Unfortunately most people don't know they have takein on a reactive dog when they first get it, these days a lot can be done to turn these dogs round if they can get the right help, I have done it and helped others do it successfully and will always take on a dog like this because with the right management, training and patience they can be turned round, some to a greater extent than others.

I agree, dog ownership should be enjoyable but is more enjoyable if you have turned a dog round. I have 5 dogs here, all came with problems and only one still work in progress.

I would be interested in knowing what happened, privately if that would be better, you can still learn from it and so can I, I love to learn about dogs.

My biggest problem is ignorant owners who allow their dog to race up to mine when mine are on the lead. A dog is more inclined to be reactive when on the lead because he can't run away, he has to stay and fight.

Part of the problem with dogs is the words we use, if we say and dog is aggressive we have a really bad idea of what the dog is, if we say the dog is reactive, we see the dog differently even though the behavour is the same. When we see the dog differently we handle the dog differently, we are more relaxed and able to cope with ignorant dogs better.

If you are worried about dogs running up to your's carry an umbrella, one that springs open when you press a button then you can use it to stop a dog from running up to you. This is much kinder than a lot of other gadgets I have seen suggested. Another way is to do whay I did, throw a good handful of treets in front of the dog.

The point is, the OP knows she is taking on a a reactive dog, Not knowing and environment or nature is a different story, I agree some dogs can be turned around, I am simply saying that , it's not always possible to do so, so one needs to be prepared for the worst outcome, if you can deal withit, then go ahead, but life with a DA dog can be hard, and bl** dy difficult.

My story with Millie s not a secret, we got her at 8 wks old, her problems ome from a nervous nature, did we make mistakes probably, did I seek help, yes, spent a lot of money doing so. The conclusion I came to many years ago is, we have a dog with issues, and we live it it, worts an all,

Would I take a DA dog on , no never again, I have learnt so much in the last ten yrs, far more than I would have done without such a dog, owing a DA dog, never enetered my head before MIllie, but sometimes it just happens.

My post is simply saying to the OP, think before you leap, it's not an easy life, if you can cope go ahead, if not, don't go down that road.

Wouldn't people agree that a lot of dogs come with issues. Some dogs may be dog-reactive; have high prey drive which include a compulsion to chase cyclists and joggers; separation anxiety; chewers; human aggressive etc. . At the moment a friend of mine has taken on a staffie rescue who's a delight but when she leaves him alone, you can hear him barking two or three blocks away, and I thank my lucky stars that my dog is "only" dog reactive! My last dog became pretty much perfect when she was 8 years old.

Would I take on another dog-reactive dog, I'm not sure - but equally would I take on a dog with severe separation anxiety or another equally disruptive issue.

As I've said before we take them baggage and all, sometimes their issues aren't resolved and we work with them and around their issues keeping them and others safe. I don't think I've met a single person on this forum that doesn't want the best for their dog - warts n' all.

Florence's soon-to-be-pet may be perfect in every way except she doesn't like ill-mannered dogs rushing excitedly towards her, other owners may have perfect dogs except that when out and about their dog becomes ill-mannered and rushes excitedly towards dog-reactive staffies!

I think my biggest gripe are those that suggest that dogs of a certain breed shouldn't be considered if they are exhibiting a certain trait when it is clear as the nose on everyone's face that every breed of dog can at any one time be burdened with a whole range of behavioural difficulties.

First of all, thank you for all the messages and the advice! It's interesting to read all your opinions and I can definitely take away a lot of information from it.
I'll go through it in more depth tomorrow when I'm not tired from work.

I'd like to mention that this is pretty much a done deal. Ella's gonna come live with me, I'm not gonna reject her because she has that one problem. She's such a lovely dog and if that one handicap would mean she ends up homeless then I think there's something wrong with the world.

The main thing I need to do is find out why she reacts that way and how I can teach her to react differently. In my opinion she is absolutely allowed not to like other dogs, she's just not allowed to bite them. I'm aware that it might always be an issue but she's so great in everything else and she learns really fast, is very eager to please, that I think there is definitely the possibilty for improvement.

As for her being a Staffie: that has in my opinion little to do with her behaviour, apart from the fact that if she does bite a dog, she just fuels the stigma that comes with her breed.
Yes, staffies were bred for fighting. But that was over a hundred years ago. Of course they were illegaly still used for dog fights, but that was small minority.

