out of control mastiff pup..help!!

[morrigan05]

i have a purebred english mastiff puppy. she is a female apricot. i got her when she was 5 1/2 weeks old and now she is 5 months old. i am 5'4" and she is as tall as my knees and weighs around 60lbs. she eats about 7-8 cups of food a day in 2 different feedings. 1 morning and 1 afternoon. her name is morrigan and she has bad food agression. when any animal or person comes within her vision, she snaps. she growls, snarls, lunges, shows teeth and will even bite. she has bit me twice and my significant other once. she has been like this ever since i got her but not as severe. i have tried several methods. i have tried smacking her(which i know now makes it worse), pulling on her collar, pulling on a leash, putting my face in her bowl, and biting her. nothing seems to work.

she also is a very hyper puppy. she jumps all over the place, plays, runs around. she only stops when shes in my lap or in her crate.

now, she is a very intelligent and muscular puppy. she knows sit, stay, lay, come, stop, and roll over. she has no problems with walking on a leash, she doesnt pull. i do need some advice on her food aggression. also, why is she hyper? mastiffs are generally lazy. my girlfriend's mastiff is 3 weeks younger and does not act like this at all. i cant wait to see what people write.

 

[Cody]

You should contact a trainer as soon as possible before someone gets hurt.
You can get advise off the internet, but in a situation such as you explained a trainer experienced with mastiff breeds, coming into your home would be your best bet. You are in a potentially dangerous situation, so please be careful for yourself and family .
Good luck

 

[acoz47]

Why did you get her at 5 1/2 weeks old was she a rescue.? I can give you advise but its pretty generic. You own the food you own the bowl you own any and all when it comes to your dog. Never and I repeat never do you allow your dog to claim something that is yours. We love our family members dogs included and we want what is best for them so if you can not find a way to claim what is yours you are going to have to hire a trainer. Have you tried elevating the food bowl 1st holding the food bowl in your hands and allowing your dog to take a bite only if being behaved and don't set the bowl down so she cannot guard it. After doing this until your girl realizes she only gets to eat if on her best behavior do you place the bowl on an elevated pedestal for her to eat. This is again to keep her from claiming her dog bowl as her own.

 

[Dogue Lover]

It should have never gotten to this point. Do not encourage this at all whenever any of these things happen use a firm no or eh eh and mean it.
Try hand feeding which is no bowl of her own. Everything she gets to eat is out of your hand.

 

[Ripsmom]

the first thing to understand is that food aggression is seldom created, most are born with it... some dogs have it and some don't but it is a very common problem among all breeds. I would agree that it sounds like you need to get a trainer involved and not just someone who will teach you sit/stays but someone who knows dog behavior. This is definitely something you want to deal with before she gets any older as an EM is a lot of dog to be acting aggressive with anything. Curious as to where you got her so young since puppies should not be separated from mom and littermates so soon; as someone else mentioned hand feeding is the best way to rectify this problem, once you reintroduce the dish it should be empty and you should be adding the kibble in a little at a time then once she is behaving with that start adding higher value foods into the dish with her kibble, this will help her realize that the resource (food) comes from you and that it is a good thing when you go near her dish because she gets good stuff added in. It is important that you are ADDING the food to the dish NOT putting your hand into it after the food is in there as this will be competing for the food rather than you being the source of the food. If you haven't started obedience with her yet , i would recommend it, it will help the dog understand and respect your position. You never ever want to stick your head or even your hand in the bowl with a dog like this as you will more than likely get bitten. also keep in mind that food aggression is innate therefore even when you get the dog where she needs to be that doesn't necessarily mean that it is "gone" and in some cases with manifest itself once again with different people therefore everyone in the household should be a part of working with her (with the exception of very small children). I hope you do get a trainer involved and I hope it works out for you. Really curious as to where you got her from??

 

[Ben McBrizzle]

My English Mastiff, Max, is 6 1/2 months old and he had some food aggression as well. but I jumped on it the first time he did it and he had to be corrected for about 3 days every time he ate, including feeding him from my hand one day, until he got it. Now, I test him every 2-3 days by sticking either my hand or a false hand into the bowl to ensure he doesn't respond. He now will just wait until I'm done messing with his food or will walk away and wait to be directed to start eating again.

Max is really hyper as well, but I have had to control his energy by not petting him so much and fueling his hyper-activity. Maybe find more ways to express your appreciation for your dog rather than a lot of hugging and petting if that's what you do. Remember, calm and assertive energy should always be what she feels from you.

 

[Mongo]

WOW 5 1/2 weeks is crazy young!

