Can aggression be breed specific?

There is a guy that goes to my local dog park with a red staffy, who claims his dog is staffy aggressive, but last week i saw him walking the dog off lead in the park which i didn't think was overly safe, can dogs just be aggressive to one type of dog in particular?

Very good question ... I have no idea TBH, but most dogs seem to want peice of Max for some reason

awww poor Max!

Am sure Diesel would love to play with him!

So my next question.....as am sitting thinking away to myself....is do u think owners can project problems onto their dogs?

Like the dog cant be that aggressive otherwise surely it wouldnt b off lead unmuzzled in a dog park?
But like when he saw me he grabbed his dog by the collar then really badly picked it up and carried it away dangling by the armpits! It was funny watching him struggle but felt sorry for the dog....and couldnt help but think that was the worst thing to do? and is that not a slight over reaction...me and my well trained dog were walkin in the opposite direction...
Everytime i see him he just seems to be panicked and tbh his staffy never looks that bothered by mine.

[quote="Ticklymac"]So my next question.....as am sitting thinking away to myself....is do u think owners can project problems onto their dogs?

quote]

Absolutely. A dog will pick up on his owner's anxiety - "OMG here's a dog". Depending on the temperament, that dog will think "danger, I must fight" or "danger, I must run away".

Well i mean i could smell his panic from over the other side of the park so am sure his dog could!

yes to a point, it's not so much the dog recognises the breed it's how different breeds look.

For example a jack russel at our park was attacked by a staff as a pup and now is DA to bully type dogs with big heads not just staffs.

So dogs don't like dogs of a certain colour or long coats.

It's more a negative association

Every jack russell bar one, I've came across has snapped/lunged for Bailey! One snapped at his face 4 times today when we took him to find out about taking him to dog classes!

I know Tilly never liked little dogs and I put it down to being attacked by a jack russell when she was a pup, if the dog is same size as her or bigger not normally any problems though te worst we get is a cry or very strange high pitched yeowl

StuW wrote:Every jack russell bar one, I've came across has snapped/lunged for Bailey! One snapped at his face 4 times today when we took him to find out about taking him to dog classes!

I've yet to meet a nice jack russell, everyone i've met has growled and snapped at diesel. wee devil dogs in my eyes! >

Feel quite sorry for the red staffy as i do think his owner is exasperating the situation, but i will try and just keep well out his way - partly coz his antics annoy me. He has in the past tried to Caesar Milan my dog with his silly noises and clicking his fingers....Diesel just looks at him like a weirdo, a quick "this way" from me and she trotted along lol

Agree re Jack Russells tbh - I've never come across one in 40+ years who wasn't at least "sparky" shall we say towards my dogs. I've known a couple of JRs AWAY from any other other dogs and they were lovely little dogs - they just don't seem to like any other dogs!

Re red staffy's owner - oh jeez, how I hate other dog owners thinking they know better than me and can control my dog better than they can. I'm not saying I know everything you understand (who does?) but WHY do other dog walkers feel they need to interfere? (Just venting my spleen here!)

Ticklymac - I empathise and sympathise.

new Staffy owner wrote:
Ticklymac - I empathise and sympathise.

Thanks!

I dont claim to know everything either, far from it but at least have common sense and at least a little general knowledge and don't think just cause ive watched a few tv shows i am a dog whisperer lol

Ticklymac wrote:Like the dog cant be that aggressive otherwise surely it wouldnt b off lead unmuzzled in a dog park?

I used to let Bandit off lead in a public park - well, everywhere, really - because I knew him back to front. He was totally dog aggressive, but I knew my 'control distance' so I kept him within that distance at all times unless we were in the wilds of the Black Mountains. If anyone started to come anywhere near us I would call him back & clip on his lead. He never had a muzzle on in his life.

I do think that staffs tend to spark each other off - not so much because they are staffs, but because they recognise their own feisty nature in another dog & often react to it. We can't sense it, but they can.

The one jack russell that hasn't went for Bailey is actually the smallest one I've ever seen Bailey towers over it by at least 3 times the height and his head is a fair 5 times larger at least

Ticklymac wrote:
I dont claim to know everything either, far from it but at least have common sense and at least a little general knowledge and don't think just cause ive watched a few tv shows i am a dog whisperer lol

There you have it - common sense is what is needed. And as to dog whisperer programmes - they are entertaining to watch and probably teach us a thing or two along the way - but I agree that maybe some people watch these programmes and then think they know it all (and will preach to us afterwards). The same thing happened with the with that choke chain woman about 20 years ago - Barbara something? Everyone was telling me to choke my Dobermanns around that time (not to mention the "SIT!!!!") And my Dobes were ANGELS! (in hindsight). Guess we always have to contend with people who think they know our dogs better than we do (sigh).

