Newbie staffy owner with some questions!

Hi all, I'm Sue and I am a first time dog and Staffy owner. My boy is called Scooby and he is a 2 year old brindle with a bit of something else mixed in too I think, possibly English bull. He is a beautiful dog but hasn't been trained properly and I could do with some advice. As follows!
1) He has absolutely no recall when distracted by another dog and all attempts so far at treats, squeaky toys, whistles have failed. The other day I had let him off the lead in a quiet part of the forest but another dog was around the corner, Scooby went bounding up to him, tail wagging but the other dog didn't want to know and started growling. Before I knew whAt had happened it had turned into a fight and I couldn't grab hold of Scooby to pull him back. The other dog owner ended up kicking him to get him to back off. It left me very shaken. I've since read that Staffies can react to another aggressive dog because they were originally bred as fighters, which explains what happened, I think. He is very sociable to other dogs generally and is already best friends with my friend's young lurcher. Is there a sensible way of dealing with this scenario or is it simply a case of always keeping him on a flexible lead? He loves being off the lead so this does seem a bit mean. If I could improve his recall, that would be a start.
2) A previous owner has obviously encouraged him to play tug of war (he came to me with rubber tug rings- they probably have a proper name!) which promptly went in the bin. However, he randomly goes for his lead, esp the flexi, and is very hard to deal with once he starts, writhing the lead and growling while twisting out of my reach. Any advice on what to do about this?
3) Occasionally, when he gets very wound up, he starts jumping up and nipping at my arms. He actually tore a hole in my jacket the other day doing this. Any advice?

Having written all that, he is lovely dog and generally a very calm, loving dog. He's never had a stable home up to now, having had at least 3 owners in his short life and I'm determined to give him this, hence why I'm so keen to try and improve these issues.

Apologies for such a long first post! I'm grateful for any advice anyone can give.

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Hi ya Sue, welcome to the forum from Flo and me

Quiet a few questions there and I'm sure you'll get plenty of help here. Have to say well done on the rescue, I'm certain Scooby will pay you back big time with love  

Recall takes practice and lots of it. In my case I use a distraction to get Flo's attention but you will find what works for you given time.

Tug o war is a Staffies favourite game, they just can't get enough of it. With regard to the lead simply stop, let him calm down and then reward and praise. You can then move on. Again it will take time and practice.

When he jumps totally ignore him, no eye contact, nothing. When all 4 paws are on the floor praise and reward.

There's a theme to all that I've written above, praise and reward the behaviour you want but ignore what isn't desired completely. There's no quick fix, it'll take time but you can get there.

I'm sure others will offer advice too so do check back  

Hi and welcome from us and Suki. Have a read through the basics section for new owners. There is allot of great infor there.

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

hia from me and sasha

Hiya from me and Vinnie, Ian has pretty much covered it tbh and yes tug o war is their fave game, as long as its controlled

Hi from me & Katy

Hello and welcome to the forum

Firstly, well done on giving Scooby a forever home! Because he has a few different homes, hes probably confused when it comes to right and wrong behaviour so I would personally go back to basics with everything. Its all about rewarding the behaviour you do want and ignoring the behaviour you don't want.

Recall is a lengthy process, you just need to find his cheeky weakness, it might be a certain toy, high value treats like mini sausages (training only treat). Don't let the dog fight put you off. Dogs pick up on lead tension, so you need to relax when passing or meeting other dogs. Use a training lead until your confident with your recall in more public areas so you have full control.

Tug of war is a brilliant staffy game, as long as your in control. Its good exercise and lots of fun for them so try not deny him of this game! As soon as the game is over, simply let go and walk away.

Jumping up can be an issue sometimes, literally walk away and ignore until all 4 paws are on the floor, THEN give him attention and a treat. Make sure everyone in the household lives by this rule or it will take longer to train and will leave you with a confused pooch!

Keep us posted!

Nikita and Sheara

i would buy a long training line and practice with this till you feel totally confident he wnt stray in the park when near another dog , carry some treats when he comes back first time he will soon realise every time i come back i get a reward , nice cheery level, even voice, plenty of praise . i cnt offer any other advice to the advice above.

Thank you all for your friendly welcome and really helpful replies. I hadn't realized that tug o war is so important for Staffies so will rectify that one asap. I had ample opportunity to try out the advice re ignoring him when he's chewing/growling at the lead today as I took my son down to a popular spot at a local river where there were several dogs running around free. Scooby got increasingly frustrated at not being let off his flexi lead and I spent rather a lot of the time studiously ignoring him while he worked his way further and further up the lead, eventually trying to nip my hand to get my attention! I will continue with the basics as suggested - my friend, who has had several dogs, is helping me as he's my first dog and we've already made good progress. Obviously I need a lot more practice with recall, especially as I haven't discovered his weakness yet! I have just started using a halti to help with walking to heel, much to my son's delight as he can now help with the training (he's coming up 7).

Anyway, enough waffling. Will keep you posted. There is a pic of him on the Facebook page if anyone would lime to see him. Thanks again.

Sue

Best of luck and just remember to be consistant and patient

Hi and welcome from us.
Theia used to be terrible for lead biting. We were advised to swap to a chain lead when she started, it helped a lot and I think she has grown out of it now.
Pete

I found a good way of getting cooper to come back he use to think I was playing a game with him so on our walks I will hide behind a bush as soon as they loose sight of you they look for you he's 7 months now and he's recall is great

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx