12mnth old male showing aggression to my 24mnth Bitch

Hi All,

In need of urgent advice regarding my male staff.

I have a 2yr old Pied bitch, Echo, raised from puppy, spayed and all in all she's a pretty awesome timid dog. Great with the kids and anything else she comes across.

Last year we decided on getting a second Staff, so we picked up Macintosh (Mac), who is now 1yr old and again great with kids, cats, other dogs (except Yorkies).

In the last couple of weeks he's started to show signs of aggression towards my bitch. It started over food. He would finish his first and then push Echo out of the way to eat hers, often getting boisterous and kicking off. We broke this issue by feeding them separately, Echo first and then Mac, this has put him back in the bottom of the pack order, which is where he should be in relation to our family.

Recently, he's started getting aggressive with Echo over toys, sticks, almost anything she plays with. He's also marking over where she urinates, most often, as an immediate response. He's also started dominating her a lot by mounting.

I know Staffs can play rough, but this is full blown, heckles up aggression which is usually followed by a noisy fight.

Up until now, he's been a model dog.

We're due to have him neutered next week to see if this helps. But with 2 young kids in the house, I'm obviously worried that this could turn into a problem.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki. Neutering may or may not help. He is trying assert himself and push the boundaries. You will have to go back to basics with consistant training. Make him sit and wait on his meals calmly before feeding him. Stop any dominating behaviour before it escalates. A bottle with rocks or screws in it is good for getting their attention quickly. I would also keep them seperated if they are going to be left home alone.

Is he getting enough exercise and mental stimulation? I have included a link about body language to help you recognize all the signals

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

Thanks for the quick response.

Generally they get on fine. Happy left alone, and never any issues. If you throw food or toys into the mix, then that's where the problems start.

Personally, I think it's a case of him trying to assert his dominance over Echo, which from what I understand, it typical pack behaviour.

The fights themselves are more noise than physical, neither has hurt the other, but obviously for two younger kids, it looks and sounds quite distressing.

Thanks for the link, I shall go swat up now.

This is really dominant behaviour and it should be addressed as soon as you see it happening. He must be made to understand that the humans are the boss and not him. Perhaps consulting a professional for some hands on advice would be a good idea. I would also not leave them alone together at any time.

Hi & a warm welcome to the forum.

Tyla wrote:In the last couple of weeks he's started to show signs of aggression towards my bitch. It started over food. He would finish his first and then push Echo out of the way to eat hers, often getting boisterous and kicking off. We broke this issue by feeding them separately, Echo first and then Mac, this has put him back in the bottom of the pack order, which is where he should be in relation to our family.

Recently, he's started getting aggressive with Echo over toys, sticks, almost anything she plays with. He's also marking over where she urinates, most often, as an immediate response. He's also started dominating her a lot by mounting.

Forget pack order. Your two dogs will sort out between them who's in charge. However, you must make sure that whatever the order between them, YOU are in charge of them both.

Mac is at an age where he's starting to become more dominant & will enjoy pushing Echo (and you) around! That's narural, but doesn't mean you have to put up with it!

You're doing the right thing by feeding seperately & I'd keep that up - even if it means for ever! The toys are a diferent kettle of fish. For the time being I would take up all toys & just take one or two down when you want to play with both dogs. Watch Mac's body language very carefully - the slightest show of possessiveness or aggression & the game must stop immediately. I know this sounds hard on Echo, but you have to make sure that both of them knows who controls the play!

I would also seperate them whenever you are not able to supervise them - ie at night or when you go out. It just isn't worth the risk of finding out when it's too late that Echo has a breaking point.

Excellent advice, thank you.

They're both crate trained, so usually, if we're in bed or out, that's where they stay.
We also took all the toys up at the weekend as it seemed like a sensible idea.

The body language info was brilliant, have lean't a lot from that.

Feeling a lot more relaxed now that it is something that can be addressed with a little work. I've had Staffs before, but this is the first time I've ever had a pair.

Tyla wrote:Feeling a lot more relaxed now that it is something that can be addressed with a little work. I've

That in itself will help a lot! If you're relaxed, your dogs will be more relaxed as well!

we have 2 an almost 2 year old bitch (spayed) and the little Lemmy who is 15 months (neutered) they can be a bit full on at times and we ended up with a £48 vets bill because Lottie got too enthusistic playing one day. I know you say its not playing but maybe if you put into practise what the trainer told us it may help. We have to seem more intense than the dog is in the moment and get a bottle with some stones in and shake it while shouting STOP so that they will calm down a bit. Maybe if you tried this when your little one starts to get too big for his boots with the other one. The pecking order was sorted between the 2 we feed them together and Lottie will eat her own dinner then go and finish Lemmy's so we adjusted the amount of food by giving Lottie a little eless in her bowl and putting a little more in Lemmy's so that she is getting the right amount of dinner and Lemmy still gets his fare share. They are like it with chews too. I give them both a chew and Lottie will take Lemmy's and won't give it back no matter how hard he tries to get it untill eventualy he now gets the message to eat her discarded one or he does without. I know you will have to sprout eyes in your backside as they say but if you can catch them before it kicks off. It will take time but they will both get the message in the end