I have a 4yr old staffy (dog) he is great with people and used to be great with other dogs, when he was just over a year old another dog got hold of him and since then he is very aggressive towards other dogs...is there any way i can help my dog to see that not all of them want to fight? any advice would be greatfully recieved

I would suggest contacting a good behaviourist. Dog aggression can be a real pain to overcome! And it doesn't help that staffies have a bad rep anyway..
Also, try to socialise him with the friendly dogs of the breed he was attacked with, so he doesn't get the idea that the specific breed is 'bad'.

How should i go about socialising him with other dogs safely, he's a big staffy and i'm just scaired that he may do some real damage, i just want to do what best and safest.

I had a rescue girl who had the lovliest personality when it came to humans, but dogs was another matter! Before, if she saw a dog from the otherside of the field, she would be lunging and barking and straining at the lead.

Not everyone would agree with my method, but I used a citronella spray collar...

I got the dog used to wearing the collar (without the spray or battery) around the house for a few days to get her used to the feel of it. Then filled it up on about the 4th day, just before she went for a walk. Then whenever she saw another dog in the distance, I would put on a high happy voice, and reward her so she associated the presence of another dog with rewards and praise.

Then gradually, kept taking it further and brought her closer and closer to other dogs... if she started to show aggressive behaviour (staring and growling/lunging/barking) she would get a quick 1 second spray. I would be looking at the sky, or away from her and be in the oblivious 'what was that?!!' mode, so she didn't associate the spray with myself. Then I would treat for the correct. I never told her off if she was aggressive, as I believe that makes them think you are joining in! I let her make her own decisions.. After weeks of continuous training, she finally caught on that

other dogs = fun, happy, praise, food!

the slightest sign of aggression = a shock/startle, gets her nowhere, being ignored, no treats, no fun!

And she chose what she preferred.

Eventually I was able to take her right up to other dogs (Made sure they were friendly ones only). I would only let her have a quick sniff, maybe 2/3 seconds, at first then break it up to keep things short and exciting.

Now I can let her off lead no worries and be confident she will not snap, she is a completely different dog from when I got her. She is happy and excited when she see's other dogs and I'm alot happier too!

If he is 4 years old and he got attacked at 1, does that mean he's been aggressive for 3 years? Or is it just something that's come on recently??

If it's the second, you might want to have him checked out by a vet as the aggression may be related to health.

he has been aggressive since the incident, i tried to keep him away from other dogs as much as possible by taking him for walks early in the morning and later at night but since i changed jobs it's no longer possible an i can not let him off anymore as there are always other dogs around and if they are off the lead and come towards him i have to pick him until they have gone or just hurry away. it's really frustrating and its getting to the stage where i dread taking him for walks.

'the stage where i dread taking him for walks' I can empathise!! :)

Like I said, it is really frustrating, aggression issues aren't always they easiest thing to overcome. So probably the best thing would be to seek proffesional help.

I don't believe avoiding socialisation with other dogs would have helped his issues unfortunately, probably only made them worse!!

It is well worth the time/effort/money to sort the problem out though.

i realise that now but it's hard to know what the right thing is sometimes.

I know. I would try the best you can with your dog. So many people just give up and that's why rescue centers are so full..

Good luck however you go about it.

Hopefully someone else will be along with better advise! :)

your advice has been great. i would never give up on him, no matter how bad he got he's my life and will allways be my puppy dog.

Its a gene which often stays dormant unless triggered, once its been activated it cannot become dormant again. Anyway apart from that, aggression is never one dog, as you say other dogs approach and thats that.
The best thing to do is not always possible but if you have the means to travel as far as it takes for you it is a good idea to offer a farmer a monthly fee or something and to walk some of his fields or play ball with him, that way you can find some peace and quiet and get rid of stress of having eyes all over the park and a knot in your stomach.
I know thats not always possible but he will not safely socialize to a point you can let him offlead if he ever socialized at all, one challenging glance and he's gone,or expect him to stand quietly if another dog runs up challenging him, you also know you will not get him off once he starts. Good Luck, but changing environment is IMO best for both of you.

No matter where you go there will allways be something that he does not like, rabbits, mice, birds....i used to take him to the stables with me but then he once saw a rabbit in the field and he was off after he saw that one everytime i took him he would spend his time looking for others. staffy's were bred origionally for there aggression i just hate the thought of me being the only companion my dog will ever have to play with.....everyday i see other dogs playing together and it breaks my heart to think that he will never be able to do that. A friend suggested i get a puppy that way my dog will grow up with him and will trust him and be able to play with him but to be honest i think this would be the wrong thing to do how do i know my dog will accept this puppy and how could i as a respectable animal loving owner bring a puppy into a house with an aggressive dog......

Your right to suspect a puppy would be the wrong idea, one would have to dominate and it could even lead to yet more problems with other dogs. Your always being bombarded with the word 'reward' - the greatest reward for your dog is to fight with another and probably kill or maim it.

hi there, my staffie also turned aggressive after another dog attacked her.  However after carefully socialising her with only good dogs she has dramatically improved and she plays off lead with no fuss, even if another dog pins her down, she just lays there.
I think it is a problem that can be overcome, and by avoiding the situation and staying away from socialising you will only make the problem worse, or just not get better.
I would urge you to try and reward when hes being good or ignoring using treats and ignore him when hes growling.. ie dont say anthing to him not even 'oh dont be silly' or telling him off, just walk on or change direction.

I also find using an extendable lead to be of good use, this way ur dog doesnt feel trap and doesnt feel the need to fight instead of run. 

I think i will have a go at getting him to mix with other dogs the only worry i have is if he get hold of one while i'm trying to introduce them, i could put a muzzle on him until i think he's ready not to have one....but i'm not sure i'd like to muzzle him.

I have a 16 month old female Staffy and she is really great with most dogs and loves to play. I found in the last 2 months she occasionally got bossy with younger pups than herself and a few times she has pinned them down and growled. It's all noise...no real attacking but it worried me because she's suck a gorgeous affectionate girl and i didn't want her to get aggressive.
3 weeks ago we decided to take the plunge and get her a friend. He's a little fluffy 13 [westie,cavalier,shitzu,maltese x] and she has been so gentle and protective of him. If anything he roughs her up. I think it's been good for her and they play non stop. 
We are getting a personal trainer over next week too and I'll speak to him about aggresive behaviour coz i don't want that to devlop again. staffies are the most adorable creatures!

I know your post is abit out of date but I just wondered how you were getting on with your boy??

Aggression is a very delicate problem and if you are still having problems you should look at the following sites:-

www.dog-partnership.co.uk  or  www.k9clinic.co.uk