can these dogs be walked of lead?

Judging from experience and solely by the ones I know, they should never be allowed off-lead near any other dog.

i dont have any personal experience of the breed, but i work in a veterinary practice, and i am very wary of all that come in, and i own large breed dogs so not being judgemental, but the ones we see are usually not very well behaved around other dogs.

There is one that goes on the same park as me and he is really friendly to other dogs and people - but never let off the lead as he runs off!!

My daughter has one and no, she can't be let off at all...not only would she probably run off (her recall is terrible unless she feels like it! ) but since she was 'jumped' and bitten by another dog, sadly she will now attack first. As a pup she was fine off lead but not anymore. She is also very strong and can be very boisterous although will calm down as soon as you tell her to play nicely

Years and years ago, I used to walk and nanny an Akita that I would always let off lead but she was one of those 'once in a lifetime' dogs that never did anything wrong, ever. I would have trusted that dog with my life, and could always trust her with other dogs, even though little dogs always wanted to have a go at her.. if dogs could roll their eyes thats what she would have done

But I've never met another like her, certainly not one I would 100% trust with other dogs, they will dominate other dogs and don't take kindly to dogs that don't immediately submit to them. So if you could ever find one like my Kit then yes , but otherwise I'd would be very careful as they are such large powerful dogs.

Hi There,

YES Akitas can be let off the lead !! When trained to Re-Call .. You may have seen our VT on the Crufts BBC Programme showing our 2 Akita Bitches ( 1 of them the No.1 Akita in the UK 2007 ) playing off the lead with our Aussie.

We do stress this breed needs to be trained and able to be let off the lead in public places with other dogs, Not all Akita can be let off the lead all our dogs are trained from puppies.

Regards
Faye Bevis

I see 4 separate Akita's on our various walks and all are never let off lead OR allowed near other dogs as they arent social at all How any owner can get any joy out of high stress dogs like these,i dont know... Neither the owners or the dogs will ever know the joy of unclipping their dogs leash and letting them romp and play with other dogs to their hearts content.
Always being on guard and watching for other dogs must be very stressful and draining.

I've also seen other breeds who hate other dogs but the owners still let them off lead,but keep a constant eye out for other dogs,and when one appears they quickly clip them back on to the leash,or as one rottie owner does,screams at her dog to come while running in the opposite direction of the oncoming dog,thankfully the dog always follows.But i have to wonder what would happen if one day the dog spots another dog before the owner does...

I have a dog that cant be let of the lead. He's a chihuahua, not one of the tiny ones more jack russel size. But he loves to try and fight with other dogs. If there are no dogs in sight I let him off the lead , I try not to grab him if I see another dog. At first he will go over and sniff the dog but then he starts growling . So I put him back on the lead. My biggest fear is that he will take on the wrong dog and get hurt. If I see a staffy type dog I do grab him quick. But we had a lovely walk by the lake yesterday and not another dog in sight so he was off the lead most of the time. Yes it is a bit stressful looking out for other dogs but I wouldn't swap him for the world

>Ktee says: How any owner can get any joy out of high stress dogs like these,i dont know... Neither the owners or the dogs will ever know the joy of unclipping their dogs leash and letting them romp and play with other dogs to their hearts content.

I'm with you Ktee. There is one breed that I would quite like, were it not for its willfull deafness off lead, which wouldn't be for me - and that's without aggression. I can't see the fun in it at all.

M.

Not all Akitas are dog aggressive ! ... As everyone knows with allot of big breeds accidents do happen and that is just a part of life, We have an older male that was attacked in the park as a 15 week old puppy now he will not tolerate black dogs, But is kept under control at all times and lives a happy life along side all our Akitas and Aussie.

Akitas are natural hunting breed and bred to hunt and bring down bear ( NOT TO KILL ) Many Akitas get in the wrong hands with people who do not understand them, So don't right them off just because of bad press. Just because they are a big powerful breed doesn't mean they don't have a personality like any other dog.

