What on earth are you talking about training to ignore and keep walking is best way to avoid any reaction surely ? I haven't seen too many trainers do much better with Chis as they are a snappy breed.
It's people not able to keep their dogs under control cause my problems, keep your dogs to yourself and leave us alone is all I ask, a dog walking by ignoring yours is not reacting badly.

Hear, hear. I have seen it with my own eyes and that is what I judge on.

My dog would not go over to you. But if a dog came over to mine, he has been trained to deal with it. Unlike yours.

Dogs are sociable and love to play. so many owners now act like a bad reaction to another dog is the norm. No its not, its due to bad handling in a situation and then letting that bad habit carry on.

As do we with snappy chi and Labs.

'Snappy' isn't attacking other dogs.

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advi...-families.html


Staffys as pets


Thousands of families in the UK consider their Staffy to be a welcome member of the family, and an incredibly suitable pet to have around children, due to their calm tolerant natures and protectiveness of their 'pack,' which includes the human members. Well cared for and correctly trained Staffys can make an amazing addition to any family, and as is so often the case when dogs receive bad press, the root cause of aggression and any behavioural problems can generally be traced back to the person that trained them and looked after them, and not something fundamental within the dog itself.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that even today, lots of people desire to keep a Staffy for the perceived 'street cred' which it gives them when teamed with a heavy studded collar and chain lead. If you are considering re-homing a Staffy or taking on an adult dog (and it's certainly worth considering- at any given time, Battersea Dogs Home estimates that over 80% of the dogs in its care are Staffordshire bull terriers or Staffy types) you should be prepared to dedicate a significant amount of time to vetting it's personality, the way it reacts to certain situations, and how well it can adjust to living in a loving family environment. As with any breed, never leave your children unsupervised with your dog, and teach them early on how to handle your dog, not to tease it, and to read the signs and signals it is giving off.
Buying a Staffy dog or puppy from a reputable, experienced owner or breeder is a more sensible route to follow for families with children, as you will be able to view the dog's parents and train your new addition from a young age to behave in a safe and well trained manner.

Temperament


As with any breed or type of dog, differences in temperament, personality and behaviour are wide ranging across the breed, and of course more or less any dog can be bullied and trained to be aggressive. However, despite some people's bad intentions to create their own compact four legged weapons out of otherwise personable pets, the Staffordshire bull terrier is still rightly renowned for its loyalty, bravery and intelligence. They are quiet, generally calm dogs, easygoing and trustworthy, and the Staffy is much lauded as potentially the most loyal and loving family dog.
The muscular and businesslike appearance of the Staffordshire bull terrier often makes them a popular choice as guard dogs, however the general good nature of the Staffy makes them rather ill suited for this kind of work as they are generally very keen to please people, non aggressive and easy going.



It's important to note that Staffordshire bull terriers are not one of the breeds and types of dogs which are covered by the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) and so are subsequently legal to own in the UK. However, it is well documented that when the law first came into effect, people who at that time owned dogs such as pit bulls which were covered by the act sometimes took to referring to their pit bull dogs as Staffordshire bull terriers, in order to avoid falling under the remit of the law. Due to this deliberate misnomer, several high profile attacks by pit bull type dogs which were labelled as Staffys on both people and other pets have led to the Staffy name being much maligned at times as a dangerous or aggressive dog, when in fact the dogs in question were almost certainly not Staffordshire bull terriers at all. No definitive figures currently exist to suggest any kind of correlation between Staffordshire bull terriers and a significantly high proportion of the breed being prone to aggression. With the Staffordshire bull terrier currently being the fifth most commonly owned pedigree dog in the UK- and perhaps the most popular overall when this figure is combined with non pedigree Staffys and cross breeds- it's only to be expected that with a proportionately higher number of Staffys around than most other breeds, the occasional 'bad egg' will appear- just as can happen with any other breed or type of dog, large or small.

If a dog walks over to say hello and the other dogs lunges and snaps.. what would you call that?

Your opinion on dogs, imo is not worth a squat..

