Re: 10 week old Mastiff Growled at 6 year old when he pet, while she was chewing a bo
Hi! One of the most important things ive realized about owning a huge breed dog, especially if you have kids, is that your dog MUST know that those kids are the boss of him/her, too, not just the grown ups in the house. Being a mom of 3 boys, i was hyper-sensitive to this. Especially knowing we were bringing a potentially ferocious dog into the house. So, when we brought Daisy (our now 6.5 mo cc) home, it was just as important to me that she learn the boys are in charge, too. However, that means that the boys had to take this role seriously, which took/takes a lot of supervision while they work with her. For a long while, i or my husband would have to be there to make sure that she knew we meant business when it comes to minding ALL the humans in the house. I have also found out that Daisy responds much better to praise/treats when she's good, than any kind of discipline when she's naughty. Although, she most certainly gets herself into trouble from time to time. But, i think once she found out that if she minded the 'little ones' she would get a treat, that sparked her interest to obey them. Plus, she didnt want mommy or daddy mad at her if she was naughty to them. But it has now grown into a respect thing. She knows they love her dearly, and she so badly just wants to be a good girl and get as much possible lovin from everyone she can. She knows now that they, too, mean business. Tone of voice is EVERYTHING, at least for our Daisy. When u say a command, u say it firmly, not 'question like'. That was the biggest thing, especially for our yongest son, who is just super sweet by nature. We still have to remind him,if you really want her to listen, dont ask her...TELL her to sit, shake, whatever.
We havent put her into any formal training as of yet. We are diligently doing it at home. She knows sit, stay (most of the time), come, down -her command to both get off the couch and if shes playing too rough, she'll stop and lick once we say down, treat - her fave word, shake, kiss, release, and kennel. And shes still such a baby, so she knows these words, but its not like she minds 100% of the time or anything. She's still learning. Side note...i am trying to teach her 'wear', so she'll wear little hats/cute accessories. Lol. We also made sure to handle food/toys/food dishes in front of her, so there is no problem with that. And we also did/still do a lot of playing around her mouth and face, you know, like lots of petting and smooshing her little face next to ours, etc. Just so she knows, not only that people hands and body parts arent chew toys, but also to know how much we love her.
Ok...wow...didnt mean to ramble as long as i have. And i am by NO means an expert, just sharing the personal experience we've had thus far- equal amounts of love and consistent training and lotsa patience! Good luck!
My daughter will be 5 next week, so about the same age as yours. Make them both an active part in feeding.