Ast Puppy Meeting Other Dogs

[valby]

My 5 month old American Staffy cries and carries on when he sees other dogs. We have been working on "watch" which does help and he has just finished puppy preschool. The thing that concerns me is a couple of times when we have been walking and Halston has met other dogs he is really scared (i think). For instance the first walk we went on we saw a JRT walking along (by itself) up the walking path and Halston stopped and started peeing as the dog approached. Another time we were on the beach and a large GSD came running at as and snarled. I stood very still, arms folded etc and Halston sat right on my feet right up against my body he didn't move (and I think this is good?). The other day we were walking by the river when two Golden Retrievers were walking by. Halston did his usual whinging and the guy brought the retrievers over (which I wasn't entirely happy about) they were friendly but there was two of them. Halston sat right at my feet again and pee'd he then moved to be in between my legs!! Even as the dogs walked off he stayed in between my legs.

Does this mean anything? I don't want to him to become scared of other dogs but just to ignore them. Unfortunately he doesn't have a lot of contact with big dogs. So he only has play time with my smaller dogs. I am hoping to take him to obedience class so he can get used to other dogs being around but not necessarily playing with them. I know AST can be dog aggressive so I want to do the right thing.

Any suggestions?

[joebloe]

Try taking him to an off-leash area (fenced) to experience other dogs. My staffy pup sometimes pees if a big dog runs over to sniff her when we first get there but after that she is off & running & having a ball with the other dogs. We also do obedience but have only been doing that a few weeks. She is 5 months now & have only been to the off-leash areas 3 times.

[peibe]

I would not recommend a leash free area at all

Your dog is scared he needs to meet totally friendly dogs in a controlled leash environment

There is a risk of having him at a leash free area where he will get rushed at by other dogs wanting to play etc and it will make his fear worse and give it reason

Take him to a good training school where he can meet nice dogs on leash

[sas]

Could be in a fear period at the moment.

I also would not reccomend an off leash park, they're too dangerous in my opinion.

Dante was nearly attacked twice within 10 minutes on the outskirts of a dog park when he was a puppy, and that's an experience you don't want to have as the dog can end up fear aggressive throughout its' life.

I agree to take him to training and then after class (not before) ask the owner of dogs you deem ok if it's ok if the dogs interact.

[~*Shell*~]

I also disagree with the off leash park idea. Zero is good there, but even still he has been attacked 3 or 4 times (one was quite severe and he got a bite to the face and lost some fur). He doesn't fight back when he is attacked, but he's not scared of them. If your pup is scared and gets attacked, it may become fear aggressive which is incredibly hard to cure.

I would suggest some obedience lessons with other friendly dogs around - good for socialisation and good for focus.

[valby]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!! I agree that Halston needs to meet some more friendly big dogs. He did just finish puppy preschool which was great with on-lead interaction only. But unfortunately was all dogs smaller than him. Now I probably just need to get my butt to obedience school with him.

[rizenstar]

AST's are only agressive as you make them(too many idiots out there are ruining a beautiful breed) and if you don't get your boy used to other dogs(all sizes) he will become a fear biter. I agree with everyone on here about an off leash area - they are very full on, perhaps try walking your boy around the outside of the off leash area with the fence still between them - he can still see all the dogs in there but they can't actually get directly to him. We introduce all our pups/dogs to other ppl's dogs that will allow it (on leash though) as it gets them used to seeing other breeds and their sizes. Failing that I would get in contact with your local State Breed Club and find out when they have fun days as they can be a great way of socializing and some breed clubs also run in conjunction with other breed clubs.

Best of luck with your boy :D

[ILuvAmstaffs]

My advise at this stage would be to only bring your dog as close to other dogs as he feels comfortable & slowly decrease the distance. I would not be forcing him to stand his ground as it may teach him to react to the other dog as he cant get away. For now it might be better to walk him where he can see other dogs, but if a strange dog is approaching you can cross the road etc.

If your in Sydney & would like to meet up with another friendly amstaff, let me know. Maybe we could meet up & just take them for a walk together. :D