help help help

well spent 3 hrs at hospital again ,my daughters bf been bitten again they bought a staffy a few months again and this is the third time ,last being he bit 4 of my family. and daughter was off work a week these are very nasty bites ,my familys love staffies and we have ,fostered ,rehomed ,and fund raised for them ,the house was checked out and we got off a family with kids and nothing out the ordinary ,but he has two personalitys ,he is a gorgeous loving dog ,he is also a dog whos now becoming feared ,he recently became ill after having a stick in his throat at 350.00 cost ,its not about money ,he is much loved but now feared by my family as he can just turn at the click of an eye .we know about staffies and not looking for abuse or anything just comments on how this can be dealt with ,i know the obvious option ,this cant be aloud to carry on ,many thank ted x

What happens when he bites? Is it in the middle of play for example?

no in the middle of an argument or raised voices ellie ,i dont live with them so its difficult knowing whats happening,yesterday they had to stop him by locking him in a room till he calmed down ,which was just a few mins x

Has it only just started recently or has he always been a bit nippy and its got gradually worse?

well he has always been boisterous and pushy you know whats there like bless em but no when he bites he means it 2 on the ankle daughter bf 3 times and 4 family members in one go the latest bite is a cracked thumb and a inch x 3 inch gash he always mean it ,after the last bite he came to sleep at mine and was like a baby x

I know exactly what you mean lol, it sounds like a horrible situation at the moment. Have there been any big changes at home? Does he only go for the people who are arguing?

hiya yes well they dont even have to argue just raised voices he no longer goes near my grandaughter ,i feel he needs to go to someone who lives alone in the country and alone or similar ,not moving the problem on but really the options are limited ,it will be heartbreaking what ever they decide ,but seeing a man cry in pain and blood everywhere is terrible ,ive come on here for advice really ,you seem a very caring person ,my staffy died after 16 years bless her x

Youve come to the right place for advice is he a rescue dog? (Sorry if you have already said and I have missed it) if so, do you know anything about his background? Because as Tara has mentioned in your introduction, he may have had a bad experience previously

tedmeister wrote:hiya yes well they dont even have to argue just raised voices he no longer goes near my grandaughter ,i feel he needs to go to someone who lives alone in the country and alone or similar ,not moving the problem on but really the options are limited ,it will be heartbreaking what ever they decide ,but seeing a man cry in pain and blood everywhere is terrible ,ive come on here for advice really ,you seem a very caring person ,my staffy died after 16 years bless her x

If they do decide to rehome him, make sure he goes to a rescue centre and not just giving him to someone else. If he's given to someone else, you're just passing the problem on, and the next person may end up putting him to slee, or passing him onto someone else, and etc. You never know what other people will do.

Still, there may be options if they can figure out why he does it, and it does sound like it's out of fear from the raised voices, which means he's probably had a bad past.

i thought of his past ,no he wasnt a rescue dog and we dont want to pass the problem on there could only be one option here which i dont want to think about ,he cant be given to a rescue we dont want him in a kennel x

So you've had him since he was a puppy? I thought you mentioned a previous family he was with? If he had a family before now, even if they seemed OK, it's possible they treated him badly, no? You mentioned in the other topic that you think it's neurological, so you could ask the vets about it, but because it's when voices are raised, I really really think it's because he's getting stressed out or scared. I don't have experience with this so can't tell you how that could be managed, but we've got members on here with dogs that have/had similar problems, and they've been able to manage it and keep their dogs and be happy so hopefully they can give advice or experience on the subject.

hiya im just think its something in his past tara well im really not sure to be honest ,im just worried about my family he is now on his third family he is about 4 to five im guessing ,you could be right about him being stressed or nervous ,going to have to think thankyou everyone for your imput x

If it is his past, I'm sure it can be managed, with the right training and advice, as long as you're all willing to continue with it

If he is on his third family anything could have happened to him before which you are unaware of. Like you have said before, he is a loving dog when he is not like this. As Tara says, if it is down to his past and him being anxious or scared, this can be worked on

It sounds like nervous/defensive behaviour possibly. In that his trigger is the loud noises, and he feels he must lash out as he is nervous/anxious.

The best short term fix is don't put him in that position when possible. Although I know that isn't so easy all the time.

It may be worth looking into training classes or working with a behavourist that can give one on one help. It sounds like something which can be managed and solved with the right training and consistency.

Does he have a crate? Crate training is great for nervous/anxious dogs as it gives them their own "safe place". You can pick them up fairly cheap and even cheaper again on those 2nd hand websites. Leave the door open, put a few blankets in, few fav toys. Cover the tops and sides with a duvet also for even more comfort.

Once he takes to the crate you may notice him go straight into it when he feels uncomfortable with the situation. He would feel safe there.

