Perfect inside dog - antisocial outside dog!!

Hello -

Im Kylie - Me & my partner rescued Lola from a kennel after her 5 month stay.

If im honest I went there adement that I would not get a staff! Then I saw her with her head in her paws all sweet & innocent like & after hearing she was the longest resident they have ever had at the kennel Lola was sold.

We believe she is around 3 & that she is a SBT x English bull terrier.

Lola has been part of our family for the past 3 weeks so we are still on learning curves. She is a well behaved dog - Inside the house. You can play fetch with her, Tug of war with her, shes sits, lays, doesnt beg, is house trained (during the day) & seems quiet a content dog but when you take her from the house to the park she just does not listen. You can get her to sit at curbs and wait and thats it - shes on constant cat patrol & shes already broke through 2 leather collars - She wont play in the park as shes always on edge looking around for other dogs - you cant even tempt her in with treats & we just had a little scrap in the park with a boxer who was of his lead.

Shes very weary around other dogs & I want to see if this can be changed.

She has one dog friend called titch that we sucessfully intoduced her to & they see eachother at weekends & dont even make a fuss... then even playfight. but other dogs if she sees them she stances forward with years up right .. & its very hard to get her attention. my nan used to be a dog trainer & said a little jab in the ribs will get her attention but nope.

The other problem we have with her is she sometimes messes in the night... she is house trained. we say Peepees and the ears are up & then were off we even take her out just before bed & she will do both but then still mess in the night? is this to get attention?

Sorry if Ive rambled - After our little dog scrap in the park feeling a little emotional & hoping that we can get a solution. I dont like that people see a staff & assume she is a bad dog let alone her fighting with another dog when really I feel if lolas on a tight lead around other dogs shouldnt other dog owners recognise there might be a reason for this and leash theres in too?

Hope someone can help

Kylie & Lola - Who is now sleeping after her ordeal xx

we rescued Lottie in October and she is similar, She is a lovely sweet dog and will do anything you tell her. Training her is apleasure because she is eager to please and will do anything you tell her for the right stinulation ie she prefers the ball play instead of treats when training. When we got her we took her to see a behaviourist and she told us it is not training but behaviour reconditioning that she needed.

When your out on a walk keep her on the lead and when she fixates on something ie a person or other dog then distract her by saying her name or clapping what ever will get her attention. When she looks away say good girl give plenty praise or treat which ever you prefer. When you have a successful time walking past what ever she doesnt like then praise and treat. It is to teach the dog that its good to look away and ignore but you won;t be prasied or get a treat if you dont because thats not acceptable. At the moment try to keep other dogs away so they cant get at each other to have a little scrap. If a dogs off lead tell its owner to call it back then sit your dog down and if the other owner will listen explain to him about her being a rescue and your still in training etc. I find some people sympathise and unserstand others just dont care. Carry on with your usual training but dont let the behaviour outside slip if you can help it. Be consistent and it will come in time. We can walk in the street now without her reacting to everything where as before we couldnt even take her out without it being a battle. We will all get there with our rescues it will just take time and patience. Good luck and remember we are all here to help in any way we can

Thank you Julie

Everything you have said Is what I thought & i have tried but maybe not heard enough but I will crack this. Ive gone with a pocket full of her fave treats but outside you could shove it right in front of her nose & she just isnt interested shes too alert. Someone told me a little dig in the ribs everytime I see her see another dog to try & get her attentions but even that doesnt. Im gonna go with the fuss everytime we sucessfull walk past another without a fuss.
In all honesty its the litter ones she wants to get at I think she confuses them as cats - Big dogs she'll look but then look away repeatidly till passed but on this occassion the boxer got to close for comfort & i guess I didnt take control as I was dreading what was about to happen.

