newbie..problems with staffy..need help

Hi all..Ive just joined this site as Ive read a few posts before and found them helpful. At the moment Im having a few problems with my boy Kai. He is approx 18 months old and is very boisterous indoors. A bit of background info is I got him from a woman about 8 months ago who had another dog and couldnt cope with them both. I instantly fell in love with the big softy and he a great dog, just needs a firm hand in the training department. I have 2 teenagers at home, the kids do take him walks and I do the long run about mad walks.

At the moment we are having a battle of wits trying to keep him off the furniture. I use the "get down" command then praise when he gets off which works to a certain extent, but as soon as I leave the room hes back up again!.He knows he shouldnt be up there because as soon as he hears me coming back he jumps down right away.

Another issue I have is Kai and my boyfriend. Its a new relationship, 3 months, so I can only assume its a dominance thing with someone else coming into Kai's territory. When bf comes in he goes absolutely mental, bouncing up and down, trying to hang off his coat, humping his leg, mouthing his hand if he trys to pat him, just general over-excitement as well as dominance I think. For this issue, Ive been putting him in his crate until he calms down but now and again he comes out the crate as bad as before.

When we are out walkies I use a "canny collar" as he pulls quite a lot and it seems to do the trick. He is a totally different dog out walking as he doesnt bounce about, etc.

Ideally I would like any tips, info on how to stop the jumping up and mouthing, humping, etc as these are my main concerns right now. The furniture isnt too big a problem as such.

Many thanks guys in advance.

Hi welcome to the forum. Please take the time to introduce yourself here:
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

As for the problems at hand, firstly how much exercise does he get and what is he being fed?

The furniture's a problem. When you leave the room, could you take him with you? Is it absolutely a no-no that he goes on the furniture?

As far as your boyfriend (and any other visitors) goes, I'd pop him on a lead when he comes in and wait until he's calm before any greeting is allowed. Tell your bf not to look at him or talk to him until he's sitting nice & calm. You could maybe give your bf some treats so that once there's calm, he can reward his behaviour.

Also, as Hayley says, the hyper behaviour could be food-related. What do you feed him & how much exercise does he get?

Hi Hayley,

Kai gets Tesco complete dried food mixed with a third of a tin of pedigree chum twice a day. He gets out for 3x half hour walks and a walk of at least an hour and a half. At weekends he is out a lot more as we are all off school and work.

Hi Caryll,

thanks for the advice, I will try that this week and see how it goes.

aferguson wrote:Hi Hayley,

Kai gets Tesco complete dried food mixed with a third of a tin of pedigree chum twice a day.

There's a lot of your problem.

Tesco's own & pedigree chum are very poor foods, full of additives that can lead to hyperactivity!

I would suggest changing the food over to something like Wainwrights or James Wellbeloved, or a good quality fish-based food. That in itself will lower his energy levels to a more controllable level.

Personally i would not be feeding either of those foods, they are not very high in protein which is what a dog needs. They are high in additives and basicallly like skittles for kids!

If you can, change to a better dog food such as wainwrights which is a mid range good quality food. Then as mixer you can use some fish or a bit of hame to just tempt him.

A dog of his age should get at least 45mins each walk

As for the behaviour, ignoring a dog works wonders! If he gets on the couch just say OFF and then ignore him cause he is maybe associated getting off the couch with getting attention, but the only way he gets that attention is by getting on the couch in the first place, if you get me haha

Aww thanks guys. This is all great stuff. Heres hoping it works a treat with Kai. I speak to the kids re his walks tonight and come up with a rota of some kind. As for the food issue, Il have a look online now (even though Im meant to be working ahaha) and see if there are any local shops selling any of the mentioned foods.

aferguson wrote:(even though Im meant to be working ahaha)

Ooops! Same here!!

If you have a pet at home near by, they will sell it or you'll be able to order online, I know some people do this and say it's cheaper

Sazzle wrote:If you have a pet at home near by, they will sell it or you'll be able to order online, I know some people do this and say it's cheaper

I order mine online it's cheaper for me

The food sold by local supermarkets are usually terrible, to be perfectly honest. If you have a Pets At Home near you, they'll sell good food, but if not, you can always order online.

