Aggressive behaviour to other dogs :(

Hello everyone.
This is my first time here or on any other site like this,
I own two staffs, a blue brindle girl kc reg her name is pickle & a champagne blue boy named cooper.
She is 2.5 yrs & he is 2 in a few days time. We also have a cat, a bearded dragon, a chameleon & 2 step kids
I have owned a staff in the past, my first ever dog. He was a good boy well trained but being my first dog I could have done things better so I've worked very hard with the two I have now. I got pickle as a new pup but cooper came to me from a friend at 4-5 months old. I think she got him as my old dog Zues was such a good boy but he was old by then & had calmed right down. It took till his was about 10!! He had bad hips & made it to 12 when the vet told me if he had seen him at 18months he would have predicted he wouldn't be able to walk by the time he was about 7! But sadly the time came when I had to do the right thing. Was the hardest thing I've ever done.... He was my boy, my life & constant companion through everything in life.
Cooper was a lovely pup & I saw him most days but he was a bit naughty, mischievous really but I put that down to lack of excersise, training & good boundaries.
When my friend asked me if I'd like him I ofcourse said YES! Even though I knew 2 fully grown staffs could be hard work.
So I've been training him & her since the day I got them.
Pickle took the death of Zues hard, she became down & wasn't interested in me much, wasn't affectionate & I was worried about her, when cooper came she ignored him & me for about a week & I didn't know if I'd done the right thing but it has changed her into the kind of staff that I know & love. Every time she lays on me or puts her head on me I cherish the moment as I never thought she would be like that. She is a good dog over all, she is a little nervous & barks at car doors slamming out side or people talking as they go past. I do correct her & she was getting better untill her last season which ended about 2 weeks ago now but I've been on her when she barks & she is ok when I'm here but when I'm not she seems worse.
Now on to cooper..... Sorry I feel like I'm going on a bit but trying to give you every bit of info I can!
Cooper is 5* dog. He is obidiant, well trained, loving & does as he is told straight away. When on walks he is sitting at the curb before we have even stopped, is good on & off the lead although he pulls a bit sometimes but constant correction of about 5-10 mins snaps him out of it.
Off the lead they both come back to my whistle, 8-10 time he will always be first. If they have a ball or as pickle like a frizby they come straight back with it & drop it straight away, no tug of war or pulling ect ( Zues was murder for it)
When we first got him we were at the park & he got attacked while out with my other half, can't remember what dog it was..... I was annoyed.
Then a few weeks later again out with my fella he was saying hello to a friend with a female staff, cooper went over to say hello & the bicth attacked him. Simon said in the blink of an eye pickle came from getting her toy dropped it at his feet & knocked the bitch clean off its feet & had her pinned down.
That's when he started showing signs of aggression. We had a couple of incidents with other dogs always when he was with Simon.... I worked alot then so he was main dog walker... I blamed him for not being observant enough but it did result in me getting a muzzle for him, having him done & taking him to puppy classes. He didn't need obi dance training it was purely for socialisation. It helped alot & he got better & better. All my family have dogs & mum is a foster home for dogs so we have lots coming in & out of his life & he on the whole has been good so over time the muzzle was left off. He has had a couple of "go's" at other dogs but if I see another dog I will stop him put him on his lead ect, it's normally when another dog comes up to us.
When it was snowing a couple of months ag we met up with a few friends with dogs & puppies. Kept him on the lead I introduced him to staffy pup & first reaction was a bite on the face so he got taken home in shame & we stayed out to play.
After that we stared to take him to early morning dog walk club to again socialise & he is fine on the lead & has been a good boy. We were at my mums & a friend bought his staff bitch round again the first reaction a bite on the face!! Took both the dogs for a walk & then all fine like best friends playing nicely ect.
He has been good since up until last week.
We had been out for a hour long walk, the park is just behind where I live so as a treat just before we went home & for a last run I took them in. I let them off & they ran, there was another dog over the other side of the park he kept stoping & staring at so I called him to put his lead on, he turned to come to me, something caught his eye & as I turned around there were 2 small dogs just entering the park, the owner had let them off, he ran over, I called him & he stopped but then he just went for this little dog (standard dashound) before I know it he was attacking the poor little thing, I was there like a flash & had hold of him & then my bitch got involved, it's so not like her, she lives other dogs!! I got her off but then she went back, the woman was screaming which didn't help but I can understand. In the end I had them both in one hand & whacked him with the lead & that got him to let go. Was prob all about 30-60 seconds but seemed like forever. Some neighbours came & helped her phone her vets & stayed with her as I ran home left Si I charge of them got my car & we were up the vets within about 15 mins of the whole thing. Her dog is ok, been stitched up & we have been in touch the whole way through.
I got him a muzzle the next day & also had the dog warden round.
We have done muzzle training as in getting him to put it on nicely as a good experience not a punishment & like I said he is as good as gold putting it on. Out on walks her tried to get it off but corrected him ect. Let him off the lead after about 20 mins to have a run, still tried getting it off, corrected but he tried several times. I felt more at ease untill another lady playing with her dogs came in & he went over & woofed but I called him & he came back, praised him for coming back & off he went with pickle, never too far as in 10-15 meters.
When the lady came back around he charged her dogs was very aggressive but he had his muzzle on so no harm came. I called him back which he listened to after he had gone into attack mode. I told him off, put him on his lead & we went home. He knows he has done wrong but it's in that moment something comes over him & I'm just lost fro what to do!!!
His 2nd birthday is on the 25th of this month.
The go for 30 min to a hour walk a day & then out for 20 mins hard run with toys in the eve.
I now have bad elbows, awaiting ops so I'm main carer, depends on how good my arms are to how long we can go out for & do take them up to mums & we all go to the woods.
They have a good diet of liver, blocks of mince from the pet shop, chicken ect all with brown rice varied daily & I feed the barking heads dog biscuits in the morning which they graze on just to get vits & mins into them.
So I feel like I've told you my life's story ha ha!! Hope I've not bored the pants of you
Look forward to any help you may be able to give me.
Thank you
Cass

