Jazz - Staffie, Bitch (4-5 Years)

A true success story & such a useful addition to the family!! I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she will not only be alerting Dad to the phone but fetching it as well!!!!

Look forward to meeting Jazz at the Fete & we are well practised in tummy rubs, I'm so glad that you are enjoying her so much.

We had a lovely day at the show yesterday and Jazz really enjoyed meeting up with a few of you and getting lots of fuss. She was very well behaved round the other dogs (and geese!!) despite being accused of something she didnt do by a lady who should have known better but apology later in the day accepted !!



Bless her she didn't wag her tail much in the waggiest tail class but decided to rely on the wide smile approach so we will have to work on that ready for the fete Sunday really looking forward to seeing you all and we are bringing some friends with us to so a bonus !!

Hi Julieb & Jazz was lovely to meet you at the FDR summer fete.Jazz looked really happy.I so admire you for giving a rescue dog a loving home.I wish Jazz a long & happy life.You truly are special people.X Lots of love from Baz also.

We had a lovely day at the fete and met lots of wonderful people and doggies, it was a real treat to meet Baz and his owners after reading so much about him. He is definately quite special and we hope he gets his forever home very soon !!

Jazz still continues to give us soooo much pleasure and is forever looking for tummy rubs and fuss. She is fine being left although would prefer to be in the chair, must be more comfortable than her bed!!!! but with a little bit of coaxing she will move
Next door have recently taken in a dog and she is forever sniffing the air with a couple of barks to let him know she's there.

She certainly doesnt like cats unfortunatly she beat us to the top of the garden the other day and caught one. The noise was aweful, Jazz had it pinned to the floor, I'm not sure she knew what to do with it once she had it but let go as soon as she was told. The cat ran for its life and Jazz was left with a couple of scratches on her tummy not really understanding what the fuss was about .

When out walking she is very very inquisative about her surroundings and has run off a couple of times towards other dogs, which she is a bit hit and miss with so is kept on a lead if there is anyone else in the fields where we walk. At the couple of dog shows we have taken her to she is happy to meet some (she loved Baz) but not happy with others and can be snappy, even more reason to keep her on the lead. However not all dog walkers realise this and allow their dogs to run up to her, her reaction is not good. In view of this we took her to see a dog behavoirist who confirmed her aggression is fear rather than anything else, he gave us some valuable information of how to deal with situations and suggested we change from a harness to a lead which sits higher up her neck than a collar and lead. This allows us much better control of her head area and provides us with confidence that we are in tighter control. It was also evident that it was the bouncier breed of dog which she has problems with.

Apart from this small blip which we will continue to work on we love her to bits and have hours of fun with her as do all our visitors including little Archie who is now walking and Jazz is really gentle with him and never pushes past him.

Julie, your post makes me smile, because it is so indicative of how a lot of dogs behave. However, sadly, you are not indicative of how many people who adopt dogs behave. Many people give up at that first hurdle and bundle the dog back to kennels, without even trying to understand any challenging behaviour. They expect the perfect package from day 1.

Thanks to your calm and reasonable reaction, Jazz has the opportunity to better herself, and you have the opportunity to understand dog behaviour a little more. There are very few perfect dogs that react well in every situation. The key is to understand the triggers and to avoid the confrontation in the first place. What gets my goat most of all is dogs whose owners have no recall, and allow them to rush up to your dog. They think that because their dog is friendly, it's okay. Many times it is okay, but sometimes it isn't, and who gets the filthy look when your dog, who has been minding it's own business, goes off on one?

We are blessed that Jazz has such a caring and understanding family that understand her behaviour and can take on board the adjustments that are necessary. Well done you!

Do so agree about accepting some behaviour. Ben is one of the loveliest dogs we've ever had, but we don't entirely trust him off the lead. We always look round to see if other dogs are on leads and if so we keep him on his. He loves a good run and needs one, of course, but as long as he's with us , he's perfectly happy to trot along on his lead. Sounds as if you're really enjoying Jazz, which is wonderful for all of you.

Thank you both for reading and replying to the posts, it means a lot and confirms its worthwhile posting on here. I really enjoy reading all the stories (not so much the sad ones) and following the dogs and wish that we could take on another dog or foster
(I certainly know what I would do if I won the lottery lol).

You are so right about other dog walkers with no recall and it is really unfair and they should know better but we now know how to deal with it and also not to worry too much about other peoples reaction to us or Jazz or her breed! Walking with Jazz needs to be a pleasure for us and her, we now know some of what we were doing, like putting tension on the lead and holding onto her collar, was making the situation worse. The advice we were given all makes so much sense

Jazz has had a different couple of weeks, unfortunately Dad had a fall at home which eventually ended up with him in hospital for a short time (he's slowly recovering) this has meant we have had to leave Jazz for longer in the house than we would normally but she has been BRILLIANT . She has been a little subdued not understanding the comings and goings but has loved "the chair" all to herself and the extra attention !!!

