I have a staffy thats been to puppy classes but to my dispair i cannot get her to stop jumping up at people in a friendly manor but none the less a dog with muddy paws is not a good thing if you aredressed smart Thats the first problem the second is i cant get her to stay with me off lead i mean ignore other dogs and people instead off she runs tail wagging thinking everyone is pleased to see her.Not the case i have treats at hand etc but no not interested if theres another dog or person walking nearby please can i have some soloutions to try as i now have a 2 year od dog that i cannot take out to picnics like i ee lots of others sitting near thier owners ot on lead and they stay put me no chance so when we go out for a picnic or just a sit in the park the dog cannot come or if she does she has to be tied down not fair

Hiya
I have two staffies and have found with them it does take a long time for them to mature and calm down, mine can still be a bit wild every now and then. To help solve the jumping up problem maybe you could try taking her to really busy places i.e market and keep her on short lead, we did this with our dogs and eventually they learnt to walk nicely beside us. I think there were that many people about they gave up trying to jump up and greet everyone and if anyone did come over to stroke the dogs we made them sit first. Ruby soon learnt to roll over onto back so they could lavish her tummy :) When off the lead i.e at home and out and about we asked visitors etc to turn their backs on dogs if they jumped but if they sat nicely to really praise them. They soon got fed up of trying and gradually over time they stopped jumping up to greet people. For when your walking you could try buying an extra long lead so your girl has opportunity to run and walk quite far from you but you can call/rein her in when needed. Our first dog was trained off lead using one and is fantastic now, my hubby has also trained them to recall by putting one arm up in air and doing a very low,prolonged whistle which too works a treat for them. Hopefully over time on long lead your dog will get used to seeing others out and about and her excitement will lessen and she will focus just on you but it will take time, it did with our two. Hope this helps, i know how fustrating it can!
Paula

Thanks for the help guys much appreciated i will take on board all you have told me and give it a damn good try thanks again

There is no way I could have any of mien near a Picnic without a lead, as they would try and steal or beg for food, if it is on the Ground then it is fair game as far as they are concerned.

Thing is if you avoid the situations she will never improve.  You need to keep her under control (on lead) and praise her when she does not jump up or do any of the things she shouldn't.

Also learning just to settle is very important so that you can enjoy just being with your dog.  This can all be done on lead to start with.  At two she is still very immature, and it may take another couple of years (with training and exposure to the exciting situations) for her to settle.  Staffs are naturally very bouncy and full of the joys.

Very few dogs will enjoy staying in one place for ages whilst the owner picnics - I'd just use a lead, no problem

Is this your first dog? If so have you been to classes? some trainers do "good manners" classes - they teach you to train the dog, so you do have to
work hard but it does help if you are shown how to do things, if you don't know already.

Try www.apdt.co.uk

Lindsay
x

Oh the joys of puppyhood, this is not a staffie thing but a dog thing. :-)  As already pointed out by everyone else you just need to do one simple thing and lead her.

All pups are the same, the world is their oyster and they wish to explore everything and everyone, the difference between a good and bad owner is you take control of your dog, you lead when approaching people or you get her a long line to give her more freedom when not in a field or somewhere she is likely to run off to meet and greet.

You practice and practice recall at home, garden and then continue when out, she will ignore you at times she is young and it is normal behaviour, you have to contain her natural instincts and get that lead on until she is really good at her recall, don't worry if you continue training her this all changes when she is an adult. :-)

Hi HappyGirl,

Lots of great advice above, it is all down to training, and you'll reap what you sow ;)
But Ive just come back from a day out and picnic with my dogs and thought you might like a little trick I use.... we have our picnic and I pack in the Ice box some bits to keep the dogs busy..a kind of dog Ice lolly ;) I stuff Kongs and freeze them or Ive mananged to find trays that make Giant Ice cubes from Ikea and I put in a puree of veg and liver etc etc (my dogs are raw fed) but you can find any number of things to stuff with :) or a frozen bone takes longer to pick at..
   Kept my 2 busy til my sparkling wine kicked in and I really didnt care what they did ;) ;) oh and a loooong walk before the picnic helped.

>Kept my 2 busy til my sparkling wine kicked in and I really didnt care what they did

:D

I have to agree with Carrington it is a puppy thing, Kez has growen out of the whole people are exciting - he is 2yrs and 4 month, however like you I still have the problem of other dogs, he thinks they all want to be his best friend, heads over tail wagging, straight into a play bow only to be put in his place and comes back to me but like everyone else has said it is all about training, my weakest point is recall without sounding like a complete nutcase shouting him to return, he just does not listen, however with a lot of time and energy he is getting there I am also using a whistle and very smelly treats and lots of praise. I attend training twice a week and he is great at it in a controlled enviroment but out in the park I struggle. To the point I walked him for a few months where there were no distractions but then he is missing out on important socialisation then so back to me learning to be the boss.

I would actually disagree it being a puppy thing.. but I don't mean to be argumentative at all.. simply going on my own experience with my 5 year old stafford bitch... she still jumps up, always has done.. but I blame myself completely for not stopping it before it started!
She's also worse with some visitors more than others.
I have to say my boy does it too, but he's altogether much more calm and he has been told from the start to get off!
Most of the staffords I have ever met do it too.. perhaps it is just a stafford thing? :-)

Have you watched the 'Underdog Show' on BBC2 on Tuesday? There is a staffie (probably X) who is a rescue doing the agility. She is absolutely adorable & so responsive to the trainer, she is an absolute cracker & a credit to the breed!

bless her! keep at it but dont nag her. best try to see the "incidents "before they happen && distract her. Sounds like you gave a loveluy friendly dog there  & no body ever got hurt from a few muddy paws or a pinched sandwhich.

I dont really ever go on picnics (how sad am i!!) but if i did id put my dogs in a down & would expect them to stay there  BUT they are competition ob dogs & know  how to settle. i wouldnt hesitate to tether a dog if it didnt know yeyt what was expected. id prefer this than having to telling the dog off or nagging

You can easily take a ground stake with you on picnics.  I find the scew in type useless though and prefer the spike ones that you hammer in like a tent peg.