EM Socialization Help!!

[IsisCrisis]

Alright, so last year I got my first ever English Mastiff, Isis, and out of the litter of puppies she was the last. when I went to pick her up from the breeder, he had said the I was the first person she willingly came up to, before she would go and hide from them. Crate training was a breeze and so was potty training. but when it came to socialization it was, and most of the time still IS a war. First off we live in the rural country side. the closest city is miles away. whenever we went to town she would go with us and on occasion she would go into Petco and look around until she just got to paranoid, at that point we didn't go anymore.. and now she just people watches. I had taken her out once and she had totally caved in and had wet herself on my lap. Looking back now I realized it was me that was not doing it right, and should not had let people come up to her and start petting her. it only happened once, and I make sure people watch from a distance now. and forward to a more recent time, I was at the grocery store waiting for my mom to come out and I had Isis outside the car with me standing when a man from across the parking lot started talking to me (he wanted to know what breed she was.) he was a good 15-25 feet away and was slowly walking towards us when she let out one of the most vicious roar of a bark I have ever heard come out of her mouth! it made the man stop in his tracks and made me jump! I calmly put her in the car and waited for my mom to get back. It seems that when ever someone even looks at her she get upset and will begin to growl and her hair stand on end. but if no one pays her no mind she is absolutely content and she might even go up and lick them! I can understand that she doesn't want to be the center of attention. and then sometimes when company comes over she will of course bark and act like a fool and be aloof but that's to be expected of the breed and she eventually comes around, not fully but she will allow you to bet her back but not her face area at times before she shrinks back. it takes whatever company we have literally ALL day for her to be comfortable with them and want to play. So by the time she is OK with them they have to leave.. I understand she is naturally shy but I would like any help you guys have to offer as she matures will she grow out of this at least a little? is this some weird stage?... and other than the whole socialization thing.. she is the best thing that has ever happened to me.once you get to actually know her she is the SWEETEST thing EVER she has NEVER bit anyone or went after any of our other animals cats,chickens,goats) she is a fabulous dog. she is smart, leash trained, and does AMAZING whenever we go on walks..except of course if there is people then she acts like they are out to get her.. there are times when she is fine with company to the point she will lean against them on the couch! and then if they leave out of the house to get something from their car, come back in she acts like it's someone she's never met before even though she was snuggling with them on the couch! ...Isis just turned a year old in November. And on a side note whenever company is over she does NOT run around, she is leashed for the first 10 to 15 minutes. after everyone is settled down and is sitting down so she isn't freaked even more by strangers standing around the living room. Like before. I've tried taking her out in public but at this point she won't have any of it. the only time she is out somewhere and is forced to interact with stranger is when we go to the vet for check ups. She TOLERATES it but she sure don't like it! lol I would love any tips you all can send my way! every but helps! thank you for reading my very long post!

 

[joshuagough]

She's a beautiful girl.. that said I'm buying you a space bar for Christmas :razzberry:

From what you've laid out she's got a good guarding instinct, your correct in the manner you've laid out for people approaching her. Ask them to allow you to bring her to them for intro's (she more than likely won't want any part of this) but keep trying. Slowly expose her to more trips to places that are uncommon to her, I'd use a lot of reassurance that everything's ok when she starts to become uneasy.

I'd increase the exposure every few weeks, this won't be easy but stick with it. There are more advanced tactics but I'd try to slow roll her first, this takes longer but produces a better result. As I'm sure you know keep her on the leash when your doing this and don't let her try to "retreat", high tones and a lot of energy does wonders..

Good luck!

Alright, so last year I got my first ever English Mastiff, Isis, and out of the litter of puppies she was the last. when I went to pick her up from the breeder, he had said the I was the first person she willingly came up to, before she would go and hide from them. Crate training was a breeze and so was potty training. but when it came to socialization it was, and most of the time still IS a war. First off we live in the rural country side. the closest city is miles away. whenever we went to town she would go with us and on occasion she would go into Petco and look around until she just got to paranoid, at that point we didn't go anymore.. and now she just people watches. I had taken her out once and she had totally caved in and had wet herself on my lap. Looking back now I realized it was me that was not doing it right, and should not had let people come up to her and start petting her. it only happened once, and I make sure people watch from a distance now. and forward to a more recent time, I was at the grocery store waiting for my mom to come out and I had Isis outside the car with me standing when a man from across the parking lot started talking to me (he wanted to know what breed she was.) he was a good 15-25 feet away and was slowly walking towards us when she let out one of the most vicious roar of a bark I have ever heard come out of her mouth! it made the man stop in his tracks and made me jump! I calmly put her in the car and waited for my mom to get back. It seems that when ever someone even looks at her she get upset and will begin to growl and her hair stand on end. but if no one pays her no mind she is absolutely content and she might even go up and lick them! I can understand that she doesn't want to be the center of attention. and then sometimes when company comes over she will of course bark and act like a fool and be aloof but that's to be expected of the breed and she eventually comes around, not fully but she will allow you to bet her back but not her face area at times before she shrinks back. it takes whatever company we have literally ALL day for her to be comfortable with them and want to play. So by the time she is OK with them they have to leave.. I understand she is naturally shy but I would like any help you guys have to offer as she matures will she grow out of this at least a little? is this some weird stage?... and other than the whole socialization thing.. she is the best thing that has ever happened to me.once you get to actually know her she is the SWEETEST thing EVER she has NEVER bit anyone or went after any of our other animals cats,chickens,goats) she is a fabulous dog. she is smart, leash trained, and does AMAZING whenever we go on walks..except of course if there is people then she acts like they are out to get her.. there are times when she is fine with company to the point she will lean against them on the couch! and then if they leave out of the house to get something from their car, come back in she acts like it's someone she's never met before even though she was snuggling with them on the couch! ...Isis just turned a year old in November. And on a side note whenever company is over she does NOT run around, she is leashed for the first 10 to 15 minutes. after everyone is settled down and is sitting down so she isn't freaked even more by strangers standing around the living room. Like before. I've tried taking her out in public but at this point she won't have any of it. the only time she is out somewhere and is forced to interact with stranger is when we go to the vet for check ups. She TOLERATES it but she sure don't like it! lol I would love any tips you all can send my way! every but helps! thank you for reading my very long post!View attachment 16053

