First off, i like both of your replies very much Canis-Lupess. You pretty much spoke what was running around in my head. From that i have almost no advice left to give, but only comments.
I'm wondering if it's not truly aggression, but dominance?
When we first acquired Koli she was mostly mis-diagnosed. She did have a true bit of fear aggression, but it was mostly just her having a strong alpha personality mixed with a huge prey and herding drive. She was like an un-trained spastic border collie who had just escaped a small crate. The methods the trainer was giving me was actually making her become aggressive. Again... the see another dog, get punished line of thought. (Though this was with the Halti... and it was just her pulling on lead.) I knew something was wrong. Still i was at my wits end and really thought i was going to have to have her put down. Someone stepped up though and offered socialization consultations. They have done wonders!!! It's almost like having a whole different dog. Her fear aggression melted away. Slowly she's learning how to not be too domineering. She's learned how to play... nice? Nicer than the games she was playing.
Anyhow... from that, i suggest finding people that are willing to socialize their dogs with yours on a one-on-one basis. Or two with yours. Take things one step at a time. You are doing a good job already by learning his signs. Desensitize him and work on behavior. Praise him for when he thinks about the wrong behavior but backs down from it. Praise him whenever he's showing desired behavior around other dogs. It will be well worth the time spent. (and you have to have a "play-date"/"socialization session" at least once a week.) I'd say start off though with a certified behaviorist who have dogs specific for this purpose. Yes, they do exist out there. (If you can't find one or can't afford it, anyone with a mild tempered dog and they themselves are will work.)
G'luck!
Oh, and i agree heavily... too often humans get involved when they shouldn't. With dogs that aren't truly aggressive sometimes it's best to let them work it out. (It's a lot easier to remain calm when both humans are on the same page. ...which you'll have to make sure of that when looking for another dog for the socialization.) ...Oh, and having the leashes on both dogs can be a bad thing... Tangled leashes can lead to real fights and real bad injuries.
If you have the time i highly suggest reading "The other end of the leash" (I can't remember her name, but i know the author lives in WI.)
Originally Posted by
Canis-Lupess
Yeah, if another dog challenges him and he's been on the recieving end previously then you can't really blame him for wanting to stand up for himself but the more scared a dog is, the more likely it is to resort to aggression so they need to have an owner who they can trust and be supported by which they are more likely to want to come back to when these threats approach, not one that inflicts any pain on them or shouts at them.
Still, owners of the other dogs should be told to keep theirs under control if they come up to cause trouble and if you make an exciting game to play with your staffie like tug o war with a toy or playing with a ball, you can attract him back to you if you see another dog coming to play with his toy and just keep your fingers in his collar or slip his lead on without making an issue and maybe try to keep his attention on the toy so he doesn't care about the other dog. I do this with Jess and she is so intent on her ball, another dog can even come up and sniff her backside and she still stares at the ball and if she does turn around at the other dog and it backs up, she turns straight back to the ball again without even growling....as if there is no time for the other dog.
I wouldn't use punishment even as a one off. I can't really see how it would solve the problem. Every dog I see regularly that shows aggression to other dogs has an owner who shouts at them and yanks the lead or smacks them and I see the aggressions gradually get worse and worse and these people never seem to cotton on that their punishment methods seem to be making no difference and just put it down to the dog ignoring them or being stupid. It happens every time with every dog who's owners react in this way.
If your dog was off lead and bumped into another dog who challenged him, would he attack them all out or would there just be an aggressive display of hackles, staring, showing teeth, growling but without actual fighting and if there was a fight, just a quick scuffle or what would be a drawn out fight to the death if you didn't split them up?
In most cases if left without intervention from humans, it would just be the aggressive display with maybe a short scuffle at last resort without any injury inflicted and resulting in one dog backing down and being pinned to the floor for a few seconds or being chased off or them both making a mutual agreement to quit and go their seperate ways and I have witnessed this between dogs roaming in the street but when humans come wading in shouting and balling, thats what tends to throw everything off and the dogs start fighting. They think the silly humans have come to join in the fightand they suddenly develop, with the humans support, the confidence to attack the other dog so it is always extremely important to stay as calm and quiet as possible if such a situation arises. Sending the wrong message over to the dog is all too easy and usually ends up in fighting where there otherwise wouldn't be one.
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Let nature guide your actions and you will never have to worry if you did the right thing. ~ crow_noir
The pet world excels where the human world is lacking; sterilization and adoption. ~ crow_noir
Please, if your dog is arthritic look into getting it Elk Velvet Antler. Look up my posts on it, PM me, or look it up on a search engine; but please if you love your dog and want it to live many more years consider this option. I've seen so many posts on here about dogs needlessly suffering. I can't make a new post about EVA every time so this plea is going here. EVA also helps with other ailments such as anemia.
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