hi,
i have just got a 8 week old staff male and he has a thing for people's hands and feet. i have a lil' brother who is 5 and when they a playing instead of going for the toy he goes for either his hands or feet. is there any way i can get him to stop this habit? (he does it to me aswell)

Hi, we have a Staff who did exactly the same, we had very good advice which worked, we allowed our 6 year old to wear a pair of wellies in the house so that when Buster bit her feet, she did not scream or make a noise - all very interesting to a puppy - as soon as he bit her feet, she immediately stood still, folded her arms and looked straight ahead, paying him absolutely no attention at all. Within a few minutes, he got bored and walked away. It took a couple of weeks and he stopped doing it in the end as he wasnt getting any reward from it. Also to stop him from chewing anything else we didn't want him to, we would distract him with a toy, and whilst he was chewing on it we would give him lots of praise, "good boy" etc., so he came to have positive associations with his toys - which still continues to this day - he is now 7 months old. Puppies love the squeaking noise and waving arms and feet that children make, and obviously the more noise they make, even if it's "no, no!", the more excited they get, so when they get no reaction at all, it doesn't hold the same interest. Don't worry, it will come together in the end! Good luck!

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deleted due to duplication

tried to post when l. parkins popped up so it has posted several times :( - sorry

Childrens voices are of a different pitch to an adults so when they are screaming and shouting the pup thinks its fascinating .
Unfortunately pups do bite or mouth at this age . You have to be firm and tell him "NO"!! firmly or even yell !OUCH"!! . If it carries on you must ignore him for a short while as Staffys in particular hate to be ignored . Try this for a while and see if you notice any difference but you do have to be firm and consistent - dont let visitors allow the pup to do it to them . This is one of the most annoying things as they tend to say " Oh its ok" which isnt learning your pup anyhting .
It does lessen in time but it is perfectly normal . Dont go thinking you have an aggressive or abnormal dog as every pup bites at this age .He just has to learn its not acceptable :)
Lel

I would use a water pistol... don't let your brother do it though... Just watch for the puppy going for your brothers feet and shout NO and give him a quick blast with the water pistol. Once or twice should do it :)

Just read this post and really trying to get cross. You are telling a novice person who sounds young in inexperienced to fire a water pistol at a very young Staffy pup. No wonder 2 there are so many staffs in Battersea dogs home where i volunteer!!!

Amazing!! its all very well giving advice - but alot of people on this site are first time dog owners who shouldn't have Staffs in the first place - ask yourself why there are so many Staffs in dogs homes???? they get into the wrong hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Suzi

Using a water pistol or something similar. What is wrong with that ? It does not hurt and is an immediate distraction away from the bad thing the pup is doing. I use a hose pipe on my Labs to discourage digging etc in the garden and has worked very successfully.:)

I understand there are so many staffies in to be rehomed as there are of alot of breeds of dogs and cross breeds as in experienced owners cannot cope, but I know Chloe is not an inexperienced owner and I think has a Staffie of her own? (sorry if I am wrong Chloe) At least the owner has come here for advice and not just dumped the pup as it is doing unacceptable things !

It might be more constructive to give your advice on how to stop the behaviour if you feel it is not right as there will be many tried and tested ways of dealing with this sort of thing and the more we all exchange our knowledge and experiences the better !:)

Would be interested to hear your opinion. I am not having a go as I don't do that but just feel that what was said was a valid point. :)

Lucy

Lucy,

I did not sau Chloe was inexperienced, i said the poster sounded inexperienced. I just can't get my head round the "craze" in Staffs. 8 week old pups to mouth and yes i agree with the "ouch" and then ignor the pup.

I was questioning that i would not give advise like that to an new owner who does not quite know what they are doing. It sounds like there are kids living with the pup and i now have a vision of them chasing th poor pup around with the water pistol until it is frightened out of its life ( i know what boys are like)

I know there are alot on very experienced Staff owners on this site( i am not saying i am one) who know what to do in situatins but there are alot on inexperienced people also.

I do not post her i just love reading all the different posts with interest, but this one really got to me as, Staffs seem to get into the wrong hands, living in London i see it all the time.

You are an experienced owner but i would not like to give kids a hosepipe or water pistol and chase any dog about!!!

Suzi

Hi Suzi

I sounded a bit harsh and I am sorry ! Having a bit of an off day. It is the same with a lot of breeds especially at the moment with Chocolate Labs so I know what you mean when inexperienced owners get a dog.

Perhaps what the best advice would be to the original poster would be get the parents more involved in the training of the pup and involve the children in learning through the parents in how to train the pup.It is difficult to see the situation on a post and is much easier when you see the situation and the people and pup involved in person !

Best Wishes

Lucy

Hi Lucy,

Me too. Seem to be getting wound up this week, am going to take the dogs out and get some air:).

Best wishes
Suzi

That is half my problem that I can't walk my girls at the moment :(

Have a lovely walk and don't get too wet ! :)

Lucy

It has stopped raining for now, better be quick!

Why can't you take your girls out??

I am pregnant have a really bad pelvic problem and I am just about housebound and struggling to walk. I haven't been out for a walk with them for weeks and weeks now:(

Lucy

Oh it must be frustrating, not being able to go for walks.
Sorry to hear you are in pain, are you watching the tennis?? Congratulations on your pregnancy, all will be worth it in the end when you have a bouncing buba:)

Big black cloud coming over, so we ran home, now sat chilling with glass of wine :)

We are having a great thunder storm here as well ! Oooh a glass of wine, not long until I can get back to my bad habits ! :D

Lucy

Hi! I am from South Africa and live on a Game Farm where we got all kinds of wild animals. My Staffie female "Tsavo" also used to nibble at my feet. As I wear boots, she almost ate half of the tag at the back during all this nibbling at my feet. She would do this only while I am walking. Naturally by this time she would be hanging onto this tag at the back and I would have "dragged" her along for some distance. The only way that I got her to stop this was by standing still and wait for her to let go of the tag. Ignoring a staffie is the best "punishment" they can get and is very affective, because they love attention and hate to be ignored. Good luck, you are both going to have a wonderfull time!

Note: Keep his jaws busy. I gave mine a 2L Plastic Coke bottle everyday. She would take some time in destroying it but in the end she would be tired of chewing and left evrything else alone. This bottle eveyday was her "high" for the day......problem is that you have to clean up the little plastic bits afterwards.

We, too, give our dogs 2l bottles to chew. They love ripping the labels off, flattening them, 'killing' them, tugging against each other, etc. We have bulldogs and although they get very chewed none of the dogs has ever shredded one so I don't worry about them swallowing bits.
I only give them during supervised times and take them away when I need to. In the garden I put a little water in them and wait for the look of shock when they peirce the bottle and get wet!!
Norm

Norm, i read that as twenty one bottles - then realised what you meant !!!

Lindsay ;)