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Welcome to the forum from me and the monster

I know how you feel with this, Logan was attacked a few times as a pup, before this he was super friendly with all dogs, but subsequent to the attacks he has got a bit of nervous defensive behaviour towards big dogs.

The only way to break this habit is to keep socialising as much as possible in a safe controlled environment and with other friendly dogs. Which you are doing from your story

It's also very important to remain calm yourself when you are walking, I've noticed that when I've felt nervous myself Logan has mirrored my feelings and behaved badly as a result.

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me

Double your amount of walks.

Welcome can't really add to what's been said, socialising him with dogs that are calm and friendly and rewarding him for being calm may help, and you have to stay as relaxed as possible too, or he'll pick up on your own tension.

hi and welcome from me and tyke

Well, you sound like you have done some serious training with your two.

The only thing i could recommened for your lad ATM would be to get a long training lead (matt above swears by his) this will give him the 'freedom' he likes and you like but you can either keep hold of this and he still has enough length to wander or i think some people do let go of these but its long enough to get if they decide to bolt. As he is showing clear Sign of dog agression i think this would be the safest way especially if you are going into hospital and others may have to take over walking duties. the reason i advice this as theres always that chance now he could do serious damage and if the awrden been involved with this all it takes is an accidant were your lad bites a human. do not mean to sound to put a damper on things but this is what i would do in my opinion

I would also up the walk times aswell, we recommend at least 45 mins in the morning and again at night time

Hi and welcome from me and Vinnie

welcome, once a dog gets that aggression to other dogs you can never stop them doing it, best thing to do is not let them off the lead in public just let off for a run when you are in the middle of nowhere.

Hi from me and Titch,Welcome to party

A friend of mine had exactly the same problem. His staffy was attcked quite badly in the woods and as a result he was a demon to walk for him. Any sign of a dog he would completely freak out and start snarling and pulling hard to attack them.

He asked me to take the dog (Taz) out and at this time i was unaware of the previous incident but was told he was wary of dogs.
I walked him with no problems and although we passed dogs and yes he did snarl but i immediately corrected him and made him keep walking forward. I did not allow him to stop and plant his paws into any form of defence/attack stance. within a few seconds we had passed the dog and he had continued as if nothing happened...

I later said what happened to my friend and he couldn't believe it so i went out with taz again and he followed. again no problem when it came to the dog meeting a strange dog.

My friend took the lead and continued the walk and i droped back behind... Another dog approached and my friend had tightened the lead in anticipation of all hell breaking loose, he also stopped........... All hell broke loose. the other dog (rotweiler) was quite happy to meet the challenge and as a result 2 dogs snarling on each side of the road......

I believe that because my friend anticipated there was going to be trouble and had tightend his hold on the lead the dog also sensed that there was a reason to be tense/aggitated....
When i walked taz i was unaware of any previous tensions or aggression so i wasn't bothered by meeting a dog.

My friend now has a plan:
Taz remains on lead when walking on the pavement.
Taz stays on a long lead/rope down the local park as there is a high chance of meeting other dogs.
My friend now stays calm meeting a dog and keeps the lead fairly loose (providing the dog is at distance coming towards them)
Also has a high pitched dog whistle... It is used when taz becomes fixated on a dog and is blown hard to break his stare then quickly moved on.
I believe the trick is to keep moving forward and break the confrontation asap. Once done and moving on then treat and praise. This along with socialising as much as possible with dogs that you know are stable. I would suggest on neuteral ground though.