Regards
Faye

this is an interesting thread for me as they are a breed we are thinking of for the future (btw stecal i saw the feature on yours, really lovely dogs)

as far as i can tell from the admittedly limited research that i've done so far the breed appears to be a naturally dominant one- that doesn't instantly spell disaster if trained and socialised well. any problems are simply something you need to keep an eye out for as with many different (i would argue all) breeds. and if a problem does occur further training can probably deal with it.

i think the rep that akitas are getting is for the same reason as rotts, staffies, bullies (when my bf's mum told her friend that he was going to have a bullmastiff, my boy, she said "but thats a dog that only drug dealers get", EXCUSE ME???- sorry tangent) and dobes are thought of that way- they are powerful and as such appeal to idiot yobs who don't treat them correctly

they are really stunning dogs and i'm looking forward to learning more about them

I think that Akitas have the potential to be trustworthy like any other dog. Unfortunately, if untrained, they do have a degree of dominance towards other dogs which left unchecked could be risky. Its a case of requiring a firm, fair and consistent handler. Sadly, the ones I know are clearly in the wrong hands, are untrained, and are pretty intimidating in their body language to my dogs when off lead.

Im afraid this is the one dog for me that If I see approaching will turn and go the other way! and I hate to stereotype dogs!

Years ago when i lived at home with my parents nextdoor had an Akita, they were numptys and had obviously never trained the dog or had any experience of dogs at all.
One day this dog jumped over the hedge into our garden grabbed our lovely border collie and nearly killed him, it just wouldnt let go and it took three people to finally get him off, our dog was ripped all down his body.
He survived but only just.

This is such a big strong breed bred for fighting I believe only someone with years of experience should take on such a dog. From what I gather they arent a good breed with other dogs in general and like a previous poster said what good is it if they cant be let off the lead ? Not fair on the dog or owners.

I havn't seen any publicity or read any bad/good press about Akita's. My opinions are from the ones i have personally met and seen on walks.
I saw one last night on our walk,the guy who was walking her saw us and immediately you could see him tense up and he wound the dogs leash tighter and tighter around his wrist the closer he got to us.
So i stopped and asked him a few questions,He said if he let her off lead she would kill my dogs,i asked if i could pat her and he said NO she will most likely attack me.He has 3 children which he says the dog guards with her life,and "it would take a bullet to get past her".His mum has a Lab which she plays with but he must supervise constantly "just in case".
I dont know if all akita's are like this,but from the ones i have met they have all been the same.

I own an Akita and also 5 other dogs.  Its a shame people stereotype this breed but it happens with lots of other breeds aswell.

My Akita bitch does not go off lead, not because she is agressive but because she hunts!  I keep her on a harness and lunge rein when going across fields, woods etc mainly for her own safety...if she see's a bird, rabbit etc she will chase and not pay any attention to roads that she may come across.

She has been trained and properly socialised from a pup and is fine around other dogs.  She doesn't generally want to play with others when out but just do her own thing so she will turn her back and go her own way.

I have to say I would advise Akita owners to keep their dogs on lead as not many people have the opportunity to let their dogs run safely without being far away from the nearest road.

Also no dog, whatever breed has a 100% recall....there is always a chance something will be more interesting than the person calling them back....

In Response to Lily Mc

Mine (not Akitas, but a hunting Spitz breed) can be a bit selectively deaf off lead, but because they are so good with other dogs and they are trained not to jump on people then I can enjoy having them off lead in places that an instant recall isn't essential. 

Mind you I see plenty of dogs of breeds that are supposed to be Velcro dogs whose recall is worse than my breed.

Very few dogs are 100% off lead, even if the owners like to kid themselves they are.

Oh yes, agree entirely Barbara, and as I say I wasn't talking about Akitas. (In fact, in my case it's the PBGV I was referring to.) We all select breeds for characteristics that suit our lifestyle, and personally I wouldn't choose a breed of dog that I know would have a predisposition to disappearing on long walks in the acres and acres of woodlands that I'm lucky to be able to enjoy in my area - I have a strong suspicion I wouldn't see much of my dog on the kind of walks I like to take!

M.

OOh I think you would be surprised, it would take more training of course, but if you think about ti all these hunting dogs do end up having to go home after hunting, they just will tend to range further than many owners would be happy with, and of course you have to be more aware of what lies ahead regarding temptation/danger.

All these breeds that are bred to be independent (else they wouldn't make good hunting dogs) need very early recall training (which is why my Jozi is unreliable having come back untrained at 8 months) before they reach the confident stage (talking weeks rather than months here).

The pleaseures i find with my dog are:
Letting him run around off lead being silly
Watching him play with young children and lay down gently to let them strke him
Him meetng other dogs
Him getting admired from other people
Giving me the opportunity to go out and meet other people and stop and have a chat with fellow dog owners.

