Hi my staffy "Sasha" is two years old now and what a two years its been i have never owned a dog with such a personality as Sasha has.
My problem is that over the last few months she has become a different dog for days on end she will be a little angel then with no notice she will change becomes grumpy and very loud she will charge round the house jumping all over the sofa and just been a general nut.

She has also become very aggressive with visitors to the point that she has to be removed from the room, and when she is having a "moment" as we call them she will not respond to any of my commands.

I have no idea what can be the cause she is socialised with dogs and i take her to work with me "she got very upset at been left at home"so she was fine with people "so long as she got a bit of fuss put her way"  My main worry now is my wife is 3 months pregnant and i am not sure how Sasha will cope with the new arrival.

Any help or advice would be great

Mick

I think that the best thing to do would be to keep a diary of what has happened to her and what she has eaten. This may give you a better idea of what is setting her off. I know of dogs that have had a distinct change of behaviour on something as small as a different coloured biscuit or a lead walk instead of a run in the park.

Hopefully this will give you some clues :)

And also, once you've done the diary as Bluebell suggested, take her to the vet to get a check up. You never know what ailments might be bothering her until she's had a once over.

Show the diary to the vet and together, see if there is a common denominater.

HTH :)

Can dogs suffer PMT? :D  Sounds a bit like my sister

Joke aside, that is a serious question,  Im intrigued to know if upon reaching a certain age, a bitch can become hormonally unbalanced?

Canine PMT does exist - some bitches can change personality overnight when they come into season.

I have a cross Staffy and have heard it said that Staffies form strong bonds with humans and my girl is definately bonded with me.  We have another dog (Parson Jack Russell cross) and fortunately this has helped her remain social and remain remembering that she is in fact, dare I say it, a dog! When both my dogs hit the '2 years old' age, I was told by several people and vets, that this was their teenage years and yes hormone imbalance etc, could be a possibility.  Both my boy and gril became grumpy and would appear to 'answer back' or have the last word like a teenager.  Again Staffies are know for being a bit 'nutty' but both my girl and my boy have their 'moments' running from one room to another, jumping on beds, sofa's, etc, this lasts normally a few minutes and happens probably once a week.
I have a feeling that Sasha is becoming overly attached to you and is trying to protect you from strangers and in effect may be trying to become more dominant over you by being 'mother' to you. Hence she is not listening to your commands as 'she knows best'.  She is OK at work because this is not her turf and she is not in her own environment, especially with other dogs around, she is not 'top dog'?  She doesn't like being left at home because she is away from you and unable to protect you so she stresses.  You need to get back to basic's and take the stress off your Staffy by trying to reassure her that you can take care of yourself.  Classes, behaviouralists, reading some books on the subject will all help give you some pointers.  Sasha needs to remember that she is a dog and you are in charge.  She also needs some other form of stimulation for when you are not around.  I have read a number of good books which I can recommend if this helps?

Mick
staffys are very exciteable around visiotrs anyway- when you say shes aggressive with them what is she doing exactly?

Is it possible the difference in behaviour could be food related- what are you feeding her ? I understand too much protein can have an effect on behaviour