 

[morrigan05]

I see a lot of people are wondering where i got her at 5 1/2 weeks old. i got her from a breeder who lives about 20 minutes away from me. This was thier second litter. She was one puppy out of 13. when i picked her up, they had her in a pen with all the other puppies. they also had one bowl in the pen with food in it. so i am not sure if she had to fight for her food or not. she was the biggest female out of the litter at 8lbs. the biggest male had been 13lbs. i also have fed her by hand many times and she does fine with that. also, when i did get her, i didnt know 5 1/2 weeks was too young. I know she is aggressive about the bowl. she has always been allowed to eat as much as she wants. i never take the bowl up until she walks away from it. something else i forgot to mention. when i pet her and dogs walk by her she will also push her face into the bowl more and start eating more quickly. i am definately going to try what you all are mentioning and i will let you know how her progress goes. i do praise her for when she is behaving. Whenever she is let out of her kennel, like in the morning when i get up, she is all hyped up. she comes out of her kennel slowly but then she is like all energy. She will be so hyper either playing with the other dogs or just playing by herself. one time i sorted tested to see how long it would take for her to start slowing down and get worn out. it took 5-6 hours and then she finally took a nap on the large foot stool. She napped for 45 minutes and then was all hyper all over again. i have no clue where she gets all this energy.

does anyone think that some of this behavior could be do to inbreeding? just a question i want to throw out there. next week i send in her papers so i will get to see her pedigree. also, is there the option that she could have something medically wrong? like some sort of hyper disorder? im just putting it out there.

 

[morrigan05]

the first pic is of morrigan's parents. the dad is the fawn and the mom is the apricot. the second pic is morrigan a month or so ago. the third pic is of morrigan at 6 weeks old.

 

[Mongo]

Well sounds like you got your self a BYB pup. That breeder is WRONG for letting you take the puppy home so early. Now that we know where the pup came from, then yes her behavior could be from bad tempered parents that shouldnt have been bred! And because she was too young and didnt get a chance to learn all she could from her mother and litter mates. Im not trying to make you look bad.... so many people are just uneducated about pet stores, BYB(backyard breeders), hobby breeders etc. If I were you, I would find a behaviorist/trainer to help you get her on the right foot.

I have an appt. with a behaviorist this week for my kiddo who is fearful. I would rather fix it now and correctly while he is still small and young.

 

[chris410]

I see a lot of people are wondering where i got her at 5 1/2 weeks old. i got her from a breeder who lives about 20 minutes away from me. This was thier second litter. She was one puppy out of 13. when i picked her up, they had her in a pen with all the other puppies. they also had one bowl in the pen with food in it. so i am not sure if she had to fight for her food or not. she was the biggest female out of the litter at 8lbs. the biggest male had been 13lbs. i also have fed her by hand many times and she does fine with that. also, when i did get her, i didnt know 5 1/2 weeks was too young. I know she is aggressive about the bowl. she has always been allowed to eat as much as she wants. i never take the bowl up until she walks away from it. something else i forgot to mention. when i pet her and dogs walk by her she will also push her face into the bowl more and start eating more quickly. i am definately going to try what you all are mentioning and i will let you know how her progress goes. i do praise her for when she is behaving. Whenever she is let out of her kennel, like in the morning when i get up, she is all hyped up. she comes out of her kennel slowly but then she is like all energy. She will be so hyper either playing with the other dogs or just playing by herself. one time i sorted tested to see how long it would take for her to start slowing down and get worn out. it took 5-6 hours and then she finally took a nap on the large foot stool. She napped for 45 minutes and then was all hyper all over again. i have no clue where she gets all this energy.

does anyone think that some of this behavior could be do to inbreeding? just a question i want to throw out there. next week i send in her papers so i will get to see her pedigree. also, is there the option that she could have something medically wrong? like some sort of hyper disorder? im just putting it out there.

I will be up front and tell you that your breeder is NOT doing things correctly. First thing is the fact that everyone else has pointed out...5 1/2 weeks is wreckless for a puppy to go to a home. It is far too early and this will lead to behavioral problems as you are now finding out. Please don't get me wrong...I am not upset at you in any way! However, my concern is that your dog, you, and the rest of your family could have an incident at some point.

First thing is make sure your pup is up to the proper boosters/shots and have the vet evaluate the dog. Secondly, you should strongly consider hiring a professional dog behaviorist to work with you. An english mastiff is far too powerful of dog to not take seriously.

With all that said, your breeder's practices are highly questionable and I can only hope your breeder is taking proper care of the pups. Although, selling pups so young already points in the wrong direction. Are the dogs certified? Do you know whether the parents have been checked for any problems such as hip displyasia, elblows, seizures, etc...? EM's (from what I have read...and logic would dictate) are one of the most expensive breeds to own when it comes to vet bills so, it is in your best interest for you and your pup to know the breeding history.

I hope things work out however, your breeder should definitely be investigated for selling pups so young. Sounds like a backyard or puppy mill operation based on what you described. Lastly...her eating quickly could lead to bloat which A. Could lead to death B. Is a costly operation.

The good thing is that you took the time to write and look for help, hopefully you will be able to resolve your issue (and I'm sure you will) and you and your pup will live a long happy life together.