I dont see how i could have any of the above pleasures if i had any dog of any breed that was unpredictable....being afraid to let it off lead, tensing up when seeing other dogs in the distance. All the joys of dog ownership are being missed out mainly because people wont train their dogs.

Sorry to go slightly off topic but just reading the stories makes you realise theres more than a handful of people owning "dangerous dogs". No wonder theres so much in the news about children gettinga ttacked by dogs & stories of one dog has attacked another.

I've had the great pleasure of handling several Akitas in the showring and have found them all to be delightful characters.
All bar one had no dog aggression problems and that was during benching, in the ring up close to many others, entering and exiting the show etc all situations where they realy were 'up close and personal' with their own kind and several thousand others.
The old Mr Grumpy one had to be watched as he didn't like others 'eye-balling' him and had to be turned away but he did not want to initiate a fight.
The owner of these dogs used to walk (one at a time) hers with one of mine and the solid recall dogs were off lead and no problems
The only problem we used to have was the blighters would jump into my Koi pool after a walk and no amount of coaxing would get the devils out!
I love them......

thanks tooolz i was starting to worry! i'm really surprised at some of the posts in this thread, everyone on the forum is usually not judgemental to certain breeds yet it seems several people really dislike akitas. frankly i think every breed has the potential to harm or be great, you simply need to be aware of their characters and breed traits and account for them.

As long as the Akita owner is happy to deal with and understand the restrictions of owning such a dog, then good luck to them and i don't have a problem. I myself however, could not visulize not being able to watch my dogs running hell for leather across an open field in the early evening mist. It Just ain't right somehow?

Oh no!! I love my daughters akita. We call her a big ol bruiser, big fat cowbag, big white git but its all with love. My OH will play fight with her and get covered in hair and scratches but will still roll around with her. She has a special relationship with him and when she stayed with us she would try and sit on his lap or nudge him off the sofa and all done with the funniest expression on her face! We are not frightened of her at all inspite of her power, in fact with us wimpy women, she knows to be gentle and with the men she can be more rough. Yet, she will always stop when you say enough or gently. She is far too strong for me to walk her and I daresay she should have been trained better by my daughter! She wont take liberties with my daughter though!!
Saachi can't stand my Louis though, and she would kill him if she had the chance - I will never trust her with him. She will act as if he doesn't exist if he is on our laps and she is in the same room but the moment we put him on the floor....in a way its as if she is too playfully boisterous sometimes and doesn't realise that she can hurt - shes too puppy prancy with him (even though shes not a pup )

> shes too puppy prancy with him (even though shes not a pup

lol sorry that sounds jsut like my boy! 2 yrs old, big lad and still thinks he's tiny!

anyway, i'm glad to hear that some of you think akitas are nice, its a real shame your daughters doesn't like your boy though.

they are a breed we are definately thinking of for the future but if we got a pup she;d be from very carefully chosen lines, would grow up with our boy and would be taken to puppy classes regularly to try and socialised the dog dislike out of her... clearly folk can have them with other dogs as people couldnt possibly breed or show them otherwise!

I was thinking how judgemental some of the posts were aswell!!!!! Due to an incident a while ago there is a breed im not keen on but thats only because i havent met a nice one yet.....i actually cant wait to meet a friendly well socialised one but am still waiting.
As i've said before dogs (especially puppies) are what you make them. If you get a pup it is a blank canvas and can be made into whatever you want it to be. Obviously there are breed traits to be aware of but if responsible owners do their research before they get the dog they can work with that & plan training around areas that need more work.
I myself love the look of akitas but know very little about them.

they are beautiful aren't they? i think they look like halfway between a dog and a bear lol

out of interest whats the breed that you had trouble with?

I love the look of the Akita but don't think I would make a suitable owner.

Interestingly, at the local zoo, an Akita has been drafted in to help rear a lion cub that was rejected by its mother.  A keeper hand reared the cub but the Akita took over to teach her animal behaviour so that the humans could remove themselves and leave to to live like the other lions (in a separate enclosure).  The cub is 10 months old now and still lives with her Akita companion.  Apparently the Akita was considered suitable due to their confidence, fearlessness, strength, size and the fact that they never back down.  I also read in the info about the lion cub that the Akita is the most feline of the canine world.  I visited the zoo at the weekend and saw them interacting together in their enclosure...very strange to see but very sweet.

So, now that I know that an Akita is a match for a lion, I am convinced I wouldn't be a suitable owner!

