Aloofness

[I3rendanG]

What constitutes aloofness?
My 14mo mastiff is not fearful of strangers but certainly prefers not to be touched by them. He shy's away and would much rather sit by my side.

He was warm and welcoming as a pup - but as of the past month or so, he's demonstrated a type of aversion to certain new comers.

I have a 12yo giant schnauzer who'd I'd consider aloof but she's more likely to tolerate handling/contact from strangers, Cairo on the other hand seldom likes outside attention from people he's not familiar with.


Is this a sign of mastiff maturation? The typical mastiff temperament? He still hasn't figured out his place in the world and is certainly very slow to mature. Very much a puppy. No experience and very little displays of dominance/rank aggression amongst other dogs. No sex drive (he's an intact male) and he appears to be going through the motion of guarding - but has yet to develop the attitude or understanding to back it up.

Is this what they mean by slow to mature?


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[Hector]

That is a good sign. You don't like it?

My dog's sex drive didn't kick in until he was around 2.

 

[I3rendanG]

Haha don't mind the lack of a sex drive [emoji854]. More so is this shyness and lacking of interaction with strangers a characteristic of mastiffs? Will I have to be mindful of him as he matures/potential to be defensive of me as he gets older

Is this is the beginning of him being highly suspicious?


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[Hector]

Yes and it's good that you're seeing it now so you can learn how to control through obedience training and relationship activities. I don't call it shyness or lacking interest in other people, I just call it antisocial lol. Yes he will be a protective and quiet one it seems so watch out. Learn to read his body earlier and work hard on his listening skills.

 

[Hector]

I meant start paying close attention to his body language, the subtle signs. No edit option? Hmm.

 

[Hector]

The common age for a temperament change is around 18 months, but full maturity might be 3 or 4 years old.

 

[TWW]

It is a good thing to start seeing now. Though as Hector said full maturity will be between 3 and 4 years.

Aloofness is not shying away or any type of aggression.

They just seem to watch the rest of the world, they will not seek out attention from others, just there family, and people they know.

It is where they hit the stage of "judging things". They will allow people there owner allow to pet them, pet them or give treats.

There also at this time to look at people who are scared of them with a almost dislike, they also show a certain confidence which is just the breed.

 

[MM1234]

Aloofness is not shying away or any type of aggression.

They just seem to watch the rest of the world, they will not seek out attention from others, just there family, and people they know.

This is exactly how my Bruno is at 5 months old. He's very neutral to strangers, doesn't seek their attention at all. He does love children though & will try to get a child's attention on the occasion if they are close enough. He will accept petting from strangers but I control the interaction, I don't let people get all extra (with the high pitched voices & practically rolling on the ground with him - LOL). I instruct them to extend their hand & let Bruno sniff it. Bruno prefers these types of interactions, he likes to check people out first.

 

[Nik]

My Kahlua has been the same since day one (also 5 months old now). She is not aggressive with humans at all but she is just watchful and doesn't get excited or happy to see strangers. I like it. It feels to me like she has a very calm and stable temperament in that regard . She never freaks out or overreacts. She watches and judges, and she also watches my reaction to things and stays close to my side. She takes many queues from me and how I feel as well as her own judgement from watching the stranger. I don't mind the aloofness at all since I am not overly social so it suits me just fine. If I wanted a dog that loved strangers I would have gone with a golden retriever. lol

Sine you said your dog isn't acting fearful at all I wouldn't be overly concerned with this turning into aggression. I would keep an eye on the non-verbal behavior though. A calm, intelligent, watchful dog is a great thing. Keep an eye on how things develop since things can change as they age, but I wouldn't call a reserved personality a warning sign necessarily unless it was accompanied by fear.

 

[Iulicris88]

I don't like being touched by strangers either, so I understand where your pup is coming from. Not all dogs are the same, some are more easy going and like to be around lots of people, some are more reserved and only really want the company of their owners. It's just like with people. As long as he doesn't show any signs of aggression, I wouldn't be bothered about it.
Mine is just the opposite, almost everyone he meets is a potential playmate, sometimes whether they want it or not. But, even with his laid back nature, there have been two situations when some people rubbed him the wrong way and turned very protective and almost threatening, which is very weird for him. He's just turned a year last month, so I don't know how his personality will change in the future, but right now he is still very much like a extremely spoiled toddler.

 

[Iulicris88]

Buy the way, I have a small mixed breed dog (weights about 3 kg) and if you're a stranger and try to pet her, she will bite your hand off. And your face. And probably scratch your eyes off. Happy it's her doing it and not my cc, though.

 

[BeeJay]

I got one rule that I follow and that's if my dogs don't like you then most likely I won't like you either. My TM is trained to a point where someone's at the door, he'll bark and will stop if I say it's ok but there are some people where he wouldn't stop barking even if I say it's ok so I just toss them out the property. Even on walks, he doesn't really bark but would tense up and growl if a person that he doesn't like is approaching and if he likes the person, he turns into a big mush.