Newbie with new very "OTT" puppy

Hi everybody.

We've just recently adopted an eight month old male staffy called Chase.
He's gorgeous and very loving but resembles a mini bulldozer with springs for back legs!

I am looking for advice on stopping the jumping up (he knocks my kids flying like skittles) and on stopping the mouthing.
He has a heart of gold and has really settled in well with us now (was ready to give him up again two days ago

It didn't post my full message ...

He walks lovely on the lead and is learning to walk beside the pushchair without getting his little paws run over!
We don't know much about his past, the previous owners couldn't wait to hand him over to us sadly. We do know that he was tormented by a six year old child so that's probably why he growls when our kiddies try to take his toys to play with him.
He's very mouthy but there's no pressure at all!
Any advice on jumping up, mouthing, being over playful and boisterous would be great!
I almost gave up on him but everything is new to him and us.

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Hi and welcome from me and mine!

I'm afraid to tell you your new boy sounds just like... a staffie! They can be very bouncy, mouthy and playful. They do settle down as they grow up, although it sometimes takes a while!

Have a look at the information sheets for puppies, there's a link in the above welcome message, which should give you plenty of good information to start off with.

I'd suggest the best things for you to do are a) training and b) consistent energy management.

Training - he's clearly a very amenable chap and, like all staffies, a quick learner. Teach him to sit, which you ask him to do when he wants something, and have a clear rule with everyone that he only gets anything, including any attention at all, when he has 4 feet or his bum on the ground.

If he is mouthing gently, i.e. no teeth, I'd probably not stress too much. It will fade anyway. However, again keep to the rule that he doesn't get what he's looking for by using his mouth, but does get it when he doesn't, and he'll learn that mouthing isn't the right thing to do. If he does nip, turn your back and walk away immediately. Don't say a word, don't look at him, just turn and go. That's the last thing he wants.

Teach him 'leave it' and teach the kids how to help train him to leave things when he's getting the hang of it. Give him something to hold, then take a really tasty treat and stick it under his nose, asking at the same time 'leave it' in a really nice voice. He should drop what he has to take the treat. Repeat this a few times and he'll soon understand. Then you can ask for 'leave it' without showing him the treat first. Build this up and practice lots, always giving him a treat for a good few weeks, and you should soon have a pup who will leave anything.

I hope that all helps, any more questions just ask. Most of us will have been there before!

Thank you for your welcome and help. This is exactly what we have been doing with him.
I meant to say in my original post that we're no strangers to dogs or training. We lost our lovely Collie cross Doberman three months ago to cancer. We rescued her at four years old and she left us at at the age of twelve.
Having a very energetic puppy is certainly the opposite to owning a "little old lady" lol.

We did get him a cage yesterday morning and he loves it. Went straight in it with his bone and curled up happily. It's given him his own piece of the house and the children understand not to disturb him when he's in it.

I did notice on one thread that what you feed them can change their behaviour. He's currently eating Earl's Complete Dog Food which he came with. I think this is from Aldi.
Any suggestions on what food might help and is best for him.

A change in food may certainly help getting everyone using the same methods in training will certainly help, training a pup is long but a worthwhile process have you thought of puppy classes or another older dog to show him manners? Victoria stillwell as well as advice given is a n excellent dog trainer have a look at this website https://positively.com/.

We got our girl at 14 months and she was a terrible mouther! What worked best for us was as suggested by Liz. Completely ignoring her as soon as any part of us ended up in her mouth! If we were playing and she mouthed then the game immediately stopped and all attention stopped. It took a while but now she very very rarely tries it.

Well done on the rescue by the way, it sounds a though he has a great life now. Do keep us updated.

Even in the four days of having him he's learnt (stubbornly) that he doesn't get attention unless he's on the floor.

I still can't let him in the same room as my children unless I pick up my one year old (he's crawling and just learning to stand and walk) and my fiance is home from work.
He gets really boisterous and when you push him away and tell him no he comes back twice as rough!

Ah yes, the great 'push away' game! That's huge fun! It is a game for them so find another way. I have a command 'go' which is what it says on the tin, taught by throwing a treat and pairing with the word 'go'. A body block can be helpful as well when training, stand very well planted, palm of the hand flat forwards, and have an 'I mean it' look. Not shouting, not being nasty, just a resolute look.

It sounds like it's still early days, keep doing what you're doing, keep your kids safe as you do and things should improve.

Food - I did a quick trawl and found the ingredients list for Earl's, it doesn't look great, I have to say. This is the list someone else posted on another forum:

Cereals, Meat and animal derivatives ( Chicken 4 % minimum in the moist meaty chunk biscuit with chicken) Derivates of vegetable origin. Oils and fats.Vegetable protein extracts. Vegetables (4 % in the green kibble) Minerals with antioxidant. EC Additives. Coloured & Preserved with EC Additives.

As you have to list in decending order, that means it's mostly cereals, then 'animal derivatives', which could be anything, and only 4% chicken. There are also additives. I wouldn't feed it to my guys, I have to say, no matter how cheap. And yes, it can affect behaviour so worth changing to a no cereal no additive brand.

