Please help

Hi I'm new to the site. I have a 2 year old staffy boy who is my running partner and best friend, everyone keeps telling me how big and muscley he is and after a visit to vets he is near 3half stone ball of muscle. When Dexter was a year old a staffy bitch attacked him and to make things worse I never let him of the lead b cause my 2 small grandkids were there and I was scared anyhow things got very heated and I got Dexter away. Now 10 weeks ago we went hill running as normal I even taught my baby to swim out of know we're 2 dogs attacked me one grabbing my leg the other trying to get at me, these dogs were big looking cross Rottweilers Dexter jumped in and what I wittnessed was scary he totally tore one of the dogs face of like it was just butter the other dog let go of me and went for my dog, now I will not or do not ever hit or kick dogs but I did this one. After seeing what Dexter did I've not been out with him since I'm just so scared as he goes for any dog that he sees and he knows im scared stands beside me even if im only stood on the door step, I don't want to muzzle him he did nothing wrong and I'm desperate to get back out with him plz any advice will be a help

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hi there and welcome to the forum . me personally id keep your dog on a long line until he is confident not every dog will indeed attack you or him. im sorry for what happened to you must have horrific is there a different route perhaps for the moment you can take to avoid the nasty dogs ? id also contact a behaviourist perhaos they can offer advice and support of how best to handle situations in the future . your dog was only protecting you . it isnt easy but with any dog you see try relaxing the lead and have floppy arms your dog will think there is something wrong, not easy i know. i dnt think your dog needs a muzzle just monitor his behaviour ie:his body language and get ot of the situation as quickly as possible hope someone can offer better advice .

Thank you so much,

you're very welcome

Hiya. I'm gonna go against the grain and say I would muzzle train him ASAP and use this is a safety tool until you've figured out the level of his dog aggression/can contact a behaviourist to put in place a rehab or management plan. You say that he goes for every dog he sees - what if a dog runs up to him when he's on lead an he defends himself? His reaction to you being attacked was pretty normal as that was a high risk situation, but considering he got attacked by another dog when he was young, his view of dogs will be naturally towards the negative end of the balance, even more so now, and this needs to be worked with to prevent creating a dog that is dangerous with other dogs.

As you have said, he also seems to picking up on your anxieties, which won't help either of you, but is completely natural of you to be feeling after the incidents. My dog was very dog aggressive when I first adopted her - I muzzle trained her an walked her on lead and muzzle only on pavement an late at night for the first 6-12 months, this way I wasn't likely to bump into any off lead dogs, and I could work on her training and confidence/my leadership skills without any mishaps. Could you try that, just so that you can ensure he is still getting his exercise, as that will only exacerbate the situation.

Can you afford to see a behaviourist? If so, let me know the area that you're in and I'll find you somebody suitable.

I'm with Rachel on this. I know the idea of muzzling your lad isn't one you welcome but you have to put in some safety precautions first, then work with a professional, positive method trainer to get this resolved. A personal recommendation would be ideal. Hopefully the muzzle will be a short term thing but if you teach him not to mind it, it it's not the end of the world even if you do need it for longer.

Have a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BjPpXer8IE

In the meantime, as well as keeping him on a line and muzzle training him, I'd also keep Dexter's exercise low key. Running gets the adrenalin up and even if you slow down when you meet another dog he'll still be in an state of hightened excitement.

Are you ok, by the way? That must have been a traumatic experience. I hope you weren't badly injured.

Agree with Rach and welcome from us and Suki

What do you mean when you say he 'goes for' other dogs? Does he go all out for them or just snarl and warn them off? Also, who takes him out now and how does he behave with them?

Great advice already offered above. I would also recommend dog classes. Whilst this might not seem an obvious thing to do right now I think it would help immeasurably. You'll be able to socialise your dog in a controlled environment with expert help on hand, this will help you with the anxiety and trust me, you'll learn so much.

If you do go down the route of classes do talk to the person running the class and explain what's happened, they should be able to tailor things to suit you and your dog to start with.

I do hope you weren't too badly hurt. Please let us know how you get on.