Lola is a lovely dog she just needs a little guidence & Lottie is gorgeous Thanks

I know what you mean about lovely and gorgeous and loving and totaly different inside to out. We even have the problem with visitors getting shouted out by her when they come in but she is even getting better with them she takes herself off to bed. If you have something squeaky you coudl take to try get her attention. Don't do the bottle with stones thing cos this may freak her out as well. When we first got Lottie we thought she would never be ok with anyone else but now she lets Gemmas friend in and cuddles up to her she is in the training class with the other dogs and people so you will get there it will just take time but the rewards of watching just one walk go smoothly is great

Good Idea with the squeaky toy - Will get one at weekend. I doubt she will play with it cause we have taken her ball to the park to & it gets ignored but just for the noise!
Luckily Lola is fine with the postman & with visitors. Problem is getting her to sit & stay while you open the door lol She doesnt like the hoover - Barks & bites it but I think she thinks its a game as she wags her tail alot.

thing with our rescues is we dont know when they been through & the way the have been trained would be different from how we might have from pups - I used to be anti staffs but now because of Lola I can appreciate how goergeous they really are.

your right about not knowing where they are from. we have no history on Lottie before the pound but she was skinny scared and generaly looked neglected and would flinch at the slightest movemnet of hands near her so i'm guessing she was battered but she's my girl now and a very happy one these days and gets on great with her new little brother Lemmy. She mummies him sometimes and he lays back and enjoys it all liek tlittle lord fontilroy

I rescued Troy about 5-6 weeks ago and know exactly what you are going through.

He is great inside, taught him loads of tricks and loves attention. Even out in the park we play ball off lead no problem. As long as he is occupied he is great.

Early hours of the morning and late at night walking on the street seems fine but throughout the day when it is busier, people about, cars on the road he pulls a lot and is on constant patrol also. Looks in every drive / garden, trying to run across the road, pulling towards cats and dogs and does terrible whining when he can't approach them.

Even if he is having a good day, once he see's another dog or cat or whatever, he stays excited for the whole walk. Nothing snaps him out of it, no 'shh' no pokes in the ribs, NOTHING. The ONLY thing that shuts him up is turning him in the opposite direction so he can't see what has got his attention.

Once I let him look again he starts all over, so then I turn him around again. Maybe you can try this? I'm hoping sooner or later he'll get the picture. Make a fuss and I'll get turned around!

I tried the treat suggestion but he will just take the treat then go back to what he was doing before!

Advice I have been given is to be calm, relaxed and consistent. Though I must admit, it really feels like there is no hope at times.

He doe's show small improvements some days but then we have nightmare days (like today).

Just stick with it I guess and let us know how you get on, hopefully we'll both have some success!

We only let Suki around dogs that are socialized to prevent any kind of incident. We will speak with the handler and ask if their dogs are good with others before letting them have a sniff. If the handler seems nervous or unsure we stay away.

We also keep treats on hand to distract her with. IF we see a situation we want to avoid we hold a treat in a fist and show it to Suki. She will focus on following that until we are past the situation we are trying to avoid

i think with some of our rescues its a case of just getting them to ignore. i am not bothered too much if Lottie doesnt interact with any one just so long as she stops barking at them. She is getting better and takes herself off to bed after the initial quick rant but its that quick rant that we want to stop. we tell her to shush or quiet and she does now but before it was terrible. she is getting used to all the destractions outside and each walk gets that bit easier so now we can actualy have good walks more often that bad. these dogs come from different back grounds and react differently and its finding what your dog reacts to and trying to help them work through it. Lottie is coming on a lot quicker than was anticipated originaly and you will get there with yours too just be patient it takes time.

I am having similar problems with my 11 month old female staffie who is also a rescue dog. I've had (male) staffies for more than 20 years and have always walked them on a choke chain collar with no problems. however, Mabel has a sensitive throat and we were advised by the rehoming centre and our vet to walk her on a harness which we do. She walks to heel unless she sees another dog, or worse still a cat. then she pulls, often until she is on her hind legs and you end up almost dragging her along. I've tried making her sit etc but nothing seems to work. It came to a head last friday when she did it with 3 yappy small dogs that were not being controlled by their elderly owner. I ended up falling into the road, smasshing up my face, losing three teeth and suffered many cuts and bruises. the problem seems to be that on a harness, when you pull her back she gets under your legs which is what made me trip. does anyone have any suggestions? I'm walking her again now since the injuries but must admit to feeling panicky when she pulls towards something.

