Staffie - Worrying Behaviour or just friendly?

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KimboBimbo

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My 20 year old daughter has just come back with a headache not for the first time, from one of her best friends, who has a Staff who is just under a year old. He has had very, very little training.
My daughter has long curly hair, every time she goes to visit, he gets very over excited, jumps all over her and if she has her hair tied back, he pulls at her - with his mouth and paws - until he manages to get the clip or band out, if she has her hair down, he jumps all over her and pulls at her hair. Today she actually has red scratch marks on her head and apparently he had her pinned to the sofa?
My daughters friend just laughs at him. My daughter tried to push him off but he is "getting heavier and stronger".

I am a Mum, it is my job to say all the things I have said to my daughter about this behaviour, so I thought I would throw this one open to you guys to pass on your opinions or comments and wisdom. Please bare in mind this girl is one of her besties and she "doesn't want to upset her". I will let her read your reply's...I am trusting you all!
 
Ooh difficult one. I would say it is probably friendly behaviour, but not acceptable, sounds like the dog hasn't been taught any boundaries at all. Most young dogs can get totally over the top with their behaviour if not checked, Evie used to get very wound up by my ex, who was the only one who wouldn't do as I said and ignore her exuberant greeting, he then used to complain she had scratched him.:rolleyes: Not implying your daughter is at fault, just that it can easily happen. Don't really know what to suggest as obviously she doesn't want to upset her friend. Perhaps if every time the dog approaches her she should stand up out of his reach, turn away from him and totally ignore him, he may get the message his behaviour is not acceptable. The trouble is that when he jumps on her when she is sitting down and she pushes him away he probably sees it as all part of the game. Hopefully someone with experience of the breed may be able to offer more advice.
 
MurphysMinder said:
Perhaps if every time the dog approaches her she should stand up out of his reach, turn away from him and totally ignore him, he may get the message his behaviour is not acceptable. The trouble is that when he jumps on her when she is sitting down and she pushes him away he probably sees it as all part of the game. Hopefully someone with experience of the breed may be able to offer more advice.
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Thank you! I forgot to say...she totally ignores him and makes certain she doesn't catch his eyes!
 
As with MM, a lot of things we humans do to try and discourage this type of behaviour are seen as SUPER DUPER FUN by the dogs.

I wouldn't be overly worried, he just sounds like a cheeky wee sod that hasn't had any manners put on him, it's rude and they won't be laughing if he hurts someone even in play - that kind of stuff is funny and cute in puppies but when you have a big lump of a dog throwing his weight around, it's annoying and then the owners turn round and expect the dog to stop doing stuff they have been encouraging!

Not saying your little girl should do this but even when I was a kid I would put other people's down 'down' if they were leaping on me.

I would say she could probably divert his attention by throwing a toy or ball for him (but not get involved in a tuggy game) ignoring him, turning around/away when he jumps on her standing, not engaging eye contact, not shrieking or waving hands or arms, if he jumps on her on the sofa she could simply get up and he would fall off, could she wear her hair in a bun or under a cap when she is around there or ask the other Mum to keep the dog out of the way when she is round?

Nice to see you back.
 
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I agree, its probably friendly. The problem comes when the puppy gets big and strong and the game becomes dangerous. Laughing at it wont help and reacting to it is all part of the game. When I taught my dogs as pups not to jump up it was a case of ignoring them completely while they jumped up - literally walk away from them, no shouting no contact/pushing, just walk away so they fall down. Once 4 paws are on the floor make a fuss and a titbit. Dog then knows that he will get fussed over once on the floor. I would suggest doing the same with this dog. Till he gets the hint that the floor is where the paws should be i'd keep my hair tucked in a hat! The main problem is that your daughter isnt at the house all the time and there will be no consistancy. Until the owner gets there is a problem and trains accordingly, how will the dog ever know its wrong - probably when somebody gets bitten! - Although the dog probably wont be doing out of aggression, it'll still hurt.
Another tip, again when teaching mine to not chew/mouth my hands as pups, let out a big YELP. This tells the dog, OUCH! that hurt. When they stop mouthing - titbit. Dogs/pups yelp at each other all the time when the going gets a bit rough. When this dog grabs at the hair - YELP, he'll back off, then praise. Tell your daughter to go loaded with titbits.
 