>they are beautiful aren't they? i think they look like halfway between a dog and a bear lol

My mum got new neighbours who had an Akita male.  The first time my 3 year old niece saw it over the wall, she pointed at it and excalimed 'bear!' (mind you, this is the same child that pointed at a seal and said 'rabbit' )

> mum got new neighbours who had an Akita male.  The first time my 3 year old niece saw it over the wall, she pointed at it and excalimed 'bear!' (mind you, this is the same child that pointed at a seal and said 'rabbit'

lol PML...thats pretty funny. think you need to work on her animal recognition!

A while ago on animal planet i watched a programme about an Akita, who went to the train staion everyday with his owner .... anyway the owner died and the dog went to the train station everyday for eight years (if my memory serves me right )The programme potrayed the akita's as being aggressively loyal not aggressive ...

I took in an Akita many years ago when the owner was miss treating it. I was just looking after him till I could find him a good home . He was lovely ,soft and friendly and I let him off the lead in the woods. I had a GSD at the time, and one day my GSD just jumped the Akita and started to fight. The Akita almost killed my dog but it was not the Akita's fault. My dog had started the fight and the Akita was just the stronger. My dog was OK. But it took 4 of us to get them apart. It made me realise that Akitas were strong dogs that needed to be watched around other dogs not because they are aggressive but because if a dog started a fight with one then the Akita would win.

yes he's a very famous akita and there is now a statue to him (greyfriars bobby style) in the train station in japan. sad but nice story

My Chows are smaller than Akitas but have a similar personality.

I only let mine off the lead in empty fields and on wide beaches due to the hunting instinct. They are fine with other dogs, they just tend to ignore them but will defend themselves if needed.

Sometimes I think other dogs have trouble 'reading them' and can have a bit of a growl or have their hackles up when my boys have just ignored them, maybe the frown and the fur hides their body language a bit.

I love owning this breed, not always letting them off the lead is a small compromise for a breed that doesn't want heaps of exercise.  I guess if you really want to know what Akita's are like you could visit a few breeders and meet their dogs, I'm sure they would be very happy to show them off

It was a staffie Astarte.

Heard so many nice things about them but unfortunately has put me off after our incident. I'm looking forward to meeting a nice staff that will stop my feelings towards them. Unfoprtunatley it made Freddie nervous aswell. Hes not as confident as he was prior to the accident with any breed although i am working on it.

I looked back at this thread and I don't think it has been particularly negative to the breed.

As with several other breeds Akita's can tend to be dog dominant, so if another dog acts aggressively they will not back off, if the dog is also big and or powerful (Staffs come to mind) then they can inflict much more damage even if they are not the one starting the problem.

They are also a hunting breed where good recall can be difficult to get, not good if they get into it with another dog.

I have for years walked and socialised my dogs with a friends Dobermans, but when walking with them we were much more proactive at avoiding small or aggressive dogs, as if the dobes took exception or defended themselves it was more likely the other dog would come off worse.  they had very good recall and obedience training.

It can be stressful owning a large or dominant or guarding breed, more often because other peoples dogs are not as well trained, or because of their smaller size not perceived to be a problem with their antisocial behaviour.

I hold my hand up here to say my own dogs recall can be a bits hit and miss, but fortunately they are a medium size very sociable and tolerant set of dogs.

Even so yesterday when I let my youngest off (not reliable off lead under distraction) when no-one else seemed about, a chap came along with a large Dobe male, and of course she wanted to play with him, and he was frightened of her (half his size).  I had a devils own job of getting her attention, as she was intent on following him and getting him to play.

Strange how good they can be on a logn line, and as soon as it's not in your hand they know it, and choose when to listen.

I am sorry you feel that a post is judgemental because I have offered an honest representation of my personal experience. We were asked of our experiences, and most have made comments made on personal experiences. My post was based on the only akita that I know. I was wondering if maybe I should have lied in my post and said that the one akita I know is trustworthy and reliable.  Unfortunately I dont do lies!

thats a real shame i promise they can be a lovely breed! though i really understand your concerns when thats happened. hope fred gets back to full confidence

> love owning this breed, not always letting them off the lead is a small compromise for a breed that doesn't want heaps of exercise

thats fair enough to me as well, if your dog doesn;t need/want to leg it about for hours on a walk its not a problem

