aggression to people in busy situations

Hello,

I need some advice. My husband and I got a wonderful staffy 2 months ago from a family. She's 2.5 and only had the bare basic training. I've been pouring time, energy, and my heart into making her a wonderful companion, which she really is. She learns quickly, and is a pretty obedient dog. We just recently got her fixed.

The problem is that we live in the middle of a town centre and don't have a car. We are very close to parks for running, walking, playing fetch. She's been great off lead for fetch, though now I'm reading that it may be illegal for her to ever be off lead outside due to the fact that because she's deemed a dangerous breed no matter what happens, it's considered her fault.

She's always been fine on walks and runs, but yesterday I had her out in the middle of town centre, which was very busy. I could see she was getting uncomfortable, and she started to bark and lunge at more and more people. The sidewalks here are super narrow, and people had to pass us extremely closely, which she really didn't like. She actually tried to bite one man who probably didn't even know she was there. Luckily she only got his sleeve, but I believe she was trying to get his hand, which could have done some serious harm. I now feel that this was a really stupid decision on my part to take her into such a chaotic situation, but I just didn't know at all how agitated she would be. Sadly, due to where we live, we won't always be able to avoid busy situations like this.

Now I don't know what to do. I love my dog so much, but I'm wondering if she's just not a city dog. We have to pass lots of people and other dogs on every walk we do. I really don't want to give up on her, but I also don't want to have her hurt anyone who invades her space. Unfortunately she just will be near strangers very often due to the nature of this town set up. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if she hurt someone (not to mention the financial and legal ruin it would bring upon myself and my husband).

Any advice is welcome.

Carolyn and dog Chiki.

Hiya and welcome. Is there anything you can think of that triggered this behaviour, they don't usually just switch from being placid and fine for the first 2 months and then suddenly showing aggresion.

What sort of collar do you use? A halti collar is great to have more control over her whilst walking, also have treats or toys as a distraction whilst you out. Maybe start off with shorter periods of time and gradually build up her confidence when out.

I also live in the town centre and don't drive and we are forever going through the town, mines fine so I can't be too much help. BUt I do find it strange that this has just been triggered after 2 months? Could it just have been a one off?

Hi Janey,

Thanks for your reply. I don't think it was that sudden. I think she's never really liked strange people in her space, and this was so many people in her space all at once. I had had her in town before, but it wasn't nearly as busy, and people weren't getting all that close to her, so she was fine. That's why I didn't even think it was going to be a problem.

She is fine meeting people who come to our house, that's never been an issue. But out on walks if people try and approach her, there are some people that just give her a bad vibe and it's obvious she doesn't want them near by. I think I was just overwhelmed that she bit at the guy since I always thought she'd never hurt a human. It's terrifying to think about and we don't know what the best thing to do is. I've been a wreck since it happened. I'm wondering if she'd be better off with a home out in the country away from chaos. ???

I think you need to have more confidence when your handling her as they can feel your vibe. Do you know any of her history at all?

She's only 2 and a half months and is still able to learn, I believe with the correct handling, she will adapt. Obviously her biting at people can't happen so are you able to walk her a route thats quiter?

She needs to learn basic training (you mentioned she doesn't have much), start from the basics, right from the start. Keep her focused on you, not her surroundings, basically treat her as you would a pup.

I haven't been through it myself and hope it helps a little, just suggestions really, but I think she is best off with you if you can put the training in, they are so quick to learn. Xx

I think what Janey said would be great get her a head halti (more control) stops pulling, lunging, and if you pull upwards it shuts her mouth so she can not bite, the halti will also help you with her keeping her focus on you, you can gently raise her head for her to look at you and then use a word like focus and reward. Gradually build up the amount of time she is around a busy situation. it must of been very overwhelming for her and i think she suffers with territorial problems and perhaps anxiety issues caused by the territorial problem.
Start from the very beginning with her trained.
The idea of focus training is that your more interesting than what is going on around her.
Teach her a very strong/powerful leave/ignore command so when your out and about use this word when people pass and when she leaves/ignores them reward her instantly.

She's actually 2.5 years old, not months. We don't know much about her past, as we have reason not to trust the family we got her from, though she doesn't appear to have been trained to be aggressive or to have been abused at all.

