tyler

[tyler14]

hi all we have recently purchased a DDB off a private ad on a website.the ad was for a three and a half year old male, large (52k).this is our first so we are inexperienced on this pedigree.sadly his past is basically a blur and we are a lot in the dark.we actually thought we rescued him as well as buying him, due to the state of the home he was in.we also feel we have been fed a pack of lies.so we feel we are starting from scratch.we have had him a week.a fantastic house dog loved by all the family. But. we are having a few issues.one.skin complaints.constant scratching causing cuts and scabs.we bathed him in shampoo the minute we got him home due to smell.possibly affected his skin.we gave him wet food when he had been on dried cheap food according to the previous owner.after advice, we have changed his diet to include fish more and also bathed his bad skin in coconut oil. it hasn't been long but still a concern.two.we have discovered he goes off his back legs at times.we have took him out everyday for a run and walk which he enjoys as we feel and sense the previous owner never took him out.so just to get his fitness up we take him out.three.walking in public.what a nightmare!he barks and makes for all other dogs and sometimes cats. I have to as the dad always be present to have the strength to control him when another animal appears I dare not let him off the lead as I don't know what he would do being inexperienced and in the dark over his past.any help on these matters would be fantastic.thanks.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Welcome. What is he eating? Chicken and grain can be a problem for many mastiffs and that may be the cause of his itchies. We would love to see pics of your new boy.

 

[tyler14]

when we got him the previous owners had him eating a cheap dog food called wagg, since then we have changed him onto fish mongers biscuit which we were advised to do.

 

[Sharrielynne]

Could be the start of demodex, so just keep an eye on it, hopefully it is just a food allergy though! Welcome to the forum. Plenty of people to give advice here.

 

[TWW]

Looking at Wagg, got agree it is total crap. Wheat is the first thing on all the brands, and the only meat is meat meal or chicken meal.
Less than 4% meat meal or chicken meal. Everything else is wheat, grains, oils and fats.

 

[Mag-Pie]

walking in public.what a nightmare!he barks and makes for all other dogs and sometimes cats. I have to as the dad always be present to have the strength to control him when another animal appears I dare not let him off the lead as I don't know what he would do being inexperienced and in the dark over his past.

Hello and welcome! In my experience re-homed dogs will usually come with some behavioral issues, i.e., walking in public. Sounds like your DDB was not taught to walk in "heel", and stay nonreactive when out and about. This can be worked through, but it will take some time, patience and consistency on your part. It is a gradual process, that will require training and desensitization via consistent exposure.

At this point, definitely DO NOT let him off the leash, unless you know he has a rock solid recall. Otherwise it's just asking for trouble. Start by taking him for some slow, short, controlled strolls (i.e. practice some good "heel" walking). Keep your distance from other dogs, pay attention to your dog for any signs that he might be getting ready to react, don't allow him to stare or zone in on other dogs, give him a quick leash correction to break his focus before he gets a chance to go off, redirect him back to paying attention to you, reward, and change the direction you are walking, tell him to "heel" and just keep walking. Is he obedience trained, does he know "sit", "down", etc.,? Perhaps a good trainer with highly reactive dog experience, who's familiar with large powerful breeds would be of benefit to you? It takes a lot of work and dedication, to rehabilitate a reactive dog. Also I should mention that it can take a re-homed dog 8-12 months to trust and bond with you. So you will need TONS of patience, as you take your time and work with him slowly and gradually making progress.

When I got my CC, he was reactive to everything. He was never socialized properly by his previous owners, never been walked and was aggressive. As soon as I got him, I hired a trainer, and I still go to group classes. I've been working diligently with him for the past 5 months, and he's improved immensely; he's well mannered and obedient on our walks now, has learned to ignore distractions for the most part, and is nonreactive to other dogs and people, as long as they keep their distance. He's very protective of his personal space. But, I walk him every day, and I use these walks as training sessions. It's always a structured walk, I use a short traffic lead, training collar, and keep him in "heel". He's still a work in progress, but he's no longer a nightmare to walk. Hope this helps.

