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What are good games to play with EM's

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
Oh my goodness Mr. Murphy is coming out of his shell now. He loves the ice. I make huge tupperware bowl size ice blocks and outside he goes. He sees the freezer open and he runs to the door. I'm amazed how quick he learns. He is now wondering the entire house and not glued to me as much. My husband played hide and seek with him last night and he loved it. The look of confusion on his face was so funny.
We can't sit on the ground yet with him. As soon as any of us is lower then him he dominates us. We are on day 9 with him. When we sleep we actually wake in the middle of the night to him towering us. Any ideas there? I do not practise crating or segrogating dogs but if I have too for safely I will. I'm not worried about handling him but I have a 10 yr old that might not be able to. Am I worried that he will hurt us on purpose NOT AT ALL, but his mouth is big and he gets excited when playing. We have introduced him to 5 dogs 3 sheppard, one Corgie and a Scottie dog. The 2 little ones play better with him then the big ones. As soon as he barks the Sheppards scurry away barking. I see now why most Mastiff owners have 2 Mastiffs. I am playing an outting to a stream this week. Hope he likes it. And maybe I will find him a Mastiff playmate around here
 
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musicdeb

Well-Known Member
babyjoemurphy, crates are not cruel in any way unless you put the dog in the crate for hours at a time or use it as punishment. Most dogs see the crate as a secure place for them to chill or relax, if they taught that the crate is not a bad thing. Titan loves his crate. It's in my office and he sleeps in there while I work and at night when I'm sleeping.

What do you mean he dominates you when you get down to his level?

Re: in your bed at night towering over you could mean a number of things. He's frightened, he needs to potty, he wants attention...so many variables.

With Titan, we are socializing and he's almost 3. He had his first play date yesterday. I purchased a muzzle for him to relax him, me and the other dogs and their owners. He did so well, I removed the muzzle after about 20 minutes or so.

http://www.all-about-mastiff-dog-breed.com/
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
Oh don't get me wrong, I don't believe in crates for myself, I know alot of dogs that love their crates. Maybe I said that wrong. I don't practise crating.
As soon as anyone gets down on the floor Murphy starts to throw his weight and teeth around, starts to make growl noises and gets really pushy. If we ask him to stop or assert ourselves he pushes harder. My husband had to "roll" him (so I have see in called on here) a few times already. As it stands right now, no one is to be on the ground till we figure out what to do or untill Murphy learns his place in the house.
Usually he will wake up in the middle of the night and place his body over ours, front feet on one side hind legs on the other side and start nudging and playing. But his playing gets to our hands in his mouth and him biting. I will try and get up to take him out and he just lays back down. Once I try and get back in bed he will stand again. We are trying to keep him from our bed but he seems to really love it.
As for other dogs. He is amazing with them. He use to go to doggie daycare. Its the other dogs. They are scared of him. He barks cause he is excited, and its only a bark or 2 but its enough to have the other dogs go into a frenzy. I just want them to not be afraid of Murphy. He really is gentle. I am more worried about the other dogs and feel they need to be muzzled. As soon as you say to Murphy "here" he takes his attention from the other dogs. The other dogs don't have the same training he has. I'm lost!
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
I still recommend crating him, especially at night, so you can sleep. Just my 2 cents... Hopefully, others will post with more recommendations.
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
I may have too. With him being 2 1/2 yrs old I can't see that going by so well if he was never crated. I will give him a few more nights and see if he stops. Maybe I will start a new thread for this. Will end up with more feedback maybe, I am all fine with a 2am pee, but not a 2am play.
 

ravendarat

Well-Known Member
I have taught a couple older dogs to be crated when they never had been in their life before and I taught them the exact same way I would a puppy. Dogs never forget how to learn in my experience so their age really doesn't factor much.
 

Marrowshard

Well-Known Member
You can always train the Place command. I don't use it personally but it can be a good one for initiating a cool-down period. Pick a particular rug or a doggie bed or something where Murphy can lie down and not be in the way but still be comfy. "Place" should make him go to the designated area regardless of where it is in the house. In other words, giving the command makes him go to the throw rug no matter if it's in the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, etc. Although we didn't do Place, we managed to train Oscar to sit on his dog bed when pointed to it which is useful if he's "hovering" while we eat or just being underfoot.

