Six more sleeps and I get to bring my girl home from the kennels.

She is 2, her history is known, she has not been abused, and does not appear to have any major issues.

I am after advice, all and everything, on how to help her setlle in, and most of all, advice for me as a first time dog owner, how to be a dog owner!

I have done my research, and am well on my way to being clued up on understanding that Staffies need 'tough love' or else they think they are the boss. But what I want to know, is exactly HOW to put that into practice.

I do have a work colleague who has a Staffie, and when she is back from her hols will pick her brains and borrow all her books.

I have also been visiting her in the kennel, and walking her, and asking the staff there for advice, but they are so used to dealing with dogs, they forget what it is like to be a total novice.

I have even taken to watching cesar milan!

Aww OP I'm so envious, you've got so many happy times ahead! And well done for rescuing a Staffie, there's so many in need of a good home.

Re the tough love - I'd suggest that the most important thing is to be clear of your boundaries and STICK TO THEM. So - decide on where she'll sleep, whether she's allowed on the sofa, whether you're going to feed titbits from the table or whatever and then start as you mean to go on. Dogs need to know what the rules are - although they'll inevitably test the boundaries from time to time! - but ultimately they want to please you, so be sure to give loads of praise (and a treat) when they get it right.

If she cries on the first night, leave her in her bed and she'll be fine. If you go to her, or let her sleep in your bedroom, what will she think the next night? She won't think - well it's my 2nd night now so I'll just go to sleep. She'll think - if I start crying again I'll get to go upstairs! So be firm from the start.

I'd also suggest you get into a routine of at least 2 walks per day, whatever the weather. Always keep her on a lead in public places but don't make a habit of pulling her away from other dogs - it's important for her to socialise. I'm guessing she's already micro-chipped if she's coming from kennels? I'd also recommend speaking to other pet owners locally to get their opinions on local vets, as the care (and the prices) can differ a great deal.

Hope some of this is helpful, and I'm sorry if I'm just stating the obvious! You will get so much love from your new doggy friend, I wish you all the best xx

Thank you Strictlyfloss.

Does no one with Staffie experience have any advice?

I am sorry I do not have a Staffie but from the many I see down the park and various places they have a lovely temprement and are cuddlesome.Sorry could not be of more help.I think thay are adorable

I have 3 of them, but advice is pretty much useless beyond what I'm sure you already know.

Staffs -and other types of dog too, I guess- each have different personalities - so you'll have to see what sort of approach will best suit you and your new girl, and play it by ear from there.

Good luck though, IMO you've chosen the best breed available.

No staffs here, but can say not to ake the 'tough love' too literally - yes you need to be firm but cesarean Milan (who I LOVE) and pack theory are being questioned in dog training world- more popular is the positive reinforcement type traing. Neither is wrong or right, both work but if you have a stubborn breed, then it maybe worth looking at other methods, rather than going 'head to head' with her. Victoria stillwell is probably the best example of positive reinforcement - see if u can review any of her tapes, the you have options when you pick your girl up!

I prefer positive reinforcement, but pack theory deinatley has its place in the k9 kingdom, so choose what works best for you two!

I have a staffie cross and he does need a firm hand because he can be very single minded so we needed to set boundaries when we first got him (he was a rescue, about 18 months old at the time) and stick to those boundaries. I think like many breeds it's a case of 'give them an inch and they'll take a mile' Ours seems to appreciate having a routine - walks at the same time, meals at the same time, he expects bedtime at the same time and stands staring at us if we have a late night. He's very cheeky, loves to play tugs games and to wrestle with his friends and he loves his toys (he once got very upset when a toy went into the sea and he couldn't get it back). He's basically a big softie who loves his people, cuddles, stealing our place on the sofa, sneaking into our bed and running on the beach!

A great place for advice is Dogsey, most of the members are very friendly and patient with what may seem like daft questions.

Have fun with your new pal

I am sure you and your doggie will be just fine. You already know your boundaries and staffies are such loving dogs.
I would suggest and entirely up to you of cause,

1/ I prefer a dog to stay downstairs at night. As an owner putting them in place straight away. However if you are looking for that extra bit of comfort, let your dog have a bed/blanket on floor in your bedroom.

2/ If you are house proud/ welcome visitors etc Again teach your dog furniture,settee off limits. Give him/her their own bed/blanket, part of that area.

3/ Never feed tit bits from meals to your dog when you are eating. Take any left overs and feed only in his/her own bowl.

4/ When feeding I feel that a dog deserves his/her own room when feeding. That is why I feel all tit bits should go in the bowl. No confusion that is the dog's food. I like to respect their space also.
I don't mean to come across dictative, as you sound like a perfect loving person for your dog. You will know as you get aquainted with each other. Good luck and thanks for taking in a rescue!

One thing I would recommend is doing some training classes - staffies can be terrible to walk on the lead so training can help

Also be prepared for loads of cuddles, kisses and love

I picked my girl up yesterday afternoon.

She is a star.She is very gentle, and has fairly good manners already.
Didnt think much about the dog crate that I had kitted out for her as a little 'den'. Went in there to drink and eat, but didnt stay.
She spent all night downstairs snoring (could hear her from upstairs!) and prefers to sleep on the couch!Doesnt seem to have any separation anxiety as such.

Took her for a walk this morning, pulled a bit on the lead while she was very excited to be out, but soon stopped. Ignored a yappy jack russell.We had a little moment when she took a shine to a bit of thrown away pasty, that I wouldnt let her eat.

She's now just running around in my garden having fun murdering my sons old football!

So far so good then! LOL at the snoring and the pasty. Pics please!

I have a rescue Staffie who is one year old. Her previous owners had taught her nothing, so she knew no boundaries when I got her. However, she was desperate to please me, so picked up basic commands within a couple of days.

