Duke, American Staffordshire Terrier

Duke is a seven month old American Staffordshire Terrier that I visited in Wantage, Oxfordshire. He had started to lunge at people in the street when out on walks, but this had progressed to people visiting the owners home which is when they got in touch with me, to assess Duke and find the underlying cause for the changes in behaviour.

Duke had started to take on a position within the home that was becoming dangerous due to him being protective of his owners, which is also why he was lunging at people in the street. Powerful breeds need very clear concise management in order for them to remain under control. The bare basics for this are clear rules, boundaries, and regular exercise, things that were not being provided for Duke day to day.

The aggression Duke was displaying was fear based, something I was able to ascertain when I met him on my own in the owners kitchen. Duke was crated which exacerbated the aggression as his fight and flight option had been removed, meaning he couldn’t run away. When the owner was present with me his aggression increased significantly, made worse by the fact that his owner is also pregnant making him more protective. As his aggression was fear based I asked his owner to put him loose in the garden so that I could work with him on my own and build some trust, my aim being to get him on a lead and take him for a walk. To assess him fully I wanted to be able to have physical contact with him during the session.

Once in the garden he engaged in his chosen flight option, meaning that when I moved towards him he ran away. This is an important aspect of working him out because if his aggression was a result of him being confident and assertive he would not engage in the flight response and would pose a much bigger problem going forward for the owners and other people’s safety.

As a food driven dog I was able to build trust by keeping his nose engaged, something that is important for me to gauge his state of mind. From here, with a good chunk of patience I was able to take him out for a walk. This was a positive turning point as Duke now trusted which meant I could physically touch him. Returning to the house he was no longer showing any aggression, more importantly he was no longer showing aggression towards me when around his owner.

Going forward his owners have a lot of changes to implement day to day to help Duke become a more relaxed dog. As a safeguard but also to help the owners feel more comfortable about having visitors to the home I recommended muzzle training Duke for the simple reason that as such a powerful breed chances should not be taken. He will also need follow up sessions to make sure progress is happening and everything is going in the right direction.