15 week male behavior

[cclouse]

We have a 15 week old male English Mastiff. We have had him in our home for nearly 3 weeks. 80% of the time he is relaxed and so loving. The other 20% of the time he is biting us (myself, wife, and twin 3 year old boys). He will go to bite the boys' necks when they are sitting. When we correct him (with a deep firm OFF) he will growl, bark, and try to get around to the kids. He also tries to mount me while biting. We have him in puppy classes with a trainer who has giant breeds herself. She seems to think he is over the top dominant. We are concerned as he grows he will continue this dominant (or aggressive) behavior. We do not know his parents or the behavior he comes from. We are willing to do whatever it takes to help Jax become the best dog. This is our first family dog (after more research maybe a Mastiff wasn't the best choice for first time owners), but we love him dearly and want to have the gentle giant behavior, not the aggressive kind.

Thank you
Casey

 

[Samara'sMom]

Have you thought about firm and consistent crate/kennel training? We acquired my bullmastiff Samara when my daughter had just turned 3. Sam, in her puppy mode, was very mouthy. My trainer feels like crate/kennel training is key to managing bad behaviors. What we did with Sam was to buy a large outdoor inclosure that would make sense to fit inside and we bought a three large crates. And a TON of chew toys, soft, hard, rubber, nylon. Anything that would hold up to her chewing. We put a few in her crates however, the bulk into her indoor inclosure which we kept in the family room (since that's were we spent most of our time). we placed old carpet remnants under it incase there was an accident it wasn't on our carpet. The other thing that we taught her was "GO MAT" Anytime Sam became uncontrollable, without malice she was told to "GO MAT". Nine months later no matter what's going on, who's in our home Sam knows that when she's told (even by the 3 year old) to go mat she's go.

 

[Samara'sMom]

Have you thought about firm and consistent crate/kennel training? We acquired my bullmastiff Samara when my daughter had just turned 3. Sam, in her puppy mode, was very mouthy. My trainer feels like crate/kennel training is key to managing bad behaviors. What we did with Sam was to buy a large outdoor inclosure that would make sense to fit inside and we bought a three large crates. And a TON of chew toys, soft, hard, rubber, nylon. Anything that would hold up to her chewing. We put a few in her crates however, the bulk into her indoor inclosure which we kept in the family room (since that's were we spent most of our time). we placed old carpet remnants under it incase there was an accident it wasn't on our carpet. She could hang out with us but the minute she started to display unwanted behaviors we just put her in her inclosure. No yelling, or fussing just redirecting the puppy behavior. As a result, she doesn't mouth and there are no other unwanted behaviors like counter surfing or barking. People often feel guilty about this type of training I don't want to keep my dog locked away forever however, a few months of him in an indoor kennel surrounded by family now or a potentially uncontrollable 200lb dog later? The other thing that we taught her was "GO MAT" Anytime Sam became uncontrollable, without malice she was told to "GO MAT". Nine months later no matter what's going on, who's in our home Sam knows that when she's told (even by the 3 year old) to go mat she's go.

 

[Ginurse]

I am certainly not an expert (this is our first EM); we had the same behavior from our puppy, and had to reiterate to everyone in the family, that they couldn't sit on the ground and pet the dog and need to do this from a higher-up position because otherwise he thinks he is playing with fellow puppies? <-That was how a dog trainer explained it to us.

Samara's Mom seems to really have a great fix/training tool.

 

[DDSK]

He needs to be taught where his place in the pack is.
I agree with what Ginurse said and I would also reinforce it when he starts this behavior by putting him down and rolling him and holding him there until he submits and is calm.
It sounds mean but it won't hurt him, you won't need to do this but a very few times but you need him to understand behavior of this manner especially with children will not be tolerated.
He needs to know that the children belong to you and not him.

 

[Ginurse]

Great post DDSK.

My husband had to do this twice with our pup some weeks ago. I was initially horrified, but at the end of the day, it worked wonders. We are also making our pup work for everything (he sits to get: dinner, treats, etc.). What a different pup we now have? I think you are spot on with regards to "pack placement".

 

[gilles]

this is the age where he will act rebellious....volka was like that until 7 months old! he was even scary at times, and my son ran away from him few times... and i thought all that training with him all these days and months was useless and i will have to send him away...however as time passed he calmed down a lot and he totally changed ..i mean he moved from biting everybody when playing, growling and being aggressive when corrected or bothered somehow, to a completely sweet dog....he does get excited and plays really rough at times but only with me ...never with other members of the family.
keep working with him and be patient your efforts will be rewarded!

 

[karennj]

Please don't roll and pin down your dog. Bully dogs roll others over and I don't think that is the message you are trying to convey to your pup. Making the pup work for everything, structured walks and constant and consistent obedience training will make your dog want to work with you. Not pushing him around. Would you roll over your child and pin them down when they get out of control? I know a child and dog are not the same thing but I do believe a dogs "pack" is more a family unit vs. a constant fight for alpha position. What kind of "leader" do you want to be?

So my advice:
1. Don't let him get so excited that he loses control of himself. We have a rule in this house. My dog does not show excessive excitement unless I am in control of it. An overly excited dog can be a problem. In my case it is a big problem because I have young kids and he is already 120+lbs. I am not talking about structured excitement like agility or flyball but "I have gotten myself so worked up I have no inhibition" excitement. Bear can get mildly excited about things but as soon as he starts to get too worked up I immediately switch him off by removing him from the situation, running through some obedience commands with him, sending him to place, etc.

2. If he does lose control of himself, put him in time out for a couple minutes and then reintroduce him once he is calm. I have a 3 strikes your out rule and if I have to tell Bear no a 3rd time he goes into time out (behind the gate of our family room). Some things are zero tolerance such as nudging/mouthing the kids.

Best of Luck!

 

[karennj]

By the way your pup sounds to have pretty normal puppy behavior. Humping can be play, over excitement, arousal or even anxiousness or stress. Pretty much ever puppy bites and it hurts and they can be very persistent about it. Also, Mastiffs can be vocal dogs when playing so while I would not ignore a growl, at that age it is probably play or maybe just the pup being crabby if he is over tired. Make sure he is getting enough physical exercise and mental stimulation. You should be doing a couple short obedience sessions throughout the day which is great to tire them out. Once tired, give the pup a quiet place to rest. Be firm when he gets too excited and don't let him reinforce the unwanted behavior as it will be harder to break the longer he does it.

 

[season]

Leadership, leadership and more leadership....sounds like you need to step that up. Groundwork. Leash in the house. Crate. Rules, boundaries and limitations.

Leerburg Dog Training | The Ground Work to Becoming Your Puppy's Pack Leader