My molly

I sort of stumbled into action on the forum last night after reading topics for a while and need some advice.
I will start from the beginning and hope this makes sense
Molly was born on 14/11/12, and she is a staffy cross, we got Molly on the 30th March, it all happened very quickly, we got a phone call, she was going to Battersea, was sent a picture and I went and collected her along with two toys and a blanket. We were apparently her 5th home, she was very nippy and boisterous, was not house trained and chewed everything. she was 10kg when we got her she is now 17.2kg and lean.
She was housed in our lean-to with constant access to outside through a dog flap if the door is closed, the lean to is well ventilated, large and not too hot or cold (before you ask).
She was house trained within two weeks, learned stuff very quickly, like waiting for her food until told to take it, not going upstairs, sitting when asked, bed time routine, and was doing very well with fetching etc but over the last month or so she has seemed to have got very naughty doing every thing she is not supposed to. I know it is probably down to boredom but it has got to the stage now that even taking her out with the ball and long lead has become hard work as she will not give the ball back and just circles waiting for us to chase her, chase is her favorite game along with pulling .
I read most of a book by Ian Dunbar but molly wouldn't read it (joke) at first she responded well to training treats but now she will not swap them for a ball or toy.
She does know what to do most of the time but refuses.
she is a very loving dog, and likes nothing better than close contact and cuddles but will then nip and want to play chase.
She has nipped my wife and me quite hard a few times and left puncture wounds, it is like the devil gets in her and nothing will stop her when she goes on one. She just wants to run round and bite us she is probably playing but I must admit sometimes it is quite frightening, the only way to stop her is to hold her on her back until she calms (I will probably get told that is wrong but sometimes have no choice) as if we ignore her she will bite or get destructive. I have tried putting her in another room she calms for a little while the starts again.
She is left alone for sometimes up to 4 or 5 hours but we do have to work, she has constant access to a garden, and her bed she has lots of toys but prefers to chew the bark from logs and eat grass,
I have probably waffled on enough about my lovely mate Molly. but didn't expect looking after a pup to be quite such hard work.
Thank you for reading my waffle
Barry

Molly in a dirty mood ... Well just dirty really.

She looks lovely and I'll say it again well done on the rescue! What exersize does she get and how much, also what is she fed on?

I do worry about her having access to the garden when you are not there, many dogs are stolen in this way

janey wrote:

She looks lovely and I'll say it again well done on the rescue! What exersize does she get and how much, also what is she fed on?

I do worry about her having access to the garden when you are not there, many dogs are stolen in this way

Thank you for your reply, she gets walked at least twice a day, the walks vary from round the block (15mins) to 90mins off lead at an enclosed bay (its the only place I can let her off)
She is fed on dry kibble, we changed from Beta to Bakers this week just for a change, she gets very little else apart from training treats, and bits of veg, oh and long grass lol.
I have no worries about her being stolen from the garden it is enclosed with high fences. if we left her in the house I dread to think what we would return home to !

Also it just occurred to me that sometimes when I stop her biting us she bites her own limbs.

Do you know if she is microchipped ? The details must be kept up to date.

You may want to get her onto a decent food something from the list below should be fine. Bakers has many additives which can be harmful to a dog. I would recommend Barking Heads TLC this is what Rocky has,

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dry_food

Kathy wrote:Do you know if she is microchipped ? The details must be kept up to date.

You may want to get her onto a decent food something from the list below should be fine. Bakers has many additives which can be harmful to a dog. I would recommend Barking Heads TLC this is what Rocky has,

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dry_food

Thank you for your reply, She is chipped and I am waiting for the paperwork to come back, she is also wormed and de-fleaed but has not had her first season. I have been reading about the food and will change her food again. I just expected it all to be good especially as the vet said that the Beta was a good one to use so I stuck to the purina brand.
We have just been out for an hour or so and all she wants to do now is sleep ! I have to use a side pull harness on her as she won't stop pulling with a normal lead and my arms can't take it, with the side pull harness it is a much better experience for the both of us. she will sit at every kerb though without being asked.