I'm a bit confused, is she 20 as stated in your original post or younger? :o TBH if she is an adult then she needs to point out to her mate that having an ill-mannered staffie swinging from your scalp is not amusing, regardless of whether bestest mate gets the hump or not :confused:
 
KimboBimbo said:
My 20 year old daughter has just come back with a headache not for the first time, from one of her best friends, who has a Staff who is just under a year old. He has had very, very little training.
My daughter has long curly hair, every time she goes to visit, he gets very over excited, jumps all over her and if she has her hair tied back, he pulls at her - with his mouth and paws - until he manages to get the clip or band out, if she has her hair down, he jumps all over her and pulls at her hair. Today she actually has red scratch marks on her head and apparently he had her pinned to the sofa?
My daughters friend just laughs at him. My daughter tried to push him off but he is "getting heavier and stronger".

I am a Mum, it is my job to say all the things I have said to my daughter about this behaviour, so I thought I would throw this one open to you guys to pass on your opinions or comments and wisdom. Please bare in mind this girl is one of her besties and she "doesn't want to upset her". I will let her read your reply's...I am trusting you all!
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Hi KB. A lot of staffies have the I've seen it its 'mine', attitude. Strangely one of ours loved my hair clip and was always after it until he 'got', it. If in my hair or not he often looked for it. Then, clip in mouth pranced around with it in his mouth like a cat who had got the cream.
Perhaps your daughter could carry, when visiting a small cuddly toy. Even if at first appearing to take the toy from her head area the dog would just be looking for the toy in future. Later just hand the toy to the dog on entering the house and bingo! Perhaps and hopefully helps, B&F
 
Pix said:
I'm a bit confused, is she 20 as stated in your original post or younger? :o TBH if she is an adult then she needs to point out to her mate that having an ill-mannered staffie swinging from your scalp is not amusing, regardless of whether bestest mate gets the hump or not :confused:
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I agree^^^
I think it ridiculous and cannot be nice for her to endue this, se must feel incredibly embarrassed when this is happening.
She can either
A, stop going and invite friend to hers
B, Wear a hat/cap
C, Tell the friend she has developed an allergy to staffi hair (pretty common) because its so short and itches the skin so much when it touches, a few at work or allergic to them and shar-pei's and other single very single coated breeds, esp when restraining them, their arms look shocking and become very itchy.
D, Tell fiend that you/mam saw the scratches and went mad (it cannot happen again)

They are finding this situation funny and this in turn is probably heightening the dogs drive. I do think this has a chance of getting out of hand if not nipped in the bud. The owners seem a bit irrisponsible and they are not doing the dog any favours, if it now associated your daughter with this behaviour then for me its gone to far.
Staffs do not need to be encouaged any further with boisterous/tug a war games, they already have enough natural drive without heightening it in such a stupid manor.
To allow the dog to carry on from the moment he starts to reach for her hair is a big mistake, he needs to be stopped right there (not laughed at) and encouraged.
 
CAYLA said:
I agree^^^
I think it ridiculous and cannot be nice for her to endue this, se must feel incredibly embarrassed when this is happening.
She can either
A, stop going and invite friend to hers
B, Wear a hat/cap
C, Tell the friend she has developed an allergy to staffi hair (pretty common) because its so short and itches the skin so much when it touches, a few at work or allergic to them and shar-pei's and other single very single coated breeds, esp when restraining them, their arms look shocking and become very itchy.
D, Tell fiend that you/mam saw the scratches and went mad (it cannot happen again)

They are finding this situation funny and this in turn is probably heightening the dogs drive. I do think this has a chance of getting out of hand if not nipped in the bud. The owners seem a bit irrisponsible and they are not doing the dog any favours, if it now associated your daughter with this behaviour then for me its gone to far.
Staffs do not need to be encouaged any further with boisterous/tug a war games, they already have enough natural drive without heightening it in such a stupid manor.
To allow the dog to carry on from the moment he starts to reach for her hair is a big mistake, he needs to be stopped right there (not laughed at) and encouraged.
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Or E, give it a sharp smack on the muzzle and growl an obscenity very loudly:eek:;);)
 
I would be livid if any dog jumped up and persistantly snatched at hair! What a rude dog. In my opinion, it may have started out as play, but its got out of hand and will only get worse.
As a mum, I would ask daughter not to go to friends house until dog is better behaved or put behind a closed door. would hate for anyone to get frightened or hurt more than scratches. Obviously, if she is 20 then she is her own person, but I'd make up any excuse not to go!!
Hate badly behaved dogs!!
 
Staffs are overly friendly dogs. Full stop. Which means that this behaviour must not be encouraged because this also sounds to be turning into a dominance play as well. So my staffie boy (now aged 5) would cheerfully overrun my friends when they come round given half a chance.

