Agressive Behaviour

Hi All, I saw a similar post and wanted to share what Eden my Stafford/German Shep cross bitch is doing. She is very submissive when she meets other dogs. She gets right down on the floor and inches towards them. She then sometimes rolls over and shows her tummy otherwise she sits very still while they sniff and then she starts to want to play. If they do not respond she then starts getting agressive shows her teeth and trys to get ontop of them. She has just started doing this. Her approx age will be two in January. She is a rescue dog and I have had all sorts of issues with chewing and running off which she still does now and again. HELP!! She loves other dogs most of the time but just on occasion she loses it.

I had a 4yr old female staffy i took in from a nieghbour as she was being neglected..long story but basicly i voiced my concern n told if i was so botherd to pay 80 pund and she was mine...well i had all manor of problems with her..i did however persivere and it did pay off..firstly i was very reasuring with her to begin with because of her previous treatment but also you must be firm,.firm but fair..tough love sometimes,she must know who is the leader of the pack if you like,and that is you..maybe you could try just having her on the lead at first around other dogs and pet her and reassure her n then when u notice the usual uh oh sighns just firmly say NO! that should help controle/hush her n then treat her when she does well..it is harder training older dogs..especialy ones with a difficult past,well in my experience but it can be done!! good luck also for the chewing ther is repellant spray that u can buy to spray on the things you dont want her to chew

are you sure its actualy agressive behaviour and she isnt just trying to initiate play. lemmy gets down all submissive when other dogs come towards him then when he has said hello with the sniffing he then dives on the floor or on the dogs to start and play. staffies are very vocal during play which is growling but its not nasty aggressive growling. do you get this behaviour with every dog and what happens if you leave her to it.

To me she has a full set of nashers on show and she is really growling and going for them without actually biting. But there is a lot of noise and tring to pull her off. You might be right and perhaps it is play but I think she is obviously tring to dominate at the same time. She does play with her best friend who is a working cocker and they growl and bark and bit eand pull for hours. But this seems different.

she is trying to be the dominant one in play by the sound of it which she will come across a doggy one day that will teach her this is not acceptable behaviour its all part of the social aspect lemmy was told off by 2 rotties before he got the message. i wouldnt worry too much unless it turns to actualy biting and trying to fight just keep your boundaries in place and if she gets too pushy then take her away telling her a firm no.

Yes I think I will keep her on the lead to start with when she meets another dog and watch her behaviour and take it slowly. So if I can sort this out all I have to work on is her running off!! She was stray as a pup and just takes off but is getting better and I notice she turns round to check I am still there until she gets a sniff of a rabbit and then the red mist sets in and she is gone!! I do love Staffies. Eden is adorable and I could not do without her but at times I could have sent her back but no way. A lot of hard work to get where I am now with a dog that had no boundaries. Thanks for your advice.

we have a rescue we are trying to put boundaries in place for. its like they were spoilt dogs cos no one bothered before the likes of me and you got them but at least they are young enough to work with and have great results keep up the good work.

_julie_ wrote:are you sure its actualy agressive behaviour and she isnt just trying to initiate play. lemmy gets down all submissive when other dogs come towards him then when he has said hello with the sniffing he then dives on the floor or on the dogs to start and play. staffies are very vocal during play which is growling but its not nasty aggressive growling. do you get this behaviour with every dog and what happens if you leave her to it.

Tyson does the same thing but for the most part only gets vocal when the other dog is 'slow' to respond to the play invite.

Here is a link about body language to help to tell the difference between play and aggression. If you have doubts by all means use the lead.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dogbodylanguage.html