10 week EM - Socialization Questions

[Morgan_EnglishMastiff]

Hi All,

There's some great advice on this forum and I'm sure this won't be the last time I post here...

We're new proud owners of our 10.5 week old English Mastiff - Morgan. We've only had her a few days now (picked her up 3 days ago) but she's quite a joy to be around and acclimatizing very well! Already used to the leash, knows her name, house-trained, etc.

We had a question with socialization and getting her used to the sounds/people of the city. She came from a remote farm quite far outside the city and since then she's done quite well adapting to the city lifestyle. When we're outside she gets quite skiddish around people who don't come down to her level. Loud noises, big foreign objects, loud trucks on the street, etc.

We want to make sure we're doing the right thing when introducing her to these things so she doesn't develop any insecurities/behaviours. Some of these things she encounters on her daily pee break and we can do nothing to stop it.

When should we start introducing all these different things? Any advice on how to go about it?

We will be starting puppy kindergarten next week.

 

[dpenning]

She is just too cute for words, congratulations! Daisy was shy when out walking at first when we got to the main road and there were cars going by. Just keep walking and don't make the things she is afraid of a big deal and she will pick up on your queues and start to not worry about them. A car zooming by doesn't make Daisy flinch any more but a little yappy dog behind a fence where she can't see it makes her want to move on her way just a little faster. Practice with lots of treats and positive reinforcement when she is being confident will build on itself.

 

[musicdeb]

She is just too cute for words, congratulations! Daisy was shy when out walking at first when we got to the main road and there were cars going by. Just keep walking and don't make the things she is afraid of a big deal and she will pick up on your queues and start to not worry about them. A car zooming by doesn't make Daisy flinch any more but a little yappy dog behind a fence where she can't see it makes her want to move on her way just a little faster. Practice with lots of treats and positive reinforcement when she is being confident will build on itself.

Ditto. Your baby is adorable!

 

[Morgan_EnglishMastiff]

Ditto. Your baby is adorable!

She is just too cute for words, congratulations! Daisy was shy when out walking at first when we got to the main road and there were cars going by. Just keep walking and don't make the things she is afraid of a big deal and she will pick up on your queues and start to not worry about them. A car zooming by doesn't make Daisy flinch any more but a little yappy dog behind a fence where she can't see it makes her want to move on her way just a little faster. Practice with lots of treats and positive reinforcement when she is being confident will build on itself.

Thank you so much for your help and your kind words. Just wanted to make sure we were doing everything right. Will work on building confidence and not making a big deal out of new situations!

 

[Sadies Mom]

Sadie used to be afraid of fire hydrants. I took some treats and coaxed her over and took the opportunity to so some obedience training right next to it. She also used to be afraid of other dogs, so I took her to Petsmart so she could get used to dogs and people. I started that when she was 9 weeks old. Since she had not had all of her shots at that time, I put a blanket in the shopping carts, so she would not catch something. Now she has no problems. I guess if strangers approach your puppy, give them a treat to give to Morgan, so she will associate strangers with something yummy. As far as the loud trucks and cars, teach her "watch me" so she is focused on you and not all the things around her. Good luck.

 

[BrookeTee]

This has been quite useful to me, thankyou!! i have just brought my 9 wk old EM home 5 days ago and he will be having his shots soon and wasn't sure how to go about socializing him with other surroundings.

your pup is very cute!!
and good luck with everything!

 

[Robtouw]

Being around other pups will help! EM's tend to be scared of alot in their young months everything is big, new and noisey! Give her a lot of positive encouragement and remember that she will look to see what bothers you and what doesn't. Her confidence will come with age and experience. If there is some object that really bothers her, let her see you handle it, touch it, sit near it, etc. Also, keeping an item that she dislikes in plain view all the time helps desensitize her to it as it becomes a regular part of the background.