A untrained lab walked by a child, attacked a well trained pitbull that was being walked by another child and you blame the child walking the pit bull rather than the lab

Bad management...it gets me I had it today I am trying to teach this dog some manners and socialise him (which is not easy at 8 - 10 months instead of 3 - 4 because of shitty owners) but he needs to learn that lead does not equal play time which is exceptionally hard with all the people who let their loose dogs wander up to on - lead dogs. Only one person put their dog on a lead no-one else called theirs away or gave a monkeys had my dog had the dog had a go they would be the first ones bitching and whining but don't seem capable of understanding their dog is not actually under control no matter how friendly they think it is.

Even the friendliest dog can take exception to another when their fight or flight response is removed which it is when the dog is on the lead.

I always walked mine where no others went. I wanted him to run and play without worry. He is not allowed to do anything while on the lead, no stopping to sniff, or pee.. If another dog walker is going past and they are friendly he is allowed to sniff each end and say hello, but that is it. no play. loads of dogs are snappy on leads as we walk past. I would call that bad training. i had a rescue dog would would snarl and lung at other dogs walking past and made sure that was the first thing I trained her on, i knew she was very friendly, so just had to re-train and socialise her.

I dont mind if another dog comes up to him as he isnt reactive at all. If he were reactive then I would still be taking him where other dogs are rare. I would not expect other people with friendly dogs to keep them on lead because my dog was reactive. I would expect people with unfriendly or reactive dogs to not be where most dogs go. I live in the countryside and many places to go. so its not a problem for me to find a deserted field or wood

Tonight we went to the woods.. he was running around and playing and I see two people walking on the path coming the other way.. so called him to me and he came and sat at my feet, I held his collar for them to carry on walking past, they stopped and cut through the hedge onto the lane/road and carried on walking no smile , no "evening" nothing.. then hopped back through the hedge to the path again I wish i had not bothered to call him now and let he carry on running and playing.

But in the case I am talking about its not about having a reactive dog...it's about not wanting one which can happen in a heartbeat with a loose dog coming up to an on lead one with ill intentions. It just shouldn't be done it is bad form and a big no-no from anyone who is a responsible dog owner. If your dog is under control which means he is not wandering off greeting people or other dogs.

People should be able to take their dogs wherever they like and not be harassed by loose dogs, would you like a teenager coming up to you and being all in your face and not being able to run away because you're scared, have to stand there and be intimidated because that is what is happening and that is what the owners are allowing, the more submissive dogs may take it but a slightly dominant dog it's a recipe for future problems. It may not be the first dog or the first ten dogs but eventually even the nicest dog will say well actually F OFF!

The fundamentals of good ownership is manners so call the dog to heel put it on a lead or whatever but they shouldn't be interfering with anyone else, whether it be another dog, a person or a child.

We will have to agree to disagree here. I see it more like a old lady chatting as she is passing. ( I'm talking normal friendly dogs, not hyper pups or partly trained dogs) When I had a reactive dog I didn't expect everyone to keep theirs on a lead. I trained mine to not let it be a problem, most dogs that are reactive are reacting to the owner's silent signals. when a dog reacts and let it be know it isnt happy in the situation, then it can be dealt with by being ready the next time and not tensing or shortening the lead. or talking in a way that makes the dog think there is a need to be worried.

When I was teaching mine to be social and we were over the field and a friendly dog came to say hello, i would use that opportunity to let mine off lead and play. but would make him sit and be calm first.

I had dogs years ago and had a 30 year break, and must say people are very different now. Almost everyone would let dogs meet and greet and you didn't get this high maintenance way people now have with their dogs.

You're bringing it back to reactive dogs and that is neither here nor there if a dog is on the lead it is in effect working shall we say, so I don't want my dog stopping to chat or being stopped and chatted at, my dogs focus is me and work until I signal otherwise.

Why should me and my dog or a guide dog or a reactive dog have to stop what we are doing to deal with your not controlled dog. Do you also let it wonder up to people, kids, joggers cyclists anyone that could be afraid of dogs?

It's all about manners and consideration and a good dog owner should take into account that dog dog communication is affected when one is on a lead, canine 101 and all that. Inconsiderate dog owners cause lead reactive dogs

I absolutely agree. My dogs do react if a dog comes running at them when they are on lead and I don't blame them. My dogs are on lead at that time for a reason and it's my choice. As a responsible owner I don't allow them to harass other people or dogs so why do they think it's ok for their dogs to run at mine? They'd soon object if I let them go and all 3 chased their dog.

