hello, i have a 9 month old pure bred staffy ( mother lebonese, father english bloodlines). I have taken her to puppy school and the park every night after work...but....she is very aggressive with large dogs and small fluffy dogs...especially other staffys and german shepards. is there anything i am doing wrong or is this just there breeding?...i read up alot on staffys before i bought my puppy and i was not expecting her to be so aggressive.
I have a big back yard with alot of trees and she kills birds on a regular basis. I will be moving in with my g/f soon and she has 2 cats...i'm very worried she will attack them.
can anyone give me some tips or advice plz, would be much appreciated.

P.s

she has not been desexed due the fact that i plan to breed, does this affect her behaviour?
and is there any problems with having birth due to there large heads?

Thx,
Bindithestaffy.

surely this is a wind up? how can you think of breeding from an aggressive dog like this and why would you want to? as far as cats go- no no no! sounds like she will kill them! too late to get to know them at 9 months, i wouldnt risk it

Given her temperament, I would reconsider breeding from her.  However, you have to remember that Staffords have a naturally high prey drive.
Have you tried socialising her at all?
She's young at 9 months, so I wouldn't say she's beyond redemption.

Please do not breed from this bitch. There are enough problems with unwanted Staffies already. It would be highly irresponsible to breed from an aggressive dog and there is every chance that some of her pups will also be aggressive and so you are perpetuating a problem.

On the subject of her aggression it is important to try to figure out what is going on. First off, did you see the pup's parents and is there any history of aggression in either the dam or sire? Staffs were formerly a dog fighting breed and so selective breeding for that kind of aggression can linger in some lines. If her temperament is largely a product of her genes then you will have to do a lot of work with a behaviourist to turn her round and you must not breed from her.

It sounds as though she has a strong prey drive, she's already killing birds so living with cats is a no no, again you'll need special help to manage this side of her.

Finally Staffs can play very roughly, in a way that seems aggressive and scary to other dogs. They often have to be taught from a very early age how to play and interact with other breeds. They can be very nippy and being staffs will often hang on.

I cannot say what you need to do because I cannot see your dog but I am clear that you need some professional guidance from someone who properly understands dog behaviour and this breed in particular. The fact that she is already killing birds suggests to me that professional help is urgent. Please do not succumb to the "she needs to be dominated line". I suspect that this dog is doing what her breeding has hardwired into her and that is tragic for her and a big problem for you.

Just to be clear, the majority of well bred Staffies will have had this kind of aggression selectively bred out of them, I am not suggesting this behaviour is a given.

It may be that you can find a way to manage her behaviour, but tips off a forum or a bit of help at puppy class will not be enough. Please seek advice from a good behaviourist now. You can search the APBC site or the UKRCB. I'm hoping that some of the SBT experts on this site can offer additional advice.  

I notice that the OP's in Australia, where there might not be such an enormous over-population of staffies as there is here. But even so, there's no reason whatsoever to breed from any animal which has a less-than-sound temperament, so from the description of her behaviour breeding from this bitch is out of the question.

I'd doubt very much whether she could ever be trusted around cats either, not having been reared with them from the outset.

JG,
Yes, I guess Australia makes a difference but I do hope the OP does not breed from this pup. I'm also interested to know if "Lebonese" lines means something from the Lebanon or is it a Staff affix?

Probably just as bad in Aus tbh.

I was wondering what the lines meant also, sounds interesting. Freelanceruk I have to say that was an excellent post! :)

Lindsay,

Thanks for that. I just hope any advice we give helps.

I was very interested in all your comments.
I was in the park last weekend with my Golden Retriever.   I was standing and talking to a man I know who has two lovely rescue dogs and all three were playing together.   It was early Saturday morning - the park was deserted and there were only the two of us and our dogs.
Suddenly a Staffie ran towards us.   He ran straight for my GR, caught him on the side of his neck and held on tightly.   I started kicking him to no avail.  I tried opening his jaws with my fingers - luckily I was wearing thick gloves.  He finally let go of my dog and bit me.
Then the owner arrived on the scene and asked if my dog was okay.  The man I was with said her dog had bitten me.  
She said she hadnt had him long - this actually turned out to be a lie as after some enquiries, I discovered that she has had the dog for a while.   That previous to this dog she had a Rotweiller who was put down because it was so vicious.  
My GR is okay - I had to go to the hospital to be bandaged, injected and have a course of antibiotics.
I still dont know wat I should do about it.   Police? Dog warden?   Im sure if it had been a child, the dog would have killed it.   I can still see this dogs face as it ran towards us - no 'smile' - just intent of its agression - Ive never seen anything like that before.
So yes, I think your comments are wise - I found them very interesting

> Im sure if it had been a child, the dog would have killed it.

And yet you have done nothing about it ?  As a Mother i am furious .
If you do nothing about this dog you will have the blood of every human and dog that this dog attacks in the future  on your hands .

> Im sure if it had been a child, the dog would have killed it.

The staffie was after your dog, not you, you got bitten because you broke up a fight. Rerport the dog to the dog warden but for facts - it is permitted to attack other dogs and in doing so is a potential threat to anybody breaking up the fight not because it is a child killer on the rampage.
I've had a dog aggressive dog, he would make a bee-line for other dogs, only intent on fighting them, he bit ME when I broke up a fight, but I he was never a danger to children (no more so than any dog).

Report it! to the police and the local dog warden. I'd of done it like a shot, not waited at all. It's unfortunate you got bit too but that was probably because you touched the dog. If the dog had really wanted to harm you then it was quite capable of doing so. None the less, that's a dangerous dog and needs reporting especially as you now have details about the owner.

I have to say though if a dog was attacking my dog, I too would of done anything to get it off.

Definitely report it!  It's idiots who let dogs like this off lead that cause the rest of us who are responsible a problem!
Agree with the others also, you were most likely bitten by getting in the middle of the fight, does not necessarily mean the dog would harm a child.  But nonetheless, the dog was allowed to run free and the owner should be brought to task.

It bit you whether intentionally or not so please report it to the police.  It could be a child walking thier dog it goes after next time and what will happen if the child gets in the way.  I am sure you wouldn't want to live with that.

The dog (or rather the owner! ) is a problem because it is off lead and apparently allowed to attack other dogs (and if humans get involved might end up attacking them too).

I get very cross I am afraid if any dog is allowed to attack another, because, yet another aspect is that some dogs have one off learning situations in fearful situations and so end up perpetuating the cycle as they then start to attack first via fear and defensive behaviour. It makes me mad that owners like this one actually allow their dog to attack.

So yes, please do report it because it sounded nasty and as if the staffie was very intent.  Dogs will be dogs, we can't always predict what they willl do, but in circumstances suhch as this where the owner knew the dog would likely attack, and staffie held on and then bit you I think yes, it's fair enough. If I was another dog owner, I'd be applauding you for potentially saving my own dog from harm perhaps. And yes if children are involved then they may get bitten if they try to intervene (but I'd think not otherwise).

Lindsay
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