I must reply to Fred's mum on her comments on unpredictable dogs. You can not blame people for not training them as incidents do sometimes  happen. I brought a dog [my boyfriends choice] English Bull terrier my only concern was that he wanted a male not a bitch as my previous dog was a rescued Belgium Shepard . We got snoop at 6 weeks old [rather young] I took him to dog training classes which he loved took him for long walks off lead for 4 1/2 years our lives were like that. My father had a heart attack so was in hospital so i had his collie x bitch move in with my family- son who was 10 yrs & snoop & 2 cats [ the boyfriend had gone] After 5 weeks i noticed my Dads dog Becky who was only a year older than my boy become very full of herself . The worst day of my life a beautiful hot summers day my son accidentally left the back yard gate open, so Becky trotted out after him then snoop following her. I shouted at my son about the gate then I  shouted to both dogs to get in, Becky skipped right in, whereas snoop took his time as usual and i did notice my neighbours son & a friend walking towards us about 60 yards away with his mothers Yorkshire terrier Buster & her mothers Yorkie . Snoop stopped looked and saw them but still walked up my steps to the front door. Unbeknown to me the back gate still had not been shut properly as soon as Becky had come in the front she ran out the back again of course snoop followed... all i remember hearing was screaming,  i ran out the front door of my house to find Buster in my dogs mouth. I knew he was dead as soon as i looked. The worst part of it all is that i could not get my dog to let go of Buster it seemed like 10 minutes, but i don't know how long i was there trying to prise my dogs mouth open, after all the screaming the owner of the Buster came out. Luckily some man grabbed snoops back legs and lifted him off the ground so he finally let go. As you can imagine I had the dog warden& police at my house the owner of Buster contacted the local newspaper and TV station it was a nightmare time. Then the housing association tried to get me evicted or re home the dog. I was very shocked even my family said now hes a killer you will have to put him down. I didn't.. i took him to a local dog training centre & had one2one dog aggression therapy for  6 weeks. He got over it. I was a complete paranoid mess taking him out, it worked I did for a while use a muzzle as he wanted to attack any dog but because it scrapped all the skin off his nose i couldn't use it.  After lots of training  he stopped being aggressive. I have a second dog now a bitch who is excellent and does not run out open doors or gates. Snoop is 9 now and has his good days & bad mostly he picks up my vibes. After the incident and for months after i would have few drops of rescue remedy for him & me works a treat for stress . Funnily enough when i talked to this aggression expert who had worked with this type of thing for 30 years she told me never get an Akita. I must say about snoop it was only male 2 male aggression-He is a 100% brilliant with cats kids & female dogs . His best buddy now is a 18 month Boxer called Rodney.     

pinklillies no one is suggesting you should lie about your experiences, what on earth would be the point in that?... i think all we were saying is that the posts seem more judging than usual thats all. your all of course entitiled to your opinion

magica -
I agree that even the best behaved dog is unpredictable and I think the worst thing we can do as dog owners is to trust our dogs 100%, after all they are still animals, they don't have the luxury of verbal comminucation & reasoning skills like we do.
It's all to easy for accidents to happen (my toddler opened my front door & before I knew it my dog had bolted strait into the road & under a car - he survived). That must have been awfull for you and the owners of Buster, I am so glad that you worked with your dog and got him over the worst of his aggression, that must have taken a lot of emotional work - well done you

My pup is a big lad, he is always kept on lead, but he has been snapped/growled/lunged at by other dogs for no apparent reason (my pup doesn't bat an eyelid), and every owner insists that thier dog has never done that before. One of the dogs was a 9 year old champion boxer, the owner wanted to introduce him to us and said he is the friendliest, best behaved dog she has ever had, she was so proud of him.....but he suprised her that day

Totally off-topic but I went to a big cat sanctuary in the US and saw a chow-cross that lived with a huge lion. They had been companions since the lion was brought in as a cub. And the dog was definitely boss! The only time they were split up was to be fed.

Magica you say Funnily enough when i talked to this aggression expert who had worked with this type of thing for 30 years she told me never get an Akita so that goes to show everyone can have thier issues with certain breeds. As i said at the moment i am fearful of staffys becuase of what i have experienced but genuinely want to meet a nice one to turn my (and my dogs) fears around.

