Please some advice would be very welcome i have an 8wk old staff bitch who nips at feet hands ect a lot just when we are walking around the house ive had dogs before but tell this little minx no and she barks at you and carries on please just some friendly advice

Hello

I have a 12 week old staff that was doing the same thing, when she was biting we would tell her no and remove her from the room, we put her behind the child gate for a few minutes and then let her back out, after two days she stopped nipping.
We try not to let her chew our fingers etc when we are playing with her as then they see them as "toys" :)
Try and distract him/her with a toy instead

We had the same problem with our Staff when she was little and boy does it hurt. Blondiflops is exactly right, the pup wont understand no at this stage. So remove her and ignore her and she will learn that this type of behaviour doesnt get her anywhere. A Staff does not like to be ignored or have you turn your back on them, we find this more of a deterrent than shouting or any other 'word' chastisement.
One warning though,I dont know whether Blondiflops will agree that all Staffs use their mouths alot but ours does. She is 14 months old and still touches our hands and feet with her mouth in play, never biting just 'mouthing' us. Its part of her charm.

Thanks for the advice its hard with the kids you know they start screaming so then she thinks its a game boy it is painful just a bit worried having a staffy with kids but apparently they are great with kids hope so

we dont have children, but we have to walk past a childrens play area every day before we get to the woods. The noise is deafening and theres lots of movement with the swings and balls etc but Giorgia is not at all bothered and now all the children know her name and call out to her as we're passing. We are very careful because she is a bit rough and tumble and we always say to the kids she may jump on you if you get her too excited but as yes she hasnt and they always come up to her. My brother-in-law has two children and a Staffy dog whom he has had since they were very young and he's quite mad. But he has never once hurt them and in fact is overly protective of the girl, he doesnt like her being told off by anyone.
As first time Staff owners, we didnt quite know what to expect even though we researched everything, made sure we had the best breeder possible etc. When we took that little puppy home, she immediately made herself at home,slept in our bed, followed us everywhere. She slept through the night,was a joy to housetrain and very quick to learn commands, pushed the boundaries a bit,didnt like being told off,liked being ignored even less,the puppy biting stage was a nightmare but we got through it. Now she is 15 months old and is the sweetest natured most adorable creature you could wish to be owned by and I would like to introduce all staffy haters to her, they would be converted in a day

All my staffies have mouthed a lot even when adult - just when they get older they learn not to hurt !!!

The ones I have known have allways been good with kids.

Hi we have a newfoundland/bernese mountain dog,we had her from 7 wks,and encountered the same problem,do you have a cage ? if so put her in there with a firm naught dog,for at least 30 secs,if does it again return to cage for bit longer or in garden exclusion worked for us and being firm with the NO word. she is now nearly 14 wks and is a lot better and has lots of chews and toys it will get better.

I always thought that a cage was not for punishment therefore i put her in the kitchen behind a gate for 5min then let her back in

I would agree trackie29. I am not an advocate of crates as past posts will tell you, I'm vehemently against them but surely they shouldnt be used for punishment purposes

I understand your disagreement about the cage but I must say our dog is so much better for it,all day the door is open and she is happy to take her treats in there to eat and her toys to play with and sees it as her den,only when we tell her naughty and shut the door is it seen as punishment and she is never in there for long,I must say I would be lost without mine and most of the time it is her happy retreat and she has no phobias over it what so ever

Hi

I have a nine month old boy and he was exactly the same. At 8 weeks yours will be treating you the way she treated her litter mates and just needs a little time to adjust to being part of a different pack.

When ours nipped at us, I have to say I was a bit more lenient. I didnt remove him from the room or anything but as soon as he got a bit too playful we would tell him no and stop playing in order to allow him to calm down. Its a bit like an overexcited child, they arent being naughty but just dont know when to stop.

There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind about her loving the kids. She will be great with them and protective too as she will get t grow up with them.

Enjoy x

Hi Trackie,

the behaviour you describe is pretty much the norm for any young puppy regardless of breed - perhaps you'll find the information on this link helpful http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

regards, Teri

That link you gave me was very interesting thankyou very much teri i do appreciate it :)

Hope it works for you - it always has with mine :)  Credit for finding the link initially has to go to tohme who posted it in the past but it's a reliable method IME.

Regards Teri

Were staffies not used by the Victorians to guard nurseries?  I have always thought that, as a breed, they were wonderful with children.  I could be wrong though!!!

Annie

Annie
yes they are known as the nanny dog but when pups they will mouthe anything  :)

Yeah i agree with the other posts just get a toy and try to distract the pup with it, if it plays with it make sure you praise him.  Good luck if you are constitent it will pay off in the long run.

Warm regards Susan

Hello

Coleystaff is right, staffies do tend to mouth alot, I know my 1 year old boy Ron still does the difference is he is very gentle doing it, after a while they realise when they are playing too hard.