 

[musicdeb]

Isis is doing what Isis is supposed to do. Trust your pup's instincts re: strangers. Teach her to sit and leave it once you tell her it's ok. OB training is a must here so you can have control of the situation.

Isis is beautiful!

Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Mustang9846]

You may also want to try praise by treating when taking her to places that she feels uncomfortable. This will teach her that for example Petco is the awesome place that Mommy gives me treats. I know it works well with other breeds. I'm currently. training my first mastiff as well so just not sure how well it works with this breed. Worth a shot.

 

[IsisCrisis]

Thank you all for your support and advice! I will defiantly start with the treating and praising more often, and keep you all updated!

 

[DennasMom]

You could also try having her wear a vest with an "in training" patch, or add a leash flag... so people will talk to you before they start approaching Isis.
http://www.dog-flags.com/

Denna responds very, very well to tasty treats!
Try to treat BEFORE she gets anxious, on the way into the store, so you're rewarding her for not being nervous. Once she's acting badly, you don't want to reinforce that - so see if she'll do some things she knows (like sit, or just "look" at you) in order to get the treat.

We also use a "go say hi" command which does help when she's acting shy... somehow, it makes it through to her when I say "go say hi" that this person is OK.

 

[MastiffDude]

I agree with DennasMom to use a "command" phrase when introducing Isis to new people. When Moose needed to meet people, we would always have him sit, and then tell him, "Say Hello". We would remind the person approaching to let Moose sniff their hand first, then to be sure to first pet him under his chin and not pat him on the head. Lots of praise after Moose allowed the person to pet him.

Eventually this introduction routine became very easy and natural for Moose.

Also DO trust Isis' instincts. Dogs have a 6th sense about people, and Mastiffs especially are ever watchful over their family.

 

[Meagan]

What others have told me is that Mastiffs will react strongly to your emotions as well. So it will be important in the situation to try to remain calm and have faith in her as well.

We were having issues Hilda being afraid of noises, and everyone told me to act calm and normal, praise her and give her treats.

We had the luck oppurtunity that the poeple behind our house were getting their roof worked out, so it was very noisy. I took her out into the yard and the more I tried to praise and calm her the more she relied on hiding under me for protection. So, I decided to just ignore her and started doing some yard work of my own. It took about half an hour, but she eventually began to go about her own business like I was, and then even got playful, chasing my rake and running through my leaf piles.

The day after my husband went out into the yard and we did the same thing. She started skittish at first, but warmed up a lot quicker. It's only been a week and she's not even afraid of the barking dog nextdoor anymore. I jsut let her out a few minutes ago and he startled her, but instead of running to the back door like normal, she started jumping around along the fence (She can't actually see him), and then continued about her business.

The key seemed to be us. By preoccupying ourselves, we started to act normal, and she finally started to act normal too. She's only 13 weeks, so we're still working on things -- like leash training etc. -- but with the advice of everyone on her, we seemed to have moved through the skittish/fear thing really quickly.

I read that it was important to socialize them, and so I've been taking her to Petsmart, Petco, a local park that is a dog owner favorite, a few times a week, trying to get her used to all sorts of situations and that not every dog or person wants to be her friend (we have the opposite problem in that regard).

But as with anything, it is mostly going to be repetition, exposure, and especially it seems with this breed, your own attitude.

I think that is why leash training is going to poorly. We get frustrated, then she gets frustrated, and it's a bust. The trainer took her and had her walking in under 10 seconds. As soon as she gave us the leash back, it was back to distraction and dropping on the floor very quickly. But we were also tierd and frustrated and she was on to us, despite our cheerful voices.

 

[Dakota Kid]

On our walks, my husband and I stop by the grocery store and pick up a few needed items and I always wait outside with Kota. If I allow someone to pet her, I have to walk up to them or she won't even let them pet her; the stranger cannot just walk up to my dog and pet her. This is something we practice often and she rarely warms up to strangers. She is fine with them passing, but once they talk to me she goes into guard mode. Except if they have ice cream in their bags - then those are her favorite people.

 

[Crystalanya]

My first English Mastiff was like this--Milo. He was wonderful. He loved all my mates and anyone who came over that he knew was meant to be there and he was fine. But out in the city was a challenge at first. Not only that he was a very big boy. He got up to 94 kgs (so a little over 200lbs) at peak physical condition and in London that made for some challenging days. He certainly did not like it when men tried to chat me up or we went by men in construction hats. I did walk him on a much shorter lead with a prong collar just in case anything got out of hand, but he was a typical mastiff. Sounded terrifying never did anything. I used the same tactics as others above mentioned. Treats. Treats. Treats. And praise. And keep calm so he didn't react to my reaction. That being said he did stop a mugging once. Now my current EM, I can't get him to understand that not every person in the world wants to be greeted by a giant mastiff. He loves everyone, but then again, I live in a busy part of Minneapolis right now and he's been loved on since I brought him home.