New member

Hi everybody. Have recently given home to a 3 year old Staffie. He is lovely in every way, apart from his attitude towards other dogs. I've not yet worked out whether it's fear or aggression that is feeding his behaviour, hopefully time will tell. Anyway, this is just a quick intro and hello.

Hi & welcome to the forum

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Hi from me & Katy, well done on rescuing your furbaby Katy is reactive to dogs so I know your struggle.

Hi and welcome from me and mine

Well done on your adoption. I'd love to hear more about him and how you found him.

The vast majority of dog reactivity is fear/worry. Try to avoid meetings with other dogs, especially head on, as much as possible and plan ahead how to pass other dogs with as much distance as you can. At the same time, work to keep your lad's attention with you and keep him moving towards you, while remaining relaxed and positive. And lots of treats! It can take time but you can make progress, honest!

He is being given treats whenever he spots another dog, sometimes it works and sometimes not, depends how close we are. He does seem to be improving, albeit very very slowly. If the the other dog starts barking then Ozzy will join in, nearly pulling me over in the process. Apart from that he is great with people and kids. We'll just have to keep on trying with the treats and diversion tactics.

Hi & Welcome to the Forum from Flo and me

Well done on the rescue. We found that we could distract our girl with her kong stix, in fact she used to look at us for it whenever she felt uneasy when other dogs approached so we know it’s fear based rather than anything else.

I would echo the advice already given and add that remaining calm and relaxed yourself will also help, if you can keep the lead loose as much as possible it will stop any tension feeding through from you. Easy to say when there’s no pulling I know.

If you get a chance we’d love to see some pics of Ozzy

I haven't yet worked out how to attach pictures. Give me a bit of time and hopefully we will get there.

Hello and welcome from us.
Good advice already given.
Love your avatar photo !

Welcome from me and Misty. I love hearing about rescues! Ozzy is gorgeous. I echo with the above, treats and distance.

Have you thought about training classes in the future?

Thanks for the comments. I have thought of classes but am worried about his interaction. Maybe later if he calms down.

I personally would wait on the classes and if you do decide to go for them later make sure they are the right ones. For a dog that is worried by other dogs, it can be overwhelming and if not handled properly can make matters worse. See if you can find an outdoor one so there is less feeling of being confined and so you have options for more space if needed, and make sure that the person running the class has experience with reactive dogs.