Problems with other dogs

Good day to all,

My 11 months old Staffordshire Bull Terrier has some issues in behaviour and I dont know what to do. She is extremelly clever, nice to people and everything, but when it comes to dogs, there is a problem.

When she sees a dog, she is really looking forward to see him but then on her back the "ridge" is developing (like shes in tension or something) and then she is rellay NOT playful, I cant recognize if she is afraid or just dominant to show the dog, that she is a leader and so on. I really shout on her then, but maybe the problem is from my side... maybe I am not dominant enough or doing something wrong. I go on training with her, she was very well socialized from the young months as well, but I dont know whats happening with her... maybe puberty? she leaves with labrador sire and really loves him, she loves dogs which she grew up with, but when it comes to new dogs, she is either a bit aggressive or scared, I dont know... maybe shes showing her dominance cause shes afraid or she is just aggressive or want to show, that shes a leader... here Ill highlight her behaviour:

1) when two other dogs play, shes becoming aggresive and runs towards them and trying to stop them in theirs play or defending one of them? I dont know... my trainer sais, that she is not a policeman to act like this... but i still dont know how to calm her down or what to do,

2) when she sees new dog, she sniffs around her and then tension is developing, even when I lough or say "good doggy" and I am being very positive

3) she doesnt play or chase with other dogs, never

I dont know what to do, Im really sad, really.. I love my dog the most in the world, but Im really being sad of her.

Please, do You think maybe I am not dominant enough on her? Maybe she shouldnt sleep in bed with me or something? She is very nice to me and listnes and learnes to everything, but maybe I am doing something wrong. And next thing I would like to ask is how to punish her... Trainer says, that I should 1) pull the leash a lot (im afraid i can damage her spine?), so its very unpleasent to her and shout on her firmly 2) pull her up by the collar and shout on her firmly 3) im not doing any physical punishments, but when she attacks, i turn her on her back and lie on her and shout on her... Please, Im really begging You to help me. Thank You very much in advance and I wish You a nice day!!!

OK well to start with forget about the dominance thing! Dogs do need leaders but you can do that by controlling resources and keeping her safe. You do not need to use physical punishment and intimidation.

She is unsure when she sees another dog otherwise the fur on her back wouldn't be up. If everytime she sees another dog and feels anxious you then pin her to the floor and shout at her, she will associate other dogs with being punished which is the complete opposite of what you want to achieve.

You want to teach her to focus on you rather than other dogs and that good things happen when other dogs are around

Have a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zyjiA9bD3E&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hello,
All the best to Cz:-)

I am tempted to say please please change the trainer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had found a stray GSD year ago and I thought I had to go to a trainer with her because she was a GSD and I knew nothing.

The trainer was telling me to pull on the collar, to get her a pinch collar (I never did), to lift her by the collar and shout in her ears, terrible stuff like that. The only result I got after 1 session and after couple of days of follwing her advice was that I had a nervous wreck dog insecure and aggressive towards dogs as soon as she saw any.
I was in tears and I never went back to that trainer.
It took couple of weeks for my old dog to calm down, I never yelled at her, I never pulled her collar, I never showed her any sort of physical intimidation afterwards and she turned into a fantastic dog, friendly and reliable.

So please really by physical punishment and these things the poor dogs just becomes insecure and fearful and it can maybe lead to aggressive-like behaviour.

So I would not work with a trainer who suggest doing it. From my personal experience it had completely opposite results and it could have ruined my fantastic old dog years ago. I must say I was hoping that this kind of trainers are not around anymore, I am talking about 1996 here....

I am sorry I am really not an expert here, I just follow my feeling somehow; my Stella sleeps in bed with me too and I have issues such as jumping at people and over-friendliness and sometimes I can get frustrated and blame myself but I believe that just calmness and patience and love can bring results, I'd continue the socialisation with dogs you know she is fine with and she will be fine.

I am sure that others will add more expert advice here

Best wishes Xxx

Don't shout at her or punish her. Dogs don't respond to shouting or that kind of punishment really. And saying "good dog" while she's acting like that will make her think that this is the behaviour you want from her. As for the dominance thing, don't even worry about that. Being the leader to your dog doesn't mean you have to be intimidating, bossy or physical, it mostly just means that you're in control of things in life. You don't need to do any of that punishment stuff, it'll just confuse the dog, and shouting is confusing too. Sorry, I can't give any advice on what to do, mostly just on what not to do, but I'm sure there are people with better experiences on here. Maybe if you know any well-behaved, relaxed dogs, you can let her meet them and walk with them. I read about this Boxer who was really aggressive with these two other dogs, and within no time they were fine because they were walking together and focused on the walk rather than each other. I don't know though, sorry.