Dad is back home now with a couple of nurses visiting daily and Jazz being Jazz just rolls over and shows her belly for a good rub, she's a very good guard NOT .

Today she has gone to the vets to be spayed and we cannot wait to pick her up - I only hope she doesnt think we've punished her for pouncing on a cat this morning who was stupidly sitting outside our front door as we went to get in the car - will update the thread later

Oh she lost a little bit of weight too as a certain person wasnt there to give treats

Oh I bet you can't wait to pick her up I hated waiting for mine...but everything will be fine i'm sure & she will soon come round & expect loads of pampering...I do hope Dad is feeling a little better I'm sure it will not be long before the Battle of the Chair returns!!!

All went well with her op, but when do her sorrowful accusing eyes turn back to normal lol. Am sat on the floor with her because she's not allowed to jump into "the chair" mmmmm not sure that will last long

so glad she's OK ..when i had my TWO done they ate each others lampshade things & I could hear them racing round & jumping on & off the furniture while i was at work down stairs...they are still here 11 years on so don't worry too much...being a staff i expect the sorrowful eyes will continue a while, at least until the next dinnertime.lol...

Hi there
My beautiful Daisy has just been spayed and she was so upset when we first picked her up from the vets but I can assure you she was back to normal in no time and it was hard to keep her rested. She had her stitches out on Thursday and is doing brilliantly. Get well soon, Jazz

Jazz continues to be a wonderful companion in every way and she lives for her tummy rubs, walks and cuddles. She hates it when football is on the TV as she doesn’t like the noise or reactions and will run to her bed if anyone shouts/cheers or if anyone raises their voice in discussion. She will come back if called and I usually sit in another room with her.



At the beginning of November she was spayed, this unfortunately coincided with Dad being taken ill and having to stay in hospital for a number of days on quite a few occasions (still ongoing).



Shortly after this Jazz started to rip her bedding, scratch really badly making herself sore under her neck and underarms and more recently to “steal” and rip shoes apart, she has never done this before and it is not confined to when we are not there. (Normally she would spend the day with Dad in his chair). We have left her for long periods before and she has been fine. We went away with her to the seaside at Christmas for 5 days and she was also fine then.



Her flea treatment is up to date, in fact the vet gave us a stronger treatment which included treatment for mites because of her scratching and we have not changed washing powder or her food.



She also holds her head very low and looks really sad at times, it is horrible to see her so sad. We have given her an old t-shirt to sleep with, so she has our smells with her.



Maybe a silly question but could she be suffering from depression due to changes and our anxiety, any suggestions would be really appreciated to make our little girls life a bit easier with what’s going on and bring her back to a happy place.

Before I start, can I just say that these are entirely my random thoughts, and not in any way 'qualified' answers to your questions. A behaviourist may be able to shed more light on to the matter.

Having met Jazz, and seeing her nipples, I believe she may have had a number of litters in the past. Given her age, I would also say she was probably just over the peak of her fertility when she was spayed, so there are massive hormonal changes, the effect of which should not be underestimated. Coupled with this is the change in her normal routine.

I wonder also if the skin condition could be linked to the spaying, because oestrogen certainly has an effect on the condition of the skin in humans, and I have no reason to believe it works any differently with dogs.

Dogs do pick up on our own anxiety, and she will be missing her regular routine with your dad.

If she was my dog, I would look into nutritional supplements (the doggy equivalent of evening primrose or natural plant oestrogens) to help with the hormonal imbalance. This could have an effect on the 'depression' and skin condition. I would also research the use of a DAP spray or diffuser.

Hope this helps.

Ben's tummy was almost bald when we had him, but I give him a teaspoon of cod liver oil with his dry food and there is a wonderful improvement. He doesn't scratch now and his coat is in very good condition. Also, of course, it makes him enjoy the dry food a bit more. Morrisons do their own brand which is much cheaper than Seven Seas.

Thank you for your thoughts and advice - we will give anything a try, she has been to see the vet and they thought it might be an allergy and wanted a lot of money to do tests but we thought we would seek your advice first and try other things as it all seems to coincide with the events.

if they thought it was an allergy you could try Piraton my JR has one a day in May as she is allergic to a pollen that is about then...it works for her so might be worth a try

Thank you for your advice we are now giving her cod liver oil - she loves it and her coat is really shiny . We also purchased some tea tree spray and that really seems to have done the job - no more nasty scratches one .