Barbara Woodhouse - couldn't stand her!

dog training shows defo entertainment value and i always enjoy it when owners get told "its not your dog...its you" lol

Caryll wrote:Barbara Woodhouse - couldn't stand her!

That's the woman! Thanks Caryll. She WAS weird wasn't she - and the trouble was, every other dog owner at that time thought she was GOD and quoted her to me at every opportunity. God rest her, but I'm glad times have moved on since then.

new Staffy owner wrote:

Caryll wrote:Barbara Woodhouse - couldn't stand her!

That's the woman! Thanks Caryll. She WAS weird wasn't she - and the trouble was, every other dog owner at that time thought she was GOD and quoted her to me at every opportunity. God rest her, but I'm glad times have moved on since then.

Drove me insane! At about the time she was really popular I was co-running a dog training club & every time I mentioned that I helped people train dogs I'd get that awful "Sit.t.t!" shouted at me!

Caryll wrote:Barbara Woodhouse - couldn't stand her!

She was a scary woman

Millie isn't too keen on greyhounds. with other dogs it seems random but there must be little signs I can't see. I've noticed with her and Bella they communicate so much with looks that I can't see any difference in.

Caryll wrote:

Ticklymac wrote:Like the dog cant be that aggressive otherwise surely it wouldnt b off lead unmuzzled in a dog park?

I used to let Bandit off lead in a public park - well, everywhere, really - because I knew him back to front. He was totally dog aggressive, but I knew my 'control distance' so I kept him within that distance at all times unless we were in the wilds of the Black Mountains. If anyone started to come anywhere near us I would call him back & clip on his lead. He never had a muzzle on in his life.

Same with my old Boxer. He was dog aggressive but he could look at a dog from a certain distance away and would carry on running around and playing without a care in the world. If they came closer we'd only then put him on the lead. Never muzzled and never got into a fight.

The owner overreacted, but maybe just panicked and wanted to make sure he took his dog out of the situation in case anything bad did happen.

But to answer the original question, I think some dogs can discriminate against certain kinds of dogs if they have reason to. Loki's friend doesn't like Staffs because he's been attacked by a lot of them. Loki's the exception because they met when he was small and he likes small dogs

ANattyRat wrote:

Caryll wrote:

Ticklymac wrote:Like the dog cant be that aggressive otherwise surely it wouldnt b off lead unmuzzled in a dog park?

I used to let Bandit off lead in a public park - well, everywhere, really - because I knew him back to front. He was totally dog aggressive, but I knew my 'control distance' so I kept him within that distance at all times unless we were in the wilds of the Black Mountains. If anyone started to come anywhere near us I would call him back & clip on his lead. He never had a muzzle on in his life.

Same with my old Boxer. He was dog aggressive but he could look at a dog from a certain distance away and would carry on running around and playing without a care in the world. If they came closer we'd only then put him on the lead. Never muzzled and never got into a fight.

The owner overreacted, but maybe just panicked and wanted to make sure he took his dog out of the situation in case anything bad did happen.

But to answer the original question, I think some dogs can discriminate against certain kinds of dogs if they have reason to. Loki's friend doesn't like Staffs because he's been attacked by a lot of them. Loki's the exception because they met when he was small and he likes small dogs

Thats ok if you can control your dog and its well trained, but this guy just doesnt seem in control at all...ie/ picking the dog up.

As i've said am just gonna give him a wide birth, maybe see if i can work out when he goes to the dog park and just not go at that time.

new Staffy owner wrote:

Ticklymac wrote:
I dont claim to know everything either, far from it but at least have common sense and at least a little general knowledge and don't think just cause ive watched a few tv shows i am a dog whisperer lol

There you have it - common sense is what is needed. And as to dog whisperer programmes - they are entertaining to watch and probably teach us a thing or two along the way - but I agree that maybe some people watch these programmes and then think they know it all (and will preach to us afterwards). The same thing happened with the with that choke chain woman about 20 years ago - Barbara something? Everyone was telling me to choke my Dobermanns around that time (not to mention the "SIT!!!!") And my Dobes were ANGELS! (in hindsight). Guess we always have to contend with people who think they know our dogs better than we do (sigh).

Oh dear The dog whisperer is a complete tool The best shows Ive ever seen of his is when he gets bitten, they are hilarious!!

Have to stick up for jack russells, i had one as my first dog and she was an angel!