Aggressive or not???!!

Hi all! I wasn't sure where to post this as my dogs just under/around 12 months old!

Basically my dog came into rescue with her brother but they got split up as someone only wanted one dog, bearing in my she's always had her brother with her since shes been a puppy up till about 9 months oldish. She never barked or growled at him or any other dog. Time went by and she'd met lots of other dogs without a sound and was VERY well mannered - she was even used to check the friendliness of other dogs as she was so well behaved. I then went on holiday for 3 weeks and left her in the kennels and apparently she'd been playing with two big Rhodesian ridgebacks who were rough. When I got her back home and walked her for the first time she was pulling towards a dog in the street (which was pretty normal as she LOVES anything that moves) then she anchored herself down and I couldn't get her up till the dog walked past, I thought no more of it till it happened a few more times, but instead of waiting till they'd passed she'd pounce on them - but without barking or growling or snarling. Then we met some dogs on the way to the field a good few months later and she stated to growl and bark at them which was very unlike her, all her hackles went up too. Now whenever she sees a dog she acts like she wants to play but her hackles come up and she kinda growls once and very quickly and lunges for them then and will kinda go to nip them but not then runs back behind me and would carry on doing this. Since a little puppy she's always been around dogs and adores the company of my aunties two doggies but she's never been able to help herself when she sees another dog; no matter what were doing she'll run off to play with the other dogs and is pretty reluctant to come back - even with treats! This wasn't much of a problem but people aren't so nice when a big staffie comes bounding up to their dog. Now when I see dogs in the street or on the field I either cross over or hook her back up to her harness incase she runs off as I can't really tell what she's feeling - I'm not sure if it's aggressiveness or if she's scared? I know hackles come up for all kinds of reasons, but they've never came up around other dogs before which is very strange. I'm not too sure what to do as I'm getting to the point where Im scared to let her off incase she is aggressive which will lead to the general "staffie fighting, vicious dog" rumors and what not. I don't want anything bad to happen to damage my dog, or any staffie dogs reputation as she is a very well known dog around my area due to her incredibly good nature and goofy personality. I've looked into going to classes and stuff but most places round here don't allow certain breeds and I'm not too confident about placing her in a room full of dogs barking if she is scared so I'm really stuck on what to do? Literally any kind of help would be great! Whether it's aggressiveness or not though, I'm NOT in any kind of position to give her up at all and whatever problems she has I can deal with and work with; I just need to know what I'm dealing with first! I think another important thing about her is she thinks she's very very very small - she doesn't realize how big she is and is pretty goofy when she's walking as she doesn't realize her size, and when playing with dogs she loves to be chased so will draw attention to herself and wind the other dogs up so they chance her! I'm not saying the 3 weeks of playing with ridgebacks changed her but before she didn't really know how to act like a dog or play as she'd just stand there and wag her tail! Maybe she's learning how to play? I'm really not too sure but any honest opinions would be great! thanks in advance!

I find most dogs go through this phase. It's a "what is my role" type of thing. They're not puppies anymore so can't act like that, but they are not quite adults.

My advice to you is to try and find someone who will be happy to let you have her near them and let her play rough without getting freaked out. Classes would be good yes, but you could try something a little different to try and find something to channel her energy. Does she like the ball? Does she like to swim? does she like to pull you along? All these things can be done and it will socilise her at the same time.

Have you tried a long line?

Thanks for this great reply I don't really know many other people with dogs, and the ones that I do know their dogs aren't nice! My aunty lives in Cornwall and I'm all the way up in the midlands so she's not really an option either she's not really one for balls either? Her play drive is big but she loves nothing more than chewing her toys or playing tag with me? She likes agility quite a lot but if I took her to classes I'm scared she'd just run all over the place like a mad dog trying to play when other people are paying good money to train their dogs so I'm really not too sure what to do!! I've only tried a long line a few times but just our luck we waited and no dogs came! So I could always revisit that but I'm not sure what to do with a long line really? Another thing is she never barked at the dogs next door now she paces the fence and barks when their out.. Very confusing! Did your dog go through a stage like this?

If you could find a like sized and aged playmate that would be very helpfull. If not an older well socialized dog would also work. The long line is to let them have some freedom and still maintain control in case the recall command doesn't work or you see something you know will cause them to run off

Firstly well done for sticking with it and not giving up at the first hurdle as some owners would.

From what information you have given us I dont think the time in the kennels is to blame for her current behaviour but is a culmination of different things happening at the same time.

She is still a puppy and wanting to play with everything and everyone, the nipping and running away is where she is pushing her luck to see what she can get away with. You must make it clear with her this is not acceptable behaviour and give her a firm NO when she does this so she knows it's wrong.

Yeah I didn't think it would've been the kennels either I just thought I should put all the info I have in, thanks so much to the both of you replying to me though! do you think I should stay on the same side of the road when dogs pass us by and things? Most people jut let their dogs run all over the pathways and I'm trying to teach her to ignore other dogs too since as soon as other dogs are around her recall and general obedience basically goes out the window! She also locks onto dogs and stares at them if they're on the other side of the field or walking down the road towards us too, is that anything to worry about as I can't get her attention back on me? I'd never hit her or anything but I've heard shouting or using low tones with your dog will associate badness with other dogs. Ahh! Sorry for asking so many questions I just wanna be sure I'm making the right decision and choices for her!

