What to do!

Hi, we are new staffy owners. Mitzy is two years old and comes to us via a friend of a friend who cannot keep her because they are moving! We are told she is good with children and other dogs and has been chipped. We think she has had a litter, judging by appearances, but were not told this! We had a already decided to take her to a vet for a checkup, she still has her dew claws, her nails are very long and she keeps chewing on her paws and they look red raw. Things are not looking good! When my husband took her for a walk this morning, (keeping her on a lead) she sniffed around a couple of small dogs, but when a black lab ran over to her, she just went for it, something of a fight ensued and my poor husband is still shaking! He tried to phone the previous owner, and guess what, no answer!! Any advise would be welcome. Obviously we all need training, so I'll be looking into that. What about a muzzle in the meantime? I have been looking at the leather training type that don't look too awful. Oh, was also told she was used to sleeping in a cage. No information about the chip was forthcoming either!! I beginning to think this 'bloke' saw us coming!!

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You have got yourself into a possibly difficult situation but it isn't the end of the world, at least you have came to ask for advice

Firstly, IMO a muzzle will only make it worse. A lot of dogs are nervous with off lead dogs, and if you are nervous too it makes it worse. I know this is the case with my Logan. Therefore, I always ask that owners keep their dogs on lead around him and explain he is nervous but means no harm. Which is true.

If possible organise a few walks with family/friends that have friendly dogs that will be on lead. You can explain your worries to them and explain you want to socialize Mitzy in a controlled setting and see how she reacts.

That said, some dogs just do not like other dogs. If that was the case it would be a matter of never putting yourself in the position where you can get into trouble with off lead dogs etc.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that though

And yes, get her to the vets for a full check up and he can check her feet for you

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I would take her to the Vets, she might not have been walked much and that is why her claws are long. Stress can make them chew their paws too.

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me

Ask the vet to scan her for a micro chip they will have a devise for reading it. You will need to find out which company it is registered with to get the details changed over to yours, the vet should be able to tell you this company name.

Good luck with it all.

Welcome to the forum I am sure you will lots of advice on here. Good luck

Can't add anything but hi from us Xx

Hi & welcome from darcy & me

Hello and welcome to the forum from me and the kids

hia from me and sasha
i would def take her to the vet and get her checked over,some dogs dont get on with other dogs,my sasha is one of those and i've learnt to make sure she is on lead whenever other dogs are around,i hope you get things sorted

Hi & welcome to the forum ><
I read recently that black dogs are the hardest for your dog to work out so it normally results in more confrontations, also even well socialised dogs don't get on with every dog. Is it just the one dog so far?

Mike wrote:Hi & welcome to the forum ><
I read recently that black dogs are the hardest for your dog to work out so it normally results in more confrontations, also even well socialised dogs don't get on with every dog. Is it just the one dog so far?

Thats very interesting actually Mike as if I think about Tommy's confrontations it's only really been Black Spaniels and Black Labs

Anyway , as people say it all takes time and dogs don't all get on with other dogs, this is desirable but if you end up with a dog that is DA but super friendly with people then you have a hurdle that you know to jump and thats all. I'm surprised unless I've missed other posts that nobody has actually pointed out that your OH was 100% in the right (dog on lead and under control) and the owner of this other dog was 100% in the wrong for the way they let their dog approach you , it was just unfortunate that you didn't anticipate the reaction , you really do not have a big problem here so don't let it turn into one. Out of curiosity how did the other owner react to this scrap ??

I'm going now as I get very boring after a while but please take your time to mill around and search for your answers on all of your issues , and if you can't find the answers you need then just give us a shout

Hello and welcome from me and Daisy

Like has been said I would get straight to vets to get her a throurough check over and you can take the issues with her paws from there.

In regards to the walk, if the other dog ran over it could very well have startled her and she may have felt threatend hence the fight. As Dave pointed out your OH had done nothing wrong the other dog should not have been allowed to come bounding over to an on lead dog like that.

A bad start but hopefully things will get better, there is lots of help on here and please keep us updated on your progress

Hello and welcome from me and Ebony! Looks like everyone's already sorted you out with great answers! Looking forward to seeing pictures of her and hearing about her progress

hi from me and the boys

Welcome from Duke & I I have no experience in this but good luck and this is a great place for asking questions

Hi and welcome from Me n Steffi

Welcome it sounds like she's nervous of dogs that aren't small, so you can walk her with some calm, friendly dogs you know of, but if it doesn't work out, just avoid them and ask people to keep their dogs away from her if they try to come over.

Thanks everyone! That's a really good point Dave, I'll tell the OH, it might make him feel a bit better. We're trying to set up some obedience classes, she's a strong 'un, and she does try to leap at other dogs, I don't think she's been socialized at all. We took her to the vets this afternoon, he clipped her to nails, which she really didn't like, she would have climbed over me if we were'n all hanging onto her! but she didn't growl or act aggressively. He doesn't think she's been spayed either and she had some vaccinations done, which didn't trouble her at all. Oh yes, and we've changed her name! OH couldn't remember Mitzi and kept calling her Tipsy and she answered to it, so that's what she is now!!

Hi and welcome to the forum from the kids and I. Love the name change

Welcome to the forum.
I have a dog aggressive dog, and what I do is when she jumps/pulls to get to a dog I stop and attempt to get her to sit for 5 or 10 seconds till she has become distracted then we move forward she will pull/jump towards the other dog and again we stop. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 minutes to get past another dog and I do look like a right pillock stopping all the time however it does appear to be working and now I am only looking like 1/2 a pillock most of the time. I found it better to just stop rather than try to muscle her round other dogs and its better to be standing still if 2 dogs go at each other as you are less likely to trip over leads. Remember if you stay calm it does work it way down the lead to the dog. Also keep the dog on lead at all times if they are dog aggressive, and remember if your dog is on leash you are responsible for your dog only not some offleash mutt that the owner has ignored/allowed to bound up to you.
Good luck.

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

I think Zaph has some good advice there - well worth a try!

Don't forget as well, if you haven't had her long she's probably quite stressed, and a big dog bouncing over to her could tip her over the edge. She may calm down once she's more settled. If she doesn't, don't despair - it can be managed!

If you decide to use a muzzle (I don't like them much myself, unless a dog is human aggressive) then use a wire Baskerville type - I know they look bad but they allow the dog to pant & drink.

Hello and welcome from me and Pixee. Great advice all round. All I can add it this, Pixee does not like being taken by suprise either. She is good now with most dogs. As said your dog was under control. Love the new name, just give her time, patient and lots love and you will get to know her inside out

Hi and welcome from me and the furballs, hope you enjoy the forums

Hi & welcome to the forum