For all you know dogs may be on lead for health reasons, in fact mine often are and they really don't want other dogs up in their face. My boy has very little sight due to an eye condition and he really doesn't like other dogs coming up as he can't see them properly so he reacts.

30 yrs ago your dog was very unlikely to be sentenced to be PTS if it scared or nipped someone and there were nasty dogs back then, my sister was bitten on her face by a Westie.

I never said there were no nasty dogs back then. I said walking your dog was a whole different experience. owners and dogs were much more sociable and relaxed
training your dog was much easier as everyone helped. Now its keep away dont come near us,and then people wonder why so many reactive dogs are around these days. self fulfilling prophecy

I never said running up to you or in your face ( always so emotive no wonder the dogs are so highly strung when owners are )
Train your dog to be cool with all situations like a guide dog is then you will not have to worry. ( that in turn is projecting to your dog) dont expect all owners to feel like you or to act like you.

I also never said my dog runs up to people or dogs..
I have trained mine to be calm when someone (or a dog) comes over. that is because people will come over, its no good expecting people to act like you or know what you want.

You can argue the toss as much as you like but I am responsible for my dog and have to train him for all scenarios. Some dogs will come over, some kids will come over ( not so much these days as they used to) and its the owners job to make sure "everyone" is safe.
in a perfect world all owners and dogs would agree on how things are "supposed" to be but they dont and never will.

You always over react, I never said your dogs do that but you would be amazed how many dogs run literally straight at us, not meander over but fly at us. And no I'm not some uptight stressed out owner, I walk a pack which is a very different thing from walking 1 dog hence I don't let mine all off to socialise and also for health reasons. One of mine is often off and will play with some other dogs but unfortunately the others can get upset, as they want to be with her.

One of my dogs is muzzled as no matter what we do there are reasons why he can never be trusted with strange dogs yet people still allow their dogs, the majority of which are completely out of control to come over and harass us. I do make sure everyone is safe, it's called a lead but unfortunately some people don't respect that. If their dog hasn't got sufficient recall to go back to it's owner when it's clear that it's not welcome running up to us then that dog should be on lead. If owners haven't got the sense to realise that 3 dogs on lead, one wearing a bright blue muzzle with the owner deliberately not walking straight towards them don't want their dogs unwelcome attention then they shouldn't have a dog. It's basic consideration and politeness.

My dogs are all rescues and all came to us with baggage which we have worked on and as I say all have health issues. Two are greyhounds and greyhounds tend to play in a very full on noisy way which scares other owners. Also you can never be 100% sure that their prey drive won't rear it's head even if they don't have a huge one so they can play happily with a dog at close quarters, catch sight of a small dog or cat running in the distance and they're gone. So they go off lead when possible but are on lead around other dogs.

If your dog wouldn't run over and annoy us all then wonderful. I'm complaining about those who aren't so responsible.

I've got a 3 legged 1 eyed 11 yr old greyhound, an almost blind epileptic 10 yr old whippet and my 8 yr old greyhound has just had a ruptured disc removed and is shaved all over from her middle to part way down her thighs. On our first short walk with her post op last weekend a couple allowed their boxer to run up to us and run round and round us and then followed us not recalling their dog all the way back to the car - rude? I certainly thought so and so did my dogs. I would have thought it was glaringly obvious that it's presence a couple of feet away from us wasn't welcome and when my girl barked to tell it to get out of her face they scowled at us. But thats ok in your world is it? If a person had randomly walked up so close to me I would be most unhappy too.

Me overreact? if you say so. Maybe read it when you are not in such a state of knee jerking reaction to my posts

I just said I train mine to not reacted to other dogs coming over. , I have already said time and time again in this thread that I ALWAYS put him on a lead or hold his collar if anyone comes near us. walking a dog or not.. that is my job. if I could not do that then I would take him where no other dogs are around. my job to protect him

I will not set my dog up to fail.. If you do the same thing over and over then expect the same results you always got.

You have a few dogs all with problems and like most people today you want others to change what they do rather than you change what you do.. That is not going to happen, I wish it could, then everyone would have happy walks but its not. You have to be prepared for all things especially natural ones.

You should have only taken on one ( problem) dog at a time and retrained and socialised them before taking others on, or they could each get the other's fears and phobias. but to late now, unless you get one to one training for each of them maybe?

