how can i make my sbt more alert?

Hello everyone i would like to discuss with some more experienced owners about the issue of security concerning their staffies. Do they warn u when someone approaches the house? Do they bark at the door bell? I am not asking if they can become good guard dogs cause i think they are rather small... So i would like to ask u when and if your sbt ever showed u his protective instinct. My 5 month sbt is so friendly with everyone, he greets everyone and he is so happy with everyone that approaches me or the house. I dont want a guard dog, to make this clear. I dont want a dangerous animal in the family. But i would like to know if there is a way to make him a bit more alert and more cautious with people. Yesterday i was driving my car...and a beggar came to my window..and the dog which was sitting next to me almost jumped out from the window to lick him and kiss him (!). I know that the breed is people friendly and i also know that he is a puppy. So i would like to ask owners with mature staffies if they do become more alert and cautious when they grow up. And also some tips or advises to *wake him* up a bit? We love him in the family and we hug him all the time, also i take him with me to family meals or when i go for coffee and because he is so cute everyone wants to touch him and hug him. So to make it clear i think i over socialized him.. and i think that the fact that we hug him all the time ( my mom,my dad, my brother, guests etc) has messed up his personality. I think i have a labrador in my sbt s body! Please give me your advise and forgive me for my english:)

Hi &

Welcome to the staffordshire bull terrier niceboard. We are pleased you have decided to join us, and hope you enjoy your stay. We hope to see plenty of pictures of your staffordshire bull terriers or any other breed you may have in your household

If you would like to enter your dog(s), puppy(s) or another pet(s) you may have into our Monthly Competition, voting starts on the 20th of every month, if you are lucky your dog maybe placed on our Hall Of Fame page on our website.

Just one last thing before you look around could you please just have a quick look At This Poll, we would love to know how you found us.

Here are some links that will get you started with the website:-

Please read the Forum Rules before you start posting.
Here are a list of Tutorial & FAQs that will help you around the forum.
You can ask for help here if you are having trouble doing something on the forum.
If you have any ideas to improve the forum please let us know Your Feedback Here.
We have a Website with alot of information if you would like to view it.

I think this is a staffy thing in general, Molly's a bit like it. She'll bark at night when she hears the gate go, and if she sees any one at night that she doesn't know, she' grumble and bark.

I'd be interested to see if any one has any advice, or tips on this subject.

Well if he would bark at night at weird or strange noises i would appreciate it! All thing i hear at night is snooooring from his bed next to me. When i was searching about the breed i was terrified about what i heard and how violent they are and all that crap from the media and people that are misinformed...So i tried to socialize him and i think i did it too much...Maybe i shouldnt allow everyone to hug him and pad him, maybe i shouldnt take him when i go for coffee or at family meetings...I dont know...Or maybe he will be more alert when he ll grow up?...I m trying to wake up his protective insticts without make him wild...The only thing i want is to be more alert and not want to kiss everyone (from my mom to the pizza delivery boys) So what can i do?

You need to give him time to mature. You certainly did the right thing by socialising him well, thats very important with any dog, regardless of the breed. Nearly all puppies are friendly. At their age, everyone is a playmate, not a threat. He's too young for you to worry about him not being a little more wary of strangers at the moment.

Thanks for the immediate reply, i will give him all the time in the world of course. But should i start doing something to wake him up a bit and make him more suspicious? Should i stop something from what i do now? Should i do nothing and let things roll? And the fourth question is the following... and it concerns the owners of mature sbt. Do they become guard dogs or watch dogs? Should i do something in particular or is it in their nature?

As regards to what you're doing now, if he's healthy and happy and well behaved, you're obviously doing a good job and therefore do not need to change anything. Not sure about older staffs and guarding/watchdog, but I'm sure someone here will know.

