HELP. Tyson had a fight

So we was at our local park today with tyson off the lead playing with his ball when a big dog came over and nicked his ball. As a good boy tyson is he just sat there waiting for a new ball from our bag. The owner of the dog came over to hand it back she had a female stafie as well as the big dog. tyson was happy playing with ball we was haveing a chat with the dogs owner her staff was off the lead as well she had a stick in her mouth tyson came back to us with his ball in his mouth with in a split sec tyson and this female stafie was fighting my wife grabed tyson while the other owner just stayed frozen her dog then came stright back attacking tyson my wife tryed pulling tyson away she some how got both dogs pulld away while i moved tyson to a safe place. My wife got a bite from the other stafie . The owner said this has never hapend be for. her dog was bleeding from the mouth tyson had blood all over his mouth and head. She said its her sons dog and the fight must have been over the stick maybe tyson tryd to nick it. I checked to make sure her dog was ok and she was fine . She said she better get him home and cleaned. She lefted fast. Tyson was put on the lead soon as they started fighting we both wasnt looking at the dogs so cant say who started. but tyson picked the stick this dog had up and wanted to bring it with him we told him to leve it and whent home to check him . He is ok with just a small cut on his mouth we cleaned it and he is fine and happy still. we never seen this be for . We walk him 3 times a day in this park meeting loads of dogs and he has never had a fight since we had him (3 weeks now). We have met every kind of dog even the fighting breeds with out any probs. he is all ways off the lead unless the other dogs are to close then we lead him and wait for the dog to pass but the last 3 days tyson has been playing off the lead with other dogs he has had a few dogs warn him off he just runs back to us. So do you think this was just a one off or shall we keep him away from other dogs for a bit. it was a bit of a shock to us and we realy finking of finding a new park to walk him . also we are not sure how bad the other dog is and realy dont want any other probs from the owner. any idears how we should go about this or should we just see it as a one off.

Think as you don't know the exact facts for the moment you have to take it as a one off, if our 2 have a fight it will normally be over a ball or a stick or something. Just keep an eye on him for the moment , heep him on a lead around other dogs and guage his reactions but don't panic. It sounds like the other owner was very fair and ont ready to jump to blame and both dogs are ok so no harm done. Try to spend a bit of time with other people with Tyson on lead and let him settle in their company, DON'T avoid other dogs as long as the other owners are happy to be around

I would say it's a one-off bit of jealousy over the stick.

When I'm out with Dempsey & his boomer ball I never allow any other dog to try & take it, Dempsey would definitely go for them even if it was a dog that he normally plays with. If a dog comes over, I pick up the ball & hold on to Dempsey's collar & warn the other owner that Dempsey doesn't like other dogs playing with his ball! Same with sticks.

It's amazing how many normally friendly dogs will react badly to another dog trying to take a possession away!

Hopefully, both Tyson & the other dog will be none the worse for the encounter & it'll just go down to experience!

Sounds as if MAYBE the female staff was being possessive over her stick. It doesn't matter if Tyson tried to nick it or not, a well-mannered dog should not attack another dog who is trying to play.

I have no experience with adult Staffs so I probably shouldn't comment at all, and you've only had Tyson 3 weeks so you are still getting to know each other. But as you say he has met many other dogs whilst he's been with you, including "fighting" breeds (and I assume that means other Staffs?) then this just may be a one off.

Other more experienced Staff owners will be able to advise you I'm sure (just checked and oh they have, two of our very best Staffy people).

Good luck!

Hope your wife and Tyson are OK now.

Could have been a bit of jealousy took over there for the stick. It is something quite shocking to witness two dogs fighting and often sounds a lot worse than it is. Try keeping him on the lead around other dogs for a while and then start to introduce him to friendly dogs again.

new Staffy owner wrote:Sounds as if MAYBE the female staff was being possessive over her stick. It doesn't matter if Tyson tried to nick it or not, a well-mannered dog should not attack another dog who is trying to play.

Even a normally well-mannered dog can get possessive over a favourite ball/toy/stick if it's a strange dog that's trying to take it!

Caryll wrote:

new Staffy owner wrote:Sounds as if MAYBE the female staff was being possessive over her stick. It doesn't matter if Tyson tried to nick it or not, a well-mannered dog should not attack another dog who is trying to play.

Even a normally well-mannered dog can get possessive over a favourite ball/toy/stick if it's a strange dog that's trying to take it!

I'm sure you're right Caryll and I stand corrected.

new Staffy owner wrote:a well-mannered dog should not attack another dog who is trying to play.

A common assumption but when a possession such as a stick is up for grabs, it's a lottery.
I've seen more issues over toys than anything else.

Working dog wrote:

new Staffy owner wrote:a well-mannered dog should not attack another dog who is trying to play.

A common assumption but when a possession such as a stick is up for grabs, it's a lottery.
I've seen more issues over toys than anything else.

Again, as with Caryll, I'm sure you're right. It's just one of another long list of things I've never come up against before until I got owned by my Staffie!

But to go back a few steps, I think we can reassure Tyson's owner that it was probably just a one off.

Meny thanks every one . we now feel a lot better about it all. Tyson seems fine snuggled up to us in bed. thanks so much for all the advice . And good night to all.

like people, you cant exspect every dog to like each other i guess.

