Random Agressive Behaviour

Hi, I have been emailing with LizP today who has been extremely helpful and informative. My 12 month old non neutered male had an issue with a spaniel that has always been very dominant towards him and he has usually been submissive. a few weeks ago we were walking together with this dog off the lead as normal and it tried to mount my dog. He objected big time and really let the dog know he was not happy! since then i have been careful to keep him on a lead in case we see this dog and when we did, it came up to my boy and again he was submissive. This morning this all changed and my dog went across the field towards this dog, sat down initially and then went to have another go at it. the other dog was not at fault but after speaking to LizP she has mentioned it would have been giving off body signals. I was worried my boy was becoming randomly aggressive but today he me a strange and unfriendly dog that was on a lead. before we could get to my dog to get him on his lead, the owner let the dog go saying' i did warn you' and her dog came for mine aggressively. He did not retaliate. I'm feeling much more confident now this is just a particular dog i need to keep him on the lead around. I had contacted my vet about having him neutered and she concurred that this is not aggression but assertion and that neutering is not the answer. Good sound advice all round so thank you.

Oh dear. It sounds like some of the people you're bumping into aren't exactly fans of our staffies. 'I did warn you'... what a stupid thing to say. I can imagine she was almost disappointed that Percy did nothing Unfortunately, developing a thick skin is part of living with a staffie. Too many people just assume their only pleasure in life is in ripping out other dogs' throats

The best rule is to learn to spot potential problems and to avoid them, while keeping Percy's socialisation with friendly dogs going. Do be aware that he does have a limit to his tolerance (unsurprisingly) but that doesn't mean you have to worry about every dog you meet. The more you worry, the more concerned and tense you are, the more he is likely to pick up on it and become worried himself. You can then have fear aggression issues, which is not aggression as in lunging to get at every other dog but more that they make themselves big and scarey to keep others away. That can be a slippery slope.

If you are meeting too many badly behaved owners/dogs, it can be an idea to change things a bit to avoid them. I know you shouldn't need to but trouble is best avoided. Walking slightly different places at different times can sometimes help. But if it's all good, then just enjoy yourselves!

Great advice from Liz there. Sounds like Percy was pushed past his comfort zone & was just letting the other dog know it. As for the other person letting her dog go to have a go at Percy is ridiculous I would of had a few very choice words with her! My Katy is dog reactive but ignorant people think she's being aggressive as she's barking & lunging. If they understood they would see she's scared & is telling the other dog to stay away from her. I pick & choose my walks to avoid confrontations. Stick with it & he will be fine

HI! With my dog ​​I have also had problems of aggression that forced me to take serious measures. If not, I could not have it at home. In the end, with the help of a trainer, he improved a lot, but sometimes he still reacts badly. But recently I read an article that helped me complete what the educator had taught me. The article is in Spanish, but nothing happens. Greetings and I hope it serves you.

Hi, thank you for your message it is very welcome. I'm glad you had help from a trainer. Things have greatly improved for Percy lately. I have met the dog that he dislikes but we are always on the lead at that time of the morning now. He's met a lot of new dogs in the past few weeks and got on fine. Obviously I don't take it for granted but i can read if he feels threatened and change direction, put him on the lead and he literally 'shakes' it off and bounces back.