2 year old rescue

[molossus]

For starters this is my first post on this forum. I used to be a regular on many forums in years past. I just got burned out on them. As a back ground I am in the West Texas area and have had Mastiffs in my life for most of 25 years. For a while we had up to 4 at a time at the homestead. And I have picked up and delivered Mastiffs for MOCA members on many occasions in years past. Most recently the last of my herd reached 14 and I had to send him on to a bigger and better things. I made the decision to try to find a rescue instead of going to a breeder to add to my family. Instantly I found one on Craigslist that the owner had passed and the wife was considering putting him down if she couldn't find an experience mastiff owner. Here is where I am having a few issues. He is a healthy 2 year old male that has had very little leash training and is already set in his ways on many things. I will be discussing with my Vet about neutering him at his weight. I have never fixed a close to full grown Mastiff such as Max. What kind of issues could I have cutting him at this age. Second I am close to 250 lbs and Max is very difficult walking on a leash. On a very short leash it takes all I have to keep him from pulling me down. I hate those barbed training collars, is there any suggestions out there on where to start with his leash training. Our first trip to Pet Mart for Socializing went relatively well after I tired him out and I made him lay down on every isle while I shopped. Every Neo, English or Bull that I have ever had I took possession at 6 to 8 weeks. Teaching a teenager is a new one for me.

I know this is a mouthful for a first post
Paul

 

[AKBull]

Sounds like you've got your hands full, Paul!
I don't know if I can offer any advice that you probably haven't figured out/learned on your own.
I've seen people use those leader type harnesses with good results. The kind where the leash attaches to the chest area.
In my experience, the pincher collars didn't do squat to my old EM. Just too much loose skin.
Are you working with treats? Always have them handy and dish em out rapidly when you need his attention. My boy would try to learn how to vacuum the house if it meant he'd get cookies.
And in the end, your boy is 2 years old, it's going to take some work. Don't give up on 'em and good luck!

 

[molossus]

Sounds like you've got your hands full, Paul!
I don't know if I can offer any advice that you probably haven't figured out/learned on your own.
I've seen people use those leader type harnesses with good results. The kind where the leash attaches to the chest area.
In my experience, the pincher collars didn't do squat to my old EM. Just too much loose skin.
Are you working with treats? Always have them handy and dish em out rapidly when you need his attention. My boy would try to learn how to vacuum the house if it meant he'd get cookies.
And in the end, your boy is 2 years old, it's going to take some work. Don't give up on 'em and good luck!

I don't mind the effort. This time of the year I travel a lot for work so this makes it even more difficult. My oldest daughter would have issues with this one and she has grown up with Mastiffs since she was born. And to top things off the kids brought home a dog 2 years ago that was sick. I nursed it back to health and it rewarded me with a litter of pups and took off when the pups were 5 weeks. The kids wanted to keep a male pup so I also have what looks to be a Terrier / Jack Russel mix of some kind. With my old Mastiff pushing 12 at the time he took the roll of Alpha at the house. Looks like I will have to Neuter both of them if we are to keep both.

 

[Sabrina]

Welcome

 

[Marrowshard]

I haven't got any experience with fixing dogs ... our 3-year-old adopted EM was already neutered when we brought him home but he had (and still has) bad leash habits here and there. When you say he's difficult to walk, do you mean that he's just pulling a lot or is there more to it i.e. grabbing the leash, weaving, stopping dead? I'm not sure I would recommend a chest harness ... it works for some dogs but can actually encourage others to pull harder like they're in harness to do work.
A prong collar works well for us; it can't choke a dog and the tines are blunt. You can even buy little plastic nubs to put over the ends for a gentler effect. In terms of a training fix, I'd start with free play to burn off some energy. If Oscar's got a lot of wiggle before our usual morning walk, I'll take him out in the yard and make him chase his Wubba until he's down to trotting back to me rather than running. He listens a lot better when he's gotten the tickle out of his feet. After that, I'd work him in circles. Keep him on a close heel and just make loops. It's harder for a dog to bolt or tug when they're having to change direction in a circle rather than having a straight-ahead runway. Keep him on the inside so he's either got to follow your lead or run into you. Switch sides and hands and repeat.
Other than that, there's the old stop-sit-go cycle. If he's trying to yank you, make him stop and sit and wait until you're ready to go. Make him understand that he's only going to get to walk by your say-so or he has to sit. Again, it's something that'll work better if he's already burned off some energy.

Thanks for bringing home a rescue ... they can be a lot of work but it's worth it to give them a second chance

~Marrow

 

[Bentley]

Welcome, try a half check collar, they have a sound association which may work for you. As for late neutering, as far as I am aware at 3 the only issue Max may have is weight gain. I can not express my admiration enough for a rescuer, have patience and stay positive and use this forum you can get alot of good advice here.

 

[nikkita]

Keep up the good work. I can hear all the animals cheering for you now!!!