~Marrow
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
Thats awesome advice. We have moved his bed into our room and he seems to really like it there. When we had it in the livingroom all he wanted to do was...well use your imagination.....to it. I will start using "place" for it. Seems like a pretty easy word to use and remember. My father in law that had 2 EM's had mentioned yesterday to give Murphy a "safe"place, where he can go and its his to be left alone. I will start today!. Thanks everyone

As for games. He seems to really like "tugawar". I don't know if its a good game to play with him with him being so new in the house. He also is such a "ball hog"
Today..well after his sleep I am going to start doing backyard training with a lead,then off lead training and see how that goes. When I walk him we do alot of sit, wait at corners or if he gets where he starts to pull ahead of me (which isn't very often). Since I live in the city and he came from a quiet suburb there is so much for him to discover and he gets alittle overwhelled.

Since I have started making blocks of ice for him, he gets all excited every time I pull the freezer open. He LOVES it!
 

Glasgowdogtrainer

Well-Known Member
It's also great to get him working his nose, which is a great way for your kids to play with him. Dogwise has some good books and if you google "beginners nosework for dogs" or "scent games for dogs" you'll find plenty of stuff there. Working the nose activates the thinking art of the dog's brain so it's like a piano lesson for a child as opposed to the soft play, it'll tire him out a lot because he has to concentrate so hard.
 

raechiemay

Well-Known Member
I actually saw something on pinterest where someone would take a large bowl, fill it with water then put some hard plastic toys inside the bowl full of water. Freeze it (find toys that won't break easily from the pressure of the ice) & give as a treat. The dog sees the toys in the block of ice & gives him something to work towards. I'll be trying this as soon!
 

Jadotha

Well-Known Member
Boris actually seems to like to play fetch. He also enjoys 'chasey games' around our centrally located fire place. However, whereas our GD wanted us to chase him, Boris likes to run after us.
 

stacks

Member
I know this thread was started a while back, but Maggie LOVE'S Basketball. My wife and I try to adhere to B-Ball rules (no double dribbling or traveling). Magie hasn't read the rules nor is she interested in them. Her goal is to get the ball away from us. To make the sport fair (and it's getting harder as she gets bigger) we take 1/4 of the air out of the ball. We can't dribble as well and she can't quite get ahold of it to carry it away. Once she has the ball, she cages it with her front feet and we have to try to take it away from her. When she gets "hard of hearing" while we're outside and doesn't quite want to go in yet all I have to do is bounce the ball and she comes running. Two things though, try to keep the ball low enough to where your EM doen't need to jump as that can be bad on their joints and watch them so they don't over exert themselves. When Maggie snags the ball from me but takes a second or two to go after it I know it's time to stop. It's a lot of fun.
Mike
 

Buddha's Dad

Well-Known Member
Buddha like fetch, but only inside so far. He also loves hide and seek, especially if the hider has a small piece of frozen cut green bean. Buddha's on a mission then. LOL
Outside if I have the hose on with the jet spray, he loves to chase after it. I had him doing figure eights all over my backyard one night totally wore him out.
He also loves to play with a leather volleyball. Sometimes my wife and I will play keep away with it, by rolling or bouncing it back and forth as he tries to get it. If he does get ahold of it, he locks his elbows around it, drops his chest on it and bites the hell out of it! LOL
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
In our first 3 days with Murphy we lost a 2 basketballs, 2 volleyballs, and a soccer ball. He runs away from the hose, he wont even drink from it. I wish we could play those
 

Jjcolts93

New Member
My dog is a chewer. Always chewing on everything. I've tried the spray stuff and it's a
Most like he doesn't notice it. And he likes to destroy my bed skirt. Any ideas on how to break chewing while he is young. Soon he will be able to fit the t.v. In his mouth lol. He has about 10 toys, do I need more so he doesn't get bored? Or maybe more exercise. For the most part he is in the garage till house broken and the chewing stops and I hate putting him out there
 

Robtouw

Well-Known Member
Hide and seek in the house has been challenging. He gets the concept and begins to hunt for you but after a few minutes he is totally bored. Cruiser is better at fetching and fortunately loves training. He loves practicing fun things like high fives, shakes, rolls, sit pretty, etc. He is such a show off! He is also a big TV dog. He stops whatever he is doing to watch commercials, esp if there is music or other loud noises in it. At the moment he stops everything for those annoying Old Navy commercials with dancing teens.
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Hide and seek in the house has been challenging. He gets the concept and begins to hunt for you but after a few minutes he is totally bored. Cruiser is better at fetching and fortunately loves training. He loves practicing fun things like high fives, shakes, rolls, sit pretty, etc. He is such a show off! He is also a big TV dog. He stops whatever he is doing to watch commercials, esp if there is music or other loud noises in it. At the moment he stops everything for those annoying Old Navy commercials with dancing teens.
That is the funniest thing I've ever heard. Cruiser is awesome! You need to get a video of that and submit it to American's Funniest Video.