This is a good place to look at:

https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/the-dog-food-directory

I use Millie's Wolfheart, excellent quality and not outrageously priced.

Hi & Welcome to the Forum from Flo and me

Can't add much to what has already been written and agree with all especially the food. The better the quality ingredients the better off he will be and you should see a difference in the hyper stuff after a short while. One other thing about the food, if you do change it do it gradually else you risk an upset tummy and that is never a nice thing

Well done on the rescue and stick with what you're doing, you will see him settle but it'll take a little while yet. As for the bulldozer effect... Ummm I think that's just a Staffy trait

Hello and welcome from us.
Very interested in the advice in this post (as ever) as mine can be a bit boisterous too.
Not sure if it's due to change of food only or also due to growing (she's 19 weeks old now) but I did see a difference when I switched from pro plan to cereal-free.

Thank you all for your replies.

That food sounds totally awful, definitely gonna need to change it!

We're slowly working this little guy out. He got so frustrated that he couldn't come into the front room yesterday that he started tho tear up the stairs carpet!
I picked it up, asked him what it was and what he'd done then gave him a firm NO! He knew he'd been bad bless him so it looks like he's been pulled up for something similar in the past.

I'm not sure we're the right people for him sadly. A dog should be able to join in with the family, not be shut behind a stairgate in the next room. It makes me sad!

I'm sorry to read that you're having doubts on him.
You do mention that you've had dogs before but not a staffy apparently.
Viewed from the outside, you're all new to each other but can you really expect the calm and regular routine after such a short time (a small week, from what I gather?). Rescuing a 4 year old vs 8 month old is totally different too.

If you're still willing to give him a chance, I would try to work out a family routine in which you define time specifically for the children, for him and for you (work or the likes). These times can overlap but you need specific time just for him at first too.

Spend his time between showing him how your house functions, training and wearing him out on a walk or in the garden.
Does he have plenty of toys ?
When you are in the front room, maybe give him something to occupy him in his space - a toy or something to chew on. But these objects are not always available to him so it's like a treat.

Where is his cage located ?
I have mine between sofa and wall but have added wire panels around to create a park (is that what it's called?) Means she is with us but not on top of us. We do let her out of the park, of course, when it's her time  
That's worked for us so I'm sure a simple system is possible for you.

To be honest, sounds like your little guy is bouncing full of energy and love but does not understand where his place is in the family.

And last point, I changed my kibble and noticed a huge difference in her behaviour so definitely something worth considering too.

Good luck

MattsBabe7 wrote:
We're slowly working this little guy out. He got so frustrated that he couldn't come into the front room yesterday that he started tho tear up the stairs carpet!
I picked it up, asked him what it was and what he'd done then gave him a firm NO! He knew he'd been bad bless him so it looks like he's been pulled up for something similar in the past.

Be careful not to misread these situations and his responses. He's a dog, and a puppy at that, and he has absolutely no idea what he's done wrong, or indeed that there is such a thing as 'wrong'. All he's done is vent his frustration on the nearest object which, sadly, was your stair carpet. It's a perfect natural dog behaviour. The 'knew he'd been bad' look that dogs give is in fact a fear response to your anger. In order to try and avoid being hurt, the display sumissive body language (lowered body, no eye contact) to appease you.

I know traditional convention is that dogs know they've done wrong but modern trainers and science show this is not so. What your little guy needs is not telling what not to do but instead directing towards the right behaviour which can get him praise. I know puppies can be hugely frustrating and the urge to tell them off is great but it's not how they learn best.

A play pen area does sound like a good idea. Stuffed kongs/treat balls are good for mental stimulation while providing something positive to do with his time, and you can make free treat toys with old boxes.

Staffies are very high energy dogs. Hopefully a change of food will help but there's no guarantee. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that if you think you're not the right home for a high energy, attention seeing young dog, saying so before he gets too settled might not be the worst thing. But if you do decide to rehome him, please try and find a proper rescue place.

Today we spent a good two hours at the RSPCA centre getting Chase assessed and talking all things Staffy.
They've said everything you guys have said to do including changing his food, rewarding only good behaviour and ignoring anything he shouldn't be doing.
We have a behaviour specialist coming to visit the house to assess him in the house as that's where he's in need of the most training.
We got him a collar and a Julius K9 harness and we're going to give him a chance. I feel much happier now knowing more about him!
The people at the RSPCA didn't see a problem with having to put him out the way of the children but we're going to work on gradually giving him more and more time with us in the front room and hope he'll eventually work out that while he's being a good dog and not a bulldozer that it means more time with us and treats.
Also they think he's a lot older than eight months and won't grow anymore or not much.
The receptionist made me promise to return with him in a couple of months to let her know how he's getting on and couldn't praise us highly enough for taking him on and keeping him out of a kennel.

What a lovely positive post !
Good on you for persevering and getting available help along the way.

Do keep us posted on your progress

I will do!

Sorry if I've not answered anybody's questions just been so engrossed on doing the right thing for this lovely boy we have.

That sounds like a very good plan. A trained pair of eyes in the home environment is the ideal way to move forwards, we here can only ever guess at best.

I have my fingers very firmly crossed for you all!