A little bit of background on the situation we were in. I took my dog out to the local field/path walk we go on. he was still quite young and although he was off lead i saw people in the distnce with a dog so put him back on. Due to the fact at that time he recall was not 100% that was the most sensible thing to do. (i'm so glad he was on the lead now too). As we approached the people-a woman, a lad of around 20 and two small children i saw they had a staffy and a GSD cross i think. Freddie and i were walking through when the dogs came over. I stopped for a second to let them all sniff each other-as you do. The staffy was acting in a way i wasnt comfortable with. You know when you can tell if its a playful dog or aggressive. I didnt like the way the staff was behaving so was thinking about walking away when the dog literally lunged onto Freddie. In the craziness Fred was jumping around and yelping and getting tangled into his lead. The staff repeatedly kept "going for" Freddie and I eventually managed to scoop freddie up, not after the dog had bitten me. Luckily i had a thick jumper on and the dog didnt make great contact so i suffered no injury. I Think what saved Freddie was the fact he didnt stay still so the staff didnt have a chance to properly get his teeth in and bite him. As i was walking away with my dog in my arms, both of us shaking like a leaf, the staff was still jumpin up trying to get to me and my dog. Im 5ft 11" and literally had to hold my dog by my shoulders as the dog was jumping so high to try and reach him. As i was walking away the family were trying to call the dog back - the dog was having none of it. I must admit i carried on walking and yes the dog was under my feet and i think i probably stepped on it which eventually made it run back. As i walked away i cried my eyes out and ended up walking to my Dads work to get him to give me a lift back home as i was so scared. even now thinking about it makes me feel a lump in my throat.
When i got home i rang up the non emergency police who said they couldnt do anything unless the dog was registered as a dangerous dog, in which case it should be muzzled. I would have to take it up with the local dog warden. Walking down the same path a short while later my mum saw the same people and knew it was them (becasue they were calling the dog by name). My mum said she was scared stupid and the dog tried jumping up at her. She completely avoided it. She also said the dog had no recall whatsover. It turns out they were gypsys that were staying on a gypsy site not far from where they were walking.
My issue is why wasnt the dog on the lead when it has behaviour like that?? What would happen if you were out with children? What would have happened if i had a dog too large to be picked up?? I dread to think what the consequences could have been. It has shaken me up a lot and dramatically dropped freddies confidence to other dogs.
To cut a long story short.....yes i do blame people for not training their dogs.If that dog was owned by a responsible owner that had good recall or had been socialised well what happened that day would never have happened.

Freds mum, you can come and see Mitz if you want, she will turn your head for the better towards Staffords, as long as you dont mind being licked to the point of saturation! lol

Akitas are a beautiful loyal breed, but like the stafford needs expierance handling and respect for possible situations which may occur and be calm enough to deal with them.
We dont let Mitz off lead around a dog we dont know, not because shes a Stafford, far from it, its just good common sense not to do it as you dont know what the dog is like you are approaching unless its a friends dog,It could have behavourial issues, be dog aggressive, or be dog shy which could lead to aggression if your dog runs up wanting to play, letting a dog run up to an unknown dog and this is any breed you take a big risk.

I live by the saying 'Prevention is better then Cure' it applies so much to dog walking and dog interaction.

One thing that needs to be said a dog that is dog dominant is not a bad dog just a dog dominant dog.  What is bad is if the owner doesn't understand their dogs tolerance levels, and allows situations where their dog can hurt another.  Yes it really is a pain if a little tyke runs up to your dog all teeth and threat and you have to walk away and not allow your dog to rightfully retaliate.  You cannot rely on not meeting another dog, or another dog reacting out of character.

A dominant dog will give off confident I am boss signals,a nd there will be dogs that will b e intimidated by this, and others that want to challenger it.  This also seems to be the case large pups and dogs minding their own business, a bit like the big lad on a Saturday night who always ends up with some pratts picking a fight with him to prove themselves (yep I have a 19 year old 6 foot plus baby brother who has a huge black eye from last weekend, a very easy going young lad, not a cocky little oik like my 17 year old son).

I know keeping on lead is the only way we can control the situation, but this restriction often actually makes a situation worse.  If dogs meet loose they are less likely to get into a spat as they can communicate better, and even if one is aggressive the other has the option to back down and retreat.  On lead the dogs will feel more threatened, or in the more aggressive ones case more confident with it's owners backing, and there is limited space for non verbal communication.  On or off lead I always keep interactions with strange dogs in confined spaces, on lead very brief.

Socialisation really is the key for both under confident dogs, so they learn that other dogs are not a threat which means they will have good body language (confident but not threatening) so they are not victimised or fear aggressive.