Here is a link on body language that should be helpfull.

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

I would say she is picking up on you being nervous. This will make her nervous as well. The shouting and pinning her down are the some of the worst actions you can take. She will assoicate new dogs with being yelled at or pinned. Have her interact with the dogs she is okay with as much as possible.

With new dogs have her sit and wait patiently after making sure the other dog isn't aggressive. Let them have a sniff and if possible take them for a walk together. If the walk isn't possible just keep an eye out and stay calm. If she shows signs of aggression seperate her and have her sit and calm down than try again.

Juno wrote::
Please, do You think maybe I am not dominant enough on her? Maybe she shouldnt sleep in bed with me or something? She is very nice to me and listnes and learnes to everything, but maybe I am doing something wrong. And next thing I would like to ask is how to punish her... Trainer says, that I should 1) pull the leash a lot (im afraid i can damage her spine?), so its very unpleasent to her and shout on her firmly 2) pull her up by the collar and shout on her firmly 3) im not doing any physical punishments, but when she attacks, i turn her on her back and lie on her and shout on her... Please, Im really begging You to help me. Thank You very much in advance and I wish You a nice day!!!

Your dog's behaviour has nothing to do with you being dominant! Also, sleeping in your bed will not affect the way she behaves with other dogs - so if that's what you want her to do, kepp right on doing it!

Your dog is either dog aggressive or nervous aggressive, it's hard to say which without actually seeing her responses to other dogs. If it's nervous aggression then you need to calm yourself down first - take deep breaths, try to slow your heartbeat a little & get your dog's attention with treats. When you see another dog, hold a treat in front of your face & say "Watch" (or whatever word you want to use - I don't speak Czech! ). As soon as she looks at you, give her the treat.

Don't let her run straight over to another dog without introducing them first - maybe walk together with both dogs on lead, and both dogs on the outside of you both. Then walk one dog in the middle & then hopefully, both dogs side by side. If they are ok together then, you can try letting her off the lead to play.

If your dog is dog aggressive (and some staffords are) then you will have to face the possibility that you may never be able to let her play with other dogs.

Oh, and change your trainer! Those methods are totally not the best way! Plus, I really don't like the alpha roll - ie turning your dog onto its back & holding it there. All that does is make the dog feel very insecure & resentful - it actually creates far more problems than it solves!

Great advice, nothing to add!

[quote="Juno"]Good day to all,

My 11 months old Staffordshire Bull Terrier has some issues in behaviour and I dont know what to do. She is extremelly clever, nice to people and everything, but when it comes to dogs, there is a problem./quote]

At 11 months old she is going through her second fear period, how you handle her fears now will be with her for the resto of her life. She is also a teenage hooligan and like all teenagers she will try to push the boudaries at times.

When she sees a dog, she is really looking forward to see him but then on her back the "ridge" is developing (like shes in tension or something) and then she is rellay NOT playful, I cant recognize if she is afraid or just dominant to show the dog, that she is a leader and so on.

This is fear, get it wrong and she will be like this for the rest of her life. Forget her bing dominant, that was started with someone who was watching wolves, dogs are not wolves. This man has also stated many times that he got it wrong anyway, he was dealing with a pack of wolves that were not a true pack, they were captive wolves and they behave differently.

I really shout on her then, but maybe the problem is from my side... maybe I am not dominant enough or doing something wrong.

Stop the shouting at her, all you are doing is letting your fear show and giving her reason to be frightened of the other dog. Please don't think I am attacking you, I know you love her to bits and want the best for her which is why I am replying to you. I have had a lot of experience with dogs like her including a dog were it was really well established, I turned her round.

Forget dominating her, she will respond much better and become more obedient to you if you set her up to do what you want then reward her instead of trying to dominate her. I have seen some terrible results from people trying to domintate a dog, especially terriers, they don't do well if you try to do that and many end up being pts for aggression to humans.