I can't help with the furniture problem. Loki knows not to get on the furniture unless he's told he's allowed; when he's left alone he'll not bother, he only gets on when there's someone to cuddle up to. Our old dog, Zac, would get on the couch as soon as the room was empty, and you'd see him looking very guilty when you came back in the room, and the couch warm where he'd been laying

For your boyfriend, it sounds more like over-excitement than anything else. Putting him in the crate just avoids the issue, you want him to have as much exposure as possible. So, put him on his lead and make him sit until he's calm, then let your boyfriend pat Kai. If Kai starts getting excitable again, your boyfriend stops all contact with him until he's calm again. That way he learns only calm behaviour gets him affection.

I had the furniture problem with my dog as well and had to get her out of the habit of jumping up on everything. I actually tied her to my belt for over a week, that way I could pull her down as soon as she did it! I could also pull her down with her leash instead of touching her because for staffys, even bad attention is often better than no attention! I would also not praise her as soon as she gets off the couch, she might learn a pattern, "I jump up, get told off, get off the couch and get cuddles", instead practise moving to the couch and when she chooses to not jump at all praise her! Also when your out, make sure she can't get on the couch, you can put chairs or something on the couch

If you switch foods be sure to mix the new food in with the old gradually so his stomach doesn't get upset

quick update..i popped into pets at home on way home from work last night and got a bag of james wellbeloved..did a 3quarter tesco complete to 1quarter ratio of james wellbeloved and he scoffed the lot..ahaha..and the same again this morning for breakfast..

also tried the ignoring when getting told to get off the furniture and it seems to be working so far..Kai wanders over and nudges you if he wants some love rather than jumping on top of you..so hopefully with ongoing enforcing he will learn..

just got to try out the hints and tips when my boyfriend or visitors are in..although Kai was good as gold this morning when my bf was in and i left to go to work..im hoping the change of food will make a difference and maybe make him a bit less hyper.

Im new to the site to, my prob is iv had my staffy for 2 mths he was 14weeks when igot him i bought him from a lovely lady who said she couldent cope ,
she always let him sit on the sofa and she also let him lie on her bed at night, now I just cannot get him out of this habbit he gets off when i tell him but 2 mins later he back on. If i go out he has the run of the house has i put him in the kitchen one day and he scratched all the door ripped his bed up and made a big hole in my new kitchen flooring. He pulls like mad on his lead, iv just got him one of those giant long leads so he can have a run round down the fields but he still pulls all the way home if any1 comes to visit he jumps all over them hes driving me mad .

CHRISSYB wrote:Im new to the site to, my prob is iv had my staffy for 2 mths he was 14weeks when igot him i bought him from a lovely lady who said she couldent cope ,
she always let him sit on the sofa and she also let him lie on her bed at night, now I just cannot get him out of this habbit he gets off when i tell him but 2 mins later he back on. If i go out he has the run of the house has i put him in the kitchen one day and he scratched all the door ripped his bed up and made a big hole in my new kitchen flooring. He pulls like mad on his lead, iv just got him one of those giant long leads so he can have a run round down the fields but he still pulls all the way home if any1 comes to visit he jumps all over them hes driving me mad .

Oh, dear, poor you!

Come and say hello here...
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and then start up a thread of your own here, as you'll get a better response that way!
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f3-staffordshire-bull-terrier-training-and-behaviour

aferguson wrote:quick update..i popped into pets at home on way home from work last night and got a bag of james wellbeloved..did a 3quarter tesco complete to 1quarter ratio of james wellbeloved and he scoffed the lot..ahaha..and the same again this morning for breakfast..

also tried the ignoring when getting told to get off the furniture and it seems to be working so far..Kai wanders over and nudges you if he wants some love rather than jumping on top of you..so hopefully with ongoing enforcing he will learn..

just got to try out the hints and tips when my boyfriend or visitors are in..although Kai was good as gold this morning when my bf was in and i left to go to work..im hoping the change of food will make a difference and maybe make him a bit less hyper.

Sounds good!

Persistence & consistency will work wonders!