Help...

Monty until now has been the model citizen... We have socialised him, had him through all the training corses you could think of etc etc. Over the last week he has attacked 2 dogs and started growling and would have attacked others if he wasn't on the lead. I seems to be younger dogs he has developed a dislike to. He is 11 months old... has anyone else experienced this?

Unfortunately I have. When Logan started to mature he became difficult with certain dogs.

All you can do is keep him on lead anytime there is a chance of meeting an unfamiliar dog. Try long leads and flexi leads for extra freedom for him.

Practice the "look at me" technique where when he begins to growl (on lead) make him hold attention to you until the other dog passes. Try using a treat/toy to help you.

He is at the age now where he is coming into his own and doesn't want any competition. I hear this happening a lot unfortunately. It's just about consistency now and making sure he gets corrected when he displays this behaviour and tell him it is wrong. It's back to lead work for now though until he can control himself better

Unfortunately, as they get older they can develop dog aggression or be a bit more untolerant of other dogs. Socialising can help with it but ultimately it can still just happen, not your fault. Maybe you can try to find something you're able to distract him with before he gets to that point and then praise him for keeping his attention on you (at first even if it's only for a moment).

Hayley wrote:He is at the age now where he is coming into his own and doesn't want any competition. I hear this happening a lot unfortunately. It's just about consistency now and making sure he gets corrected when he displays this behaviour and tell him it is wrong. It's back to lead work for now though until he can control himself better

Hayley, is it like this with all dogs, that they 'don't want competition'? My dad seems to think all male dogs will eventually get like this to a degree, but I assumed it just depends, some will be very tolerant and some won't be.

I'm hoping that not all male dogs get competitive. It was a concern when my son got our first Staff and our first male dog a year ago (a year ago tomorrow!).

Our little boy is now nearly 15 months old, and has never shown any aggression whatsoever, long may it continue

If any dog snarls or snaps at him he pays no notice whatsoever and still begs them to play with him. In fact, this is how he met his "best friend" - a Patterdale who was always on the lead and muzzled and "had a go" at Kuchar when they first met. Kuchar was so friendly towards the little dog that I readily offered his owner that we let our dogs "meet" in a controlled way, and very soon they were both off their leads and playing happily together. The Pat's owner could not believe his eyes but ever since then they meet nearly every day and have a lovely chase and tumble around with each other. The Pat is a much happier dog and gradually getting on better with other dogs and no longer has his muzzle. I'm very proud of Kuchar for going a long way to resocialising this little dog.

Not all males will develop aggression like this. I'd go with what Mat has said (and mostly everybody else!) and keep working on it.

The only thing you have to keep in mind is that some staffords still have that fighting instinct, and will become DA no matter what you do. Not all, not even the majority, but some.

sash can be da to some dogs,so its not just males,long as the dog leaves her alone to get on with her walk she wont bother with them,its some thing i've learnt that she just does'nt want to play with other dogs so if any other dogs are near she is straight back on the lead,hopefully it is his age and with a bit of training he will soon grow out of it

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm having him neutered at the end of the month to see if that helps. He was fine with every dog last night. Hes very ball focused so its easy to keep his attention.

I'll let you know what effect it has. Hopefully its just a phase and he is just trying to find his place in the world.

Dan330 wrote:Thanks for the responses guys, I'm having him neutered at the end of the month to see if that helps.

It's likely that it won't make one iota of difference!

Hi Dan. It's advisable to wait until a pup is fully grown before neutering as it can hinder their growth.

It's also not proven to help with dog aggression and can actually make young dogs worse through nerves.

Just a bit of info incase it might help you

Neutering an immature dog will likley make them stick in that same state of mind. You need to let them mature naturally and realise that he is not the man in the block as he thinks he is.

It seems this website is the only one that has this veiw on neutering... at least based on the reserch I've done. Of all the dog owners I know all of them have been neutered at 9 months or younger and all of them have turned out fine. I'm pretty sure the vets advice is the best to take on this and will follow his lead.

A friend of mines dog attacked another, it was a puppy and the most shocking thing I have ever seen, he carried on to do it twice more (the dog was always on lead b4 anyone shouts).

Now he was a well socialised dog, got on fine with larger dogs just not small ones.

Eventually they decided to have his bits chopped and it helped no end. Not saying its the answer but it was certainly the answer for him.

Good luck and let us know Xx