Hi, can anyone help with puppy aggression please???

hi guys, i am new to this forum.

My puppy Tia is nearly 7 months old and she has just started fighting with dogs in our park.

She was off the lead with loads of other dogs from 10 weeks, and has always played nicely with them, up until the last 3 weeks when she has has 4 scraps in the park. It seems to be more noise and snapping, and no-one has been hurt (yet) but i am starting to get a bit embarrassed by it all.

She seems to play with the other dogs for 15-30 minutes nicely, then something happens and they end up fighting. I don't think she is starting it, but she is definitely finishing it! I have done everything the books said to socialize her ... is this a phase that they all go through or does this signal the end of playing with other dogs???

If anyone can give advice I would be very grateful. I have been having sleepless nights worrying that this means she is a "bad dog", even though my dog walking friends say the opposite ... this is the first Staffy I have owned myself, and i am scared I am doing something wrong (to her detriment, not mine)

Any advice would be welcomed

They do play rough, no blood no foul IMO.

That being said you could try a muzzle or just keep her on a lead.

Dogs do become increasingly hormonal when they hit "puberty". It might just be the "teenage phase" and her trying to establish dominance.

There are a lot of books etc. out there that can give you information on dog psychology and how you catch aggression and break their focus to prevent it from escalating. I won't suggest anything in particular because I'm not qualified to do so.

Hi and welcome to the forum. It's hard to advise about the behaviour without a video because they do indeed play rough. You will have to learn about body language so here's a link that will help

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dogbodylanguage.html

Just because she is barking or growling doesn't neccessarily mean she is being aggressive. We let Suki play off leash every day and she will still bark or growl as a way to communicate with anthor dog. As long as both handlers are comfortable with the play it should be okay. You can also try walking her before hand so she isn't full of energy. If you feel uncomfortable seperate the dogs and have her sit and wait until she is calm and let them play some more.

However, there are some Staffys that will just not get along with other dogs no matter how well they are socialized.

jstaff wrote:Hi and welcome to the forum. It's hard to advise about the behaviour without a video because they do indeed play rough. You will have to learn about body language so here's a link that will help

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dogbodylanguage.html

Just because she is barking or growling doesn't neccessarily mean she is being aggressive. We let Suki play off leash every day and she will still bark or growl as a way to communicate with anthor dog. As long as both handlers are comfortable with the play it should be okay. You can also try walking her before hand so she isn't full of energy. If you feel uncomfortable seperate the dogs and have her sit and wait until she is calm and let them play some more.

However, there are some Staffys that will just not get along with other dogs no matter how well they are socialized.

I completely agree with all of the above. It may just be rough play. But if you sense that it is getting out of hand, give her a correction and walk her away from the other dog. She will soon learn that if she starts being rough, playtime is over.

We are having similar problems at the moment, we are keeping Billy on a lead having him done next week and have booked one to one with a trainer. Hoping this will help