New English Mastiff Questions

[jnd0226]

This is my first post here after stalking the forum for a few months now. My husband has had our 7 year old English Mastiff since she was around 9 weeks old. We moved in together when she was around 3 years old and she has now become "my dog" She goes everywhere with us and is very well mannered and trained. We have finally settled down a bit in our living situation and decided that we were ready to get a puppy.

We brought home Bella (Bellarain) 4 days ago. She is 8 weeks old today and has so far been a great addition to our family. She absolutely adores our older EM Jessi and has settled in so well. I just had a few questions that I was hoping a few members could answer for me.

I have never had to train a puppy before. I have had dogs of all kinds growing up, but I was never responsible for training them. I was wondering when the obedience training should start. We have already been working on the hand biting and potty training, of course, which she is doing great with but is it still too early to start working on sit and lay down? I am home all day with both of the dogs so I do have the ability to enforce training and work with her I just want to make sure I am doing everything right.

I also had a question about traveling after only the second round of puppy shots. Bella is due for her second shots in a few days and I am wondering if she would be okay to travel with about 2 weeks afterwards. We would be staying in a hotel for 2 days and then back home. She would not be exposed to other dogs as our time will be mainly spent in the hotel room, but I am still a little unsure how safe this would be. Thank you everyone in advance for your advice and help!

I added some pictures of my babies. Sorry they turned out sideways.

 

[TWW]

Simple training should start the day you bring your new family member home, traveling as long as she I away from other dogs should be fine, also stay away from areas that would be high traffic areas for other dogs. Poo and Pee left behind can be a issue also before her third round of shots.

Once she has her 3rd set, enroll in a local class.

They both look really good. Love the 3rd pic.

Best wishes for you and the pair.
Sure someone will post a better and more detailed list of items and links.

 

[Dale]

Agree totally with tww.

 

[jnd0226]

Thank you both for your replies. I have started with some obedience training already. Mostly working with "sit" right now and basic wrong and right.

As for the traveling I am still feeling a little uneasy. I do not want to put her at risk for catching anything this trip just came up very unexpectedly. When a puppy gets their shots are they at least protected a little bit after the first one and then more after the second round of shots?

 

[musicdeb]

Here's my 2 cents:

TRAINING YOUR PUP

Start basic commands and reward with motivational treats (fav food or fav toy). Train for about 5 minutes per day and slowly increase the training time. Teach one command at a time. Once they master one command, move onto another command.


Number one command is sit. Teach the pup to sit, by placing a treat in front of his head and move it to the back causing him to sit to get the treat. When the pup sits, tell them good sit and give them the treat.

Second command should be "focus/look" This will help you tremendously when the pup is over 100 lbs. Put the pup into sit. With a treat in your hand (let the pup smell it), put the treat up to your eyes and tell the pup to look or focus. They may only do this for about 1-2 seconds. As soon as they look at your eyes, reward them. Generally, mastiffs do not like to look anyone in the eyes for long because that means a challenge to them.

Other commands are "down/off", "leave it," "wait" (short pause), "stay" (pausing until you release), drop it and "quiet/calm".

When you are training and when the pup does not do as you ask, then tell him no in a calm, stern voice and redirect back to the command. The only time a stern and loud NO should be used is when they are doing something that can cause harm to themselves or others.


Praise is the most powerful tool you have and the dog WANTS to please you. Show them clearly what you want, notice and praise when they comply, and learning goes much faster and pleasant for you both.

Mastiffs can be extremely stubborn and if you get frustrated with them, they will shut down and stop listening to you. Mastiffs do not do well with yelling or hitting. Hitting can result in some unwanted mastiff behavior meaning fear aggression, which equals biting.

PROTECT YOUR PUP

Keep the pup away from dog areas unless they have had their 2nd round of shots, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] round of shots is best so they will have some immunity to the infectious diseases, i.e. Parvo. This is very important!

 

[jnd0226]

Musicdeb, Thank you for your great reply. I really like the focus/look training and could really see that helping in the future. Thank you again for your help I just want to make sure that I am doing everything right.

 

[musicdeb]

Your welcome! You're going to do just fine. One word of advice, relax.

 

[jnd0226]

Although this is definitely not the first dog I have lived around it is the first puppy that has been solely my responsibility. I feel like a brand new mommy becoming all over protective and wanting to call the doctor at every change! It is a whole new feeling having a growing life all in my hands and I just want to make sure and raise a happy, healthy puppy. Thank you again for all of your help. I think I will go take a few deep breaths and try to relax

 

[Tracie Marie]

Hey everyone I just downloaded this app and can across this topic... I have a 5 month old English Mastiff.. Does anyone have an idea on when I can get him neutered?

 

[musicdeb]

Hey everyone I just downloaded this app and can across this topic... I have a 5 month old English Mastiff.. Does anyone have an idea on when I can get him neutered?

Welcome aboard. Neuter your boy when he's 18-24 months so he can benefit from the growth hormones to become a healthy mastiff. They continue to grow until 2-3 years of age.

 

[TWW]

Mastiffs and mastiff breeds due to there size, and longer development time should be neutered later. If you neuter early many time they lose the muscle mass needed to support there size, and this could lead to certain health issues.

Hey everyone I just downloaded this app and can across this topic... I have a 5 month old English Mastiff.. Does anyone have an idea on when I can get him neutered?

 

[Tracie Marie]

Awesome thank you for the info