Aggressive towards other animals after being desexed

Hello everyone, I’m new here ! I have a desexed male staffy name Chucky that’s soon to be seven years old now and this is our story (it’s a long one)

My boyfriend at the time bought me a puppy for my birthday, I did everything by the books of owning a pet like getting Chucky registered, microchipped, vaccinated and pet insurance.

I socialised him at a young age with daily walks, he would be inside when we’re home and be outside when we’re at work/out. Then one day, I came home and Chucky was missing from the backyard ! I called my local council, animal shelters/pounds and posted missing ads on social media. Chucky was over a year old turning into two years old when he went missing and there was no way he could’ve escaped as the backyard is escaped proof, so we assume someone would’ve broke through and stole him.

Two years later, I received a call from a pound asking if I was missing a dog and I said yes then told them the story. They said since it’s been two years, they were wondering if I still wanted Chucky or surrender him. I obviously wanted him back and quickly went to collect him. I got to the pound and he was grown up, didn’t recognise him nor did he recognised me. He settled quickly at home, the walks were harder as he pulls, would get overly excited when he sees another do and they would play.

I decided to desex him as I wasn’t planning on breeding him and I also been told that it would calm him down. After a month of healing, we would go on walks and thought things would be normal, thought he was just excited to see another dog and they would sniff, but after he would lunge and try attack the dog, I quickly pulled him back and he would start growling with his teeth showing. This isn’t his first nor his last, his still the same and his always muzzled and on leash when out.

I also asked the veterinarian of why his aggressive after being desexed, they said he might be traumatised when he was missing. I also wanted to add that at the time he went missing, there were dogs being stolen from homes for dog fights and dogs used for baiting. I doubt he was used in dog fights as there was no visible scars, so my question is why is he aggressive after being desexed or did it trigger a traumatic experience while he was missing and maybe was used in dog fights ?!

Thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Poor Chuck, he's been through it, hasn't he?

Firstly, I doubt that he had been used by dog fighters;the dogs they steal are used, mainly, as bait dogs (the actual fighters they breed, rear & train themselves) and he would have been covered in terrible bite scars all around his head, shoulders and front legs.

That's not to say he wasn't stolen, he probably was & maybe escaped the thieves?

When he began to 'go' for other dogs, did he seem anxious or wary of them first? It's my guess that he became wary of other dogs while he was away from you, and he's displaying a reaction to that.

Unfortunately, if that's the case, he shouldn't have been neutered at that time, as neutering will often 'fix' a nervous behaviour in pace.

You will be able to help him, but the best person to give you advice is Liz, and I'm sure she.'ll be on here soon to help you.

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yeah that’s the thing, he doesn’t show those signs. Chucky is not a shy dog, his confident and I would say cocky

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Hi and welcome from me too

I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time right now - I'm away without internet for a couple of days leaving soon - so apologies for only a brief personal bit.

I agree with Gilly, this is most likely fear aggression following his experiences away from you. Fear aggressive dogs can appear very confident and cocky but when you look very closely, especially when a contact is not at the point that the dog feels the need to react, you can see a different picture. Work with Chucky a good distance from other dogs and observe carefully, the tiniest signs. We may well be wrong but genuine dog aggression, without fear, is very rare.

We've got some information sheets that might help:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t66619-training-and-behaviour-information-sheets#1020786

There are a few that are relevant to your situation, those on addressing fear, on dog aggression and on loose lead walking. I'd also suggest you have a look at the general training one.

Use the addressing fear and loose lead walking sheets combined, so that you see other dogs as something to manage in a way that causes least worry to Chucky so that he can learn to deal with them quietly, and so that your response is to keep the lead slack (= least tension), which will help him relax more.

I would also highly recommend this little book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feisty-Fido-Help-Leash-Reactive-Dog/dp/1891767070

It's short but to the point and she explains it much better than I do!

I hope that all helps.

Hello and welcome from us.

Honestly, i dont think his behaviour is from his "experiences" its probably the fact he didnt have a great training programme whilst away from you/and maybe breeding. You mention he will get to a dog an sniff, then snarl. That to me feels like he just doesnt know what else to do...pure confusion. Your vet was being a typical bad vet - neutering will not change ingrained behaviours or fears that are not linked to sex...a nervous dog will still be nervous.

My girl was always a little reactive, an ill be the first to say she was that way because she was not around dogs too much (i live in the middle of nowhere, our walks were over my land not in parks) but she would be fine with dogs she knew, as in dogs with a very calm approach who did not give her any pressure to be friendly, and who did not object to her trying to feel superior. If they ignored her she was grand, if they came up like "hello im ted, whats your name" shed snap.

I think what im trying to say is understand your dog may never change, some dogs are just this way. Be it how they were brought up or how they are wired (my girls sister was the exact same apparently and she was brought up in an estate with many other dogs) so dont over react by muzzling and being omg about it. Just go on a walk with the mind set of he doesnt like other dogs so dont unleash, and ask other dog owners to keep their dogs back. If he gets a bit to haughty with an off leash dog, put his neck between your legs tight and he should not be able to do much. Just learn to anticipate his actions and those of the other dogs near by... obviously get a trainer and the like to see if you can get him back to a nice dog etc but dont expect miracles.

I know ill probably get hate for this post but im just being honest. Not all dogs are wonderful.

lexii wrote:Honestly, i dont think his behaviour is from his "experiences" its probably the fact he didnt have a great training programme whilst away from you/and maybe breeding.

[...]

I know ill probably get hate for this post but im just being honest. Not all dogs are wonderful.

But his experiences when away include everything, including lack of training. Experiences include poor handling, for example, being in overwhelming situations, not being given support when needed, etc.

You won't get 'hate' (we don't really do 'hate' on here!) but you might get disagreement. The large majority of fear aggressive dogs can change, if given the right training and management. It's very hard and can take a long time but many are successful. Many others can improve but, for one reason or another, continue to find other dogs difficult to deal with. For some few it remains all too much.

If you start off with 'he'll never change' in your mind, then he won't because he needs you to initiate training, to work with him and to make sure he's set up to succeed. That's why I prefer not to think that way at all - a positive approach will work better than a negative one. That's not saying that I don't accept that, for one reason or another, some dogs do find others difficult to deal with for their whole lives, it's just saying that you shouldn't start out with that assumption because it will colour your view.

There you go, disagreement without hate

I do feel that some dogs are inherently dog aggressive, but I don't think that's the case here. If it were, he would have been unfriendly before he went missing.

However, as Liz says, whatever the reason it's better to approach it positively. Negativity will always produce negativity. Train with a positive mind set & things will improve!