As shontelle said he's very young at the moment and wont be a mature adult till 3 years old. All dogs are different and i can assure u that my youngest Kaos (7 months) is so layed back he's asleep lol i doubt he would even bother getting up if someone walked into my house univited or if he did it would only be to jump on him and then silently lick them to death lol. Ty (16 months) on the other hand is completley different and is always alert and watching and highly strung. Both these dogs have been raised the same way all be it Ty was rescued at 6 months but i really think it depends on the type of dog you have. To be honest i think your lucky for your staff to be as it is, id say youve done a good job personally! x

The dog is really healthy and happy ( who wouldnt be if he had everyone padding him?...) But i want to make him a guardian. The only thing i want from him is to let me know if he hears something that he considers as weird or strange. So what i want is to bark and inform me. Its not my target to attack the intruder. The only thing i want is to inform me. Is it too much what i ask? I hope not. So how can i *tell * him that informing me for weird noises it would make me happy? I think that if he would understand that i want him to be more alert he would do it. I dont know how to teach him to do so...( and i dont want to go to a professional trainer) All i need is a barking when needed. Is it impossible?

To be honest, I'd wait and see what happens.
If he does bark at something you WANT him to bark at, praise him, then reassure him that everything is ok.
He'll learn in time to protect you, all dogs do. My old collie cross used to be so protective of my mum.
Staffies are well known for their loyalties, give it time, he's still young.

Can we see some pics of your dog?
Also. Your English is perfect.

Hi mate ! Well my staffy is the one u can see at the avatar picture, i hope its clear enough. I ll try to upload more:)

Does anyone have a clue about the topic i started? Advises? Or characteristics of their own mature staffies?

Hi, welcome.

I'm now going to tell you something you probably won't want to hear! When I bought my first stafford the breeder asked me why I wanted one. One of the reasons was that my husband was away a lot of the time & I wanted to feel safe. She told me that if I wanted a personal guard then the stafford was the best dog in the world to get - they will protect their family with their lives.

BUT, a stafford will probably not only welcome a burglar/tresspasser, but will help them pack the valuables in a bag!

They are NOT guard dogs! They LOVE people. That's not to say that a staff won't try to warn you of an intruder when they are mature, but don't expect too much in that way.

Having said that, I'd much prefer a people-friendly dog who will protect ME than an aggressive dog that will protect my property!

I hope that hasn't disappointed you too much!

Dont worry you didnt dissapoint me at all. I dont want to listen something that will sound pleasant in my ears. I want to listen the truth and i thank you for sharing this information with me. Ok to make things more precise, you mentioned that they will protect the family with their life. My staffy stays with me with the members of the family IN the house. He is not left in a garage or even a yard. He is inside the house. So i guess that someone that will break in while the family members are inside (lets say sleeping) then he represent s a threat for them right? How would a staff react? Or would he react ONLY if the burglar would try to hurt a member of the family?
I m not talking about fiction scenarios and i know that the answer is * how are we supposed to know*? But i would like an answer how a typical staffy would react. Last summer (when we didnt have our doggie) someone broke in while my parents were sleeping and took some stuff and they found out next morning. I dont want this to happen again. So i m wondering if my staff would react somehow like bark to the sight or sound of the burglar. No matter what he is me best friend...even if he ll never be a watchdog or a guard dog i love him really much and that wont change nomatter what....so feel free to tell me the truth

Hello, I have 2 my girl is so laid back she wouldn't notice if someone came in. The other would and would let me know if a intruder was around the home.they have both been brought up the same way and love to be cuddled but one does protect the territry your dog will learn with treats if that's what you want it doesn't mean you want him to bite. First learn him the speak command I did this I first learned him sit,paw,down,leave for speak you bark and hopefully he will copy you plenty of treats make it fun. When you have mastered those comands and the door goes tell him to speak treats he will hopefully learn to let you no before the door is knocked.the stafford is very intelligent there are lots of them doing many jobs its the effort you put in your training check out the vids section there is one on there who is very well trained

Gem, that was a really informative post, thank you, I've been wanting to teach Molly to bark at the door going, but haven't had any idea how to do it!

