Rehomed Staffy

hey there i am new to this but i rehomed a female staffy she is 2 and a half and obviously hasnt had the best start in life as we are her 3rd owners the person i got her off of said he was moviing and couldnt take her and that the day i got her was the last day they had to rehome her that made my mind up to take her and try to give her the life she needs but the problem is she hates other dogs and went to bite one the other day when the man we got her from said she was ok with them the only think i can think of is she has been breed for money or been attack by another dog and it has made me scared as i have a 2 year old son whos safety obviously come first and he is very hands one with her as staffy owners yourselves what would you say is best for her can i retrain her or is it to risky round my son do i muzzle her when round my son i reaslly dont know what to do please help me

I think you need some time to both settle, all dogs can be dog aggresive, at any time. How is she at home with you? Rescues and there historys are a learning curve and harder when you don't know it but they can be trained. How long have you had her?

Thank you for your reply much appreciated we have had her 4 days she is fne with me and my husband she has so much love to give she just wants cuddles all the time but she does shy away and go to th floor first whiich makes me think she has been hit when my son is up in the day she always looks in the corner of her eye at him and her tail goes inbetween her legs which has made me pull him away as my son is very hypo around her im just so scared she will go for him as like you said we dont know her history

dannii wrote:hey there i am new to this but i rehomed a female staffy she is 2 and a half and obviously hasnt had the best start in life as we are her 3rd owners the person i got her off of said he was moviing and couldnt take her and that the day i got her was the last day they had to rehome her that made my mind up to take her and try to give her the life she needs but the problem is she hates other dogs and went to bite one the other day when the man we got her from said she was ok with them the only think i can think of is she has been breed for money or been attack by another dog and it has made me scared as i have a 2 year old son whos safety obviously come first and he is very hands one with her as staffy owners yourselves what would you say is best for her can i retrain her or is it to risky round my son do i muzzle her when round my son i reaslly dont know what to do please help me

SBTs can tend to be aggressive with other dogs, and you need to be aware of this from the start. You can control this by keeping her on a lead whilst away from your house + garden.

They are however fantastic people dogs. They love people more than they like other dogs and are referred to as the 'nanny dog' because of their close affinity to people and particularly children.

Every dog is different, I've owned SBTs for 16 or so years now + I'd NEVER have anything else. BUT their behaviour with + towards other dogs can be challenging . Without seeing your dog + son I really can't comment, but I personally haven't come across a SBT whose behaviour has been challenging towards people.

This is a hard one because you could never say she will not bite your little girl but that doesnt mean cause shes dog aggresive she will bite babies.
My boy doesnt like others but my grandkids pull him cuddle him and he loves them to bits, saying that I would never leave them together if I go out the room the dogs are up following me and I prefare it that way.

It could be that she has been teased in the past by children & is wary of them. I know you say that your son is hypo, but maybe you could explain to him that she has been badly treated & she needs some gentleness & quiet so that she can recover? Then you can show him how to gently stroke her & maybe let him throw a ball for her to chase.

Staffords are not normally aggressive with children, but if she has been badly treated by one or more, then she may be wary & may need some encouragement & patience.

dannii wrote:Thank you for your reply much appreciated we have had her 4 days she is fne with me and my husband she has so much love to give she just wants cuddles all the time but she does shy away and go to th floor first whiich makes me think she has been hit when my son is up in the day she always looks in the corner of her eye at him and her tail goes inbetween her legs which has made me pull him away as my son is very hypo around her im just so scared she will go for him as like you said we dont know her history

4 days is such a short space of time, as said above there is certainly know human aggresion there, they take a while to settle in, mine also had 3 homes prior but granted I dont have kids. She did the same tail, cowering thing, its just a settling in thing. She maybe able to socialise one day but maybe not, the more you do the more she'll learn, but kept on a lead for now, but that doesn't mean forever. Its been 4 days so dont worry and let things settle down, you maybe supsised. Keep an eye when shes with your son and her are together if your concerned but just give it time.

My previous rescue was also very dog aggressive but when it come to people he was as soppy as anything! as said above shes not been with you long so you need to get to know her and she needs to get to know you .. i would muzzle her on walks for the safety of other dogs and to just basically cover your own back as if she was to get to another dog it could lead to a very messy outcome i.e police involved + worse! .. we always muzzled mine for this reason.