Puppy Pre-school For American Staffy.

[jaydenjessica]

Hi all,

So next weekend I will be picking up my 8 week old american staffy girl. I know that they can be extremely dog aggressive. So I'm enrolling her in puppy preschool to help train her and most importantly socialize her with other dogs etc.

I'm hoping to maybe hinder the dog aggressiveness by taking her to puppy preschool but I've seen that there is no point as no matter what she will be dog aggressive? I'd love some feedback on puppy preschool and how that worked for your american staffy or any other dog which can be dog aggressive and if it will help or not. ( if it doesn't help with the aggression I'll still be taking her anyway )

Thanks :)

Edited October 19, 2013 by jaydenjessica

[persephone]

Hello -

If the thought of dog aggression is such a worry ..perhaps another breed may have been more suitable ?

You are doing the right thing by starting puppy school, and doing lots of socialisation

The other thing to look at is your girl's pedigree/close family .

Are they show dogs?

Are they friendly and placid?

Did the dogs you saw at the breeders look settled and quiet around other dogs?

There are some links to threads on here which may give you some info ...

LINK

LINK

LINK

[jaydenjessica]

Hi thanks for the reply!

I'm not too worried about the dog aggression but more wanting to know if I socialize her from a young age would it help if I was ever in a situation with her where say a unknown dog is off leash and coming near her would the early socialisation and puppy-preschool help the situation from getting out of hand ?

Her parents are very friendly family pets who are are surrounded by the owners kids and grandchildren also :)

[Nekhbet]

Yes you're thinking is right. But, what you want to do goes for ANY dog not just AmStaffs. Puppy school is a start and only a start. Get yourself into a really good dog school and make sure you're there every week to socialise the dog and yourself in how to deal with off lead and unfriendly dogs. It's not about just meeting other dogs it's about teaching your dog how to cope with situations out in the big wide world. So, say, when it feels scared it learns to go back to its owner and NOT take it upon itself to react on the other dog.

Amstaffs are not extremely dog aggressive. They should not be, if they are there is something wrong with the breeding. Are they rough players? Yes. Are they intolerant of BS behaviors from other dogs? Yes. THere is a difference. An inherently dog aggressive dog cannot be changed with a bit of puppy preschool and training that then becomes long term management, and if you felt that was the case with a dog you would NEVER take it to a dog park anyway!

Edited October 19, 2013 by Nekhbet

[persephone]

if I socialize her from a young age would it help if I was ever in a situation with her where say a unknown dog is off leash and coming near her would the early socialisation and puppy-preschool help the situation from getting out of hand ?

It will help you and your pup get to communicate better ..but whether it will stop any aggression, either pro active or reactive I can not say . her temperament/breeding will have a lot of her instincts in place :)

The more you two work together , and experience life ,gain confidence and learn how be calm around other dogs (ESPECIALLY YOU, THE OWNER) learn all about dog body language , the more you will be able to recognise what she is thinking, and ,hopefully be able to act appropriately.

have you trained a puppy before ?

there is some good reading material here :)

CLICK HERE

[CellarDoor]

Hey :) congratulations on your new pup!

Puppy preschool is a great tool for socialisation, but make sure it's the right one. There's lots of threads on here - just do a search - talking about what to look for in a puppy preschool; there might even be some recommendations for your area :)

Make sure socialisation starts from day one, a lot of people carry their pups around before its had all its vaccinations to minimise the risk of contracting parvo (others prefer to take the pup out only after its had all vaccinations - a personal choice), and also meet vaccinated dogs, and have people over. If you do a google on something like 'socialisation checklist', it could help in giving you ideas for socialisation. Another great tool is the website 'dogstar daily', which talks about socialisation in addition to training etc.

Make sure you also take note of the 'fear period'. I'm not entirely sure, but this looks like a great resource - http://www.positivedogs.com/articles/early_doesnt_mean.html

I also saw this in a training thread on here, and thought it might be useful, considering you are afraid your dog will become aggressive :) http://www.suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/handling-lead-aggression

So, sorry for getting a little off topic, but thought it might be useful!

[Tassie]

Good advice here already. I wouild definitely be careful about your choice of puppy pre-school - you do NOT want one of those where all pups are let loose together. Make sure the person running it is a trainer.

Second what has been said about a well-bred AmStaff not being particularly likely to be aggressive. My BC boy made friends with a lovely AmStaff girl at puppy class (not pre-school) nearly 5 years ago. Every time they see each other at a show (which is not that often) it's clear that they recognize each other, and are pleased to see each other. It's very sweet really. :)

[Kavik]

Also remember that socialise does not mean only playing/roughhousing. You want your girl to be able to pay attention to you with other dogs around as well.

[jaydenjessica]

The puppy preschool I will be attending is run by a veterinary nurse who is also very much skilled with animal behaviours. Her classes concentrate mainly of socializing and teaching to sit etc. I live in a small town and have to travel at least 30 minutes to attend. Oh and I also plan on regularly taking her to obedience classes as she gets older and taking her with me to see friends of mine with dogs to keep the socialisation going.

This is my first post and everyone has been so helpful and kind. Thanks everyone your help it has been wonderful!

Edited October 19, 2013 by jaydenjessica

[melzawelza]

Congrats on joining the Bull Breed world :laugh:

Hi all,

So next weekend I will be picking up my 8 week old american staffy girl. I know that they can be extremely dog aggressive. So I'm enrolling her in puppy preschool to help train her and most importantly socialize her with other dogs etc.

I'm hoping to maybe hinder the dog aggressiveness by taking her to puppy preschool but I've seen that there is no point as no matter what she will be dog aggressive? I'd love some feedback on puppy preschool and how that worked for your american staffy or any other dog which can be dog aggressive and if it will help or not. ( if it doesn't help with the aggression I'll still be taking her anyway )

Thanks :)

All dogs, even within a breed, are individuals. The behaviours within all dogs of a breed (and all dogs in general) will fall in a bell curve. So when you look at a herding breed you will have a small percentage that are absolutely amazing at herding, a small percentage who are completely utterly useless at it and the rest will fall somewhere in the middle.

Think of it the same way with Amstaffs, APBT etc.

A small percentage will be extremely dog aggressive, a small percentage will be completely tolerant of all dogs and all their behaviours in all situations, and the rest will fall somewhere in the middle.

Remember also that dog aggression is not limited to particular breeds - all breeds can and will show dog aggression.

Dog aggressiveness does have a large root in genetics however you can absolutely modify and improve on whatever your dog's genetics are through good puppy pre-schools and lots and lots of dog training, so that you have good verbal control of your dog.

Here's a great article from BADRAP about Dog/Dog tolerance.

Dog/dog tolerance

Amstaffs are not extremely dog aggressive. They should not be, if they are there is something wrong with the breeding. Are they rough players? Yes. Are they intolerant of BS behaviors from other dogs? Yes. THere is a difference. An inherently dog aggressive dog cannot be changed with a bit of puppy preschool and training that then becomes long term management, and if you felt that was the case with a dog you would NEVER take it to a dog park anyway!

Well said.

Edited November 8, 2013 by melzawelza

[airlock]

most of the schools around us seem to put dogs in groups depending on breed, size and age so that owners don't have to worry about there pups being squashed or doing the squashing.

Our old roommate had an american staffy cross who did very well in puppy classes and didn't seem to suffer any aggression issues, assuming you make sure all his early socialisation is in a positive environment and you do your best to reward every good encounter you should be good but if its worrying you then check out the breed information and see if its a dog that will suit what you need.

good luck and have fun :)