Agressive...

Question
Hi
i have just adopted a dog from the SSPCA everything was
Ok till 2day he seems to be going after my feet
hes a 6 month old staffy
i have had staffs before but none as bad as this i dont want to take him back to the kennels what should i do?

Answer
It's funny. Staffies aren't herding dogs but I've seen lots of them display herding behavior, such as ankle biting. But they ARE terriers which means they have a high prey drive and I read that herding behavior evolved out of prey behavior, so perhaps it makes sense. The reason doesn't matter though, you want the solution.

He isn't trying to hurt you, he's trying to herd you, with all that that implies. Your dog is doing this because he wants you to do something. On walks he might do it because he wants you to go faster or wants to go another way or is bored and tired and would like to go home. Around the house he might do it because he's bored and you aren't entertaining enough, or because his food or water dish isn't full. In short, he BOSSING you. He didn't do it at first because he was off balance in new surroundings. He's growing more confident now and chances are you've given him some indication that you are there to tend his every whim and he's acknowledging that and letting you know that you're being slow about it.

The solution can be found on this page: http://www.thegooddogjournal.com/2009/02/whos-boss-establishing-pack-leadership....

In addition to that, be sure not to give in to him when he's doing that. If he's trying to hurry you up, stop. Better yet, turn around. If he's trying to get attention, ignore him. If it's dinner time, well he can wait, better yet he can sit and stay for a bit. Give him a clear message that EVERYTHING is on your terms, not his.

Mind you, I'm making an assumption. I haven't actually seen the behavior and the description is vague, but I'm pretty confident in this guess. If I'm way off, let me know.