Help! Very Active Staffy Puppy

[Psycoco]

Hi All,

I'm new at this so please forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong place.

Have just discovered your forum, and am reading it with keen interest. My Coco is about 17 weeks old. We have a 10year old Jack Russell (Holly) who absoluetly HATES her because of her - shall we say - 'outgoing' personality? How do I get Coco to act nicely when she's around Holly. She just seems to go nuts and is very rough with poor old Holls. She's quite a strong pup, and difficult to control when she's hyped up. We keep them separated for most of the day but they are both inside at the same time in the evening. Whenever Coco is outside with Holly (in a controlled situation) she just can't help herself and wants to play, but she's very rough and as she's quite a bit bigger than Holly, she just takes over. We also live on a property and both dogs seldom get to see other dogs. I will be taking Coco to puppy school (or dog obedience if she's too big for puppy school) as soon as she's had her third shot, which is in about a week.

Does anyone know of a good trainer/school to take her to in Townsville?

Thanks for listening!

[APBT]

a good walk morning and night will keep her tired and out of trouble

[WreckitWhippet]

I can't suggest a trainer or obedience club but would suggest that you go straight to obedience. Stafford pups at that age are too full on for pre-school and they tend to terrorise the other pups with their antics.

You can try taking them for short walks together on leash and get Coco used to being around Holly without the excitement. Coco needs to learn to focus on you and whatever game you are playing with her, needs to be more exciting that beating up poor old Holly.

Teach Coco to fetch, play tug and to focus on you with treats treats or a favourite toy.

Set the boundaries when indoors and train Coco to sit quietly on a mat or on the lounge. You may need to keep her on leash when you first bring her back inside, until the excitement dies down. SBT pups are very full on but they learn quickly that there's a time and a place for letting the energy out.

Edited April 25, 2009 by PPS

[luvsdogs]

I'd say she's too old for pre school, they're usually 8-16 weeks old. Here's a link to the Townsville Kennel Club.

http://www.coct.com.au/index.html

If you want a private trainer you can look here.

http://www.apdt.com.au/trainers/directory.html#qld

Edited April 25, 2009 by luvsdogs

[Psycoco]

I'd say she's too old for pre school, they're usually 8-16 weeks old. Here's a link to the Townsville Kennel Club.

http://www.coct.com.au/index.html

If you want a private trainer you can look here.

Luvsdogs, Thank you so much. Have just emailed them to ask about whether she needs individual training or group things.

PPS, thanks for your suggestions. I hadn't thought of giving Coco her special place inside. Will work on it now though.

I've taught her the usual sit, come, drop, fetch and stay, and she's pretty good at it. Getting her to walk on the leash is a whole different story though. It's taking much longer than I thought it would. Stubborn little thing just lays down, and won't get up. Treat or no treat. That's it. She just ain't gonna get up.

Once again, thanks for yor help you guys.

Cheers!

[sas]

When my boy was a pup he was horrible to my older girl and my older girl wouldn't repremand strong enough to get him to stop so we stepped in and any interaction the pup had with the older dog had to be onlead and we would correct his behaviour, he didn't get to be with her off lead until he was about 6 months old when he could pay her a bit more respect.