Housetraining was a challenge, but we've conquered that one now. She used to think she had to tell me after she'd done a poo in the house, not before. And she always looked so pleased with herself!

The only remaining issue is that she can be destructive if she feels a little insecure. For example, she's never left alone for long, but if I've had to leave her at home briefly, on my return I often find that something of mine has been dragged to her basket and destroyed. I never ever chastise her for this. It requires the patience of a saint, but she's had little security in her life until now, so I do understand. Anyway, her many good points far outweigh any "bad" points. And for my patience she rewards me with unconditional total devotion, boundless affection, companionship and lots and lots of laughs.

She looks well 'ard, as Staffies do, but is a total softy who loves everyone. I'm sure yours will bring you much love and happiness too. Good luck.

How are you getting on with your new staffie/ Any chance of a picture?

Brilliant that you have her home at last.

One read I would recommend is Jan Fennell's "the dog listener" book.

It is easy to read and great as a reference / refresher, when things don't go as anticipated.

Widely available Ebay / Amazon etc.

My staffie (who is 10 in July) was bought-up on Jan's priciples and she is a lovely dog (and a local "celebrity").

I would describe Jan's method as Cesar-lite. Although I came across Jan years before Cesar.

Good luck. I hope you both enjoy many years of joy.

I don't have a Staffie but I've had plenty of dogs, some of whom wanted to be boss... both females! So what I'm saying isn't specifically for Staffies but to make life easy with any dog.

I assume she's neutered as she's from a rescue but if she isn't, I recommend you get her done.

Never let her sleep on your bed. There's a dominance thing here and you don't want her considering your bed is her territory. Personally, I don't let dogs sleep in the bedroom either.

There are other dominance things to avoid - for eg, you always go through doorways before her. Allowing her to push through ahead of you places her ahead of you in the hierarchy.

Don't let her on furniture unless you're there and you invite her up.

Train her to wait and eat on command - you prepare and put down the food while she waits and then you tell her she can eat. This avoids any bad behaviour as you're bending down with the food.

If there are dog training classes in the area, I'd recommend you go because apart from being good for training, it will accustom her to listen to you and obey you when distractions like other dogs are around. Invaluable!

She's young so will be very receptive to games. Do a bit of research on "clicker training". Fun for you and her.

She might (only might) bond to you so strongly that she'll suffer from separation anxiety so from an early stage, get her used to you popping out for 10 or 15 minutes or so - no fuss, no preparations... and then coming back in again. Don't fuss her, just make these arrivals and departures as unremarkable as possible so she accepts your disappearances as normal and (as dogs have no conception of time) knows you return.

Have fun with her.

ETA: just noticed you actually have her home now so most of what I've said is probably redundant. Hope all continues to go well.

^^^Bold^^^

I just wanted to reiterate how crucially important this is.

This accompanied by ignoring the dog for 5 mins after returning, will pay dividends throughout her life.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that this is cruel, as they won't think of it like that. It just reinforces the fact that you are top dog and when you want their attention, you will seek it.

Im hoping to get a rescue staffie soon and i was wondering if you knew any good tips on hojse training a dog? Ive looked online and a lot of sites are for new puppies so im wondering how you would alter it to be suitable for an adult dog.

I would guess that a rescue will have had some toilet training, so the best you can do is to praise the dog when they "go" in an appropriate place.

When you are in the house, if the dog is up and about offer "wee-wees" (or your preferred alternative) and encourage them "outside" (assuming you have a suitable area). Again, praise good behaviour. Dogs love to please us, so will soon learn to repeat praised actions.

If there are any "accidents" (after the fact) calmly clean-up with no fuss. Scolding will not help unless you catch them "in the act".

Once your dog has settled into your home / your routine, they will soon become predictably "regular".

Bless you for rescuing a staffie BTW.

Thanks for your reply! We are currently waiting for a call back to arrange a home check. The dog we are interested in has been estimated as around 18 months old and the centre said it had been chipped which im guessing meant it had at some point been owned before being abandoned. They havent seen the dog in a home nevironment so cannot be sure if it is house trained or not.

Im not sure exactly what they will look for on the homecheck but hoping it will be soon

I just rang the shelter and our doggy has been reserved now just waiting for a call back on homecheck. I know the shelter is full so hoping they will be keen to get us seen quick seeing as we are just down the road so shouldnt take too long!

One thing im worried about is in our area most of the houses have one fenced off garden but our house is lucky enough to have two although one fence is quite low. Im now wondering if this will put them off since only one is ideal. Does anyoneknow if this will make us fail?

Hi sorry me again!

My understanding of the home-check is to establish whether the home is a stable, (settled) safe and not overly chaotic.

There should be a quiet spot, where the dog can relax undisturbed when s/he feels the need (especially in the 1st few days/weeks).

A secure garden is good (I never leave ours out unsupervised anyway).

They will also want to establish that you are able to support the animal (they won't want it back and have to go through the process again) and what arrangments are for when the dog is home alone (No more than 4 hours is I understand generally the rule for these organisations).

Just ensure the house is clean/tidy and calm and understand / appreciate that any questions they ask are intended to ensure that the dog will be going to a good home and don't feel offended / defensive if some of the questions seem insensitive or abrupt.

You clearly care, so I'm sure all will be fine and you will soon be welcoming your new best friend into your home.

Happy days!

Had the home check yesterday and it went well, so are collecting our dog later today! I am excited but a little bit nervous. It all seems so quick!

Ive wanted a dog for a long time and i keep telling myself that all the dogs in the shelter need homes and all they want is someone to love them. I know it will be difficult at times and i probably wont get much sleep tonight but i know that i can give love and a good home to a dog who needs it

Good luck and have fun. Exciting times lie ahead.