Hi

I own a Staffy he is 2 years old and is great with Adults, Children and even cats, But when it comes to dogs he just wants to fight with them. Can anyone advise me on what I could do to stop him doing this or will he always be this way.

Thanks

Staffies do have a tendency to be a little protective of their owners and this can manifest itself in aggression to other dogs

there's a thread on here about a new staffy only website which could be of use to you :)

hi
neutering and behavioural therapy - find someone who specialises in dealing with aggressive dogs like millhouses dog training - my staff was like this - this helped lots!!

hth

My GSD male is similar temprement. We have found using a head collar (dont know if they fit staffies) useful as it gives total control. Also up the anti with letting him know the pecking order, ie you are top dog. Its not always a protection thing, sometimes its a I am in charge thing. I sit my GSD now if I see other dogs coming, thereby putting control in place. A small drinks bottle with pebbles in it is useful, if the dog is sitting and being good praise quietly, if he makes to go for the other dog rattle the pebbles loudly, this distracts him and often stops the behaviour. It is trial and error and finding out what works.

My german shepherds a bit of a nightmare with other dogs, although I made it worse by not letting her near other dogs. I used to walk her where I knew there wouldn`t be other animals and it just made her worse.
I also got her a halti(otherwse I`d be on my bum) and a pocket full of goodies and a squeaky toy. And take her in the park regularly, when a dog approaches I sit her down or walk past squeaking the ball to keep her attention then when we`re past give her a treat and a fuss.
She`s much better now and we spend loads of time in the park.
Just persevere, and good luck!

My german shepherds a bit of a nightmare with other dogs, although I made it worse by not letting her near other dogs. I used to walk her where I knew there wouldn`t be other animals and it just made her worse.
I also got her a halti(otherwse I`d be on my bum) and a pocket full of goodies and a squeaky toy. And take her in the park regularly, when a dog approaches I sit her down or walk past squeaking the ball to keep her attention then when we`re past give her a treat and a fuss.
She`s much better now and we spend loads of time in the park.
Just persevere, and good luck!

great advice. if you make yourself more interesting than any other potential distraction, your dog is more likely to stay and be happy with you.

We do this with the dobermutt- always have 2 tennis balls plus a contingency ball in case she loses the first one, another dog snatches the second and play lots of fun games with er so she is less likely to see an approaching dog as a threat (or to go running after one)

A small drinks bottle with pebbles in it is useful, if the dog is sitting and being good praise quietly, if he makes to go for the other dog rattle the pebbles loudly, this distracts him and often stops the behaviour.

And potentially teaches the dog that the arrival of another dog makes the rattle bottle go off - thereby making the association with other dogs even worse.

I'd advise seeing a good dog trainer/behaviourist anyway but especially if you are thinking of using aversives to deal with the behaviour; you will need strict supervision. Personally I wouldn't try using aversive control until all positive options have been exhausted - there are far less potentially detrimental side effects of using positive reinforcement and distraction to deal with the problem.

Sometimes reward therapy does not work with aggressive dogs, believe me I have had GSDs all my life and in that time have had two who were badly dog aggressive. Tried all the positive methods, distraction therapy with tit bits and toys, reward systems etc but basically sometimes if positive does not work then negative training has to be used. I think knowing the individual dog and being able to accurately judge its responses is essential, also being aware of the difference between the types of dog aggression is essential too for example some dogs are dog aggressive because of fear, some because of dominance issues and some because of some sort of problems in their early life which has left lasting impact. Regarding behaviour therapists, great if you can find one that knows what they are doing especially with the big breeds, however my experience in the past has been that some are ok with moderate problems but dont know how to tackle the real hard cases.