A very proud new owner who needs advice

Hi, and thanks for allowing me the time to seek help from others on this forum...

I have always believed Stattordshire Bull Terriers to be one of the most loyal, obedient and loving dogs. Im my 20's My Mother rescued a SBT from a dogs home and he was the most adorable dog, loving with children, its owner and other animals.

After the recent passing of my last dog ( Spaniel ) I decided to search the Blue Cross web site for a SBT, it wasnt long before I found a white small female awaiting adoption, I visited her on three occasions and found her temerament to be very excitable. I was informed that she had a history of distructive behavior so invested in a cage for when I am out of the house which is never longer than 2 hours.

Upon getting her home her mood changed to a loving gentle dog who wanted nothing more than to lay with and besides me, her obedience for a 10 month old dog is incredible, her recall is good, she is fully house trained and even ate her dinner within an hour of being in the new home.

She is a delight to walk and have trained her withini 3 days to stop when she gets to a curb untill the command to cross has been given, she sits on demand and does not pull while in her harness.

I knew prior to taking her home that she requires lots of exersise and has been having 3 good walks a day in which she plays and fetches a rope that has been thrown for her and retrieves it and brings it back, However once she see's another dog the ruff on her neck goes up, she shows her teeth and growls. So far I have limited her off lead time to when no other dogs are around so she can burn off her energy and play, but I am worried that firstly if eventually let off the lead and encounters another dog that she will attack it and secondly that by keepig her on a lead she will not get sufficient excersise.

She has not been distructive in the house, neither has she shown any aggression towards me, infact the total opposit, I am smothered in kisses and she lays on her back wagging her tail when I greet her.

I have been reading many forums about agressive SBT's so thought it best to ask you, the proffesionals how to deal with her attitude towards other dogs. I was advised by the blue cross who I ad the dog from that she has interacted with other dogs and has bowed in a playful manner, however this isnt the case.

I was wondering if she is being protective of me when other dogs are around or that she simply soesnt like other dogs.

I would appreciate any input on this matter as i dont want her to be stereotyped neither do I as a loving responsible owner. Any tips, suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you

Hi &

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Hello I think you are doing well watching for her reactions my girl does this she stands tall hair up and growling but there is no aggresion It may be a good idea on when meeting others keep her on the lead and maybe walk them together if thats posible . Everything is new and she may be expressing herself this way with nerves so monitering her right now would be good till you know her well enough to know her true temperment

Since she is a rescue she could have had a bad experience with dogs in the past. SBT are sometimes just dog aggressive regardles of training and upbringing. However, they aren't all that way. Suki is an AmStaff and plays off lead every day with all sorts of dogs and has never been aggressive. When we first got her we thought she was going to be because she was so excitable when she saw anther dog. We still keep her on lead when meeting a new dog and follow the steps below before letting them become regualr playmates.

Do you know anyone with a larger size dog that is well socialized? If so try to walk Ella with them keeping the handlers in between the two dogs. If that goes well let them sniff each other after they have been exercised and if that goes well let them play while keeping them on lead. You can then move to letting them play off lead in an enclosed area and eventually an open area.

Hope this helps and as long as you are walking her 3 times a day that should be plenty of exercise. Open fields and a game of fetch are great. There is also mental stimulation exercises such as regualr training and seek that are important. A good game of tug also helps. Hope this helps you out.

Personally I would keep her on lead for now and get her used to her new existance. Meet snd greet as many dogs as you can, but always reward her good behaviour, try not to scold the bad, discourage it.

Time and patience, she may get there, or she may always be offish.

Have confidence as a handler, what you feel repels down the lead. See how she becomes. She may never like other dogs, but as a handler you'll learn her behaviour traits and what to look out for.

Hiya and welcome

Many thanks for all the replies, advice and help, most appreciated, I will update you with her progress

Best of luck - I agree with the others. Socialize with adult, calm dogs and keep her on leash when other dogs might appear. If I were you I'd get a long leash so she can run and roam while you know you can control her if a dog approaches. And teach her some tricks or obedience exercises if you need to tire her out - mental exercise tires them out more efficiently than physical exercise.

Just had an epic walk with her on the lead, came accross a Bullmastif who is owned by a friend. Her ruff went up and she began to growl, I told her NO and she immediatley stopped. The Bullmastif was off the leash and kept approaching Ella ( My SBT ) Within a few minutes they were playing happily. I think becuase she has had no interecation with other dogs this is what she needs to get used to. The owner of the Bullmastif said he had never seen suck a well behaved 10 month old staffy. As a reward we had a good half hour off the lead with ball throwing and allowing her retrieve it for treats. The BEST walk so far

Amazing Well done you and well done Ella, nice to hear and long may it continue Xx

Excellent news

Brilliant! Keep up the good work.

Sometimes a rescue dog just needs a bit of time to settle down.

Fantastic. Well done all round.

So glad she got such a happy experience! I just want to warn you against trying to train her to not growl, though. I suggest reading this article: http://www.pawprintsthemagazine.com/?p=14492

Just let her get good experiences and hopefully she'll stop the growling on her own, if not - allow her to say she needs a little space. Also - if you're on facebook I suggest you look up the group "DINOS: dogs in need of space" and/or the BAT training book. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=DTB1224EBK The people who own the DINOS should have lots of good training advice and hopefully she'll be happy and outgoing with other dogs very soon

glad to hear that Ella was such a on your last walk.. it can only be good for her to meet up with other friendly dogs.