Am i doing something wrong?

Izzy is nearly 18mths old but we still have problems with excitment especially when outside with other people and dogs she is desperate to see and play we have tried i think everything halti,harness drop slack lead and walk the other way,sit and wait nothing seems to work we got a clicker and in the house and garden it works great but when out nothing seems to get her attention treats have no effect and she has no interest is there anything else i can try as my arm is getting sore
We have tried various foods at the moment she has wagg and meat once a day and she is walked twice a day(or i am walked twice a day lol) she hasnt been spayed yet would this help? am open to any suggestions and willing to try anything at this stage.

I doubt that spaying would make any difference in this instance. It seemes to be excitement rather than hormones.

Have you tried a Gencon? (this explains what it is http://www.gencon-allin1.co.uk/ They're used quite a lot on large heavy breeds - I've not seen one on a staffy, but I don't see why it shouldn't work)

Also, when you go out, every so often start walking backwards & pull her towards you saying "come" or whatever you use to call her. When she gets to you, get her to sit in front of you, facing you, then CALMLY praise her. If she'll eat treats outside then by all means give her one, but some dogs take no notice of food treats outside the home -mine don't! The trick is to remain totaly laid back & calm & hopefully she'll pick up on your mood. You could also practice this in the garden a few times.

Hi looked into the gencon you suggested my only concern that was when we tried the halti she scratched at it so much she would either get her paws tangled in it or made her nose bleed

Well, keep trying the calming excercise above. Above all, keep yourself calm when you're with her. If she does something wrong, try to ignore it & distract her by getting her to do something you know she can do - then gentle & calm praise.

You may want to look at food. Is she getting too many additives? Too much protein?

Try switching her to tripe to lower the protein intake & additives, together with raw meaty bones (not the large, weight bearing ones - use lamb ribs/necks, chicken wings/carcasses). A lot of the larger pet stores sell frozen minced tripe, and you should be able to get bones (with as much meat on them as poss) fairly cheaply from a proper butcher or a supermarket that has a proper butcher & cuts their own chops etc.

funaly anought iv just been to my first puppy class tonight and she rates gencon far far better than halti as they work 100% of the time and you have a really slim chance of getting a halti to fit a staffy propley

Yes, I've never seen a halti fit a staff properly. They have such huge heads!

mad izzy wrote:Hi looked into the gencon you suggested my only concern that was when we tried the halti she scratched at it so much she would either get her paws tangled in it or made her nose bleed

my female done the same with the halti she rolled onto rocks trying to get it lose but you have to pull her forward, don't let her mind stop on trying to get it off make her move forward with the halti and mind. stay calm when your doing it, when you aproach another dog pull up on the halti she will sit if you do it right and have her look at you in the eyes a nice calm stare until the dog has passed, dogs are tough a few scratches to their muzzle from trying to get it off won't affect her much but when she does it correct her and move forward and if she gets her paw tangled untangle it and move forward.

Caryll wrote:Yes, I've never seen a halti fit a staff properly. They have such huge heads!

I'v always had to adjust mine myself bought the one that fitted the muzzle then i corrected the head/around the neck part.