I think we have made a huge mistake with Maddie...

When we adopted Maddie we knew she was dog aggressive. We were volunteer walkers at the kennels and one day I was trying to get her out of the kennels past the other dogs to walk her and used my welly-clad leg to block her as she tried to bite the dog barking in the next kennel. I still have the scar on my leg.
When we walk Mads she is generally lovely, but goes INSANE when she sees other dogs. She has nearly pulled me into the road before.
For the last two Saturdays we have taken Maddie to a new park to meet a friend's dog. The dog is also a rescue, he is a retrievery-type and is very laid back. Last week went quite well and this week she was potty as she got out of the car, pulling and squeaking. She nearly pulled me over as we approached. Once she got to him Maddie was pleased but calmer. She did try to grab his neck to make him play but her told her very clearly he was not impressed and she understood.

Judging by her behaviour over the last two Saturdays Maddie is not DA at all. She loves dogs and just wants to play with them. As she is a staffy this shows by growling and grabbing them round the neck.

We have misjudged her totally The poor soul isn't nasty, just lonely

Oh, and to make up for my ale-fuelled ramblings, here is a photo of Maddie with her friend

Aww Maddie least she has a friend now

Sounds like she is on lead reactive to dogs like Chance is!

Aww Sarah that's a fab pic, and its great news about maddie, it will be forgiven by maddie after
All we are only human

Well done for sticking with it enough to find that out, some people would've resigned themselves to the idea that she doesn't like other dogs

Whereabouts in the South West are you? I volunteer at a rescue down here too

Ah bless her, good news

Yea, really well done. That is great progress

Aww it's lovely now Maddie has a friend

Fab pik!

Aww how nice to find that out

Just takes time for them to trust. gonna do a little happy dance for you

janey wrote:

Just takes time for them to trust. gonna do a little happy dance for you

I want a dance too!

That's brilliant news, glad she has a friend

well done maddie , have to confess I read the post title and the first few words and thought "here we go" so well done for the teaser

Great news, sound like Maddie just needed to vent some of her playfullness.
I agree the sounds they make when playing and the leg and neck biting do make them seem agressive.

Wonderful news to hear Maddie now has a friend, I hope she continues to improve and gains many more friends

thats great news,so pleased that Maddie has a friend,you must be so pleased

I would like to say a huge thank you to you for not giving up on Maddie and keeping your patience with her all this time, others would have considered a far different outcome.

Socialisation is such a large part of a dogs training that does get overlooked by many. So many dogs go through their lives and dont get a chance to meet others because their behaviour has been mis read somewhere down the line. Well done to you again for taking the time to address the problem Maddie had and finding her a solid play mate, they are so important.

Great news well done Maddie

Yeah well done Maddie ><

That was a real pleasure to read! Very well done to Maddie and to you

Ella, we have never dared try Maddie off the lead yet (mainly due to her enthusiasm with other dogs - she goes deaf ) but that could well be the problem.
Thank you Darcey-May, I think she has forgiven us already
Chris, thank you We have been a bit remiss since getting Mads, as any dog-walking time is spent with her, not the strays. We are in South Gloucestershire, and support FOSS.
Thank you Sazzle, Mat, Kita, Hayley, and Tara, Nathan, Sarah and Stella.
Thanks for the happy dance Janey! Chris, this is for you
Dave, I'm glad my teaser worked
Thank you Kathy. We don't know Maddie's background so it is hard to know how much socialising she has had. Kennels almost broke her she was aggressive, hyperactive, and yappy. She is totally different at home. If we had homed her earlier maybe there would be fewer problems, but we didn't think we wanted a dog until we got to know Maddie!
Thank you Claire, Lyn and Lisa.
To say thank you all for your support I have included a photo of Maddie and her friend Henry, from last weekend (so within half an hour of first meeting)
[/URL]

Great pics so glad she has a friend

Great pic, good to hear you are getting on so well now

Aww nice to see them walking so nicely together

What a cracking shot, I'm so very pleased to look at that and know what it means to you

Lovely to hear she has a friend! It's great when they can have a regular play mate Congrats to the both of you!

Well we have an update!
Last night hubby was walking Maddie and an off-lead staffy came charging over. They had a cautious sniff then started to play. Apparently it was full-on staffy play, with growling and grabbing The other dog's owners were in a bit of a hurry so it was only a short game.
Tonight he told me Maddie met an on-lead boxer dog and the two of them had a lovely play.

TWO new friends in two days, what a result!

Maddie came into the South Gloucestershire kennels nearly a year ago now (We adopted her last October, so she was in kennels for too long, poor baby).  We often still have a lot of problems with her on-lead (she still makes a huge amount of fuss unless she is able to meet the other dog.  Once they meet she loses interest!)
We went camping last week. As it was not at a proper site we were able to let Maddie off-lead a lot.  She met the resident dobermann and, once off-lead, got on a treat  

Here she is in bed on the first night.

With her new friend






Sat quietly by the awning, in the shade.


Maddie is a natural camper and gave an extremely good account of herself all week

How lovely to see Maddie with her new friend, pleased that she is enjoying her holiday  

That's a brilliant update! She's doing so well!

Wonderful news! Best kind of mistake as the other way can be quite nasty and life changing. Beautiful pics.

Thanks for the update, glad it's all going well  

what a brilliant result! just goes to show what happens when a good dog owner meets a dog in need. you really are a fantastic and natural dog owner, just wish there were more like you. well done mate your a star

Awww it is great to hear!

Aww looks like she had a great time with her friend on a camping trip!