Breed specific aggression?

We took our Mia camping at the weekend and she had a top time. There were loads of dogs around and as we walked around the campsite she met many of them, doing her usual trait of flopping onto her back like a massive tart.

However, there was a bloke there with a German Shepherd and as he walked past Mia walked over to investigate as normal (she was on a 6m line staked into the ground so was wandering about fairly freely). The owner brought his GS over to say hello and all of a sudden, for no reason whatsoever Mia went barmy; growling, barking, lunging and snapping at it.

I know she's a Staffy so accept she has it in her blood but in the 13 months we've had her she has never, ever shown aggression to another dog so it was a massive surprise. We've socialised her as much as possible from puppy classes to introducing her to as many dogs as we could when she was young.

We've had her since she was eight weeks and I can't think of any situation she's been in where a GS has been involved. The only thing is that we did notice her growl and bark at one that was on our street a few months ago, which we remembered only because it was unusual for her.

We saw them again several times over the weekend and the bloke was kind enough to let me try to resolve it but Mia was having absolutely none of it. The GS was a lovely, friendly and calm dog but Mia really disliked it from the minute she saw it. She only let it come close and touch noses when she was between my legs so I guess it was based on fear but I can't for the life of me think why.

Is there anything we can do? Do you think she's just a racist? Can some dogs just not like certain breeds?

Has she had any bad experiences with larger dogs? It won't be because it's a GSD, but may be because it's a big dog?

To be honest she hasn't had any really bad experiences with dogs so far.

There have been a couple of incidents that spooked her but nothing more. A couple of weeks ago four Border Collies came charging over towards her but quickly moved on, and I do remember when we met a GS and Bull Mastiff on a walk and they ended up towering over her which she didn't like that too much. Nothing significant happened in either case though.

I even posted this thread https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t19575-an-akita-encounter couple of months ago, which demonstrates her typical response to other dogs.

My Mum walks her in the day so I'll ask her if she can think of anything.

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It could also be that the other dog stared her in the eye & made her uncomfortable. Then she'd remember the dog & have a go every time she saw it.

There are lots of reasons for this, the other dog not talking dog in the same way as your's, the other dog could have swore at your's, there could be something wrong with the other dog which isn't showing yet, dogs are very good at picking up when there is a serious health problem with other dogs. Being a big dog your's may have felt intimidated by the GSD.

I had Dixie for 15 years, during that time she only showed aggression to one dog, I found out later that a lot of dogs were like that with the dog Dixie showed aggression to.

I don't think you'll know for sure unless you see her around other GSDs. I do know of a dog who took a dislike to an entire breed because of a few bad experiences with one dog.

Mine has been socialised since a pup he's 16 month now and doesn't like dogs.he has one best mate he goes out with a little terrier cross he's fine with,a king Charles he sees I know he's ok with he gets a strange look on his face like he doesn't know what it is so he just ignores it completely and a Labrador bitch that has arthritis he's fine with.anything else he's no good,puppy's,bitches and dogs.he was attacked of a border collie when he was about 9 month but was still fine until he was about 12-13 month and just changed.dogs he used to play with he suddenly wanted to attack them so now he's on the leash if any dogs are about but I would say he is worse with bigger dogs

Little update on this. I spotted a German Shepherd being walked this morning with a Bull Mastiff - the two dogs I said had spooked her previously - so I intentionally walked past them (other side of the road).

Mia was waggy at first and her tail went down as we got closer, but no sign of aggression so hopefully it was just that particular dog.

Sounds like it was just that dog. Maybe there was something about the dog she didn't like that you didn't see, could've been something subtle.

Personally i dont believe in breed specific aggression, it could of been the other dog maybe yours felt threatened, i think some dogs can dislike dogs that are bigger smaller due too bad experiences but breed specific aggression nope.

I dont really get the bit where you say you know shes a staffy and accept she has it in her blood???? I dont think it has anything too do with her breed, my boy stan is amazing with other dogs as he has been well socilised hooch wasnt socilased as much as a youngster as my oh didnt relaise the importance of socilisation and isnt as good with some dogs. its nothing too do with her breed/blood.

xXxshelly_stanliexXx wrote:I dont really get the bit where you say you know shes a staffy and accept she has it in her blood???? I dont think it has anything too do with her breed, my boy stan is amazing with other dogs as he has been well socilised hooch wasnt socilased as much as a youngster as my oh didnt relaise the importance of socilisation and isnt as good with some dogs. its nothing too do with her breed/blood.

Some staffs still have that fighting instinct. Also, a lot of staffs tend to have a shorter fuse that some other breeds!

Shelly lets apply what you just now stated to a Collie that has never seen a farm in its whole life, has no idea about sheep has had no herding training but for some strange reason its now up the park herding other dogs.