She's not seeking out to fight with other dogs and she has quite good recall already so it's only really a problem when other dogs run towards her (I agree that this shouldn't happen, that the other owners should call their dogs back, but we don't live in a perfect world so it's me who has to be careful).

Florence

Good for you.

I walk a lovely staffy girl that isn't keen on some dogs. She is also ball obsessed which is really handy for keeping her focus and rewarding her speedy recalls. She will sometimes lunge or growl if dogs approach to pester her when she is on lead so I just walk her away and keep moving. I find her far easier to manage like this than my reactive collie and have been walking her 5 days a week for about five years without incident.

I think Ella has landed on her feet finding a new home with you.

Excellent - I'm so happy for both you and Ella.

I wish I'd had the common-sense to do as you did. To his cost I blithely went along with the advice of the rescue kennels i.e that he was fine with other dogs, and I introduced him largely unsupervised to far too many dogs at once, some of which played too rough with him.

All I can say (I think I've said enough in other posts) is that I got to learn his fears, triggers and general ways and worked around them. Now I constantly seek advice from people who know and I act on it. I watch him all the time and NEVER expose him to anything that he cannot handle.

Sandy

ps - please post a picture of Ella and keep us updated.

Hi Some dogs dont like being on the lead when other dogs approach,they dont feel safe,but the difficulty is finding out if she is as aggressive off the lead.What I have always tried to do is find a fellow dog walker possibly one with a lab,ask if they mind you tagging along,as you have only got this dog and want to socialise.Watch her body language,put on an extra long lead and if the lab is off the lead,just see how her body language is.Gradually you will get to know if she is just aggressive on the lead,but OK off it crystalgirl

Sandy, I have definitely learnt from my past mistakes. When I had my first dogs (my two parson russell crossbreed sisters) I didn't know much about dog training (and I was 14 so obviously an unknowing teen). I went to dog training classes but I lived in a village and there was only one dog club around. So I went there with my two young and small puppies and there were only big adult dogs around. The instructor just treated them like any other dog and said they'd have to learn to 'deal' with stuff. So they got run over quite a few times by other dogs with no manners. Also, that club used harsh training methods. After finding that out I never went back, but the damage was done. It also meant that my dogs never got properly socialised, because I didn't have a club close to me.

Until years later they were scared of other dogs and never played with them. After I started properly getting into dog training and behaviour, I tried as much damage control as possible. They never really liked other dogs but became successful agility dogs in the end.
But you're definitely right, not every dog club, behaviourist or rescue center give you good advice, or people can interpret advice wrongly and the consequences can be quite bad and I wish I'd informed myself from more sources earlier with my first dogs.

What I definitely find reassuring is to know that other people here have the same problem with their dog and that it seems it's not such a 'bad' thing and that most people tend not to say she's a mean, aggressive dog, which is what I was a bit wary of.

So here's a picture of her, I'll try and take a better one this weekend!

Aww she looks just like the little staff that I walk too! Very lovely

I think the trread is about dog on dog agression so your not likely to see the victims in your hospital

Willingness to please is putting human values onto a dog. Dogs aren't likely to care about or be able to comprehend our internal state of mind. Dogs work to to gain reward or to avoid punishement depending on what owner they have.
I'd still advice a non experienced, perspective owner not to adopt dog agressive dog, what ever the breed because its a very difficult thing to deal with.
I wonder if you would feel differently if your dog had been attacked or killed by a DA dog.

So if a dog runs up to an on lead dog and gets attacked it's the fault of the off lead dog owner? You don't think the owner of the aggressive dog has any responsibility for the safety of others?

This may be bacause you think all information that you don't agree with is wrong information.
Perhaps there are no absolute wrights and wrongs, just different opinions, and we should step out of these opinions we hold so tightly and take another look.


It's interesting that the most sensible quote on the thread comes from the Original Poster.


On the whole this thread has left me very disappointed.
Disappointed that people aren't able to have a rational discussion with somebody who happens to hold a different view because their so diffensive of their own.


Disappointed at the animal lovers whom hold such passionate views, defending the rights of the dog aggressive dogs but at the same time seem to give very little thought to the animals that get injured or even killed by them or the traumatised owners.

Disappointed with attitudes like, "it's the other dogs fault for running over to mine"

And disappointed that another member deems it acceptable to blame me for the death of thousands of dogs and the mods seem also to see this as acceptable

I'll be taking a break from all this,
I hope all goes well for all concerned
Namaste _/|\_