Couple of things you should take up with your daughter - if the dog does this to someone else and catches/nips them, then the owner will be in big big trouble. How would the owner feel if the dog does this to a child? next point is that the rescues are FULL to the brim of young staffies chucked out, poorly trained and dumped. A lot don't make it out of the pounds. A young male staffie is a highly energetic terrier and will make his own amusement if not adequately exercised either.

My male staffie is always OTT when people arrive and overly enthusiastic. My friends know they have to ignore him till he is quieter and then say hello.

My concern is that unless this behaviour is addressed, the staffie will simply keep pushing his boundaries more and more. That is the nature of the staffie terrier. I love mine both to pieces and they are terrific fun but they will still test me to see if I really mean it - and I have had my bitch for 7 years and my dog for 3 1/2...

(btw - my adult bitch (slightly large for a staffie girl as she clocks in at 15" at the shoulder) is a solid 3 1/4 stone and my boy, again 15" at the shoulder is just over 3)
 
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Bear in mind what happened to one of my over friendly bull terriers. Her stupid owner let her slip a collar (all bullies need a check collar ..they slip out of plain buckle ones) She then did just what this staffie is doing,leaving a pensioner very bruised and scratched.
This esculated into "an attack" ,a court case that dragged on for 18 months ,a destruction order.
I got the dog away to great friends in Eire,she is there still. The case went to appeal,and was squashed,there still may be a private damages case against the stupid owner.These however cannot demand dog destruction,so the bitch is safe at least.
All of this due to a over friendly playful bull terrier with a very stupid owner.It is NOT funny,it may frighten someone sometime..and that is all it takes.
If a bullie dioes "attack" there is an awful lot of blood and very deep holes,there is no mistaking it for "play":eek:
I suggest that your daughter arms herself with a water pistol and squirts right into it`s face,and tell this ignorant friend all about my bull terrier. In law a dog only has to "cause fright"..and it is then offending under the DDA.
 
Unfortunately just ignoring this dog is not going to be enough now, for it to stop this rude behaviour as clearly the owners have never stopped it from jumping all over visitors. It probably does the same to all visitors that goes to this home. Your daughter clearly loves dogs to be so patient with this one. Is there any way that she could photocopy some training sheets from a staffie training book and take them round? If her friend isn't interested then she could slip in that the 'problem' needs to be dealt with before he ends up hurting someone unintentionally. Staffies have such a bad press at the best of times, owners like these don't do them any favours do they ??!!:confused:
 
floral said:
Staffies have such a bad press at the best of times, owners like these don't do them any favours do they ??!!:confused:
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No they don't. And when they are bored of a badly behaved dog and bin it, there will be a charity (emphasis on the word "charity") that will be expected to pick up the slack and sort it out. Beats me how people think that dog rescues have endless financial resources, time and no other dogs to sort out.

And again, if nothing else, your daughter now need to emphasis that staffies have such appalling press that ANY misdemeanour is really frowned upon. A friends dog was badly mauled out of the blue by a St Bernard (unprovoked, dog was in its owners lorry at a show). Police would not be int, however if that had been a staffie I am willing to bet that would have been a different story.

And if I had a £ for every time someone says "oh your dogs aren't like normal staffies are they?" yes they blooming well are! but mine are socialised and at least partly trained!
 
Hello Everyone, it's Sophie (daughter)!
Thank you very much everyone for your advice. Mum was right, she knew you would have a lot to say! Those of you that said I need to talk to my mate are right, I do and I will, but she can be a bit touchy about him. I do love Buster to bits, btw, he is over a year old, has never had any proper training and probably isn't given enough excercise or stimulation. The main thing is though that it worries me that he might do this to a child and really hurt them. From now on I am going to wear my hair in a hat, not sit down, go armed with a toy and treats, failing that my little brother has a water pistol that shoots 25ft! Thank you all again! Sophie x
 
KimboBimbo said:
Hello Everyone, it's Sophie (daughter)!
Thank you very much everyone for your advice. Mum was right, she knew you would have a lot to say! Those of you that said I need to talk to my mate are right, I do and I will, but she can be a bit touchy about him. I do love Buster to bits, btw, he is over a year old, has never had any proper training and probably isn't given enough excercise or stimulation. The main thing is though that it worries me that he might do this to a child and really hurt them. From now on I am going to wear my hair in a hat, not sit down, go armed with a toy and treats, failing that my little brother has a water pistol that shoots 25ft! Thank you all again! Sophie x
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Good to hear from you! my staffs need at least an hour a day to let off steam on a walk or they can become complete pain and start the staffie wall of death. Regular exercise and they become couch potatoes!
 
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