Sharonq. This must have been awful for you. Hope you are getting better. It can be very difficult with a rescue dog as you have no information about what has ingrained such behaviour. Is there a single specific trigger or is it any dog on walks? You could try walks in a quiet area where there are few dogs or walk early or late when less dogs about. Treats and a clicker can help. Mabel may be trying to protect you especially if she senses you anxiety, more likely to be fear aggression on her part especially if she was attacked by a dog in the past. A Halti type collar has a loop around the dogs snout and can discourage pulling, but may need two leads, one cor this and other for harness. Good luck.

Thanks for your reply. I'm getting better but not looking forward to the dentist again next week! the problem is I already walk her in the morning at 5am so its fairly quiet then, evenings its busier. Some dogs she's not too bad with just looks and then walks on. Others its a nightmare, doesn't seem to be connected with their size or breed though. she is only young so I'm sure she'll get better. In the house she is an angel. i'm going to try with the treats but may resort to a half choke with the harness. Have tried halties in the past with my other staffs but they always managed to rub them off.

Hope the dentist goes ok. Try the clicker with treats in the house first, then outside once she is responsive. If doesn't settle with time ? talk to a behaviourist.

This morning i had a really good walk with Mabel, on her harness but with an extra lead on her collar which i held loosely all the way except when she pulled towards a dog on the other side of the road, when I just used the collar lead to pull her head round. It really worked! I'm also using treats and the watch command which is going really well. Thanks so much for all your suggestions.

glad to hear you had a nice walk and things are going ok.

you poor thing its horrible when you come back from a walk with an awful feeling! this happens often with chester my staffxamerican bull dog (we think) hes only 5 months yet| snarls etc at all other dogs! dog training will help even just to socialise your dog with other dogs, take delicious and i mean delis treats out with you ie hot dog (dogs love them) i take a water spray out with me the trick is to catch their attention before the other dog does i also tell chester to LEAVE IT or WATCH ME works sometimes and others it doesnt just keep at it!

Well done, hope the success continues.

Another successful walk! Re dog training, I took her to a class a month ago, but the trainer obviously knew nothing about staffie behaviour. As we entered the hall, another dog lunged at her and Mabel immediately started snarling, which was understandable as she felt under threat. I calmed her down, then the trainer insisted she be put on a haltie which she hated and which made her behave badly. He then surrounded her with boards so she couldn't see the other dogs. at that point I left, explaining to him that his actions were making the situation worse and that she would not learn anything in that type of atmosphere. Poor Mabel!

This staffie forum is really helpful though, thanks.

Oh dear, that training sessions didn't sound very nice at all. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Wasn't your dogs fault, another dog lunged at yours! But as your's is a Staffy, it looks to have got the blame.

Good luck with it, I am having a nightmare with Troy too!

Gee, have just read your earlier post - you have my sympathy! Have you tried the "Troy watch" action? I've been practicing it in the house (I say the words really sharply) and tried it yesterday when we saw a dog on the other side of the road. It worked to an extent, although she did start looking at it again once she'd had the treat. However, if they can see that you are holding another treat in your hand it distracts them for longer. Anyway good luck with Troy.

yes i agree distraction works well but you have to get dogs attention b4 its lost to the other dog. you should try another trainer my dog trainer has a staffy of her own so is really good with them there must be more in your area it def helps if your like me all i want is for chester to ignore other dogs not be best mates with them!

Re dog training, obviously dinosaur method being used, glad you quit the class. Try somebody progressive, who is up to date on current dog behaviour theory and check their qualifications first. Glad you are making progress yourself.