10 week old staffy cross with american bulldog.

Hi all,

I am a new owner of a Staffy pup but I am struggling at the moment to understand the dog.

She (named Poppy) is very playful and very nipy. When she is picked up she does strain her neck to try and reach back and nip. Also in play she does growl and try to nip your hand or arm.

being new to owning a staffy I have tried some advise on line like being the dominant one by holing her down when she does this until she submits (although that won’t be long at the rate she is growing) tried ignoring her but that does not work.

Also in play she will bang her nose against me, is this play or aggression?

When she has been told off for biting she does "seem" to take it personally and then will have no interest in me for a day or so as if to be stubborn. It is quite funny really but I don’t want her to not bond with me either.

She is generally quite obedient for a 10 week old. I can put food down and tell her to "wait" and she understands she can’t have the food until told. Also I can go out of my front door to the bins and again tell her to wait and she will sit on the front door mat and wait for me to return without following.

All those things seem to be working.

My fear is that she will become a "biting dog" into adulthood. I try and be as calm around her as I can, but my partner tends to be a little more rough and tumble with her.

Is there something we are doing wrong, or is this normal for puppy stage with her growing out of it. Generally she is well behaved and toilet trained. She is chewing like hell at the moment though and we have her lots of chew toys.

Would puppy classes be a good idea, more for me than the dog to be honest.

Regards

Scott.

Hi Scott and welcome to the forum.

Staffies are sensitive little souls so reprimanding them or going for the holding them down approach isn't advised. Being firm, calm, consistent and persistent is key. Patience will really pay off too.

What do you do when she nips you? Have you tried yelping and finishing play until she quits? or perhaps time out in a quiet, safe area of the house? Or even diverting her attention with a toy? Also, at 10 weeks she won't be out and about much yet, but garden games and mental stimulation will help burn off energy big time.

Otherwise it's all very normal for her age. Puppy classes are great for socialisation

When you get a moment come and introduce yourself and your pup here ->
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

Ahhh yes biting in puppies is very normal my 5 month old does it now, you just have to keep training her, forcing her into submission really doesnt work they just end up frightened of you. Staffies LOVE their humans and if she bites you, get up walk away and drop any toys you have, when she comes up to you and doesnt bite, make out its a big deal and give her treats she will then learn that this is the behavior you do want, instead of beong negative. She will stop, but it doesnt stop over night, loki still does it now sometimes. No tug or chase or wrestling games with her as this will encourage her to bite, we have a toys are for playing hands are for stroking rule in this house.

Good luck you will have lots of fun

Hi ya Scott, sounds all pretty normal to me for a Puppy. With the nipping, replace said hand/arm/leg with a toy so that she associates biting with toys and not human limbs.

Holding down into submission is not the way forward. You are more likely to make her fearfull of you than obedient. The ignoring thing is common to Staffs so don't be concerned about that too much. They do play rough too.

Sounds to me like you are making progress as she will do commands for you already but Puppy classes will do you no harm and will help Poppy with socialisation so go for that.

Hey Scott

Your pup is only 10 weeks old, everything is new and exciting for her and you are a play thing at the moment, in fact, everything and everyone is a play thing! It's completely normal and the nipping is one of the many puppy stages you have to go through. To stop the nipping you can either say a stern "no" turn your back on her and wait until she's calm before turning back around and giving her the biggest best "good girl" you can, rinse and repeat. It will take a while for her to understand that nipping is unwanted behaviour but you need to be consistent. the other thing you can try is to carry a toy around with you and every time she goes to nip you, redirect the nipping to the toy i.e. put it in her mouth

Bumping her nose against you is just play, as is the nipping, at 10 weeks old she wouldn't know what aggression is, she's just a baby and everything is new and exciting to her.

I wouldn't recommend holding her down or trying to enforce your "dominance" on her because all that will do is make her nervous of you, the dominance theory has been totally disproved and there's lots of posts on here you can read through which will tell you why. Only ever use positive reinforcement, so simply put that's a stern "no" the pup will probably pause which will mean she stops doing whatever you don't want her to do and you get in quickly with a "good girl" and lots of fuss. It's just a matter of consitency, pups forget as much as they learn, repeating things is the only way to get it to sink in

I would also say, when you go to the bins make sure she can't run out. I know you say she's waiting at the moment but trust me it will only take someone walking past or a fox or cat and she'll be off like a rocket down the road, just be safe and pop her in the front room, better to be safe than sorry!

Puppy classes are a big must, she'll socialise there plus you'll learn things as well. Definitely book her in

Come over to the introductions page and introduce yourself, we'd love to hear about you and maybe see a few pics of Poppy

Hi Roxysmum.

Yeah she is quite sensitive and I get the feeling on times she thinks, that’s the person who has told me off, and then holds that grudge.

We tend not to shout at her, raising our voices I know does not work, that’s why we went for the holding down thing. We have also done the put her down and stop play when she nips. Its all a learning curve for all of us to be honest.

We did start taking her for a few short walks but the vet advised not to until her 2nd injection has kicked in properly. She generally is very attentive and loving. I get a bit despondent with the biting thing and again think that "will this continue into her growing up as a biting dog"

I have taken to just ignoring her until she comes to me for attention instead of showering her with attention from the outset, is this right or wrong.

Regards

Scott.

Here is a link to help with the biting. Check out the basics for new owners there is allot of good info there. Agree with everyone that holding them down is a bad idea. At 10 weeks the pup is similar to a human baby in that they explore the world with their mouths. The pup is playing and still learning right and wrong as well as bite inhibition

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

I know it feels as if it will never end with mouthing and nipping and you just start getting somewhere and they start teething. The yelping methods does work but it takes time and everyone doing the same thing.

The holding down method is a very unnatural behaviour for your dog and has been known to cause unbalanced behaviour, fear of handling and aggression in some dogs. Please stop doing that.

Yep - young staffys do nip and bite (little wotsits) but they do grow out of it honest. I had it with my first staffy to the point where I would cry and almost give up with her - but I did the yelp and walk away thing for 10 minutes or put her in her crate then play with her again and reward her for not biting. I'm now doing it with Milo who tries it on now and again but not so much as I've learnt from the first time around what to do.

Be patient is the best advice I can give! Our 18 week old girl was exactly the same, worse with me than with my hubby! Giving a toy when she is wanting to chew you or your clothing helps, but to be honest, you just need to wait! Theia is loosing teeth now, and the nipping/mouthing is so much less now. They grow out of it, but a firm no and a distraction works wonders!! Good luck, it does get better, honest!!
Lynn x

Very true - it is sooo off putting when you're getting attacked constantly and it bluddy hurts but do not give up. It will suddenly stop and then you'll have the most gorgeous breed of dog you could ever want - they're just very bolshy & cheeky when young but still very loveable.