Please help - neighbours staffie

[Piggyleroux]

i need advice urgently.

Our neighbours are a nice couple in their mid fifties with their two sons living with them. Two weeks ago, we were chatting outside and she said that they were taking on their nieces four yo staffie as she kept him cooped up in a flat all day and could not care for him. She said that they had never owned a dog before and were a bit nervous. I personally thought it was a bit silly to take on a staffie if you have no previous experience of caring for a bull terrier type but hey ho just my opinion.

Anyway, they brought him home and we saw him out on a walk with them. He was actually taking them for a walk.He is a large boy, unneutered and extremely boisterous. He is not socialised at all and they have to keep him on a lead when they are out because he dominates other dogs to the point where he pins them down by the scruff of their neck.

My issue is this. He can get into my garden. Last week he pinned down my 16 yo JRT bitch who was desperately trying to get away so I had to turn the hose on him to get him off. We have had to lock the dog flap so she can't go out in the garden unless we are with her. There are multiple holes along our hedge which has a preservation order on it so we can't replace it with fencing. My dh has blocked up the holes but the dog keeps barging his way in. He poos everywhere to mark his territory I presume.

We spoke to the neighbours and they are extremely apologetic but have not done anything to remedy the problem. I don't want to fall out with them but this is really becoming a problem.

Any ideas?

I agree with others who have said to nip this in the bud NOW. Your neighbours simply cannot plead ignorance about dogs as a pitiful excuse. If you have dogs then a secure garden is a necessity.

Is there anything you can do about the preservation order?

Your neighbours need to get this sorted out asap.

Have to say, you are being much nicer to them than I would be at this point.

Staffs can have a naturally very exuberant personality, imagine a 20kg rubber ball. They can be quite hard to train too as they have the attention span of a goldfish due to their excitable natures. They are also quite capable of a 6th standing leap to get where they want to be. Your neighbours are quite possibly way out of their depth and are probably wondering what the hell they have let themselves in for. They need to get the dog neutered ASAP, and get it to some obedience classes before it becomes a menace. I say this as a lover of the breed, even a hardened staff owner like myself would be a little off put at a full grown staff launching himself at me!