Newbies to the wonderful world of Staffs.

Hi everyone, on Saturday we became the proud owners of a beautiful 18 month Staffy called Molly who we got from a rescue home.
She is adorable but also our first ever dog so it's still a massive learning curve for us all.
Anyhow, just thought we would say Hi and introduce ourselves.

Welcome! Best of luck with Molly.

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Hi from me & Katy, Well done on rescuing Molly Can't wait to see pics of her Any questions just ask, even if you think its a silly question

Hi and welcome from me and mine! And welcome to the world of staffies, you now know you have seriously good taste in dogs

As Jen says, ask away about anything. A lot of us have rescues so you'll probably find that we've all been there ourselves.

Welcome from Misty and I. It's so lovely to hear of dogs being rescued and finding their forever homes. Cant wait to see pics of her.
Welcome to the wonderful world of living with The UK's Favourite Dog Breed ( sorry I'm still over the moon with the recent vote!)

Thank you for the welcome. Molly really is such a loving dog, and it's reciprocated in abundance.
Unfortunately we do have multiple questions we would love to ask, but we don't wish to burden you all but if someone doesn't mind helping it would be greatly appreciated.
In regards to recall, we obviously don't want to let her off the lead yet in the park, any tips of how we train her to recall in a small back garden or within the house even? Apologies in advance for any silly questions we may ask.

Thanks. Jay, Sarah & Molly.

Oh please no! Talking about staffies, what a burden. Not

Recall training is a great thing to start in the house. Have some treats on you, wait till she's just a couple of steps away and looking at you, call her with 'Molly come' while showing her the treat and give it to her when she comes. Repeat this a few times and she should soon learn that 'Molly come' gets her a treat. You can then build up, in the house and/or garden, so that she comes from further and further away. To start off with, only call her when she's looking at you, then when she's in visual range but not actually looking, then when she's in another room. Never call her if you don't think she'll come, so when she's eating, sleeping or playing.

I'd also then walk her on a longer line (3m or so but not extendable, just a fixed length line, readily on ebay. I'd go for a padded one, they are more comfortable and less wafty). Using that, you can let her wander a little further from you, and you can then start recall training outside using exactly the same principle, wait till she's a few steps away and call her to you.

If she doesn't come, step backwards while still facing her, which should draw her to you. Always praise and treat or play. You want to make you the best place in the world.

When you do get to the point of letting her off, find somewhere enclosed if possible and avoid a time or place that's got exciting distractions, e.g. other dogs, kids playing or other fun things to chase. Keep everything low key and don't ask too much of her. Let her off for a few minutes, call her back, treat/praise and clip her on again. Build up mutual trust and you'll get there.

Hi Jay, Welcome to the Forum from Flo & me

There really are no silly questions so please do ask.

Well done on the rescue too, Molly looks fab and a real character

Many thanks LizP for the great advice, and so it begins..fingers crossed we get there sooner rather than later, she is a little live wire when we go for wallies. I'll let you know how we are progressing.

Thank you Ian for the welcome, yes she is a wonderful character and a wonderful addition to our house, I just hope we can do her proud.

Hi folks,
Desperate advice needed please.

Today I was walking Molly on a lead, a guy was walking his Dachshund off the lead. The Dachshund came over and initially started playing for about 10 seconds then they went for each other and Molly got a bite of her loose flesh and wouldn't let go. I tried to separate them and eventually did after a couple of minutes by slapping Molly on the head a few times. (I hated doing that but was desperate).
The Dachshund had NO puncture wounds whatsoever, however I wasn't as lucky as the Dachshund took a lump out of my finger and a tooth imbedded under my thumb nail. I'm fine though. The owner picked his dog up and walked away panicking when he saw my blood saying he should of had his dog on a lead.

So a few questions I'd like to ask if I may?

1) Is Molly's temperament so questionable that we should take her back to the rescue centre? (That would break our hearts)

2) Did Molly just think the Dachshund was a squeaky toy as she has at home?

3) Am I at fault and could there be repercussions for either Molly or myself?

Poor Molly is so upset with herself now she is just moping around now.

Thanks.

Jay & Sarah.

Firstly, Jay, don't panic. Dog spats happen all the time and it doesn't mean you've got a nasty dog.

Before going any further, please keep an eye on your finger. Dog bite wounds can infect quickly and badly. As a precaution, you may want to check with your GP tomorrow and get antibiotics, but if you have any sign of the beginning of infection, don't delay.

With respect to Molly, I would call the rescue centre and ask how she was with other dogs there, what level of interaction she had and if she showed any signs of worry. They may (should) also be happy for you to pop in with her to do some dog on dog work, so that you can see for yourself.

In the meantime, I would make sure that Molly is on the lead or line still, and try to make sure that other dogs that she hasn't met before don't come up to her. Quite a lot of dogs will react to others while they are on-lead, and also quite a lot don't like others coming into their space. The Dachshund owner is right, he should not have allowed his dog to invade Molly's space. If you do see a dog coming towards you, ask the owner to call it away and/or turn and call Molly to come to you, in the opposite direction, while keeping relaxed yourself and giving her praise and treats. Avoid tension, always.

And no, you were not at fault. The Dachshund was the one who came up to you, and clearly it was the one who initiated the incident. Just because you have a bigger dog doesn't mean you have more reason to be at fault.

You're bound to be concerned now, so take the time you need to relax before venturing near other dogs again, and when you do just keep a little distance so that neither of you needs to worry.

As for Molly being upset now, she may is probably worried because of the incident and also because you feel different. Reassure her by being your normal self, give her cuddles and play time, and remember that she's the same as she was before and you are too.

Sorry to hear this but Liz has given great advice. You're not the guilty party here as Molly was on her lead! Katy is dog reactive, even with her harness clearly marked nervous some owners still allow their dogs to get into her space!! Try & get back to your usual routine for both your sakes as worrying will make it worse