It doesn't sound like he means to hurt anyone though IMO

if the bite was bad like you said then the dog need putting down

sorry i think this is wind up!! :/

Steve wrote:if the bite was bad like you said then the dog need putting down and rehoming why would you give a dog like that to someone else

They didn't say they'd give him to someone else, I said to give him to a rescue centre if they don't keep him, and they said they weren't going to pass the problem onto someone else, so they didn't say they'd do that.

Have you taken him to the vet to ensure it's not health related?

Honestly, with something like this I think your options are fairly limited. It definitely sounds like the dog has been mistreated at some point in a previous family, which has most likely led to fear aggression. For a start, an effort could be made to keep voices lowered to avoid frightening him. A crate would also be an option to allow him some quiet time.

It sounds like they need to earn his trust and show him that he isn't in danger of being hurt. This will take time and patience.

It's a huge responsibility and shouldn't be taken on lightly. An aggressive dog is a dangerous dog. Now they can be turned around. We have a couple of people on the forum who have managed to do it - I'm sure they can offer pointers. But it does take a lot of work.

Sorry but im going to be harsh here but if the situation is as bad as you say and he has bitten 4/5 times now and propper bites not little nips you have very little option but to pts .
it is of no blame to yourselves as you are his third family(this would have set alarm bells ringing for me as to why)that he has had so knowing what has went on in his past .
so sorry i think its time for you to make the hard desision and pts as im sure you dont want to be the next person in the papers for there dog killing a child .
we as a forum are staffie lovers and in doing so i think we have tryed to give helping advice(but saddly i feel inapropriate advice) but i think if we are fair we could never forgive our selves if the worse did happen

sorry i forgot to add saddly you have the most dangourous of dogs this is why i have said pts a dog that goes from plasid to full on bitting in the blink of an eye will never be fully safe around people as they may be triggered at any time .

tedmeister wrote:well he has always been boisterous and pushy you know whats there like bless em but no when he bites he means it 2 on the ankle daughter bf 3 times and 4 family members in one go the latest bite is a cracked thumb and a inch x 3 inch gash he always mean it ,after the last bite he came to sleep at mine and was like a baby x

Sorry, only just saw this. If he bit down hard enough to do that much damage, they really do need to seriously consider their next steps. I think you mentioned earlier that your grand daughter is living there. How old is she, if you don't mind me asking?

Tara wrote:

tedmeister wrote:hiya yes well they dont even have to argue just raised voices he no longer goes near my grandaughter ,i feel he needs to go to someone who lives alone in the country and alone or similar ,not moving the problem on but really the options are limited ,it will be heartbreaking what ever they decide ,but seeing a man cry in pain and blood everywhere is terrible ,ive come on here for advice really ,you seem a very caring person ,my staffy died after 16 years bless her x

If they do decide to rehome him, make sure he goes to a rescue centre and not just giving him to someone else. If he's given to someone else, you're just passing the problem on, and the next person may end up putting him to slee, or passing him onto someone else, and etc. You never know what other people will do.

Still, there may be options if they can figure out why he does it, and it does sound like it's out of fear from the raised voices, which means he's probably had a bad past.

Is there places that will take him? I am only asking as friend of mine had a Stafford that bit when she was frightened, and no rescue would have her, and she had to be put to sleep. He was obviously gutted. I hope a resolution is found for this dog and the poor family.

All I can say is I know how you feel my boy has had a hard Time and if something scares him he wil bite but not as much as your daughters dog with a lot of house rules and extra training he is improving
We have no shouting in the house or around him (hard with teenagers)
If the door goes both dogs go in cadges
If there is a lot of people around he wears a baskaville muzzle
All toys are removed apart from when we are training or playing fetch 1-1

It can be helped but it takes a lot of work I have rescued lots of times but never come across a dog quite like my buster
You have to get them to seriously think can they manage him or would it be a kinder thing for him to be pts horrid thought but the rehoming centres are full to the brim with lovely dogs with no issues so taking on a troubled dog is not possible

I'm going against the grain here but I would not PTS a known biter unless I had exhausted all other avenues including getting a full medical at the vets.

If you know the trigger is arguing or raised voices then surely it's not hard to not do it around the dog or as daft as it sounds use it as an excuse to do some training. I know that's what I did as chance would lunge at my OH should we have argued but we desensitised him to loud voices and such

If they are willing to put the work in every single day for the rest of his life they can have a great dog, like ellas, but if they are lazy and they just want a quick fix then they need to pts because they won't get it. However i don't think he should be around kids at all, so if they have kids they need to pts. Kids can't be trusted with dogs as much as dogs can't be trusted with kids.

how many walks is he getting and how long for?