Hello again hello! Advice needed on

Hello everyone! Hope you all had great xmases and are planning eventful new years eves! Have been keeping up with everyone's posts and am still finding them entertaining and full of invaluable advice! Just wanted to give you an update - I posted on here about a month ago that I was hoping to get a rescue staffy - well we collected him on 10th December and have had an amazing 3 weeks with him - let's face it xmas is not a great time to quietly introduce a dog to your home but he is a diamond! He was a bit quiet for the first week but has quickly learnt the rules of the house - not that we have many - but he was disappointed to be relegated to the kitchen at bed-time and that he would not to be sleeping in a bed with a human! He and Edie get on great - they play/wrestle and can have toys and chews in the same room with no stealing or bother - although I never leave them alone together when I go out or to bed (mainly because Edie would play/badger/body-slam him all day long and gets "a bit much"!). I have been letting him off the lead in certain areas for a week now as his recall has much improved - but I haven't yet let him off with unfamiliar dogs. The rescue centre said that he is great with other dogs and he has been friendly with all those we have met so far (with him on the lead) but can't help feeling I need to socialise him more before I can let him off with other dogs without undue concern - what's the general consensus - is it reasonable to let your staffy off in fields where other dogs are walked or should I only do as I have been and find empty fields? Edie is very friendly and knows most of the dogs we see on our walks so she is off-lead vertually all the time - am I being unfair to poor Jimmy and maligning his good nature? Have had a few comments about staffys already as I'm keeping him on the lead and really want to prove to people that they're not killers/fighters! He really is a lovely boy and so well-behaved (sit, down leave etc on demand at home but not so much out on a walk but hey - he's only lived with us for 3 weeks so I'm really pleased with him!). Will load some photos on soon so you can see my two pride and joys (and maybe a few of my 3 kids with them too?!)! C x

Hi and congratulations on the new addition Glad to hear he is doing so well and settling in.. As for the offlead advice, in my opinion regardless of breed I think you need a little more time to get to know each other and for you to build some trust in him that he will recall when you call him.. He is doing so well that I'm sure it will be no time before you have him running free in the fields The only way we can change peoples perception of our Staffies is to make sure when they are out they are always on their best behaviour and as you have only had Jimmy 3 weeks he could still surprise you with a bad behaviour that you haven't seen before. So maybe a little more trust and training and Jimmy will set a fine example

Can't add anymore than that! Glad he is settling in well

Congrats on the rescue I think it's perfectly understandable to want to be extra-safe. There's nothing wrong with letting him meet dogs on the lead until you feel more confident that he's going to get along well with other dogs, and of course that his recall is great. I don't let Loki off the lead anymore because he doesn't come back as readily as he used to, so I have a training line so he can have a run around, then I can practice getting him to come back to me. Perhaps this will be a good idea for your dog, so you still have control of him while he also has some freedom. But generally, I think it's better to be safe than sorry and keep the dog introductions on-lead for the time being while you keep up what you're doing.

Well done for rescuing. We also have a new addition he was a rescue dog from a centre in hull. We have had him for 9 days and he is brilliant. Although he had kennel cough which has now gone. He is house trained and sleeps on his own in the kitchen. Great dog and great addition to our other dog

You may want to try Jimmy on a long training line at least until the recall training is fluent. This will give you control of him when he meets up with other dogs and give you control if needed.

Well done for rescuing, hope all goes well.