Please help...staffy advice!!!

please help me, Im after advice... Im really upset, my dad whom i live with, finally got another dog after 6 years. To my delight his name was Max a five year old male staffordshire bull terrier, we got him from the rescue centre nearby. We had him two weeks, everything seemed perfect.. he was so loving and soft..i fell in love with him. He wasn't brilliant around other dogs though, on the field he would bark, growl and rear up around other dogs, always kept on the lead we hoped this would pass. Last friday, the door was left open for a second, Max ran outside, bolted up the drive and immeadiately lept onto a passing boxer dog. He bit around the dogs neck and wouldn't let go. After about a minute of chaos, my dad threw water over him and he let go of the boxer. Since this incident the owner has taken the boxer to the vets, who was told it could've been fatal. Obviously the owners where upset, advising us to get max put to sleep. To cut a long story short, Max was returned to the rescue centre yesterday and I am heartbroken. I had become so close to him, everyones been really upset, especially my dad. However he says he would be always worried it would happen again. We where advised to get a muzzle by a friend, but my dad still said he couldn't trust max anymore, and "what if next time it was a child"...I want Max back so much, but is this a trait that could be remedied with training, even though he's already five?. Is it likely to keep happeneing? would he eventually get used to other dogs?. If you could see what hes like around me at home you'd understand...has anyone any answers...if it where up to me he'd still be here now next to me

I'm afraid if your dad doesnt want him anymore there is little you can do - you cant really have a dog you do not trust.

If he was my dog I would've offered to pay for the other dogs vet pill or at least half - go round (if you know where they live) and check up on the dog in a few days - this way you wont be classed as one of "those staffy owners".

You could talk to your dad and say that if you had him back - to muzzle him and take him to behaviourists and trainers and really put in the effort working with him. Find out as much of his history as you can, the rescue should've told you as much history as they know - with smaller ones they dont tend to know much.

Euthanasia is the last resort - if this is the dogs first time then steps to prevent it and change behaviour should be used before euthanasia is called upon - the boxer owners were just upset and this was probably the first incident they had had with their dog.

BTW I've seen SBT's not let go for anything, so you were lucky he let go with water.

But at the end of the day these are just suggestions, it is up to your Dad if he wants to home him again and spend the hours he needs to work with him and the attention his behaviour needs in order for you to avoid this situation.

Hope this helps - I in no way mean to upset you further.

I agree with SLB ~ it's really up to your dad.

Taking on a dog with dog aggression issues is a big commitment, it will require intensive rehabilitation & it may be that you'll never be able to trust the dog around other dogs.

However if your dad's fear is "what if that had been a child?", I would add that just because a dog is aggressive towards other dogs does not mean that it would ever act aggressively towards humans. Many dogs have fears/issues with other dogs for a variety of reasons, but would never react towards people with aggression.

But if the rescue centre didn't know about his aggression towards other dogs, I'd be very surprised & they should have warned you. At least they know about it now & should take steps to rehome him as an only dog & warn other potential owners.

im sorry to hear this staffys make wonderful pets. my staff can also be da with certain dogs i always walk him on a extendable or a long line and at its worst i did muzzle him.with training hes getting loads better but i admit im still wary around certain dogs ive learnt the type of behaviour displayed by the other dog that sets him off. also just because a dog is aggressive to another dog doesnt mean it will be after the nearest child my dog lived with children before i had him and is fussed regular in the road i live on by the local kids. i wish you well and hope your dad will give him another chance what happened was a accident you didnt intend the dog to escape

Well you know, looked at objectively- you knew he was dog aggressive and didn`t take precautions. It isn`t the dog who left the door open.
You can turn around an aggressive dog, but as has been said, it takes comittment and a willingness to learn (by the owner). In this case, your dad first needs to contact the Rescue. if they refuse to take the dog back you could try other Rescues. What you can`t do is pass the problem on to someone who may be unable to cope.

I agree with Claire in as much as you both knew the dog had issues and yet someone still had a lapse of concentration and left a door open. I think you could learn to manage his issues but probably not eradicate them entirely. I also agree you were rather lucky to get him to let go by giving him a soaking so I guess he wasn't as committed to attacking the boxer as he appeared.
I think you could train him to be less reactive to other dogs, and I think you could both learn to manage him better and keep him safe but you need to be very committed.