There are crap dog owners who do not control or fully train their dogs and they never will. So its our job to train our dogs how to deal with that so they do not get their own problems.
We cannot just let our dogs suffer because we feel we are right and that is that. thinking like that helps no one lest of all your dog.

I'm not sure how I would be causing dogs to suffer by wishing they were under control. I agree it will never happen but that doesn't stop me being annoyed by them.

My dogs have saved lives by being doggy blood donors, raised hundreds of pounds for rescue charities on street collections and in Pets at Home and Meadowhall shopping centre - behaving impeccably every time. They are wonderful with children, everyone loves them. My 3 legged girl is used by my vets to help owners whose dogs are facing amputation to show them how they manage afterwards. Their doggy physio uses them to try out new techniques because they are wonderful dogs to treat and love going.

Just because my almost blind dog is fear reactive to strange dogs you seem to think I'm a crap owner. Well we keep him safe and don't take the risk of him hurting other dogs. He likes some dogs, others he doesn't but as he can't see their body language now the chances are he will react aggressively hence the muzzle and lead. I homecheck for rescues and offer support and help for people who have recently adopted sighthounds, usually ex racing greyhounds who have very specific issues and need specialist knowledge to settle them in and understand their particular needs which are quite different from other dogs . We have had various dogs over the 30 + years we've had them.

Those of you with good memories will remember that I have posted in defence of both APBTs and SBTs in the past. I can no longer do so because one of my dogs has now been attacked by three different attacks. None of them were provoked and the last attack happened when I had my dogs out one evening for their nighttime walk and an off lead SBT appeared on the other side of the road. My two had been sniffing the grass and hadn't been paying it any attention. The SBT took one look at my dogs and in an instant it flew across the road and launched itself at my dog's head and neck. There was no reason for the attack as neither of my dogs had done a single thing to provoke it. The fact that my dog did as much wriggling about was what saved him from having the other dog get a hold of him. The guy with the dog managed to get it away, but it started snarling and was desperate to get back to my dogs. The guy didn't even apologise either. So I have now seen firsthand how vicious they can be and how they will attack with zero provocation.

To be honest I think I was in denial before. I couldn't admit to the fact that they are responsible for the majority of serious attacks. The two human dog attack fatalities this year have both been by pit bulls. Another man was put in hospital with life threatening injuries earlier in the year by a pit bull. Also this year, a number of other adults have been hospitalized with serious injuries (including a woman with a severed hand) because of pit bulls! It was a SBT that went berserk in a play park and attacked almost a dozen kids! And these are dogs that are referred to as 'nanny dogs'! The whole 'nanny dog' thing really annoys the hell out of me. NO breed should be referred to as such and Bad Rap (which is one of the biggest pit bull advocacy groups in the US) is on record as saying as such. It is dangerous to children as telling people they are 'nanny dogs' could easily lead to kids being mauled!

These are breeds that were bred for the sole purpose of taking part in blood sport. They were created to satisfy man's lust for blood and violence. Nothing more. The propensity to fight and attack is in them in the same way that the predisposition to herd is in the herding breeds and guarding in the guardian breeds.

Yes other breeds can and do attack, but not with the same regularity as pits and staffords. And there are some breeds (like the Greyhound and Whippet) that have not been documented as killing a single person. The media does not have an agenda against them and this is something that defenders of the breeds like to say. Attacks by other breeds do get reported.

I will also say that some of the most aggressive and downright unpleasant individuals I have encountered online have been pit and stafford advocates. I know that I did have arguments with people when I used to defend them (and there is one member on this thread I would like to apologise to - you know who you are), but I never came out with vile insults. Piers Morgan recently said that pit bulls were dangerous and shouldn't be around children. There were defenders that pounced upon like a pack of rabid dogs and said he should slit his own throat and called him things like a c**t. Those are fairly typical responses from defenders who simply cannot deny facts so resort to behaving in such a repugnant manner.