I'll look into the halti. Haven't heard of it. Thanks. And I'll work on distraction training. That's a big issue with her when we're out in town.

Unfortunately, we can avoid chaos sometimes, but because we live so centrally, in order to get to certain places and parks, we have to pass through busy areas.

carolyn.w.burke wrote:

Unfortunately, we can avoid chaos sometimes, but because we live so centrally, in order to get to certain places and parks, we have to pass through busy areas.

The head halti would work fantastically in this situation, just be sure to took a good look at the training guid with the halti etc, so it used/fitted correctly so she get on with it.

The halti would be good for you. You could also try taking her for her walks when there aren't too many people around. She is probally just very nervous so introduce her to as many different types or people and places as you can but take it slow. If she is too uncomfortable or nervous she should let you know with behaviour and body language.

Dogs sometimes goes through the transition proccess and that is when she has settled into her home behaviours will present that werent there at the begining.
Dont give up her yet, im sure that you can overcome this, you need to take a firm approach with her then she knows the rules. When you walk her in these situations then you need her consentrating on you not whats going on around her that can be with treats,toys ect when you think she is loosing interest a sharp tug on her lead and correction. You can only give it a try at the moment you are letting her lead the walk and she is thinking that she needs to tell off anyone who comes in her space change that and you may see a different dog

Hello & welcome to the forum.

MissRogue wrote:I think what Janey said would be great get her a head halti (more control) stops pulling, lunging, and if you pull upwards it shuts her mouth so she can not bite, the halti will also help you with her keeping her focus on you, you can gently raise her head for her to look at you and then use a word like focus and reward. Gradually build up the amount of time she is around a busy situation. it must of been very overwhelming for her and i think she suffers with territorial problems and perhaps anxiety issues caused by the territorial problem.
Start from the very beginning with her trained.
The idea of focus training is that your more interesting than what is going on around her.
Teach her a very strong/powerful leave/ignore command so when your out and about use this word when people pass and when she leaves/ignores them reward her instantly.

gem wrote:Dogs sometimes goes through the transition proccess and that is when she has settled into her home behaviours will present that werent there at the begining.
Dont give up her yet, im sure that you can overcome this, you need to take a firm approach with her then she knows the rules. When you walk her in these situations then you need her consentrating on you not whats going on around her that can be with treats,toys ect when you think she is loosing interest a sharp tug on her lead and correction. You can only give it a try at the moment you are letting her lead the walk and she is thinking that she needs to tell off anyone who comes in her space change that and you may see a different dog

Very good advice above, I'm sure if you follow these ideas you'll see a different dog emerging. If you can get a halti, it'll help tremendously. Whereabouts are you? This might be of interest to you....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HEAD-COLLAR-No-Pull-Dog-Training-Headcollar-ALL-SIZES-/380317731423?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item9757db7667

Don't forget that a dog can take a few weeks to really settle down. You probably don't know exactly how she was treated at her previous home - if she has no training, she may not have been taken out much and lots of people around her might make her anxious & protective. If you stay calm & try to get her focused on you, you'll make a huge difference to her behaviour. If possible, start taking her into busy areas for short periods at a time. That way. she'll have a chance to adapt to teh new experiences.

I woudl agree with others, it sounds like she is nervous and becoming anxious which is manifesting itself into aggressive behaviour. What might be good for her would be to take her into a busy area but find a bench or similar where you can have you own little area so people cant get too close. Sit her down and just let her watch, stay for ten minutes or so and ignore her anxious behaviour. when she settles and stops stressing so much I would leave, come back, and repeat the next day. I dont really like haltis but they are fantastic if you have a dog which bites as you have control of the whole head and can close the mouth if need be.

It sounds to me like she either hasn't ever been in busy circumstances or she has had a bad experience before. Once she relaxes and realises that nothing is going to happen to her in the town centre you can build up the amount of time you spend here. You can also progress to start to walk her in a small circle when there is space and come back to you 'safe zone' (bench etc). I would also get some of her favourite food (cooked chicken or cooked sausage etc) and use this to reward her when she relaxes and becomes less tense.