I no you can train her to bark both on comand and as she confident her hearing much better than ours if its a fun excersize she will learn.I trained my dogs not to go out the side gate from the rear garden but its funny when I need to take out the bins every week they tell me off its funny.also my bitch is scared of fireworks there is a advert on tv with a firework in she now recognises the advert as soon as it comes on and of she goes just eg of long term memory of the dog

My kaiser never barks when somebody knocks on the door and when people come in he just wants to lick them my staffy definately isnt a guard dog he would be useless although i think he would protect me of he needed to

Molly never barks at the door, she perks, then just gets excited when it's open.

But all dogs are protective to some extent, my old collie would bark if my dad playfully raised his hand to my mum, or even made a slapping sound with his hands.

I think gem's advice was brilliant here, just don't expect miracles, all types of training take time and perseverance. He's a young dog, and a smart breed, he'll pick it up. Just make a massive deal when he does do what you want him to, and he'll soon learn, all dogs love to please their mums and dads!

Well my Jethro is not far of twelve years of age.. and he is a useless guard dog!! haha.. When someone pulls up out the front ( we live in the farming area ) he races to the gate wagging his tail. Then once the gate is open and they open their car door he tries to jump in the car with them. He hasn't got an ounce of guard dog in him!! But I would rather him be a lover than a fighter anyday!! The only time he does bark is when I get him to chase the crows away from the chook house!!

You can get him as friendly as possible he sounds perfects but i wouldn't worry because when he encounters someone near or approaching with a bad energy and intents etc I'm sure he will give a warning especially when he is a little more mature.

That is actually my *problem*. He is way to friendly. He seems that he has no judgment who s good who is bad etc. He is so friendly. I wanted a companion dog for sure. But if he could be more alert he would make me more happy thats all. When he goes out at the balcony he barks at things that move weird to him, for instance he might bark to someone that is repairing his car next to our apartment or if someone is using a ladder in order to climb at the roof and repair something on the roof. But inside the house he never barks at something (he doesnt bark at the sound of the elevator, or at the sound of footsteps outside the door etc) He is lifting his ears, he is listening the sounds but he s not barking or making any noise. Some days ago i wanted to test him,so i was studying in my room, and the dog was sleeping next to me. I invited a friend he didnt know, and my roommate opened the door. I didnt go to the door. I was inside the room with the dog studying. So the test would be that he would enter in the room without saying hi, without rush or an aggresive attitude.He would just enter in the room. I wouldnt say hi to him, i would just ignore him. So that happened. He entered in the bedroom. I didnt act. He entered he didnt speak. He just stood there. And the dog went close and was pretty happy about the new guy who entered in the bedroom (without my permission)...What if he was a thief or a burglar? He is not cautious at all...

Thats the thing he learned from your energy that you ignored him going at it a different way would of changed the situation. As an example when mine were young they would here a noise outside and run to the door thats the first, second I would then ask them to check the noise I would ask them "who is it" they would then check out the garden you dont need to learn them aggression just acompany them round checking the area out end of the excercise give treat and say good boy. they will learn if your consistant and do the excercises regular your boy already barking at strange things so im sure he will learn. Its another thing about him being too freindly I dont think you would want to change that at all its good to be loved by everone you just need to be vigilant and keep him safe.

Some weeks ago i moved to the town where i study and of cource i took the dog with me. It was the first time he was away from his environment from our family house. So the first 3-4 days he was nervous and he was barking when he heard the noise of keys at the door or something weird outside the door. So i was pretty happy that finally he became a watch dog. But this ended a week later when he got used to the new environment...so now he is as cool as he used to be...He pays attention when he listens something outside the door but he might move his tail or something so i dont encourage him to do so. So back to square one...The change was not permanent. He is almost six months now:)

[quote="ioulios"]Some weeks ago i moved to the town where i study and of cource i took the dog with me. It was the first time he was away from his environment from our family house. So the first 3-4 days he was nervous and he was barking when he heard the noise of keys at the door or something weird outside the door. So i was pretty happy that finally he became a watch dog. But this ended a week later when he got used to the new environment...so now he is as cool as he used to be...He pays attention when he listens something outside the door but he might move his tail or something so i dont encourage him to do so. So back to square one...The change was not permanent. He is almost six months now:)
[/quoteIf you want a watch dog then encourage him to do that a strange enviroment made him more cautious and he was doing what you wanted but like us as soon as he became used he felt at ease.

