my two year old staffy bitch over the last 2 weeks attacked two dogs.  Prior to this she was very good with all dogs and tended to be submissive if she wasn't sure of the other dog.  She would lie down on her back and let everyone sniff her and would wee if she was really scared.

  The second incident hapened this morning in my house when my friend brought round a dog she was looking after (lab x dally bitch) and mine went for her.  they met outside in the street and when they came into the house the labx growled at mine after a few minutes (I think) because my dog was quite hyper and my dog went for her.  No bites or injuries but a lot of noise and it gave my friends daughter (age 8) a fright.  The episode the previous week involved the same wee girl who was sitting with her friends and had another friends CKCS on her knee. A JRT came into the BBQ and sniffed the CKCS and my dog went mental again.  same as before, loads of noise but no teeth or injuries.  The comment after the tiff at the BBQ was that my dog seemed really jealous but this has never been the case before as she is always great with other dogs and people and has never had any problems. 

Prior to this she has only had 2 other fights both of which were when dogs came across and attacked her because she was speaking to their owners.  On both of these occassions she didn't even see the dog coming at her because she was scrounging biscuits off the owners.  Co-incidently the dogs that attacked her were - a JRT and a black dog that looked a bit like the Labx. 

I don't want this to become a habit as she was very well socialised as a pup and has met other new dogs this week and hasn't had a prblem with them.  Any ideas on how to nip this in the bud now before she becomes just another stroppy staffy who lives up to the stereotype of being good with people but bad with dogs.  She is a total pleasure to own and I want to get this sorted before taking her anywhere becomes a chore.  thanks in advance and sorry its so long.

Am I right in saying both these incidents happened on her own 'territory' and previously she's only met other dogs outside and that she has not had any back up from you to prevent domineering dogs being too demanding?

It's interesting that both the JRT incidents possibly involved food (biscuits and BBQ) as well as humans that weren't 'hers'.......

the BBQ was not at my house but was at a house she's been in since she was a pup and they have 3 boxers who she has always got on well with.  I generally do not interfere with doggy interactions as after she has been submissive and realised there is no threat she is fine with the dog and the submissive behaviour stops but when the first JRT attacked her when she was a pup she did not fight back and just lay on the ground crying while it tried to rip a chunk out her bum.  I pulled  the other dog off that time and she was fine but she now gives that dog a wide berth. 

I am worried that there seemed to be no warning on either occassion.  her hackles weren't up and there was no warning growl given she just flew at the dog - but she doesn't ever growl unless its during play. If she's frightened (e.g. of GSD's as one of them went for her once) she runs away or walks round them rather than have to walk past them so doesn't tend to give warning growls.  I'd hate to think that my sooky wee baby is turning into a social nightmare who can't be trusted around other dogs

Dogs only put their hackles up if they think they have a chance of 'kidding' the other dog that they may attack......  There are other more subtle methods they use before growling, including a 'freeze' and a 'stare' that an owner may well miss.

Under these circumstances, I think you need to get an experienced behaviourist in (ask your vet for a referral) so they can evaluate your dog and give you some excercises to work through with her.

after speaking to my friend (with the 8 yr old daughter) we both commented that the wee girl was the only constant factor in the situations - apart from a strange dog in the midst.  My dog and my friends daughter are very close and the wee girl has been my dogs playmate since I brought her home - other people have likened the way they play as being similar to litter mates.  could she have been protecting her from the percieved threat of another strange dog?  i know this does not make it acceptable but if I could suss out the trigger I could put strategies in place to ensure it doesn't happen again.  I know it is impossible to diagnose behavioural problems over the net but if anyone has had similar situations I would love to hear your experiences and opinions.

I have an 11 year old staffie who is very good with other dogs, but when it comes to food, he would bite to get his. I had to feed him and my previous dog one at a time as the staffie had bitten him twice because of food. At BBQs there was a rule that no food is given to the dogs. My pup is either fed in her crate or in her pen in the garden, but when she gets older, I will have to adopt the same method of feeding.