Barking at other dogs

Maggie is coming up three months and barks at other dogs. If we let her play then the barking becomes growling, mouthing and nipping - when it gets to be more than playing we just walk away. We got her at 8 weeks so she's had almost three weeks with minimal dog to dog socialisation. She goes to pre agility and gets some socialisation there but not free running. Most people say she'll grow out of it with socialisation but I just wondered if anyone had any views on this.

As long as she plays nicely and you step in if it gets too rough, then there shouldn't be a problem. If you don't want the barking, then don't let her off lead until she's calm & sitting quietly. The vocalisation when playing is something they all mostly do, and there's very little you can do about it.

They do calm down after a year or two, but play will always be rough - it's what staffs do!

Caryll wrote:As long as she plays nicely and you step in if it gets too rough, then there shouldn't be a problem. If you don't want the barking, then don't let her off lead until she's calm & sitting quietly. The vocalisation when playing is something they all mostly do, and there's very little you can do about it.

They do calm down after a year or two, but play will always be rough - it's what staffs do!

Agree with this and the more you socialize her the better.

Thanks for you comments. My last Staffie, Archie, was really friendly and quiet from day one - he was confident but not a bully and would share his toys so I guess it's just a shock when Maggie barks/growls at other dogs.

If she's just playing, I wouldn't worry about it, it's just what they do. Loki plays with this big Boxer x Bulldog and he always growls at Loki but he's just playing. Loki doesn't bark at other dogs, but he has barked and growled at some of his toys, so it's normal. Just if it becomes more than playing, either take her away from it, or make her sit and calm down for a moment before letting her get back to the playing.

Barking and growling is communication not aggression, along with body language it is how dogs communicate. At 3 months old your pup is at the age of cutting teeth and apron strings so is gaining confidence and trying new things, that includes barking and growling.

If you are feeling unhappy about her behaviour you probably have reason to be, nobody knows your pup better than you do. If you feel she is getting too much then step in and stop her. The best way is to get her attention but that is a lot easier to say than do.