At begining of year marley got attacked by a gsd for going near its owner after she gave him a treat. I refused to let her leave..dogs faced off for 15 mins and then got bored. They are now best friends and the only dog marley is comfortable around laska. At the time i had to sit on marley as he was so * with being bitten on the snout he tried to take down the 3 year oldgsd and i mean in a nasty way. A battle im sure he would of lost but the brave little * wouldnt have any of it. It takes time but it can and dios work out for the best if you have a some pateiance. Good luck mate

Sounds like a one-off. Dogs can have arguments over things that seem trivial to us, and I think most owners who socialise their dogs will have at least one bad experience meeting a dog, because some dogs clash like some people do. If he's been fine with other dogs until now, take it as a one-off and don't be afraid to go back to the park and meet other dogs.

It does sound like a one off. All it takes is a few seconds. Dogs dont share toys well with other strange dogs ever two dogs you have together at home can have this problem. When I am out with Pixee playing with anything, I make sure theres no other dogs in sight. Her bubby Spring Spangie she plays with, they do not have toys just themselves and thats how we keep it. Just carry on as normal but keep Tyson on the lead for the time being to see how he reacts.

Try not to live in the past due to what as happened. Act as you normally would with your dog next time you are in the park as it was most likely a one off.

Troy has got into scuffles before but I have never kept him away from dogs for any period of time after and he has been fine.

Caryll wrote:

new Staffy owner wrote:Sounds as if MAYBE the female staff was being possessive over her stick. It doesn't matter if Tyson tried to nick it or not, a well-mannered dog should not attack another dog who is trying to play.

Even a normally well-mannered dog can get possessive over a favourite ball/toy/stick if it's a strange dog that's trying to take it!

I agree. My dogs (both male) live happily together for the most part - but when out and a stick is involved - they can fight. Only difference here is they both know the pecking order so the fight will not escalate (normally). But there is a lot or growling, barking and lunging goes on before one backs off, which can be more worrying for others not used to seeing it than it is for us.

We had a particularly bad experience with a stick on the beach - it was impossible to intervene, we had to let it come to a natural conclusion - which it did very quickly. This was in the early days of having the dogs (both resuce and had only been together for a matter of weeks at that point). I now feel comfortable letting them play with sticks because of the relationship they now have and the relationship I have with them.

However, I won't allow them to have toys in the house unless we're there to supervise play for the very same reason. Think you'll find most dogs are possessive over toys and/or food so best to not put yourself in the position of somthing kicking off if you can help it. My advice (for what it's worth) - no need to keep Tyson on a lead generally if you feel comfortable, but perhaps try and avoid playing with toys/sticks when other dogs are close by and be mindful of his reaction when you see other dogs playing. We tend to walk in the other direction if possible. Guess this makes us look antisocial - but better that than facing the prospect of having to try and break up a fight.

We had an 'interesting' situation on Saturday. We were out for a family meal with both dogs in a dog-friendly pub. Lots of dogs, lots of different breeds - all calm and relaxed. A guy came in with a beautiful staffy. Couldn't help smiling (as I think we staffy owners tend to do when we see another like-minded owner) - but he drew his dogs attention to our dogs and the reaction wasn't good. He had to move to the other side of the pub and things calmed down quickly thank goodness. Guess the point to note here is that sometimes in our desperation to want to talk to other owners (especially of other breeds as I always see it as an opporutnity to 'convert' people into staffy appreciators rather than haters) we forget that our dogs might not see it the same way!

Keep the faith though. You guys are just getting used to each other after 3 weeks - we only started to feel comfortable taking our boys out and giving them a bit of freedom after we'd had them for 6 months.

Montys been attacked twice... he didn't retaliate either time, he just went to ground until I could get the other dog off him. he then hid behind me until the other dogs owners came over. Soft doesn't quite cover it!

Having spent almost every day in a doggie social environment, most of the 'spats' (never a real full on fight) are over 'high Value' items. Some dogs are really possesive and the other dogs soon learn to respect this. The interactions sound very bad but generally the situation resolves in a few seconds. Personally, I will not allow Tyson to become possesive over any toy, stick or ball but since one cant guarantee the other owners have the same view, I keep an eye all the time and step in before any escalation occurs.

I would not worry too much in this case since the fight had no real intent, other than a warning to back off.

Dan330 wrote:Montys been attacked twice... he didn't retaliate either time, he just went to ground until I could get the other dog off him. he then hid behind me until the other dogs owners came over. Soft doesn't quite cover it!

My Harley always backs down from aggressive dogs, he was bitten last week by another staffy and backed away, poor thing was waiting for me to come to the rescue which I did. I guess that's how puppy's are and they will learn to defend themselves as they get older and more assertive.

I guess dogs will be dogs and will always have disagreements over silly things. It's up to us as owners to understand when our dogs may become aggressive and intervene before any harm is done.

Thanks for all the advice we feel a lot better about it all now . we whent for our pland two hour walks over the woods yesterday tyson meet 3 dogs while on the lead he was happy .we found a nice clear spot of grass so let him off for a run and play with his ball tyson was happy and enjoying it we on the other hand was very worried and kept checking around us for other dogs. later in the day we whent to the local park we kept him on the lead for a while but soon as there was no dogs we let him off but being in the same spot the fight happened made us feel very uneasy but we knew we had to get over it so stayed for a hour playing ball and walking .he meet a few dogs other there while on the lead and again he was happy to have a sniff and then lick the other dog to bits lol. today we felt so much better and spent a few hours off the lead over the park an to our relief every think it back to normal. My wife is away for a few days she only been gone a few
Hours and all ready tyson is looking for her bless him. Meny thanks for all the advice it has helps us so much. we look forward to Meny more advice when it is needed. Its a big comfort knowing there are others out there happy to help others out.