If she starts staring at another dog this can be seen as a challenge to some dogs, try to break her eye contact if you can by covering her eyes or standing in front of her.

Try to get her to sit and look at you when another dog approaches along the path. Try to use the Watch Me/Look at Me command while she is sitting down, this will help to keep her attention on you and not on another dog.

Dont worry about asking questions, if we didn't know body would ever learn anything.

CodlingKid wrote:Thanks for this great reply I don't really know many other people with dogs, and the ones that I do know their dogs aren't nice! My aunty lives in Cornwall and I'm all the way up in the midlands so she's not really an option either she's not really one for balls either? Her play drive is big but she loves nothing more than chewing her toys or playing tag with me? She likes agility quite a lot but if I took her to classes I'm scared she'd just run all over the place like a mad dog trying to play when other people are paying good money to train their dogs so I'm really not too sure what to do!! I've only tried a long line a few times but just our luck we waited and no dogs came! So I could always revisit that but I'm not sure what to do with a long line really? Another thing is she never barked at the dogs next door now she paces the fence and barks when their out.. Very confusing! Did your dog go through a stage like this?

Shes still going through it! Shes DA but tbf i got her at 17 with no car and live in the hole of nowhere so she didnt get to socilise a lot. She is getting better though and is fine to walk past dogs now if they ignore her lol

I have the exact same problem with Maggie, when we first got her from the rescue centre she was really good with dogs wouldn't growl or bark just a quick sniff to say hello and off we went. Now though she pulls towards dogs and will growl or bark and will lunge at them if I allow her to get close enough (which I don't anymore) yet her tail wags when she does it. Its really confusing as I'm really not sure if its aggression or just her playing. I'm now careful with her when I take her out don't let her off unless there are no other dogs about but I really want to get this sorted.
I've looked into training classes for Maggie to help get her socialised with other dogs, just waiting for a spot to open up for her but I'm going to watch this thread though to see what other advise people give and hopefully see if it helps us too.
Good luck with Ebony hope you get things sorted with her as much as I do with Maggie

This is why I have 3 dogs (so they can play together without me having to be all tense about the other dogs' owners... and I plain like it). Many owners of other types do not understand Staffy play. However, if you look for other bully types to play with, you probably will have better luck. There are quite a few Staffies though that are just DA. Not their fault or yours, just their personality. I know it is difficult, as I did have a very DA bulldog before. Based on what you have described though, you just need suitable playmates and many random dog-park people may not fit that bill. Any friends that you could meet up with in a less populated park?

To OP and EmLou28 you find the link below about dogs body language quite useful, please have a read to see what things to watch for and what to do:

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dog_body_language

EmLou28 wrote:I have the exact same problem with Maggie, when we first got her from the rescue centre she was really good with dogs wouldn't growl or bark just a quick sniff to say hello and off we went. Now though she pulls towards dogs and will growl or bark and will lunge at them if I allow her to get close enough (which I don't anymore) yet her tail wags when she does it. Its really confusing as I'm really not sure if its aggression or just her playing. I'm now careful with her when I take her out don't let her off unless there are no other dogs about but I really want to get this sorted.
I've looked into training classes for Maggie to help get her socialised with other dogs, just waiting for a spot to open up for her but I'm going to watch this thread though to see what other advise people give and hopefully see if it helps us too.
Good luck with Ebony hope you get things sorted with her as much as I do with Maggie

Ah I'm glad I'm not alone on this! I've called some places about her but after saying her breed most of them say no to me which I find ridiculous! I'm still looking though. I got quoted by a one on one trainer who works with your dog inside and outside the house for a good few hours each session and promised amazing results and they all had good feed back! So I enquiried about it and they quoted me £345 for some one on one lessons where apparently they'd train me and the dog! I'd booked it all up and found out it was a scam and they just scared the dogs to get them to do things!!! As you can guess I canceled on this but that's the closest I've got to findig someone willing to help!

Let me know after you've had your first couple of lessons! You should do a progress post or something that we can follow as I'd love to hear about the success - it'll also help me decide what to do with her for sure I'm still currently looking for classes to take her too although I'm a little nervous. It's also really confused me as she's the first dog I've dealt with to go from from extreme to the other! To me it doesn't seem aggressive but it sounds aggressive? I'm not sure if that's just me defending her since she's such a sweet heart with everything else! However, she used to be the same with cats and after a lot of hard work now she just strolls past and will even play with my sister kittens and other family cats and pets!

I really hope you guys get sorted though! I wish you bth the best and good luck in the classes when they finally arrive

You clearly realise how important it is to work hard with Ebony on this right now, as she is moving from puppyhood into an adult dog. As well as Kathy's really good advice, try distraction techniques, such as taking a ball out with you and throwing for her to chase when other dogs appear. Socialisation is the best though so keep trying for a class. Good luck, she looks just like my Madge, who went through the same stage but is fine now.

Thanks for the comment Wendy! It's good to hear that someone's been through it and came out on top thanks for giving my some ways to help distract her too! How did you go about helping your dog overcome this? it's a shame there's more nasty than nice dogs around here

Suggest you contact the Association of Pet Dog Trainers - they certify trainers in your area so you know that you'll get a genuine trainer