Help needed

Morning all

This is my first post on here and its a shame its a bit negative, i rescued a male SBT the best part of 8 months ago and he is a star and has come on such a long way from when i first picked him up and is now socialised with other dogs. He regularly plays with other dogs in the park regardless of sex or breed and has been barked at before and will happy ignore it and go about his business. Its a joy to watch him play with others so me and the better half started to think about adopting a friend for Ben.

Therefore i arrange to meet up with another owner who was going to put his dog for adoption as a change in his circumstances forces him give his dog away. He had a 3 year old male SBT who was also socialised with other dogs, him and ben met in my garden for the first time and were playing loads and it was a real pleasure to watch. They were both then walked on the lead to the local park (both dogs can show lead aggression but were walked side by side and didn't show any towards each other) were they were let of the lead and play again for 10 minutes. Then the other dog picked up a stick and started play with that, ben then grabbed hold of one end and they were playing tug of war.... i have played this game with ben before with other dogs and there has NEVER been an issue. this continued for 5 or so minutes when it all went tits up and they both latched on to each other, both me and the other dogs owner picked up our respective dogs and tried to separate them which in its self was difficult.

we did eventually get them separated and both were ok although ben can off a little worse as the other dog managed to get the lip/cheek of ben which left a couple of puncture holes which took a while to stop bleeding. afterwards both bogs were fine and walk next to each other (on the leads might i add) all the way home.

Obviously this was a bit of a shock for both sides, now my question is does this mean that Ben cant be with any other SBT?

He has played with a female SBT cross with no issues before...

oh and i better add we think ben is around 5 ish and he is fully intact...

thanks for your help

matt and Ben

I always say to people do not leave toys on the floor when you have two dogs in the same house, don't leave bones laying around, don't give dogs treats at the same time and I think this is even more important with bull breeds. What you've described sounds like a squabble over a stick they both wanted. It doesn't matter that they get on and have been getting on I've heard stories where two dogs have lived together for years and all of a sudden they both decided they wanted the same toy then all he'll broke loose.

No I don't think your dog is dog aggressive from what you've described. I do believe that as with all dogs you need to watch play carefully and stop it before either dog gets too excited or too intense and always supervise

Hell not he'll damn auto correct! Lol

Thanks for the reply Debs, it is reassuring to hear that. So in regards to rehoming another one whether it be a pub or an adult just adhere to the no toy at the same time rule....

Hi only got the one so no advice, but please come and introduce yourself here when you can.
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions
Ben is gorgeous

Just keep your wits about you and control play. It sounds like they were fine together apart from the stick incident If it were me I'd go out with the dog I was thinking of rehoming quite a few times and just make absoultely sure they got on. I would say take it very slowly if you want to rehome the dog you were talking about but if you were to get a pup I'd go for a bitch to be honest I only have one so I'm not experienced with having two but if we take axl to our friends house to see their dog I always make sure there are no toys or bones on the floor and I don't give axl treats whilst he is sitting next to their dog I just err on the side of caution! Also if he plays with another dog I keep a close eye on it because axl can go way over the top through excitement.

I'm sure one of the others with two dogs will be along shortly with more advice though

From what you have said though I really do think it was just excitement and them both wanting the stick

thanks again i shall indeed introduce my self and post up a few more pics of the little lad.

Matt

It depends on the dog. But I would never bring any valuable objects into meetings for a few weeks personally, until they've figured each other out. I think for a staffy this was a pretty expected thing to happen, both males becoming highly aroused/excited in a vigorous game with a highly valued object.. It was bound to go wrong. Some dogs would back away, but in general staffies aren't scared of a scrap.

Personally, I've always fostered male dogs with my bitch, and of complimenting personalities. Though there are members on here with same sex pairings, with 2 adults I would bring in a girly for him.

agree on debs posts,any thing like sticks,toys and food can cause an issue like you had,try walking them again a few times before you commit yourself to any thing,Ben is beautiful by the way

thanks for the reply guys, i am waiting for Ben's injuries to heal and then we will look again for a friend.

Agree with all advice above though never had two together myself. Sticks and such can become a possession so guess that's whats happened. Like Rach I would if I was going to introduce a girly obviously maybe one that has been spayed as you don't want extra problems in that department x

Also always foster bitches with my male dog.

I don't think in the two years I've had him he's ever (fingers crossed) had a problem with a female though some have shouted at him, and he's minded his manners after that.

Are both dogs neutered?

p.s. I know you must be in total shock and it seems like the end of the world. It isn't. It's a learning curve. It can really shake you up when a dog sees red. Don't be hard on yourself. This is a valuable insight into your dog.

Great advice from Debs above. I also don't think he sounds aggressive from how you have described him.

While my two are the best of friends I never, ever, leave anything of value down - whether I'm at home or going out. When they do get toys like ropes to play with, it is always under supervision and a simple command like "enough" gets them to stop and just take a time out before they get too excited. Even though neither have food issues, meal times are also supervised. When they get treats, Roxy likes to bury hers which is fine, but I always make sure I dig it up if she hasn't so it's not left lying around to cause a potential argument.

I think it's all about supervision and knowing when to step in just to get your dog to calm down before a situation gets too excitable or potentially heated.

Welcome to the forum, by the way

Rupertsbooks wrote:Also always foster bitches with my male dog.

I don't think in the two years I've had him he's ever (fingers crossed) had a problem with a female though some have shouted at him, and he's minded his manners after that.

Are both dogs neutered?

No Ben is still has his pride a joy but olly the other dog was done, reading the above i would agree with you are all saying. I think on this occasion it was too much too soon, neither dog knew each other and then played a game of supervised tug of war which ended in disaster. He has played tug of war with Taylor (the staff masfitt cross in the last picture) and they have alway been fine but they have been walked a lot before hand.

I agree with the advice above. I have 2 girls and they fight over things. Staffs are very vocal and boisterous when they play fight or argue over a possession. I never leave my 2 alone together incase of a scrap. As long as they aren't left together they should be okay   

Apart from toys, sticks and food, the other valuable thing in their eyes can be YOU! I once had an incident where the other owner made a hands-on lovey-dovey fuss over Douglas, telling him what a good boy he was, etc. Her dog, Ruby, seeing this, then attacked Douglas - perhaps Ruby thought he was stealing her human? So then Douglas retaliated and, boy, did he retaliate. So that's one to watch as well. And to act quick and to avoid at all costs.

I think i will be wary of this type of playing again and be prepared to stop things before the get out of hand

Agree with the advice above. Here is a link on body language you may find helpfull to stop something before it starts.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dog_body_language

we adopted willow at 7 months old and were told to wait agood year before getting another dog and to go for opposite sex with staffies and to get a younger dog than willow. when we did get another (male) dog we crate trained him so if not about no fights could break out. my 2 can still get carried away overplay fights or wanting same toy or chew if u go ahead with introducing any other dog into your clan take things slow any situation can go from calm to crazy in a split second if u dont feel comfortable slow things down your in charge! it can work my 2 r best mates most of time) slow it all down and i interact and shut the 2 of them down b4 they get carried away big responsibilty 2 dogs! glad i did it but got help from dog trainer aswell (still cant make my mind up if kids or dogs are harder work??)

My friend has an unneutered Staffy and tells me that his dog gets bullied in the doggy daycare place by all the neutered male dogs.

I know that Rupes has a slight issue with unneutered dogs too.

Also - some dogs just complement each other better.

Let us know what happens next...