To Lyndeeloo. Please quit with that 'nanny dog' nonsense and go and read the breed descriptions of other breeds. There are lots that are recommended for children and families in general. You are also being reckless by advocating that dogs should be walked by children. Imagine this. A child is out walking a dog and a dog aggressive dog charges over to the dog the child is walking and tries to attack or does attack it. Child tries to separate dogs or the attacking dog redirects and the child gets attacked. Is that what you want to happen? Do you want a child to be dragged out onto a busy road by a dog that they aren't strong enough to control? And you are being quite unreasonable by saying that Riversmum shouldn't have taken on her rescue dogs. Why should she and her dogs have to suffer because of the selfish and inconsiderate natures of others. At least she is being responsible by keeping her dogs on lead while around other dogs and other people should NOT allow their off lead dogs to approach dogs who are on lead and wearing a muzzle! You can say all you like about training, but there are people who work hard to train their dogs not to be reactive around other dogs, but all their hard work is undone when cretins allow their dog aggressive/overly boisterous dogs off lead and allow them to attack/harass their dogs! Then the people who had been training their dogs not to be reactive are back at square one! And in some cases there are behaviours that are so deeply ingrained that they cannot be 'trained out'.

You also say that your 'dog won't hurt'. I take that to mean that he won't hurt a person or another dog. If that is the case then you are again being reckless. Nobody can say that about their dog! An otherwise mellow and good tempered dog could turn aggressive because of a medical condition or a traumatic experience and since dogs are animals they cannot be trusted 100%! No animal (and that includes us) can be trusted completely.

Gibson Girl, I'm sorry your dog was attacked. It must have been awful. I've had 2 of ours attacked in that way over the years and it is very upsetting especially when your dog has done nothing, not even seen the attacker until it bit them. I'm glad that it survived.

And thank you for agreeing with me.

Once again..
Maybe read it when you are not in such a state of knee jerking reaction to my posts .

Most points you have read wrong. I never called you a crap owner, I never said you would make other people's dogs suffer by not letting them come over. But your own dog suffers because of crap owners. If my dog was reactive and I kept taking him to places where other dogs are more than likely to come over .. then yes I would be setting him up to fail and in that way would suffer.

When you keep saying to me "so this is OK with you" "and that is OK with you" when I have not said it is.. IS putting words in my mouth.


i have read a fair number of pet posts on this forum and most problems are due to the owner treating dogs like their children .. that is not a good thing ( not aimed at you riversmum)
You can comfort a child and explain why there is nothing to be scared of.. with a dog you cannot explain anything.. so if you comfort them, they truly believe there is something to be scared of. with a dog you act calm and self assured and even if something happens do not react in a way the dog feels they need to fear, just act matter of fact and your dog wont think there is anything to fear.

Once again you are being unreasonable. There are plenty of people who live in places where encounters with other dogs are more than likely and in some cases unavoidable! In order to prevent those encounters then people with reactive dogs would have to keep them at home all the time. Is that what you are advocating? If so then you are recommending that people be cruel to their dogs by never taking them for walks!

Another one who puts words in my mouth.. i never said a child should walk a dog.. I said mine would have been fine walking my pitbull (not that i would let them) so please read properly

I said nanny dog once.. I would prefer a pit bull or staffie ( pure) over most other dogs. they are excellent with children and other animals .. My small cat is right now standing under my boy and washing him
most of the attacks are by pit bull type , bull breed type , even if its not even a "type" they will print a photo of a bull breed ..
I have said all the way through that any dog can attack, not any but mine, not any but a staffie but any dog can..

I have balance unlike many here who virtually call me a liar when I say how good my dog is.. and just parrot the same old crap as the TV or newspapers. same people have dogs that are not properly trained..

No I am actually not.. I am advocating people re-train their dogs to not be fearful.

I'm really not sure how you train fear out of dogs or humans. How do I train her fear of fireworks out of my girl? Fear aggression is extremely difficult to get over especially to get to a the point where you can trust them not to react. The most dangerous owner is the complaisant one, they're the ones whose dogs bite. I don't think you can ever trust any dog 100%.

You really are chippy, no one has criticised your dog or implied that they don't believe your dog is as well trained as you say it is. My comments aren't aimed at anyone here, they reflect issues I come across in our walks - and we rarely walk them in parks as we are lucky enough to have more suitable areas to walk them in. Oh but I forgot, you seem to think no one has as well trained dog as you and ours are all badly trained. And if you recall I have never said anything negative about bull breeds I simply said that I felt sorry for good, responsible owners of them.