Now ppl will say " oh its in its breeding thats what they were breed to do" ... so they are wired this way though breeding, training just homes in and fine tunes their natural instinct .
Now guess what the same applies to Staffords, like it or not that is what the dog was breed to do, and its hot wired this way, a stafford can not be trained to fight, it can be schooled but only dogs that want to fight are schooled a dog friendly one would'nt of been they would be classed in the olden days as a cur and removed from any breeding program.
Now adays this nasty sport has been outlawed and so it should be, but the dog its self dont know this. The few around that are still dog aggressive need an extra special owner to keep them out of trouble and to stay one step ahead of them.
The ones now we are seeing more and more of that are more dog friendly, or should i say tolerant of other dogs, is purely down to the fact that the then called Cur dogs are now being breed from so produce more dog friendly off spring.
I think its very naive to assume because yours is friendly then the whole stafford population is too.

Exactly.

Cant offer any suggestions as to what could be the reason behind this but my Ty doesnt like GSD or Huskys if he sees one he goes mental storm my exs staffy is the same with Huskys goes balistick no idea why height maybe jealous of there lovely coats god knows I avoid both breeds if I can saves having my arm ripped out of its socket lol.

It could just be down to attitude. Many GSDs and Huskeys are very self confident & give off an "I'm in charge" vibe!

Just thought I'd post an update on this from last year to see if anyone had any further thoughts.

Mia has continued to hate GSDs. She always either growls at them or cowers. I see one being walked regularly in the morning with a huge Mastiff and have been trying to gradually get her used to it but she's having none of it. If its owner heads towards us Mia freaks out (incidentally, the Mastiff owner thinks it's hilarious and adorable that a Staffy is such a total wuss )

However, it's not just GSDs. It seems to be something to do with some - but not all - large, dark coloured dogs. She even barked at a black greyhound this weekend.

We know two people with black labs so she plays with them but that's always off the lead so that may be a factor. One of the labs is quite rough with her and she usually ends up scratched and squashed but she seems to enjoy it nonetheless.

She's approaching two years old now so perhaps it's too late to sort this out but I would really love to do something if possible. I put a lot of effort into socialising her as a pup and she's otherwise extremely good with other dogs so it's a shame that we're having to keep an eye on this.

And I should point out it's just dark coloured dogs she's not keen on - dark coloured people are loved and greeted with usual Staffy enthusiasm

Ledger is certainly more suspicious of larger dogs (particularly male with male owners) and it tends to be the hairier ones.

Rocky has a very similar reaction to Boxers and any other dog with the mastiff type face, scrunched up ones if you like !!

He will grumble from the moment he sees them until we are well past them, if walking on a path. Hubby and me have put this behaviour down to idea that he must have been bullied by one before we got him from the rescue centre when he was still quite young. It does mention about him being bullied in his paperwork from Wood Green.

He gets along with most other breeds just fine.

I could be the way a GSD looks while walking that she doesnt like. they are very dominent dogs and love to strut there stuff.
if you compare a GSD and a lab walking they look very different in demeaner. a lab almost waddles facing down alot of the time and sniffing about while a GSD likes to project presence and is usualy head and tail up.
at a glance the lab would look friendly and nearly submissive unless they get a scent of something intresting while a GSD would look very dominating on its approach. another thing they do is lower there head and flatten out in a stalking stance which may freak your girl out a little as if she feels hunted.
there is one on our park walk that will do the same to marley up until about 10 feet between them and they are friends. when you see two do it to each other people think all hell is going to break loose but again at around 10 foot they break and start playing.
Laska is to dumb to mention in this post as according to her there is no evil in this world but marley took an exception to a staff last year and still to this day nearly pulls me off my feet to get to it. I have no idea why as we just met one night, they sniffed, his hackles went up and had a go at it like it had just bitten him.

Just a small thought but Mia is right in the middle of her doggy teens and I gather a lot of dogs act up in various ways between the ages of one and two. Mine certainly did. It may be a temporary phase so you're doing the absolute right thing by keeping an eye on the behaviour but also encouraging her to get over it.

When she gets like that what do you do? Do you tell her off or cuddle her or walk the other way? I don't actually know what the best approach would be, personally, but I'm sure your reaction would play into it to an extent - as well as the reaction of everyone else who walks her.

The same "personality change" has just happened to a spaniel I know of a similar age. I don't see why it should be permanent. It sounds like it may be your dog trying to adjust to something, perhaps she needs reassurance or else stricter boundaries.

Aye it could be that.

Made some progress the other day incidentally. I said we usually see a GSD and a big Mastiff being walked together and the GSD owner is trying to help.

Last time we met them he started to bring his dog closer - just a little at a time before stopping and getting it to sit. She still tried bolting a couple of times but has certainly improved. She even took a couple of steps towards it at one point before changing her mind.

I kept the lead loose so she didn't feel trapped and crouched down so I was closer to her. That seemed to help.

After getting within 6ft we decided that was good enough so I thanked him and he left.

As soon as Mia realised the GSD was on its way she trotted straight over to the Mastiff, gave it a sniff then flopped onto her back

I gave her a few biscuits and praise afterwards so hopefully next time she'll get the message.

sounds like you have met a very responcible and helpfull dog walker. its exactly what she needs, softley softley and letting her realise she is going to be okay around the GSD