Good luck, dont worry it doesnt last forever!

She also hooks one of her incisors over my Husbands fingers and takes him for a walk around the house, hand in mouth as it were!
She also sighs alot, sulks alot, grumbles alot, very vocal in general

Thanks for the info but she is a little moo she will bark at me if i yell no or say anything to her do you think i will have a problem with her later in life

keep try trackie29, they're very strong characters!!  Tessie my staff still mouths now and she's almost three, but she doesn't put any pressure on your hand at all....
staffs are pretty sensitive and hate nothing more than being chastised, so if she knows your serious when you tell her no, she'll soon get the idea i'm sure... keep trying!!!

Be firm with her when you say NO! and mean it. I even growled at mine, still do if they don't listen first time, it usually works :D  If kids squeal and scream she will just think they are playing, mine do, so then I have to take command and growl at them. :D The dogs I mean not the kids :)

Dee

Thanks for the advice i am firm with the no but she carries on regardless and keeps barking at me but i will stand strong and keep it up :)

Our puppy was te same she barked at me in particular when I told her off because she is my dog and I am with her most of the time,you have to stand up and look straight at them and let them know you are not intimidated they are a bit like children and answering back,my dog doesnt do it anymore she accepts the word no and stops,she is not a staffie though and I have never owned one but I would imagine it is the same for all of them just show it you are the boss.Firm but kind it should work.Good luck

You mentioned thet you yell no at her, try not to do this. You want to keep your voice steady and firm. Everytime she starts to bite tell her firmly 'no' and move her away from you. She will soon realise what you mean as has already been said staffs hate being ignored. Another thing you could try would be to replace your hand with one of her toys whenever she starts biting so she knows where she can go if she needs a bit of a nibble.
As for the children, i'm sure she will be fantastic with yours with the right supervision. Make sure your children know not to push her to far as like anyone theres only so much she can take and children do love to pull and the friendliest of hugs from a child can be more like a strangulation lol. My 5yo is my staffs best friend and they love eachother to bits but they do annoy eachother at times and thats when you need to intervene, just like you would when brothers and sisters annoy eachother!!

p.s Congratulations on choosing the best breed as a pet!!! (but i may be slightly biased ;) )

Thanks she is a lovely looking staffie and we are over the moon just we havent owned a staff before and things people say are a bit daunting and scarey as she is a dominant little mo barks at us if we tell her no and growls as for the ignoring when she nips we would have to ignore her most of the day as she doesnt seem to care is this her age? or do you think she may have a problem as she was the only pup left i ask myself at times why did no-one pick her? :)

My puppy is the same...if i tell him off for something he'll bark, growl, and show his teeth to me and he's 6 1/2 months old...but i don't shout at him, i just firmly tell him :-D

awwwwwww trackie i think your reading too much into it. She's only a baby still yet and she has to learn bite inhibition. The nipping would be normal behaviour with the rest of her litter and her mother but as she doesn't have them anymore you and your family are the replacement. Just be firm and stick with it, i promise it will pay off in the end :-D
As for their reputation, any real staffy lover will tell you what a loving, loyal and beautiful breed they are. I was the same as you before i got mine as they do have a bad rep, but now i'd never have any other dog!! They have wonderful and amusing characters and really become a part of the family.
Good luck with your girl, it may be very hard work right now but trust me its all worth it :)

Thanks i hope so :)

Trackie

We were first time Staff owners as well and the biting stage was a very difficult time. It lasted probably until about 5-6 months old I think. We just kept an even but forceful tone without shouting, we were persistent even when we didnt seem to be getting anywhere and used the ignoring her/turning our back on her as the main chastisement. To be fair yours is still only a puppy and this is normal behaviour. They bark and growl as they find their voices and Staffs are vey vocal. But there is a difference between aggression/cheekiness and being vocal. When we think Giorgia is out of line we still turn our back on her and she immediately stops and calms down. This behaviour only tends to happen when she is either over excited or tired and ready for bed. You will learn together as you go on with your Staff. Honestly it only gets better and you will never regret it, they are so special.

<<<<They bark and growl as they find their voices and Staffs are vey vocal.>>>>

hehehe our staff doesn't know what hes supposed to growl for. He'll stand there and growl at you if he wants to go out or wants a drink or just for no apparent reason and his tails wagging ten to the dozen!!! It still makes me laugh now when he does it as for me it goes to show he has no nastiness in him...he growls coz he's happy and a totally daft doggie lol :-D

I swear they make these noises just to see what they sound like. Sometimes Giorgia makes a funny noise and she looks up at us as if to say where did that come. I sometimes think her tail will fall off cos it wags so much. As you say its nice to know that there is no nastiness there, the body language says it all. Staffs rule!!