hiya i hope you can help me with this, and im sorry it is so long.
Well here goes.
my staffie ( not the short legged type) tyla is 4 years old and a very large male. ( he is 4 stones of pure muscle) he is one of seven puppies that i had to hand feed ( from day 5 to 8 wks) after his mom got into difficulties through very heavy bleeding and needed to be spayed, so she could not feed them ( althought she never gave in bless her). he was always a lovely dog and loved going for walks in the park and running around with his mom and timmy ( his step dad lol ). when tyla was 5 mths he was attacked by a rottie and again at 8 mths by an alsation ( both who approched us in the park) but this didnt faze him he still liked to play with other dogs. that all changed one day when he was 12 months old and a man with a jappanieze akita ( a female) let his dog loose and it attacked my other staffie tara (tylas mom)it just ran up and attacked for no reason. well tyla just seemed to see red and attacked it back, it was horrendous, he got hold of it and refused to let go, it was like he was demented and wanted to kill it. He did cause a lot of damage and my dog was punched several times by the male owner to try to make him let go.
i stayed calm and just tryed to make tyla let go ( no screaming what so ever as i think it make matters worse)even though i was in a state on the inside, eventualy he did let go.
Ever since this epiesode tyla has a hatered for other dogs , male or female. he wont even sniff em to see what they are he just goes into attack mode.
now dont get me wrong i have worked hard to stop this and after watching lots of ceser milan programs ive got a good bit of it under control.
ive got him from trying to brake my arm and dragging me over the road to get to em, to , walking calmly passed em but he does keep his eye on them as well. my problem now is dogs who are loose and run up to him. he just attacks when the get to close no warning just jumps on them and wants to kill em. for this reason i can never have him off a lead ond walk him on a lead that extends 26 feet. i only let him off if the feild is clear. he stays by me and dont run away at all. if i bump into ppl in the street with a dog on a lead and they stop to talk he will sit but he will be stiff and staring at the other dog, if i turn him away he will shake like a leaf and whine to go. if they try to sniff him he just attacks. but im still not giving up on him.
what do you suggest i can do to help this. i wanna be able to walk him in the park and let him run free. maybe i will never be able to.
its so sad as when they all go together he is the only one on a lead in the park and carnt run around much with the others. i do take him with his mom to a feild up the lanes by me to run free with his mom. but i carnt do it every day.
ill try anything.
thanks kellie.

ps i wont muzzel him as there are a lot of teens in my area who have staffies and pit bull and if they attack he carnt defend himself can he.
they dont ever seem to have em on leads ( makes me so angry).

Sorry to hear this,
My dog is fine around others but my bitch isn't,she was attacked by another dog.
Sometimes this will happen anyway,as staffies mature some will not tolerate other dogs.Unfortunatly you will always get numpties with loose out of control dogs with no recall.
I avoid areas where dogs are likely to be off lead,but you can never be sure you won't meet one,the only advise I can give is keep trying, and if you spot an offlead dog shout to the owner to put it onlead till you have passed.

Don't be suprized if they say it's friendly,that's the usual response I get.

You definitely did the right thing by not screaming at shouting but instead remaining calm. Dogs take their lead for the owner so things could have been a lot worse if you didn't react that.

It's a real shame that something like that has caused this reaction. I can't say for sure whether you will be able to train the vicious streak out of him or whether it will go away over time. You could always try to introduce it to other dogs within a controlled environment, and build it up from there.

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Sallyanne thanks for your reply. Im also sorry your staffie has issues with other dogs. I realy wish ppl would be more reponsable with there dogs and not have them loose unless they are sure its got good recall skills. Yes i have had to shout to ppl loads of times to get there dogs on a lead and they always say " its ok, he/she is friendly" when i tell them mine aint they say i should have him muzzeled. but i have him on a lead and he cant get to there dogs. i think there dogs should be leaded if they dont respond to a recall.

kellie.xxxxxxxx

Hiya Richard thank you also for your reply and the link you gave me. I personaly dont think i will get the aggressive streak out of him now ( well not to dogs of a lead anyway)
Ive tried so hard and have had loads of dogs around him who are on a lead and he is ok to an extent, dont get me wrong he dont wanna play or sniff em still and if they try to sniff him he growls deeply at them. But the dogs who are loose are the big prob he just goes nuts when they are running towards him. i stay calm and shout for the person to get there dog and then i will try to keep walking and ignore the other dog. most dogs have walk off but some have charged which has resulted in a fight and i get the blame.
what worrys me the most is the teen lads in my area who walk around the street with there staffie , pits, rotties who they never seem to have on leads.

kellie.xxxxxxxxxx

Hi

Carry a spray bottle owith cider vinegar in with you.

I have the same problem with off lead dogs,owners yell "hes alright" as it bounds over growling

I shout back "well mine isnt,hes had too many dogs off lead jump all over him so get your dog away"

I always walk with mine on-lead.They do have off-lead running but only down the stables,where i go every day,or places i know well and can see all around.

My dog will walk past other dogs,and will sit while i chat with other dog owners,but i always make sure i dont let other dogs jump on him.

His behaviour has got loads better and he even has his good citizen bronze award.He did it at a Champ show after his breed class,and was the only one, out of 9 all breeds,who passed

Have you tried clicker training?It may help with the distraction when you meet other dogs,but i would try to avoid the areas and the times, when you know there will be loose dogs.

I still walk the same areas but just do so early in the morning and later in the evening.

Good luck

Mel

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Hiya Dennyboy, thanks for the reply. yes tyla will also sit while i chat to other ppl with dogs althought he dont look very comfy about it and is stiff. i do try to aviod all other dogs of lead and walk him very early morn or late eve. i will get that cider viniger and a sray bottle thanks for the tip. ive had to fight of a few dogs with me brolly while trying to keep hold of my dog and that aint easy as he is so dam strong.
thanks

kellie.xxxxxxxxx

Hi Kellie

I try to always get infront of my lad and stop the eye contact.It helps loads if you have the spray,i did try to get some pepper spray but our policeman friend told me i wasnt aloud ,so i stuck with the vinegar.

It will always be a pain as there will always be loose dogs,but just stay vigilant and try to prevent the dogs getting too close.

It is cr@p that walks are spoiled by idiots who have no control over their dogs,and think they have the right to exersize it off lead,and then will try to have a go at you if your dog isnt happy to be jumped on or growled at

Or the idiots that think it is ok "coz my dog is 'ard and cud beat your dog" ,that dont realise the trauma they cause to people's pets and the ones walking them its all just a bit of fun to them.

Good luck

Mel

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Health testing for the future.

Sounds to me like he is scared of other dogs and as such has resorted to agression , im no dog therapist but everything you have put about his past experiences points to him not having had much luck with his four legged friends , a dog will be agressive on a lead when approched by another dog if its scared because it cant run away so resorts to agression , i wonder if you could find a sympathetic training class who will allow you to attend just to re soscialise him in a controlled enviroment . hope you manage to sort things out with him soon , I couldnt imagine not letting my Labs off lead to run free we must be really lucky that we have never had problems with our dogs or other dogs being aggresive .

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