Nature of my dog and letting him off the lead.

Hi,
When I first got my staff called Ronin , he was one year old. From day one he has always seemed friendly and not aggresive at all. Even so, I always had him mostly on the lead, scared of how he will interact with other dogs. My brother took him on long walks, letting him off the lead at most times and he is great with other dogs. Sometimes he even walks past other dogs without even going to meet them. Loves to carry a stick around with him and do his own thing. When he does interact with other dogs he loves to play chase, mostly him running around getting followed. A few times dogs have been aggressive with him and he never retaliates just runs away wagging his tail. One time an older dog of equal size went for him when on the lead and h e fought back a little but just becaus eit was following him and attacking him on an extend lead, this was before i had him mostly off the lead.
Another time , while off the lead , a collie chased and bit him and he just ran away wagging tail and went to go sniff and play with another dog. What i'm leading up to ask is, I love watching him run around free off the lead, so hoping he will always be able to do so, or when he is older will this change? Ronin is now 1 and a half years old and so unaggresive , im hoping ill always be able to let him run free off the lead around other dogs, is this most likely the case? Just other day he carried stick for half an hour, went over to play with a dog in big open space, the other dog took the stick and he just ran over to me wanting me to get him another stick lol.

To summarize, I want to know if my dog who is great with other dogs and so unaggresive is likely to change as he gets older? Change in a way where ill have to keep him on the lead as some people recommend for staffies. Even though his nature is much better than any staff ive seen before.

Thanks for any replies and sorry if this been asked before.

It's always difficult to predict what a pup or young staff will be like as an adult. However, as long as he continues the way he is now, there's no reason why he should suddenly become aggressive.

Obviously as he becomes an adult he will become more confident & may retaliate if attacked, but he will probably still be friendly with other friendly dogs.

Only time will tell, but it sounds as though there is a strong possibility that you will have no problems at all with him!

from what you have said it sounds very much like you have a nice well balanced dog and i think you will not have any probs my dog is 3 years old now and loves other dogs and always has he has been bit a few times mostly by little dogs for one reason or the other (scared or aggesive) the one thing i will say is that staffies are great at playing with other dogs but as they get older and more confident you do have to watch how they play with other dogs as they do tend to play that bit ruffer than other dogs and is mistaken for your dog being aggresive untill the other dog comes bounding back for more

You will have to understand body language. Here is a link that will help

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

We let Suki off leash all the time and she interacts with all sizes of dogs for about 2 hours a day. We always talk to the handler to make sure their dog is okay with other dogs before letting them interact and keep a close eye on the body language.

It helps if you can find a few dogs that yours plays good with so there is less of a worry

Sounds like your dog has been properly dog socialised as a pup which is the most important thing. a dog that has grown up and not learnt the doggy code of behaviour is more than likely going to be aggressive as it doesnt understand other dogs intentions when they meet. most animals have a flight or fight reaction to situations they dont understand and staffys are not cowards. but saying that they are also intelligent, loveing, loyal and playfull so i see no reason why your boy should change behaviour as he gets older. He may stand his ground more but there is no reason to think he will be a raging ball of fur and teath.

Oh he sounds so adorable!!

Yours sounds exactly like mine who is the same age. He has always been allowed to be off lead and is very good with most dogs but he has recently seemed to be a bit over the top with small dogs - I think he just doesn't understand that he is so much bigger and stronger an tries to play with them the same way he would a rottie or a boxer.

As long as you watch his body language, and let him g=nicely greet and play with other dogs (witht he other owners consent) I dont think you'll have any problems.

From day one he has always seemed friendly and not aggresive at all. Even so, I always had him mostly on the lead, scared of how he will interact with other dogs.

Word of warning for you. Nerves will transmit themselves to your dog. If you're panicking and being nervy about him saying hello to other dogs then he'll pick up on that. Its silly to not want to let him off the lead or say hello to other dogs unless he has terrible recall. An off lead run is good for his physical and mental health. You are very lucky your brother walked him and let him interact with other dogs, otherwise you could have ended up with a fear aggressive dog; attacking other dogs from fear.

To summarize, I want to know if my dog who is great with other dogs and so unaggresive is likely to change as he gets older? Change in a way where ill have to keep him on the lead as some people recommend for staffies. Even though his nature is much better than any staff ive seen before.

No puppy is born aggressive to other dogs, no matter what the breed.
Aggression to other dogs can manifest itself as the dog gets older, from fifteen months onwards. This aggression does not necessarily mean that he will attack other dogs on site, but he may wish to 'challenge' other male dogs and fight back if attacked. This depends solely on the personality of the dog not the breed. To increase the dogs amicability it is recommended you socialise the dog as soon as they are able to go out with dogs of all shapes and sizes. You clearly were reluctant to do this because of rumours and ill-informed hearsay. Staffies can be naturally dog aggressive yes, even with good training and socialization but you haven't helped your dogs chances at all.