We have recently rescued a 8/9mth old staffy cross dog. He is a lovely boy, very friendly etc, but when it comes to training he just doesn't seem to have anything between the ears! Our other dog, a lurcher/gsd cross, was 18mths when we rescued him and after about five months of having him he was pretty well trained in the basics. He is now 29mths old. I am using the same sort of methods to train the staffy X (a mixture of treat rewards and clicker training) but it doesnt seem to be working. Are staffies hard to train? I always saw them as quite quick learners. Any help or advice would be welcome.

Staffies are ok usually but some do need persistence and discipline . I think the thing about Staffies is they are very easily distracted . It may be because he's a cross - what is he crossed with do you know ? I know my Staffy is quite quick to learn - he's 9 months now but my previous Staffy took longer to learn . I know with both of them they sometimes want to be doing other things that are more fun . :)
Have you tried using treats ? This usually works well :D
Good luck
Lel

We believe him to be cross with a greyhound (as strange as it may sound.) unfortunatly he is now becomming distructive when left (fortunatly nothing that cant be easily replaced) This is dispite the leaving of treat filled kongs, hide chews and a variety of other interesting doggy toys. I have tried exercising him before going out but it doesn't seem to work. I try not to make a big thing about going out or comming back in and I never tell him of if I come back into a mess, but he just doesnt seem to get the message. Oh and he loves bitter spray. he is not on his own as he is left with our other dog. Any other sugestions please.

Nicolinena

Pet Rescue was on TV earlier and it just so happened that a Staffy was on it that had been destructive in the home - did you happen to see it .
It was actually thought to be because the dog saw herself as the pack leader and then became distressed at the members of her pack being out of view ( ie the family members) and therefore started to fret and become destructive . They had to reteach the dog to accept it wasnt pack leader basically. I'm sure someone can help with this .
Some just become bored and this is the reason for their chewing furniture etc
Good luck :)

Yes I did see pet rescue. Thankfully the staffy would appear to have gone to a permanant home now. The box of tricks and treats looked like a possible idea to try out. having come home after a mere 30mins to find my hall carpet very worse for being chewed I have seen my vet who is also a dog behavourist. She is going to work out a program for me use. In the meantime she advised me to get Training Discs. These are five specially shaped brass discs(they work in the same way as stones in a can). But because they are shaped they dont make a noise when picked up or carried in a pocket. Well I was a bit sceptical but thought I'd give it a go. So for the past day and today I have been using these discs to stop food stealing. And to my utter amazement I can now leave a decoy sandwich on the lounge floor while i eat mine and he leaves it clean alone, he doesnt sniff at it, lick it or even go near it. I will keep you posted as to how we progress and to the program the vet gives me.
With regards to my staffy x not returning when off the lead, at the moment he is pretty good and comes more or less as soon as he is whistled, as long as he is going to be fed a treat when he gets to me. Also though he is off the lead with my other dog a gsd x. And he does tend to follow what he does. Sometimes that is good, sometimes not so good.

i have a 2 year old staffy called brooke and she has been realy hard to train when she is on the lead she is as good as gold. When off the lead if she see a person or a dog she will run over to them to say hello and they could be miles away but she has to say hello. I call her back but she just keeps on running. Now she is older she is not so bad she does listen to me when i call her and we always take treats with us now. She is great round the house and has never been distructive we have been realy lucky.

Neither my present nor previous Staffys have been destructive or naughty around the house either although i do know people who have had Staffys destroy the house . One ate a window sill :(
They can be very boisterous and too friendly which is why you must persist with discipline and consistancy . Staffys will reward you tenfold wih their love and loyalty . They adore children especially but they must be taught recall and must not be allowed to race off . I know exactly what you mean by this Brooke as Gus is currently going through this stage . He will tear off at 100 miles per hour to greet someone or another dog .He is great at recall other then when he sees wha he views as a "friend" whether it be a stranger or another dog .

Hi Lel,
So what do you do then when he rushes off at 100mph? Buster is exactly the same, excellent on his own or if people/dogs are a long way off, will tend to stay with us, but if he sees them at close quarters he's off, although he does come back after he's had a sniff, that's not really good enough. We take plenty of treats, he loves sticks, and he is getting to the stage where maybe 50% of the time he will come back or not even bother, but even so, I know there's no magic secret but what are you doing at the moment to handle this? Nicki

Generally if we shout him and he takes no notice then we will shout something like "Fetch the stick Gus" as he adores sticks :). Most times he wil return for this but we have also been working on saying "STAY" very loudly and very firmly .This is starting to work but needs more work .
He will come back normally but the racing off is worrying . Generally we try to distract him by talking or playing so that he is more interested in the *fun game* than anything else .
We dont try the long lead approach as 99% of the time we walk in the woods and all the trees etc make this difficult.
He doesnt jump up anymore and usually just has a sniff and then comes back but I can appreciate it looks worrying to people who dont know him .
What do you do with Buster Nicki??

Hi there,

My staffy, Paddy is 2 and a half, I think they all go through a stage as youngsters where they want to just run wild and explore everything and anyone. I got mine when he was 12 months old and was completely wild! hadnt had much training at all i think.

Like you Lel, I try to keep him focused on me rather than what is going on around, play a game with him that is interesting ie throwing sticks etc.Our new game is throwing a big stone in long grass and heathers so he has to find it, he loves it!!

Paddy is getting much better now (still needs a lot of work), but I think the key is persistance and patience you will eventually get through to them, you have to be very firm because they are very strong willed and have a mind of their own and are very implusive. They are worth it though arnt they!