With naturally dominant and overbearing types socialisation is aimed at increasing their tolerance, and teaching them to be far calmer and gentler in their games.

A lot of reasons young staffs become aggressive to other dogs is not the need to challenge, it is because a staff likes to play far rougher and more physically than most other dogs, so as a youngster it often is too OTT for other dogs who react negatively to it.  Enough of these negative reactions from other canines and your maturing staff says sod it I'll get mine in first.

Inadvertently it is actually people who cause the problems with canine socialisation.  Those who can remember the days of latchkey dogs that were able to roam as they liked.  In Poland when I was a child and in country areas to this days dogs were free to roam around and socialise as they pleased, and they didn't get into serious fights, the biggest problem was unwanted litters (which sadly but understandably most owners simply disposed of at birth).

I know keeping on lead is the only way we can control the situation, but this restriction often actually makes a situation worse.  If dogs meet loose they are less likely to get into a spat as they can communicate better, and even if one is aggressive the other has the option to back down and retreat.  On lead the dogs will feel more threatened, or in the more aggressive ones case more confident with it's owners backing, and there is limited space for non verbal communication.  On or off lead I always keep interactions with strange dogs in confined spaces, on lead very brief.

I know what you mean Barbara and that is true, but the very reason we have to put Mitz on lead is because dominant dogs kept having a pop as she is a submissive type.
People get so worried when we come up and its their dog who is the one to be wary of!

Completely agree about meeting dogs on lead, they get all excited cause they cant reach each other and it creates even more tension, just have to do what suits you best I suppose.

Think you have to judge the dogs body language which is what we used to do, but from past expierance its just not worth the risk as she has been pinned before a couple of times by dogs off lead when she has been playing and she has started to stand up for herself as she has reached the age of 2 and Im not gonna risk it

Hiya Rach, totally agree that prevention is better than cure. After the incident i spoke to the trainer at puppy class and asked if i did the right thing. As i was approaching i was tempted to pick my dog up but thought "no, let him learn what to do in these situations" unfortunately it turned out the way it did. The trainer said to me that if i was ever in doubt about the temperment of a dog then i shouldnt risk it. Now i wouldnt hesitate to pick my dog up out the way but at the time i wasnt sure that was the right thing to do. If i had enough time and was in that situation again where i didnt feel comfortable i would simply walk another way or chgange direction. Last option would be to pick dog up out of harms way.
the stafford needs expierance handling and respect for possible situations which may occur and be calm enough to deal with them.

Again, totally agree with you Rach. Dont shout-blanket statement about to be said   but these people seemed the typical sort that want a dog for image and nothing else. The chav types walking round with their bull terriers - do you know what i mean? I dont blame the breed, (i'd feel exactly the same if i was in that situation witha nother breed of dog) but blame the owners for having no control and not really caring. I'd be mortified if my dog ever did that. These people didnt even bat an eyelid which makes me think its not the first time that happened.

I have always loved the Stafford and it rips my heart in two too see the sort they have to put up with.
Most staffords are well mannered dogs who can be just quickly clipped on lead, walked past other dogs nicely, and then popped back off straight after, that what we do with Mitz, but some poeple lket them run wild and with them being a more boisterous dog can often start or be started upon all too easy

Matt my boyfriend stayed in a b&b who had a stafford, the bloke used to beat it up good and proper to make it harder, Matt said he could hear it whimpering and yelping in the next room when the ownercame home drunk and beat it again as it would never retaliate to his beatings and become a 'hard' dog and he eventually got rid of it, god knows what he has now and how it is being treated.

No breed or person should have to be pue in danger because of someones elses ignorance of being a dog owner, so many let their dogs run off lkead with no training what so ever, I would be so scared I would lose the dog I wouldnt be abke to do it, they obviously just dont even care

>I went to a big cat sanctuary in the US and saw a chow-cross that lived with a huge lion

I Have a Chow cross (Chow X Rottweiler)...can't imagine him standing up to a lion!

Infuriating isnt it Rach? Lovely dogs ruined by their so called owners. I genuinely believe all dogs are born lovely (as are children) but its what we as humans do to them that determines the type of character they become. Obviously breed traits are always going to be there but 2 pups from the same litter could end up with temperments/personality/character on either ends of the scale if they go to completely different homes e.g one goes to a loving home, is looked after, socialised, trained and another goes to someone who doesnt do those things, doesnt walk it regularyl/uses it as a fashion statement or some sort of "hard man accessory"