LizB
Well-Known Member
The pics are great- what a looker! I adore her color.
I'm impressed with the improvement you've made already, and there is great advice here - really super.
One thing we did when our children were young (we've always had bullmastiffs with babies/kids and we were worried about this a lot) is to put the pup on a long line (25') and encourage the child(ren) to run past the pup, which is IRRESISTIBLE for chasing. The minute the pup touched mouth to human skin - "NO!" and a little snap to the line to stop them. Reset, repeat. This is pretty clear to the dog that they are not to chase and play with the children like that. We like to say in our house that human skin is the most delicate substance on the planet, as far as the dogs are concerned, so they learn not to grab treats from your fingers, not to play bite, etc.
When we're in training we like to tempt the dog and put them in the situation where they'll be unable to help themselves doing the thing we don't want them to do, and act like we don't notice what they're doing, then the second they put their mouth on the remote control (for instance) we shout sharply and react as if they're getting ready to touch something on fire. This makes it very clear to the dog that we're not playing a game (sometimes when the owner takes something away from the dog, the dog perceives this as a fun game of keepaway) and that they are to avoid the item at all times.
This way you don't have to spend the rest of your life hiding the remote/shoes/cell phones whatever and you can trust your dog to ignore your possessions. Just a little tip that can be helpful!
I'm impressed with the improvement you've made already, and there is great advice here - really super.
One thing we did when our children were young (we've always had bullmastiffs with babies/kids and we were worried about this a lot) is to put the pup on a long line (25') and encourage the child(ren) to run past the pup, which is IRRESISTIBLE for chasing. The minute the pup touched mouth to human skin - "NO!" and a little snap to the line to stop them. Reset, repeat. This is pretty clear to the dog that they are not to chase and play with the children like that. We like to say in our house that human skin is the most delicate substance on the planet, as far as the dogs are concerned, so they learn not to grab treats from your fingers, not to play bite, etc.
When we're in training we like to tempt the dog and put them in the situation where they'll be unable to help themselves doing the thing we don't want them to do, and act like we don't notice what they're doing, then the second they put their mouth on the remote control (for instance) we shout sharply and react as if they're getting ready to touch something on fire. This makes it very clear to the dog that we're not playing a game (sometimes when the owner takes something away from the dog, the dog perceives this as a fun game of keepaway) and that they are to avoid the item at all times.
This way you don't have to spend the rest of your life hiding the remote/shoes/cell phones whatever and you can trust your dog to ignore your possessions. Just a little tip that can be helpful!