Have you read this, may help with the biting, yelping helped me and Daisy

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

She is adorable! Best advice I can offer is as above, get her on a decent feed. Regular structured exercise is good, so not all off lead include some walking on lead, stops,turns, sits downs etc, make her work a bit. Be consistent and always stay calm. If she wants to play chase.. walk away, don't engage in it, but praise her gently and reward with sausage or cheese when she comes back. We did this with Rolo and he really calmed down. Same with Tug, I won't play tug, because I can't win against him, however I will occasionally throw a ball, then I walk off... he has to come to me and drop it or I walk away again. It takes time. Have you considered finding a good local training class? There are some local community groups who are very good.
Good luck and >< for Molly

Well done on taking Molly under your wing!

Firstly, as already said, please try to get her off of the Bakers & on to a better food. Bakers is packed full off colouring/flavouring/E numbers that you wouldn't give to a child. Most of them are known to cause hyperactivity in children. Many members here have found that their dogs have calmed down significantly when a better food has been introduced. Try to choose a food that has the first ingredient of meat (not meat meal) and has no cereal or wheat fillers. Wainwrights is good and as Kathy says, so is Barking Heads.

Secondly, she's at an age where she's like a rebellious teenager - knows everything, listens to nothing & nobody understands her! Keep calm, be patient & consistent, go back to basic commands and insist that she does what you ask. If, for example, she won't bring her ball back or give it up to you, then clip on her lead & do some heel work with her! Then try again - staffords (and crosses) aren't stupid - they learn quite quickly what gives them fun and what doesn't!

Good luck!

Sazzle wrote:Have you read this, may help with the biting, yelping helped me and Daisy

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

kelpie wrote:She is adorable! Best advice I can offer is as above, get her on a decent feed. Regular structured exercise is good, so not all off lead include some walking on lead, stops,turns, sits downs etc, make her work a bit. Be consistent and always stay calm. If she wants to play chase.. walk away, don't engage in it, but praise her gently and reward with sausage or cheese when she comes back. We did this with Rolo and he really calmed down. Same with Tug, I won't play tug, because I can't win against him, however I will occasionally throw a ball, then I walk off... he has to come to me and drop it or I walk away again. It takes time. Have you considered finding a good local training class? There are some local community groups who are very good.
Good luck and >< for Molly

Caryll wrote:Well done on taking Molly under your wing!

Firstly, as already said, please try to get her off of the Bakers & on to a better food. Bakers is packed full off colouring/flavouring/E numbers that you wouldn't give to a child. Most of them are known to cause hyperactivity in children. Many members here have found that their dogs have calmed down significantly when a better food has been introduced. Try to choose a food that has the first ingredient of meat (not meat meal) and has no cereal or wheat fillers. Wainwrights is good and as Kathy says, so is Barking Heads.

Secondly, she's at an age where she's like a rebellious teenager - knows everything, listens to nothing & nobody understands her! Keep calm, be patient & consistent, go back to basic commands and insist that she does what you ask. If, for example, she won't bring her ball back or give it up to you, then clip on her lead & do some heel work with her! Then try again - staffords (and crosses) aren't stupid - they learn quite quickly what gives them fun and what doesn't!

Good luck!

Thank you all for help and advice, we had a long walk with molly yesterday and talked about the problems we are having with her and along with the help on here we have formed a new plan of action, we found a local community center, with dog classes, are going to get new food today and some new treats, and sort of start again, I watched a load of stuff on utube last night as well, although every one seems to be able to train their dog in five mins lol,... Every where i read says that the first 4 months is so important, we have no idea what mollys life was like during that period we sort of picked up the pieces from that point and all who see her now and when we first got her are amazed at the difference she is a different dog, but I think the bottom line is that we need a grandchild friendly dog so have to up our game.

Good for you!! It's not easy, and it takes time, patience and consistency.. but you are doing the right thing. Good luck with the training class and keep us informed

Good luck and keep us posted

Sounds like you are persevering very well. Hats off to you for the rescue, I hope all goes well for you.

You will see the benefits of all your hard work pay of I promise, congrats on the rescue, good luck, keep us updated