While it is absolutely true that interdog aggression does not mean a dog would deliberately bite a human (child or adult), it is true that there is a greater risk of a person accidentally getting bitten , or even injured by being knocked over, in the melee and confusion with a dog who can be aggressive with other dogs.

In some cases of aggression it can be resolved, but that is not always the case and, as others have said, that takes time, knowledge and commitment. Even with dogs that appear "cured" there is the risk of a later unexpected relapse, if people become over confident and blase.

As they can't all be resolved, in other cases it is more about managing it, and that would mean NEVER giving him any opportunity including open doors, pulling the lead out of someone's hand, getting a muzzle off, a lead collar harness etc breaking.

In a dog of Max's age, without a full history, it could well be a very established behaviour, (and may even be why he ended up in rescue) which he would be highly unlikely to get over without a lot of training.

Unfortunately some "macho" owners encourage fighting and, unpalatable as the thought is, some dogs themselves find aggression to other dogs to be very rewarding, for a variety of reasons.

None of these emotional issues would be likely to resolve by themselves.

To my understanding the Boxer's owners would be fully entitled to ask for the whole vet's bill, as their dog was somewhere it was entitled to be and was subject to an unprovoked attack by Max, and owners are legally liable for any damage caused by their dog.

Aside from the physical damage, incidents like this can also greatly affect the future behaviour of the victim dog.

I of course understand why you are upset but I think maybe your Dad has more awareness of what owning a dog with Max's behaviour could involve, and I guess your Dad does not want to live under the stress and responsibility of worrying about anything similar happening again, maybe for another 9 years, if Max got to be 14 years old, a reasonable age for a staff.

...thanx everybody for all your replies, its appreciated...your knowledge and advice is making this alot easier. The boxers vet bill has been paid, the vet said it was close to jugular!.. two people just posted on another forum that its highly unlikely we'd be allowed max back if we wanted (?) I don't know what to do...

Probably unlikely with this problem. They may if you are enrolling him or plan to enrol him into training/behavioural classes and they see proof of this - but it is highly unlikely but it wouldn't harm to ask - if you already pick out a training course and are committed to the many of painstaking hours and frustration taking on a DA dog may cause (I have one myself although not a staffie) they may well see that you are well prepared this time... but like I said it is up to them.

You could always leave it a while then rescue another dog - I know that sounds totally unbearable when you had already bonded to this dog, but there are loads of staffies that need a good home - there are loads on the rescue pages on this forum and plenty of fosterer's who are in need of finding their fosters homes.

But ultimately it is up to your Dad what he does next.

its of course, up to your dad - how old are you if you dont mind me asking? what responsibilities would you take on for his care?

I can tell you my story briefly,

I got my boy Bruno from staffie rescue knowing he wasnt great with other dogs but that could be worked on., he was almost 2.
2 weeks after i got him, was at my mums, had just taken dog out car put him in her house, turned back to get shopping out of boot, and i hadnt shut the door properly, he came shooting out the house, at the same time, i lady walking past with a jack russell, before i could grab him he jumped through the hedge and grabbed the dog - it was seconds, i got to him wallloped his muzzle and he let go. The woman was screaming at me, calling me all sorts, i apologised and went to put bruno in the house. came back out and woman had gone, chased after her but she had disappeared.
That evening she stuck a letter and vet bill through the door, basically saying she was gong to contact police etc etc. all got paid and sorted etc

Anyway it made me realise what he was capable of, but he was amazing in the house and the most loving dog and there was no way he was going anywhere.

and from then on we never let him offlead and were always and still are cautious when we see other dogs etc.

He has never been responsible for injuring any other dogs.
He is still dog aggressive however he also has been occasionally offlead with friends and relatives dogs and been fine and in fact has played with these dogs quite happily,. So I do believe that it can be done, however you have to go into with the thought that ultimately you will have to keep Max onlead all the time, unless in a controlled situation, with dogs you know etc. You have to be willing to do that kind of walking for the next 5-10 years.

What that means is you have antisocial dog walks, which for some people they wouldnt want as they want to meet other dog walkers etc etc,.

You could look into training etc ( via the rescue if they offer it etc)

I can say hand on heart that I would never doubt Bruno with my kids ( we have since had 2 kids and he is AMAZING with them)

Human and dog aggression are completely different.

You have to be committed and you have to be willing, but if you are and you really want it then prove it to the rescue and you should succeed.

Hope that helps a little.

But I do hope you are able to give him a chance