I hope you can take something from my post and that it helps.

dave g wrote:welcome, once a dog gets that aggression to other dogs you can never stop them doing it, best thing to do is not let them off the lead in public just let off for a run when you are in the middle of nowhere.

I think that safety is a number 1 priority no matter what with all breeds of dogs. However, I do believe that an aggresive dog can be helped and turned around to being a balanced dog with the right handler...
I can also only suggest that unless someone is confident to retrain the dog then proffesional dog trainers must be consulted.

hia from me and sasha

hi from me and the boys

Hello and welcome from me and the kids

Hi & welcome to the forum ><

Hi and welcome from Me n Steffi

Thank you to all of you that have given your feed back but also just for the welcome )
How lovely.
I did buy my self, well cooper one of those training leads while I was buying his muzzle the other day. Today I used it around my body & that helped save my arms. He was much better with the muzzle on, did try to get it of but not so frequently & didn't get as stressed as yesterday but boy was he glad when we got home & he could take it off & have his good boy treat
We live quiet in the middle of now where but still have to keep a good eye out. I felt much more confidant today with him off his lead in the woods & to be honest with his hannible lector face mask he doesn't charge off with pickle.
Thanks lone wolf for your input, we actually have cracked on the lead meetings now days & if we are walking to the village & another dog walker comes past we can just go past no problem, we have lots of praise ect. It's only say if a off lead dog comes to us.

I also think there is hope for him yet, I am willing to do anything because apart from this he is such a lovely dog.
I have considered a proffesional but as I said I'm not at work right now so am a bit skint but also have all the time in the world to work with him so if poss would like to do it my self, just didn't know how really. So I shall take on board all that each of you have said & just keep at it.
I really appreciate you all taking the time to help me
Thanks again
From Cass, cooper & pickle

The long lead def gave me confidence again so try to use it as much as you can

When he is behaving feel free to take the muzzle off too, this will help him feel more confident and will improve his socialisation skills

Hi & welcome from us :-)

Hi I am new and having similar problems to you...got my 2nd staffy from pound. Very friendly but didnt know then that she had been attacked in pound ( they just put them all in a big outdoor pen together!) she was sick straight away we got home with abscess from tooth bite.

Anyway kept her home a week or two till she was better. Took er out for a walk on lead she just about wanted to eat a passing little dog with old lady!
A barking snarling aggressive demented looking dog!

This continued aaech time she saw another dog. Soon started avoiding areas where other dogs hang out.

Talked to vet no real help other than try valium ( did nothing) called dog triner but one that works on dog whispering style. Great they explained over phone when I described her body posture etc and nervousness in house if blind rattles, hears dog bark miles away etc. She has fear aggression. In other words a nrvous wreck from previous attack so in true staffy style will fight to death (HIM or me!)

Now I have more idea whats happening with her really helped. Also got book by Caesar Millan and since following his advice just in one day have changed her baehaviour in house. I spoilt her have her lots emotional hugs cuddles etc when she was sick and she was new to the house so now she thinks she is the alpha dog and Im just hopeless as pack leader. This according to him makes her fearful as when we are out she cant rely on me to give confidence signals to her.

So have done just what he advises and its been amazing ( not fixed when she sees other dogs yet!) but I feel we are gong in right direction.

In a nutshell:
I am asserting myself as pack leader and as she was well trained in basic obedience she has picked up on it really quick! Staffys are smart too.

Get hold of a copy of his book and good luck!

PS I am also keeping her on short lead when we are on a walk, exiting front door first ( pack leader) she has to sit first whilst lead goes on.

She has to walk behind/next to me ( she used to pull out front dragging me along head down like a sled dog)

When I want to I suddenly stop the walk and tell her to sit ( asserting pack leader again) she doesn't make the rules in other words. I dont play, pat her etc then wait me standing still not giving her any attention. Move off again then do it again a couple of times for noreason other than to show her ( nicely and firmly) whose pack leader.

I tell her to sit and put food in bowl. then she has to wait till I giver her command to eat. I cant beleieve how fast all this has changed her behaviour. Just like a kid she knew what she was supposed to do but if a dopy parent( me) lets her get away with bad assertive behaviour she will.

When we get home I tell her to sit I go in first she follows. Its just like training kids - I have had 4 and so can see similarities! Basic stuff whe you know how to do it. His book has really helped me and I will get dog whisperer round to house ( when I save up $300) they guarantee 2 vists of 2 hours each if not fixed all further visits free!

Hey Hey from me and Marley Welcome to the forum.