Maggie'sMum
Member
Hi. I have an 11 week old Tibetan Mastiff, Maggie. She came to us at 8 weeks and was a little timid but very loving and gentle. She's definitely come out of her shell now and loves biting. Me in particular (she seems to really love my partner which stings my ego a little bit and I'm wondering if there's a way to get Maggie to want to cuddle up to me instead of using me as a chew toy?)
As soon as she sees me she seems to get excited and runs up to me but then she just starts to play- and by play, I mean bite. I've been given lots of advice but its conflicting. To begin with we were saying "NO" and giving her a toy she can chew and rewarding her when she turned her attention to the toy. Then when that didn't work we would yelp and walk away. That's not working for me. When my partner says "NO" she backs off and starts licking him but she just wont do that with me. I trainer I know said to not even say "no", just to ignore it and reward her when she does the right thing but its really hard to not push her away and say 'no' when she just keeps coming back. I push her away and she thinks its a game. I yelp and she thinks its a game. I even growled and bit her (really softly) as suggested by my vet but that didn't work. I have been told holding her muzzle closed works but then have been told its seen as a threatening gesture. I'm just so confused and I really want to do the right thing by my little Maggie-bear. I don't want to confuse her by trying different techniques but I'm starting to get really upset- she doesn't do this to my partner (who doesn't even really like dogs!) I'm the animal lover and have never had an issue with bonding to animals before (not just dogs but even wild native wildlife seem to bond to me) but Maggie just doesn't won't stop biting/playing and it's starting to get to me. I'm afraid it'll turn into a dominance thing. Is she trying to make me submit to her?
I'm at the point where I just need help desperately. I live in a town which is really behind in terms of obedience classes. I've enrolled Maggie in puppy pre-school at the vet's but that doesn't start for another 2 weeks.
Any help or advice by people who have a TM or have experienced this problem would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone has any tips on how to make Maggie bond/warm to me a bit more I'd be so grateful.
Thank you all in advance.
As soon as she sees me she seems to get excited and runs up to me but then she just starts to play- and by play, I mean bite. I've been given lots of advice but its conflicting. To begin with we were saying "NO" and giving her a toy she can chew and rewarding her when she turned her attention to the toy. Then when that didn't work we would yelp and walk away. That's not working for me. When my partner says "NO" she backs off and starts licking him but she just wont do that with me. I trainer I know said to not even say "no", just to ignore it and reward her when she does the right thing but its really hard to not push her away and say 'no' when she just keeps coming back. I push her away and she thinks its a game. I yelp and she thinks its a game. I even growled and bit her (really softly) as suggested by my vet but that didn't work. I have been told holding her muzzle closed works but then have been told its seen as a threatening gesture. I'm just so confused and I really want to do the right thing by my little Maggie-bear. I don't want to confuse her by trying different techniques but I'm starting to get really upset- she doesn't do this to my partner (who doesn't even really like dogs!) I'm the animal lover and have never had an issue with bonding to animals before (not just dogs but even wild native wildlife seem to bond to me) but Maggie just doesn't won't stop biting/playing and it's starting to get to me. I'm afraid it'll turn into a dominance thing. Is she trying to make me submit to her?
I'm at the point where I just need help desperately. I live in a town which is really behind in terms of obedience classes. I've enrolled Maggie in puppy pre-school at the vet's but that doesn't start for another 2 weeks.
Any help or advice by people who have a TM or have experienced this problem would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone has any tips on how to make Maggie bond/warm to me a bit more I'd be so grateful.
Thank you all in advance.