Hi from Tasha, Kai and Del... Kai need some help!

Hi, I'm not sure if the photo worked, I'm afraid I am a bit technically challenged!

My name is Tasha and I have two beautiful staffy girls. Delilah is a 14 month old blue. Whilst she has her naughty moments she is a great little dog. Shes well trained and gentle. Her only interests are rocks and sticks. I got delilah at 13 weeks, so we have bonded really well.

Kai is a white rescue. From the looks of her she is about two and she has definitely had a few litters. She has a few remnants of what looks like mistreatment, with a bald patch on her head (likely caused by a burn) and a broken tail that has resulted in a distinctive curl. I've had her for nearly a year now and she seemed to be very well settled. Kai is due to be spayed, but she has had a few false pregnancies which have prevented it. She is in one now, which may explain some of this.


Both dogs walk well on and off the lead and I've never had any trouble with aggression. They don't pull towards other dogs or snarl or bark. They have always got on with every dog they met.

However, a few weeks ago this changed for kai. A friend of mine brought round his male bichon freise (spell?). No was curious at first but when he was here a little longer she became agitated and finally went for him. She pinned him down and was mouthing / biting him and snarling. She didn't do him any damage ( which I feel was deliberate as she could have easily bitten him) but obviously it was pretty scary for everyone involved. Kai was also visibly distraught for a while. After he had gone Kia calmed down and was back to her normal self. I put it down to my own mistake of introducing a new dog to her territory.

Yesterday we were walking in the park, off lead. We walked past a family with a small brown Fluffy dog (possibly another bichon) and Kai seemed fine. When we looped past them again they were nearer. As is often the case the family looked nervous about a staffy running towards them so I called out that she was friendly and not to be scare. Lo and behold Kai went for their dog in the same way again. Pinned him down and mouthed / bit. Their dog was obviously very scared and distressed and the owner and her son were terrified. I pulled Kai off and apologised as much as I could. I offered to stay to help settle everyone but after making sure that no one was hurt I thought it best to remove Kai from the situation. After the incident she wasn't pulling or aggressive; she was just back to normal.

These two incidents have made me really worried. Obviously I don't want my dog to hurt another dog, and I'm also conscious that a small child was there too. I love walking both dogs off lead and I really don't want to end up with Kai always muzzled or on a lead.

I would really love some advice on how to handle this situation. Kai is such a loving and gentle dog, so I'm just totally shocked that this has happened.

Please please please help us. My worst nightmare is that I have to give her up, or worse have her put down because of aggression or her hurting someone.

Welcome from Iza and me   Lovely looking dogs. Not any experience in this but maybe keep her on lead outside until you go somewhere where there is no other dogs in sight.

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Thanks Colin. I'll definitely be keeping her on a lead, but I am worried it will stop her from socializing and interacting with other dogs, which might make it worse. Just so confused and worried   

Hi and welcome from the girls and me. I too have a blue and a white girl. For the moment I would put Kai on the lead when there are other dogs around. It may be an idea to meet up with your friend with the Bichon on neutral ground with both dogs on the lead and walk them parallel to each other (don't let them greet each other head on). Just walk them without forcing them together. This may help her realise the Bichon isn't a threat. Incidentally my white one hates Bichons   

Hi Chiara,
Thanks. I will definitely try both of those things. So strange that they both seem nervous around those dogs.
Kai normally gets on with little dogs, so maybe it is more of a breed thing, rather than size.

Maybe she had a bad experience with a certain type in the past. Jack Russells are the ones that try go for Iza in my village.

Maybe Colin. It just seems very recent as she is walked every day with a number of other dogs of all breeds and sizes. I suppose this is the problem with a rescue; you never know what has happened to them.
Hopefully being more cautious and having her on a lead for a while will help to improve things.

Hello and a warm welcome from me and Stella   Well done on the rescue and hope things start to improve with Kai when lead walking

I would keep her on lead as well. If you want to give her some freedom to roam a long lead would help

Hi & Welcome from Flo and me   

I completely understand your situation. My Flo is also a rescue and sounds to be just like your Kai. She is fine socialising with friends dogs but on occasion she will have one of these moments and pin down another dog. There is more noise than anything else and she has never bitten but will show teeth.

We manage it by watching her body language. If she shows signs of being agitated we distract her with her stick, this works 100% of the time. We also know that she is scared of a certain breed (collies) and avoid them when walking. Although Flo is deaf we have worked really hard on her recall so that she can enjoy off lead walks and we know that we can call her away from any possible situation before anything happens.

I tend to only let her socialise with dogs that she knows and not ones that we meet whilst walking. There can be an issue though with other off lead dogs that come up to her. If they do a quick sniff and then leave her alone all is fine but when they bother her she will react.

I'm not sure what else to suggest. Good Recall is vital for off lead walking and a distraction toy should work well also. Watching body language should help you manage anything before it can escalate. In your case, i would use a long lead until you have confidence in any recall or distraction methods. One last thing, they will pick up on nervous tension from you. If at all possible, try to remain calm and relaxed when walking.

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

I would also advize that Kai is kept on a lead when out on walkies, you can get the long training leads at a reasonable price on line:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Training-Lead-Padded-handle-Black/dp/B00A3S2I0O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1405247711&sr=8-5&keywords=training+lead

We have had our moments with Rocky, who is also a rescue dog, around boxer dogs. Despite his name Rocky does not like boxers so we just avoid them whenever possible. He has one friend who is a young boxer dog of about 8 months old now and has known him for a few months. The trick here was to introduce them when the boxer was young and no threat to Rocky. They now get along just fine.

Maybe go along to the park when there is no one else around, or find somewhere else that is very quiet, and do some recall training with her.

I can't thank you all enough. I feel so much better everything.
I'm going to take Kai out now and try to keep things calm and restrict her to the lead. I'll keep you all posted on how things go.
I'm new to the forum but am so happy to have found somewhere that people actually know about staffy issues and can give good advice. Thanks all.

Hi from me & Katy, we also have trouble with bichons as they always go for Katy. I would try her on a long line as suggested until you have a great recall   

Hiya from me and Vinnie, cant add to advice above gorgeous babies btw   

hia from me and sasha   ,great advise given by every one,i hope things improve with her   

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

Welcome from Darcy and me

Hi and welcome from me and my two

Pink is a rescue, given her history she is very good with other dogs. There is one exception, she does not like Pomerians. It took a bit of watching with the trainer but we worked out it is not the dog she does not like but the incessantly yap aimmed at her. Now I have worked that out yapping really bothers her I can say hello to said dogs owenrs as I walk her away from their yapping small dogs.

Have a think and she if you can recall what led up to the mouthing. If you can spot the warning signs she feels the need to seriously gaffer a smaller dog you can begin to put in place distractions and take action in future. Pink has had pups and if a small dog tries to boss her she tends to act mom dog and put them down. I have a Kong ball on a rope I keep soley for walking and training that she loves in my bag. When I walk her that I can produce it and divert her to play with me instead.

Welcome from me and Alfie

Hi and welcome from me and Daisy, I hope things are going ok x

Welcome from the kids and I