 

[Dogue Lover]

Nice looking dogs!
I'm not going to go off on you about the pup leaving prior to being 8 weeks because what's done is done and no sense in it. For next time you now know that a pup should stay with their mom and littermates till at least 8 weeks of age. Things do happen where the mom can't nurse etc so no sense in going off about it.
I don't know if food aggression is a factor caused by a pup leaving their home prior to being 8 weeks old and neither does anyone else. This food aggression is your main concern and that's what needs to be nipped in the bucket. Have you been hand feeding? How's it going?

 

[morrigan05]

well today i have worked with her on her feeding. i did do some hand feeding. she did absolutely fine with that. then i tried another thing yall sugguested i think. i would put a little bit of food in her bowl and then she would eat it. then she would come over to me and sit in between my legs. i would pet her on her body and she was fine. then i would pet her face and she would growl and snarl. so i backed off and got up. i would start cleaning my kitchen or tend to the other dogs. something like that. then i would go back to her in like 10-15 minutes. i would repeat the same thing and after three times i could pet her on her face. i thought good progress for the first day. i thought it would of been worse..it got worse. i went to give her an evening feeding tonight. i did the same thing as earlier. after about the second try, she wound up nipping me while i was petting her face. nipped me on the hand. she could of bit hard but didnt. it more less startled me than anything. i put the food up and put her in her crate for about 2 hours. then i took her back out and tried again. she wound up doing ok this third time. a little growling and she showed her teeth one. when she showed her teeth, i put the rest of her food up. i dont plan on feeding her again tomorrow.

 

[Mongo]

I personally do not have experience with food aggression. But I backing off when she growls would only tell her that what she is doing is working... so she will continue to growl.

 

[morrigan05]

so..what should i do when she growls? put her in her kennel or just like totally ignore her?

---------- Post added at 12:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------

i think i left some answers to questions out. she is akc registered since her parents were as well. i did have another question. i am taking morrigan to the vet next week for her 3rd set of puppy shots. should i have the vet do some blood work on her on check for any sort of diseases or disorders or something like that?

 

[morrigan05]

i think i left some answers to questions out. she is akc registered since her parents were as well. i did have another question. i am taking morrigan to the vet next week for her 3rd set of puppy shots. should i have the vet do some blood work on her on check for any sort of diseases or disorders or something like that?

 

[Mongo]

so..what should i do when she growls? put her in her kennel or just like totally ignore her?

I would find an experienced trainer/behaviorist ASAP!

 

[chris410]

so..what should i do when she growls? put her in her kennel or just like totally ignore her?

---------- Post added at 12:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------

i think i left some answers to questions out. she is akc registered since her parents were as well. i did have another question. i am taking morrigan to the vet next week for her 3rd set of puppy shots. should i have the vet do some blood work on her on check for any sort of diseases or disorders or something like that?

My female rott *had* food aggression issues and as a puppy snapped at my face once. Anytime she growled I ignored it, the worst thing you can do is either back off or make a big deal of it because the pup will associate the action as a response. Continuing on...I would distract her, then remove the food and she would be fine. What I started to do was put a small amount of food in the bowl while I stood next to it. I let her eat it and repeated this for several days. After a bit, I would start to speak to her a little bit. Once she began to relax (you can tell by the posture and slower eating) I would move even closer to the bowl. Now, she is fine although, I tend to distract her should I need to remove the bowl to avoid any relapse in behavior. Also, one tip I was given is to make sure you handle her food so that it has your scent on it. Using a scoop is good however, in your case it's important for your pup to associate your scent with food.

As others said, consulting a dog behaviorist and researching the parents is a very good idea.

 

[Ripsmom]

rather than trying to pet her face when there is food around just deal with the issue at hand... you being able to ADD food to the dish a little at a time...it's baby steps. I would agree that by backing off when she growls while petting her face is doing exactly what she wants and reinforcing the behavior because she gets the outcome she is looking for but if you continue to pet her you will be bitten... therefore, personally i would not touch her at all just deal with the food. you have to remember that she views you as competition for the food. Once you are able to add food to the dish a bit at a time WITHOUT ANY negative reaction then you could begin touching her but that is down the road (and i would not mess with the face). Also while she is sitting there waiting for you to add food to her dish make her work for it with a simple sit or down (assuming she knows these commands) BEFORE you add the food to the dish. Eventually what should happen is that she will not growl while you are adding the food but wait patiently...once you've accomplished that then you can worry about the moving on.

 

[chris410]

One other thing I forgot to mention, I make both my dogs sit and wait until I put the food down. THEN they are allowed to eat if they waited for the food. This teaches them that you are the provider VS the food magically appearing. Also, when you take your dog for walks before you put the leash on make your dog sit and wait, before you leave the door make sure you are first and the same goes for returing. This helps establish leadership and will help with the food/toy or any other aggression. Again...good luck!