Hi
Does anyone have any comments on punishing a dog of this breed. Let me be clear we do NOT hit our staffie but time and time again i am being told that when he gets to about 12 months he will rebell, and that we will have to, as thay say ( Give him a slap ) to stop him being noughty. Believe me i do not want to do this, but is this the norm. Do you have to take the hard line with this breed, or is it that, if they are brought up right from the start they will be OK.
Thanks Daren

There should be no need to hit any breed, so long as you put the effort in your dog should be fine :)

towers, first and foremost, it sounds as though your dog hasn't shown any signs of rebelling yet, so not sure where you're coming from really.... however it seems sensible to be asking for advice in the event it does!
IMO, there is NO need to hit or slap any animal just to stop him/her being naughty.  As for staffies, they are quite a sensitive breed and a stern voice is usually enough to have the desired effect.....providing they know that you mean what you say... ie No means no...!

I'm not sure why people are telling you that time and time again when he gets to 12months old he will rebel.  I find that a bit confusing.  Perhaps it was just an experience these people have had, but of all the staffie owners I know (myself included) I've never heard of rebelling!!!

As far as I know all breeds go through a 'teenage' period when they get to around 18 months to 2 years. At this time they can tend to rebel a little and all your hardwork seems to go out of the window ( As i discovered when my staff, who up til last weekend had a rock solid 'here' and 'sit', decided he didn't want to listen to me anymore he was going to investigate inside someones house as they had their gate and door open despite the fact i was saying in my firmest voice tryin very very hard not to start screaming at him to come here LOL!) If this happens you just need to go back to basics with the 'sit' 'here' etc and everything should be fine :)

Non of my staffies have ever rebelled , have never had to smack them :-(

All I have to say is 'oh no' in a sad voice & she slinks off for a sulk - lol.

My husband can shout at her as much as he wants but she totally ignores him!  but I am the one who looks after her.

I have heard of males being a bit more head strong, but not to the point of rebelling, more like a kevin the teenager :-)

Good luck & please dont take notice of smacking him / her, staffies are so sensitive it could make him / her not trust you :-(

Jo

I have just finished reading "The Perfect Puppy" (Gwen Bailey), and I think you may benifit from this book, if you don't already have it. It is around £12 from Amazon including delivery. She covers "punishment" very well and helps you get it right.

For those of you who don't know - she does not promote any harmful acts to be used as punishment.

Gwen Bailey is lovely, I read her book on rescue dogs many years ago and still have it, although I don't go along with everything she says, such as going through doors first, I did love her story about her LabxWeim and how she turned him around. :-)

Ahhhhhhhhh, feel good dust everywhere, is Teri and her stolen goods about?! ;-)

Yes I am not sure I could do the door thing, the dog will be part of our family not something we had just picked up! However the chapter in the book that is about punishment just makes sense to me :D

IMHO a dog is far more likely to rebel against unfair or unjust punishment when it reaches it's teenage years, and this may be what these people are finding.  A puppy that is taught with firm but fair methods won't feel any need to 'rise up' because it knows there is nothing to be gained.

I agree, Gwen Baileys books are excellent, but I might be a bit biased ;)

Now you've intrigued me Digger! Do tell! Why oh why are you biased? ;-)

How old is your dog currently?

Mine responds to dissappointment(I know many will say that they dont understand this but it works with mine). He sulks and will do anything cute to get me attention.

Shouting just excites him more but a firm no and then ignoring him really works. The reason I ask how old your dog is, is that if you put in the groundwork now you will have a much easier life later on. We were very strict when he was a young pup and now I have to pinch myself as I seem to have the most wonderful, well behaved, sweet natured little dog. He is 9 months. Whilst I say we were strict I meant that we praised every bit of good behaviour and verbally reprimanded for bad. I hardly ever have to tell him off now. He is mischevious as any health staffie is but not naughty.

Maybe you are experiencing the same and like me, your wondering if its the calm before the storm. Have faith and I am sure he will be fine with your good guidance.

xx

Hi
Thanks for your comments. My Staffie is only 12 weeks old and from the pages of info on here he is just like any other staffie. I was just worried by what some people were telling me thats all. I am thinking of going to training classes do you think this is a good thing to do?
Daren

i think that would definately be the best thing to do :) as you then also have the support there if and when things get a bit harder