I go on training with her, she was very well socialized from the young months as well, but I dont know whats happening with her... maybe puberty? she leaves with labrador sire and really loves him, she loves dogs which she grew up with, but when it comes to new dogs, she is either a bit aggressive or scared, I dont know... maybe shes showing her dominance cause shes afraid or she is just aggressive or want to show, that shes a leader... here Ill highlight her behaviour:

What type of training do you go to? How do they teach you to get her to sit or walk on a loose lead? These can tell me a lot about a trainer.

1) when two other dogs play, shes becoming aggresive and runs towards them and trying to stop them in theirs play or defending one of them? I dont know... my trainer sais, that she is not a policeman to act like this... but i still dont know how to calm her down or what to do,

That is normal dog behaviour, that doesn't mean we have to accept it, when you see the other dogs starting to place take her out of the room and play with her. My dogs do this and that is what I do with them, dogs need to play.

2) when she sees new dog, she sniffs around her and then tension is developing, even when I lough or say "good doggy" and I am being very positive

I don't let other dogs sniff mine, I don't know the other dogs and neither does my dogs, I have seen to many dogs be attacked by letting them sniff another dog. A lot of dogs don't like being sniffed and will attack.

3) she doesnt play or chase with other dogs, never

A lot of dogs don't like to play with other dogs, it isn't normal to dogs but us humans love to see them play. An adult dog will play with a pup, sometimes, but it is rare to see an adult dog playing with another adult if they are exercised properly and well trained. Dogs are hunters and like all hunters prefer to sleep when not hunting.

I dont know what to do, Im really sad, really.. I love my dog the most in the world, but Im really being sad of her.

I can see you adore her and want to do the best for her, all dogs are different and we have to accept the dog we have not the dog we want. To explain a bit better I have 4 dogs of my own and a foster boy, 2 of my dogs will do anything for a ball, I can't take them out for a game of ball together, Dolly will attack Bonnie for the ball even though I have several. Cyril prefers a tugger especially if he can have a game of tuggy as well with either me or the other dog. Tilly won't play with anything when out, all she wants to do is chase birds, the more the better. I have to watch her more than the other 3 or she will run to far away and not know how to get back. It would be lovely and safeer if she would play with something like the other 3 but she isn't interested. I have to accept her as she is and work round what she loves to do to keep her safe.

Please, do You think maybe I am not dominant enough on her? Maybe she shouldnt sleep in bed with me or something? She is very nice to me and listnes and learnes to everything, but maybe I am doing something wrong.

Why should you dominate her? I don't dominate my dogs, I have 5 dogs sleeping on my bed, they do get off when I ask. She listens to you, she learns from you, how do you teach her to do things? I use positive reinforcement, I find my dogs learn a lot quicker and better. An example is one of my dogs who is now at the Rainbow Bridge, when I got him at 10 months old he had been beaten so much for "not" coming back that he was terrified it he got free. It took me 4 very long years to find the key to what he felt safe enough to come back to. It was after I got a computer I contacted Gill White who told me to find something that had no association with his past life, a clicker. Within 7 days Joe was 90% on his recall, in 10 days he was 99%. I was told by someone to put a shock collar on him, he would be 95% within 14 days, he was quite shocked when I told hit it only took 10 days to get him to 99%.

And next thing I would like to ask is how to punish her... Trainer says, that I should 1) pull the leash a lot (im afraid i can damage her spine?), so its very unpleasent to her and shout on her firmly 2) pull her up by the collar and shout on her firmly 3) im not doing any physical punishments, but when she attacks, i turn her on her back and lie on her and shout on her... Please, Im really begging You to help me. Thank You very much in advance and I wish You a nice day!!!

This has made me cry, it has brought back of a dog I took on, none of the fosterers would take him as he had put several in hospital when he bit them, they treated him the way you are being told to treat her. Rolling a dog onto his back is very dangerous, our face is within striking distance of the dog and many people have been bitten including Cesar Milan when doing this. `This dog went to his new home 6 weeks after he came to me, all that aggression was gone as long as his new owners carried on with the work I started, they did, he became a wonderful boy and he used to sleep on my bed with my others.

This trainer is teaching your dog to be aggressive. Were do you live, someone may be able to recommend a decent trainer to you who will help you with your dog. We can do it on here but we can't see what is happening so it will take longer.

HUGS.