Calming

Hello, does anybody have any advice on how i can calm down my 9month old staffordshire bull terrier .. He is a very good socially however when he starts to play he gets very excitable and ends up knocking dogs smaller than him over! .. he bows down at the dogs tail wagging then pounces, runs off and repeats this, he also mouths gentley but gets very much excited, id like to be able to calm him down so he can play calmly without the risk of accidently hurting another dog or himself, and He IS castrated.

I have exactly the same problem with my american bulldog (Buster - 2 yrs old - not neutured). he is very socialable and very good with other dogs but when he plays with other dogs he chargers at them and put them on their a**e. He has even knocked other dog walkers on their bums when he's been playing with their dog.

I was thinking of investing in a whistle so when he starts his mad moment i can get his attention before he starts charging.

what i have also noticed is if the other dog is playing rough this sort of gives Buster the green light to be rough. if a dog isnt being rough he's not so rough.

when your SBT plays is the other dog being rough too?

He starts off pouncey etc, but if they play rough like you said he will be rough too! .. sometimes he is a lil less rough on the smaller dogs but he is still very excitable!

Heya,

Sounds like typical full of beans staff. His age will play a big part in it - boisterous teenager. We're going through the tail end of that stage with ours now at 14 months old.

They are generally pretty exciteable dogs - with quite a high play drive - even old staffies! Is he generally quite hyper? or just his interaction with other dogs? If he is a very full of beans dog normally I'd make sure he is getting enough exercise (although at 9 months old that wont be a huge amount anyway) and on a good diet. If its just other dogs its more of a case of needing a bit mroe socialisation.

being around other dogs is a great way for him to learn, but not all dogs appreciate a noisy teenager in their face. if you spot him getting too rough just take him aside for time out for 5 minutes or so, wait for him to be calm and let him play again. He'll soon learn the trigger of getting over excited means play stops. If you can socialise him with older dogs too - so he isnt getting dragged into playing by other young 'uns

Heya, he has pretty much always been alot more excitable when playing, not just with dogs but he can get overly excited when playing with us too, but when playing with us he gets a firm NO! and he realises and SOMETIMES he'll wonder off and calm down but not every time.
When he comes across older dogs he does tend to be less excitable it seems that when the dog is younger or smaller the more excited he is.

the same with Buster. if the dog is young and plays rough he will play rough if the dog is older he wont play as rough.

A lot of it will be down to his age really. Zulu has calmed down a lot in the last 3 months I'd say...since he turned one.

The best you can do at his stage is to be very consistent and firm with the rules.

My dog did exactly that for months, he would do the play bowing and the leaping around and inviting other dogs to chase and play.

Ultimately I've had to keep him on a long line both for recall and so that while he was so excitable I could manage him a bit. So that's what I would recommend.

Your dog is still very young, he'll calm down, honestly

My answer to "How do I calm him down" basically you have to let him mature.

A tip for a future male you may have; I have found that by letting my 11 month keep his bits he has grown out of this giddiness - well he has a lot, he is more respectful of little dogs than he used to be. But other than that, perhaps take him along to training classes - the dog has to learn to listen to you whilst ignoring other dogs. ) And it gives you chance to brush up a little and let him socialise in an environment that is controlled - you'll need to find a really good one..positive training only!

Failing that -on a long line - if he is food orientated, when he see's something excitable drop some goodies on the floor in front of him, when you do this say "go find" - dogs can only do one thing at once! A toy will work too. The long line is to pull him away if he ignores your goodies and also so he is under your control at all times. (Wear gloves though) You'll have to start the "go find" game at home first though - otherwise he won't understand and will think you gave him permission to rip your arm out it's socket so he can play with the other dog..

Hope this helps. Staffies are pretty much puppies for life IME of neighbours staffies. I also have a late maturing crossbreed (Lab x Springer)