a lead until you either find a trainer you can work with or maybe forever.....he will get used to it, it'll probably be you feeling guilty as most dogs are very adapable;)

If I were you I wouldn't worry about the police as long as no one was injured, they're really not that interested in dog fights but your local dog warden may take an interest, they may even have details of dog training that may suit you and your dog, they do seem to have lots of local info if they're any good.

While I think some of the posters here have gone a bit OTT, the fact is that ALL dogs should be under control at ALL times and while the GSD may have provoked your dog, your dog was loose and he was on a lead so you are automatically in the wrong, legally speaking....sorry I'm not having a go at you but if it was the other way round you'd probably spitting feathers too:D

Good luck

consultant31

newmee wrote: »

Every time I take my staff out, on the lead and next door's chiwowa (!?) is there, either on the lead or off it, it attacks my boy and he NEVER retaliates, just tries to avoid it as much as he can.

Years ago we had a chihuahua cross and she was a feisty little thing. At the time we also had a rotty and he was terrified of her, she used to nip his knees - the only part she could reach :rotfl:

I have just had a staffy cross dumped on the doorstep - well, tied up across the road and abandoned, so we have given her a home.

I have just learned a lot from this thread as I couldn't understand why she seemed so aggressive toward my Mum's old dog and my daughter's timid little Llasa Apso.

At first I thought all was going well when they met, till suddenly my staffy (we've called her Dizzy) suddenly went all stiff-legged and began to bark. The other dog was shocked and frightenend and I bagan to wonder why she'd been dumped.

She is lovely otherwise, but this behaviour is a nuisance since we're going on holiday soon and I was hoping Mum or DD would be able to look after her.

I'm hoping with love and training I can bring her round to being a little more sociable in the future.