Training A Staffie Pup

[LittleRock]

Hi fellow staffy owners,

Firstly l must say this is my first Staffie and l won't ever get another breed of dog. My boy has completely won us over and maybe thats why l'm having a few little problems. My beautiful boy is 7 months and entire. I haven't taken him to any obedience classes as l have been training him at home myself. Having said that he goes everywhere with me. He gets out and about a lot. Loves the car and falls sleeps in the car most of the time. Just not heaps of interaction with other dogs.

Any way needless to say when he sees other dogs he gets very excited and pulls when on the leash. At the moment it feels like he won't ever settle. Also when at home he can be a big attention seeker. He can bark if we don't pay him enough attention and even grab our socks (whilst wearing them) or pants (whilst growling) to get our attention. Most of the time l'm able to ignore him, but its hard to maintain all of the time when he is grabbing your pants or socks. He have had to impose some time outs (either outside or in his show trolley) so he will settle. This works sometimes but sometimes when he comes back inside or out of the trolley, he picks up where he left off. I do try to ignore him but sometimes you can't as he gets a bit destructive (holes in pants). Also embarassing when he does this to friends that are visiting. He has never hurt anyone, nor would he. He can just be a bit intimidating.

Anyway being my first Staffie l'd love some stories from other people, where their little monster has turned out into a well adjusted young dog. He is probably an angel 70% of the time, its just the other 30% that l'm wanting decrease.

Thanks

Elizabeth

Edited September 8, 2008 by kittycatt

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

Also when at home he can be a big attention seeker. He can bark if we don't pay him enough attention and even grab our socks (whilst wearing them) or pants (whilst growling) so we pay him attention.

Stop paying attention

[SearchJane]

Hi

Although we have been training him at home we took our staffy pup to puppy school and plan to take him to "puppy management" (ie training with distractions). We also did it for the interaction with other dogs.

As to biting pants, feet, etc. he has just started doing this and a firm "no" bending down with a vigorous hand movement (not to strike, just to distract) or a sharp clap seems to work. He also takes socks, shoes and clothing when he has the chance and we use "sit" and "drop" to retrieve them. I never pull whatever he has in his mouth as he immediately thinks it's a game.

When our friends come over we have begun asking them to ignore the dog which seems to work. He was getting very excited when people came over (peeing on the floor excited - which I really don't want happening I have to clean it up). We also encourage him to sit on a mat we have placed by the front door when the doorbell rings and sometime even put his leash on. He has started jumping up when we're sitting down which is discouraged with a loud "no" and pushing him down.

When we walk him he gets pretty excited when other dogs approach - we met another staffy last week & he was absolutely beside himself which was pretty cute! However I keep him on a short leash and use "sit" to encourage calm behaviour.

So, in summary using "no" in a loud firm voice, sharp claps / vigorous movement of your hand seems to work in letting Sam know his behaviour is unacceptable.

We don't give him attention all the time - when we get home I do what I need to do for a few minutes (eg put the shopping away) and then open the laundry door. We he comes into the kitchen he then gets a pat hello. If he's been alone all day I make sure he gets a walk/play time pretty soon after I get home.

I don't if this helps but we have a lovely mannered dog! He's 4.5 months.

Cheers

Jane

[LittleRock]

Hi

Although we have been training him at home we took our staffy pup to puppy school and plan to take him to "puppy management" (ie training with distractions). We also did it for the interaction with other dogs.

As to biting pants, feet, etc. he has just started doing this and a firm "no" bending down with a vigorous hand movement (not to strike, just to distract) or a sharp clap seems to work. He also takes socks, shoes and clothing when he has the chance and we use "sit" and "drop" to retrieve them. I never pull whatever he has in his mouth as he immediately thinks it's a game.

When our friends come over we have begun asking them to ignore the dog which seems to work. He was getting very excited when people came over (peeing on the floor excited - which I really don't want happening I have to clean it up). We also encourage him to sit on a mat we have placed by the front door when the doorbell rings and sometime even put his leash on. He has started jumping up when we're sitting down which is discouraged with a loud "no" and pushing him down.

When we walk him he gets pretty excited when other dogs approach - we met another staffy last week & he was absolutely beside himself which was pretty cute! However I keep him on a short leash and use "sit" to encourage calm behaviour.

So, in summary using "no" in a loud firm voice, sharp claps / vigorous movement of your hand seems to work in letting Sam know his behaviour is unacceptable.

We don't give him attention all the time - when we get home I do what I need to do for a few minutes (eg put the shopping away) and then open the laundry door. We he comes into the kitchen he then gets a pat hello. If he's been alone all day I make sure he gets a walk/play time pretty soon after I get home.

I don't if this helps but we have a lovely mannered dog! He's 4.5 months.

Cheers

Jane

Thanks jane. I think the most important thing you said was the word "WE". My partner isn't the most consistent person. Which has probably caused a confused pup. Again thinking about it, l'm probably consistent. When l get home from work, sometimes l will greet him first. I suppose thats cause l get a lovely response and l do miss him when l'm at work. Again l need to treat him more like a dog than a person. My boy was probably his best up to the age of 5 months. Since then he has been demonstrating some undesirable behaviours.

Ive just enrolled us in obedience and have a trainer coming over for a one on one session/s. So l'm addressing the problems now and lets hope my next report is more positive. As he truely is a lovely dog (i suppose all owners say that about their dogs).

[LittleRock]

Just an update.....

Had a trainer come out today and l was very surprised to see me little angel walking on the lead without pulling and staying beside the trainer. It then was my turn and l got the same response. Thankfully a stranger walked past and l asked them if we could walk my boy past them. They obliged and we were able to keep it all going.....!!!!! The trainer gave us some help with the in house problems and were doing it again next week. So far so good. It was the best money l've spet. Also i was great for an someone else to assess him. The overall conclusion is that it is very fixable and not as bad as l was thinking. Just little teething (or dominant behaviour trying to find his place in our household)