Welcome to the one-stop shop for all the articles you should ever need about Staffordshire Bull Terrier behaviour.
You will find information on how Staffordshire Bull Terriers react and communicate with the world around them, details on their natural personality traits and behaviours and how to solve Staffy behavior problems.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier has an unfair reputation as an aggressive breed. This couldn’t be further from the truth. During the 1980s, people were told that Dobermans were dangerous. In the 1990s, German Shepherds. It was the turn of Rottweilers in the 2000s and now it seems to be the Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s turn to be the subject of shock journalism.
NO dog is born “dangerous”. They LEARN behaviour. When trained appropriately and offered love, attention and care, Staffordshire Bull Terriers make fabulous, friendly, family pets. Their good-natured and loving temperament as a breed is often overlooked by people who have only read the tabloid stories that don’t paint the whole picture about the breed. As a result, Staffordshire Bull Terriers are the most prevalent breed in animal rescue centres in the UK.
Having said that, like humans, dogs can develop behavioural issues throughout their life, depending on their experiences. Again, like humans, some can be happy or dopey whilst others can be shy, grumpy or bashful. Just like Snow White, we can learn to accept and live with their different personalities.
All dogs have certain behaviours that are natural, such as sniffing their way around the world, saying hello by hanging around other dog’s butts or drooling all over your face to give you a kiss. These are all (mostly) welcome behaviours, but can lead to issues if not monitored and managed. A dog that slobbers over every visitor to the house can quickly become a problem.
It’s important, therefore, to get a good understanding of your Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s individual and breed behaviours, so that you can check any unwanted developments and understand if certain actions are leading towards destructive or anti social behaviour.
Understanding, patience and a little bit of effort is all that is usually required for correcting behavioural issues. Of course, if you notice any extreme or dangerous behaviour, we recommend that you seek the intervention of a professional.
Understanding Your Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s Behavior
In order to understand if your Staffy is behaving properly, it’s imperative to understand their natural behaviours and temperament and how these behaviours develop over their lifetime.
Staffies are pretty smart cookies. They use a complex mix of body language, posturing and sounds to let you know what it is thinking in any given situation. Learning the signals that your dog gives you on a day-to-day basis will help you both deal with the different circumstances you may find yourselves in and prevent any unwanted behaviour. In turn, this will strengthen your relationship and allow you to understand your furry friend better.
Unwanted Staffordshire Bull Terrier Behavioural Problems
We all develop behavioural problems at some point in our lives. Whether it’s throwing a tantrum in the supermarket when we are a toddler, partying too hard when we should be studying in our late teens or having a mid-life crisis and roaring round the neighbourhood making a racket on a motorcycle in our 40s. Dogs are quite similar to us homo sapiens (apart from the fact they can’t ride motorcycles – yet).
Many Staffordshire Bull Terriers will develop what we would consider a behavioural issue at some point. However, it often isn’t an issue to them – it’s perfectly natural.
The next articles give the lowdown on what behavioural problems to keep your eye out for, how to encourage good behaviour and how to deal with problems.
Specific Breed Problems Of Staffordshire Bull Terriers
These articles offer insights into behaviours specific to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed. You’ll also learn about why your Staffy performs these behaviours and how to prevent some of them from occurring!
Anxieties, Phobias & Fears of Staffordshire Bull Terriers
Staffordshire Bull Terriers tend to develop fears and phobias following negative experiences or lack of socialisation. The articles that follow discuss some of the more common fears and phobias, and provide advice on how to cope with these.
Whilst the articles try to offer guidance on how to ease your dog’s fear, be aware that a scared dog can often become aggressive. It is the classic, ‘fight, freeze or flight’ reaction causing this. Be cautious with any approach you take and NEVER use violence to ‘cure’ a dog of its behavioural issues or anxiety.
Aggression And Staffordshire Bull Terriers
Aggression in dogs is the number one dangerous behaviour and is the number one reason dogs end up in animal shelters.
Some dogs naturally have a more dominant nature and personality, but aggression is a learnt behaviour. The articles below talk about aggression in its most common forms, why aggression occurs and provide some guidance on how to manage it.
Please bear in mind that whilst these articles offer a summary of dog aggression, it is always advisable to seek professional help when dealing with a dog showing aggressive tendencies, for both your safety and your dog.
Positive Training When Dealing With Unwanted Behaviour
Dr. Ian Dunbar is a respected professional in the world of dog behaviour. In this video, he explains the techniques that work best when correcting unwanted behaviour from your dog. Negative punishment is NEVER the right way to discipline your dog and Dr. Dunbar argues his case convincingly for using patience, understanding and positive reinforcement in helping your Staffordshire Bull Terrier overcome behavioural issues.
To Conclude?
If you came to this page searching for something specific, but can’t find it, do check out our other pages as a lot of information is applicable to different topics. Take a look at our articles on Training, Equipment for Staffies and owners, health and care, general Staffordshire Bull Terrier facts and Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies.
