staffy pup

[holiday-1]

my staffy pup is 7 months old and such a loving dog, but when he as got any thing he really likes such as a chewbone, you go anywhere near him he growls then nearly takes your hand off.....any senseble suggestions please.

[kita1]

This is called "resource guarding".

The best thing to do is 'exchange' what he has for something even better.

For instance if he has a chew get something even better and show him your tasty piece of treat, call him away from the chew and give him the treat.

If he is guarding a toy then get another (better) toy and show him it calling him away from the original toy. The toy you have will be more fun anyhow because you are playing with it!

Don't try and take what he has by force - that will only prove to him that he was correct in trying to keep it and next time he will guard it even more.

This article explains in more detail:

http://www.clickertrainusa.com/Webpages/Well%2 0Being%20Training%20System/resourceguarding.ht m

[kita1]

http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/resource-gua rding/

[Ice.Maiden]

Kita's right. Resource guarding is what most dogs do naturally anyway. They become attached to various objects or toys, which are "theirs", so taking whatever away, is as bad for your pup as if you were taking a child's toy away. We have Staffies, and another thing to watch out for is if they swallow stones. Rather than tip them up, they'll swallow them to "keep them", so you have to tempt them to drop the objects by offering a favourite titbit, for instance. A high percentage of dogs needing operations for blockages, are Staffies. One of ours needed 3 ops in 4 months, costing almost �2000 a time, so it's well worth training your pup to "drop" in favour of something even better!

[ruthann58]

i agree with the other posters having had dogs and children for over 30years i have always found bribery far more productive than bullying it gets the same results with a lot less agro

[lankeela]

The above ideas are fine if you have the time to do it, but you need to teach him that you taking stuff off him is ok. What would happen if he say got something stuck in his throat or was chewing/guarding something dangerous to him?

Start to offer him things to chew that are big enough for you to hold on to, and allow him to chew while you hold it. Use the distraction as above and when he loosens his grip on what you are holding praise him and then allow him to chew it again. Build this up till he is happy with you handling what he wants to chew and you can give him the 'leave' command. Eventually he will accept you taking stuff.

[carmalee]

have stayed away from this one to read the answers. seriously recommend you approach an animal behaviourist. Staffies are renown for their good nature but they are also fighting dogs. he is showing dominance behaviour to you and your family. there are a million ways to combat this but you do need advice from a trained professional. I've worked in animal welfare/rehoming on several continentients and am not being an alarmist. this problem can be sorted but you need professional help. keep us updated please and good luck

[carmalee]

oh yes, forgot to ask - is he entire

[dot.hawkes]

My staffy Max was just like this when we got him from the rescue when he was 2, he's 11 now and it was so easy to get him out of the habit, actually he did it himself. he worked out how to open the fridge door and steal cheese, bacon, the odd tub of margarine, yoghurt, sunday roast etc, it isn't easy to adapt to it, it can take weeks to realise that it isnlt the kids eating you out of house and home, it's especially hard to spot when he is able to close the door after his 'raid' ...............