The trouble is, if you want a house guard/watchdog don't choose a stafford!

If you want a personal guard then you couldn't choose better than a stafford!

Taz was overly friendly when he was that young and he would appraoch anyone and anything without thought but once a drunk approach me Taz went for him, they pick up on the energy and intent, You can have them be alart ask a mate to make a sound outside be excited and have your dog look around and investigate etc and do it with him a few games of this he will let you know when someone is outside before you can even get up. Taz never bothered checking when the door bell rung or anything but once he got older he always came and told me.

Miss Rogue when Taz became protective?I mean from which age ?Did you have him trained when the incident with the drunk guy occured ?How old was he? And Caryll mentioned that staffies are excellent personal guard dogs. Well if someone breaks in the house then my personal safety is in dangern no? An untrained staffy how would react ? i dont see a huge difference between a house guard dog and a personal guard dog. So if u would please explain me the differences:)

ioulios wrote:Well if someone breaks in the house then my personal safety is in dangern no? An untrained staffy how would react ? i dont see a huge difference between a house guard dog and a personal guard dog. So if u would please explain me the differences:)

If someone breaks in & you are not there, your dog may treat them as a friend. If, however, you are there & the person threatens you or physical attacks you, he will almost certainly defend you.

The problem with a stafford is that friendliness to humans has been bred into them unless someone is a threat to the dog's human family/friends. That's why they are so good with children, the elderly & the infirm.

ioulios wrote:Miss Rogue when Taz became protective?I mean from which age ?Did you have him trained when the incident with the drunk guy occured ?How old was he? And Caryll mentioned that staffies are excellent personal guard dogs. Well if someone breaks in the house then my personal safety is in dangern no? An untrained staffy how would react ? i dont see a huge difference between a house guard dog and a personal guard dog. So if u would please explain me the differences:)

I didn't have to train him its natural for them to want to protect their pack/family when he first started being protective he was 8 months old reacting to the door and noises outside and about 10 months when he went for the drunk.
when my sister or someone i know walks into mine Taz will let me know he'll whine run to them then back to me, a few weeks back though i left my door on the latch for another mate he walked in and i'd totally forgot Taz aint met him and Taz wouldn't let him get three stairs up.

Yes, it's natural for them to defend their humans! Some will defend their home, but mostly they just live & let live.

The breeder of my boy Bandit told me that if a burglar came into the house while we were away, he'd probably help them to pack the bags of loot. But if anyone threatened or attacked us he'd defend us with his life if necessary.

I wouldn't worry too much about it at the moment, your dog is still very young. If all you want is for her to warn you of people outside, then she'll probably do that of her own accord when she matures a little more.

definately on their own accord. Caryll I seen this lush BT today he was all black and so friendly he and Taz headbutted each other and then parted and walked on it was like a greeting of some kind i swear Taz was seeing stars but he'd never admit it.

Good then:) Yes all i want is to warn me if someone comes in and i m in the house. So i ll see how he changes as he matures and i ll let you know!

MissRogue wrote:definately on their own accord. Caryll I seen this lush BT today he was all black and so friendly he and Taz headbutted each other and then parted and walked on it was like a greeting of some kind i swear Taz was seeing stars but he'd never admit it.

The bully wouldn't even have felt it - they're too thick to feel anything hitting their heads!

Just thought I would say Hi & welcome to the forum.