Adolescent Staffie Dominance?

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Hi all,

Was hoping to get some expert opinion on something.....

I have an 18 month old male staffie (desexed)who has been socialized from a young age, goes to daycare once a week or so, plays with other dogs in the park pretty much every day, and has been a delight in terms of his nature.

About a month ago, he lay on top of a lab puppy in the park (who was probably around 6 months old but a similar size to mine) and made some gutteral noises but I called him off straight away with no problems.

This week, a similar situation occurred, this time with a timid 5 month old rottie, again a similar size to mine. The rottie was yelping whenever another dog came near but when he came over to my guy he lay on the ground and let mine jump on top of him. As soon as that happened, one of them made more of a growl (not sure which) and mine gave the rottie a nip, either on the jowl or collar. I pulled him straight off with ease and no damage to either dog, but given these 2 similar events, I'm trying to ascertain what what may be behind it, and therefore type of actions I need to take.

As he's been brilliant around dogs of all shapes and sizes, I'm thinking there's an age thing here in that he's coming to maturity and wanting to exert his place in the pack to young up and comers, but if anyone has any thoughts/advice, I'd love to hear it. I consider myself a responsible owner and want to act in a way that's right for other animals and right for my own dog.

Thanks in advance.

[Sandra777]

He's a Stafford, they're not widely known for universally loving dogs, so his behaviour shouldn't actually astonish you!

Laying on top of a Lab puppy sounds like a pretty harmless way of him exerting control over a pup which could have been being just plain rude to him, or getting over the top (Labs can be very rough in their play which Staffords usually like but some may not) Personally I see no harm in this behaviour between two confident dogs, was there a reason you felt you should call him away that you haven't described here?

In the second instance you don't know who growled and he nipped a puppy which might have been the one growling - normal behaviour between two dogs IMO. If it was your dog who growled then he could have been telling the pup off and when the pup didn't behave, gave it a nip.

Personally I don't think you should be doing anything on the basis of what you have described here and the only advice I would give would be chose some friends your dog likes to play with and stick with them only.

You may find that your dog just isn't that tolerant of pups, some aren't.

Edited August 10, 2011 by Sandra777

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He's a Stafford, they're not widely known for universally loving dogs, so his behaviour shouldn't actually astonish you!

Laying on top of a Lab puppy sounds like a pretty harmless way of him exerting control over a pup which could have been being just plain rude to him, or getting over the top (Labs can be very rough in their play which Staffords usually like but some may not) Personally I see no harm in this behaviour between two confident dogs, was there a reason you felt you should call him away that you haven't described here?

In the second instance you don't know who growled and he nipped a puppy which might have been the one growling - normal behaviour between two dogs IMO. If it was your dog who growled then he could have been telling the pup off and when the pup didn't behave, gave it a nip.

Personally I don't think you should be doing anything on the basis of what you have described here and the only advice I would give would be chose some friends your dog likes to play with and stick with them only.

You may find that your dog just isn't that tolerant of pups, some aren't.

Thanks for your response.

In the first instance the reason I think I called him away quickly was that my guy was actually attacked as a young puppy so having gone through that experience, I'm extra wary I guess!

In the second instance, while I couldn't be sure who growled first or instigated, the rottie just seemed to timid that I'm erring on the side of caution a bit in that it was mine.

The reason I posted was because I've seen two similar behaviors that I'd never seen before in a very level headed fella, and given this great breeds reputation, I feel it's my responsibility to identify any behaviors as they develop.

Appreciate your opinion, and advice, many thanks.

[Sandra777]

In the first instance the reason I think I called him away quickly was that my guy was actually attacked as a young puppy so having gone through that experience, I'm extra wary I guess!

Your pup was attacked, but what about his body language now suggested to you that he was attacking this puppy? Prolly panic bit huh?

IMO you should leave dogs to work things out for themselves IF THEIR BODY LANGUAGE IS NEUTRAL No normal adult dog will intentionally seriously harm a puppy, so a Stafford with a Lab puppy would be fine IMO. A Stafford with a Chihuahua puppy, obviously a different story - too many things can happen by accident if there is too much size/weight difference!

In the second instance, while I couldn't be sure who growled first or instigated, the rottie just seemed to timid that I'm erring on the side of caution a bit in that it was mine.

Growl, nip, can understand the instant reaction to get your dog away, no issues with that even though it probably wasn't necessary it's a pretty normal reaction

[corvus]

Was hoping to get some expert opinion on something.....

Well, you've come to the right place: the internet!

Seriously, if you want an expert's opinion, pay an expert for it. The opinions of internet forum experts are many and varied.

IME staffies tend to be pretty full on and don't always pay attention to signals from other dogs. If I had one, I would train in a whiplash turn so the moment I said his name he would whip around to me. You can do this by calling his name and rewarding him every time he turns towards you. Start at home, though, and gradually work up to more demanding environments. Practise a lot! It takes time to get it reliable. And I would probably micromanage his interactions with other dogs so I could make sure I could interrupt before he got too aroused and before he annoys another dog enough to make them snap. I have seen that many staffies explode at a dog because they dared to tell the staffy to get off them... It's not fair on the other dog because it teaches them that they are helpless to stop an interaction. That's a good way to learn to be scared of other dogs. Pay attention to both dogs in the interaction. If one looks away, that can be a signal that they want the interaction to tone down or end. You will always know what the other dog wants by calling your own dog away. If the other dog comes looking for more games, then it's still play and everyone is happy. And you know what your dog wants because when you release him again he will go back to the other dog if he still wants to play and hang back if he doesn't. As a general rule. There are always exceptions. Try to make sure both dogs get chances to end the play session and if one tries to walk away or look away, then honour it! Make sure they get to have a break.

That is my internet expert opinion. ;)