hi need some advice please.

hi I posted a while back about my sbt Enzo about barking at other dogs and we come to the conclusion that it was frustration, after that it seemed to get a lot better and the barking stopped. Enzo is now 9 months old and we have started to have more trouble with him as he growls and then there is a lot of scary loud noise but there is no snapping or biting the other dog, also its not to every dog which confuses us because it doesn't seem to be any pacific dogs. Another thing is if another dog growls first at him he will not retaliate. We started taking him to training classes for some advise and to socialise him more but the advise we have got has just made us even more confused with the situation. We would just like some advise to see if he has dog aggression or is it some kind of dominants or if we are doing something wrong. Also soon he has to be neutered as only one testicle has dropped, we are just wondering will this make the situation worse? We don't know what to do for the best as we have lost confidence in him and not enjoying his walks at all.

Thanks sam

Have you tried walking him with an older well socialized dog?

hi we have another sbt who is 3 years old ,well socialized and we walk them together daily.

It sounds a little like frustration at not being able to play with the dog he meets. Do you let him off lead to play with other dogs ? If not maybe use a long training lead then you can maintain control while he has a run around.

Does he have toys to play with at home, maybe take one along with you when out on a walk for him to play with this too. A squeaky toy may well be a good idea, if you keep hold of this to use as a distraction when the playing gets a bit too rough, Staffies do play hard and this can often be mistaken for agression when it is not.

Socializing the as much as possible is essential. He could also be entering the teenage phase and pushing boundries. Just keep at it and if he goes out of bounds make him sit and reintrounce him to play and repeat

Thanks for the advise, we walk him with a long lead and allow him to play with other dogs daily, but never off the lead. He has toys at home,  we take a ball with us and let him off the lead on a big field to play. We know how staffies play rough as our two play very rough with a lot of loud noise but today he just stood still while deeply growling at a dog off the lead, the other dog comes over and the noise just got worse and there was a bit of a scuffle but the other dog wouldn't leave him alone, it was quite scary.

So do you think its frustration? If so how could we prevent it?

Have you noticed if Enzo tends to stare at other dogs ? Dogs will see this as a challenge which may be happening to Enzo ? have a read through the link below regarding dogs body language there maybe something that seems familiar here:

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

I think he could stare at the dogs, the trainer told us because of his big muscular appearance and his dark coloured eyes the dogs will see him as a threat. I get very confused with his body language and I'm not sure if it could be him just being a confident dog.

Afraid Bacchus is dog aggressive towards unfamiliar dogs despite heavy socialisation as a puppy. He's ok with all the dogs he grew up with but I have to be very aware of our surroundings at all times and put him on his lead if we see a strange dog coming. Fortunately his recall is reliable so I put his lead on and distract him with his toy rather than let him get bolshi with other dogs. I do however frequently have to ask owners to call their dogs if they try to approach him. Don't know if anyone else has noticed but, the owners who allow their dogs to approach off-lead are usually the ones who have little or no recall.   

Hello! I read your post and it's exactly how Axl is, when we took him back to training classes we were told it was just Axl getting a bit too big for his boots but also being a bit of coward as he would always growl at dogs that weren't even looking at him or had their back to him. He's great with dogs he knows and has been fully socialised since he was a pup so like you I was a bit confused!

Anyway the trainer said that he was just bored on his walk and doing it for "fun". In the end we were told to be stern with him when he started growling, he knows the "leave it" command anyway and we use that command when he starts and also "quiet".

He is getting better but still does it occasionally especially when the other dog is nowhere near him. I've been using distracting techniques such as bouncing a ball on walk when he starts staring at other dogs and its working, slowly, but it is working. I've also covered his eyes when he's gone too far over the top to listen and this also calmed him down immediately.

It might just be a case of frustration or creating their own fun but in the first instance I would concentrate on distracting him as much as possible with a ball or toy. Don't give him the toy at any other time other than when you are out walking as he needs to see it as a treat.

I don't know if any of that will help you but you're not alone, mine does exactly the same.

Loki is off the lead every day when I walk and he will now come with me and leave the dog alone if we are leaving, but I find it really hard to stop him bolting at other dogs once he's seen them, luckily I know everyone that walks in the park so I don't have a problem there, just getting him out of that one track mind is a nightmare.

Great post from Debs, sounds like of mix of frustration and coming into adolescence. Generally, neutering can help with male/male aggression in dogs, and marking behaviours and wandering. But doesn't tend to have an effect on territorial/predatory/fear aggression.

What was the advice that you were given at the training class, and did they have an opportunity to see the behaviour in full, as well as your response to the behaviour?

Loki is off the lead every day when I walk and he will now come with me and leave the dog alone if we are leaving, but I find it really hard to stop him bolting at other dogs once he's seen them, luckily I know everyone that walks in the park so I don't have a problem there, just getting him out of that one track mind is a nightmare.

If you can't stop him from bolting you shoudl probably get a long lead for him. My worst nightmare is a dog bounding towards me not listening to his owner. As an owner of a "sometimes" reactive dog I never know how Axl is going to react and panic sets in when this happens...

I have a long lead for him, and I always make sure I know who's coming before he sees them, as hes normally face down trying to eat the rabbit poo, so I am continuously watching and if I don't know them he goes on the lead..... It's just getting him not to bolt and dogs in general.

What was the advice that you were given at the training class, and did they have an opportunity to see the behaviour in full, as well as your response to the behaviour? [/quote]


The advice we was told was that he has manners and he likes to say hello to dogs properly and politely, she also said that he might tell a jumpy dog off but he has played with jumpy dogs before. She said to mix him with only female and calm dogs. She has not seen his behaviour in class but two dogs did growl at him in class which he did not do anything. Our response to his behaviour is to pull him away from the dog and we say no, I have read if you tell them off it could cause to go in for the bite.

thank you all for your advice

sam

and other thing sometimes if he see a another he cries.

So when he's growling/snapping/lunging is this when he's on lead and trying to get to the other dog? Or after greeting? During play? Positive that he was so polite during the training session and greeting well, shows he can be good around other dogs, just need to keep moulding and praising this behaviour and correcting and eradicating the negative. If he is showing aggression towards another dog, he needs to be aware that this is not right, and should be told "no" and interaction stopped/isolation if possible, providing the aggression is him testing boundaries and not a fear thing. Tough to say without seeing it.