Here is a video I think you will find inspirational, also you might want to check out some of their training videos. Good luck!

[video=youtube;_GasnQ7ojDI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GasnQ7ojDI&list=UU3ElhSrziUvg4FOY4xKou5w[/video]

 

[DennasMom]

It's hard to see in that video... but the "bad dog" portions all have "no-pull" tools (harness, halti, etc). The "good guy" portions... are those prong collars? When used properly, that is one tool that can have an immediate effect... that, and the energy of the handler...

As for the new guy - I would put him on NILF (nothing in life is free). Make him work for everything. Be generous with rewards - so he wants to do as you ask - but make sure he looks to you for all his food, shelter and exercise. Control as much of his time as possible for the next few months, until he settles into a good routine.

I'd do some obedience work in environments with zero distractions to start (i.e. back yard). Work on your communication with each other, so he learns your cues and knows what to expect. Expectations go a long way with dogs... if he expects to get a treat every time he walks in the front door (after a trip or walk) - he'll always be happy to return home and sit & wait a the door for that treat.

Other than that, you are new to each other, and he doesn't know the rules yet... so he'll just keep doing his old stuff until you let him know what is and is not allowed in his new home. Make some rules, and enforce them with patience and consistency. Make sure he know what the rules are before you punish him for any rule-breaking.

Sounds like your on the right path for getting his physical needs taken care of - good food and clean fur. Hopefully when the stress of being in a new home settles down and the good food kicks in, the skin issues will clear up on their own. But, keep an eye on it, for sure.

MusicDeb has a great post about adopting older dogs with some tips on food, crates, bonding, etc.... if you search her posts it will probably come up - or she may post it here for you in the next day or two... she's a wealth of helpful information!

Do you have any pictures of him you can share??

 

[musicdeb]

Welcome aboard and thank you for rescuing~ How long have you had the DDB? Sounds like he has no leash training with the pulling. Hector posted great videos in Training sub forum re: leash training. Go slow and easy with the DDB until he becomes comfortable and relaxed which could take 2 weeks or 2 months.

Here are tips/suggestions to help you with your new pup/family member. The following tips/suggestions are based on my experience (I rescued my pup in Feb. 2012 and volunteered at an animal shelter for a year) and forum posts from other members. Basically, I*m lazy and didn*t want to continue retyping the following tips/suggestions.

*First, I*d like to say it generally takes a re-homed pup 8-12 months to fully accept and trust their new family.

*The new pup will be stressed due to the environmental change and they may not eat or socialize much. Most will sit in their crate in the corner because they are stressed. Do not force the pup to eat or come out of the crate. The pup will let you know when they are ready. It helps the new pup for you to sit by the crate and talk to them and give them high value treats, i.e. such as cooked chicken, hamburger or hot dogs. They may or may not eat the treats.

A rescue requires TONS of patience, consistency in training and LOTS of love.

*BONDING WITH NEW PUP

The family will need to bond with the new pup. Bonding can be established by walking the pup, brushing the pup, hand feeding the pup, training the pup and good old cuddling with the pup.

*HISTORY OF THE NEW PUP

Many times when you rescue a pup, you do not know their history. Generally, the pup is at the rescue or shelter because of owner surrender. Many times, mastiffs are surrendered because the previous owner didn*t know they would get as big as they do, they are messy because of their drool, or they no longer have time for the pup. Regardless of the reason, you generally do not know the pup*s history.

*INTRODUCING NEW PUP TO OTHER FAMILY PUPS

Generally, if you plan to rescue a pup, let the current pup(s) meet the new pup before signing on the dotted line to rescue the pup. I have seen many pups returned to the shelter/rescue because the current pup did not accept them.L

If you have other pups, then you need to introduce the pups on neutral ground at least a couple of times before bringing the new pup home.


*CRATE FOR THE NEW PUP

It is highly recommended to crate the new pup. Look at it as if it is their own little room where they can go to decompress when stressed. Do not use the crate as a punishment tool. Place a blanket, towel, pillow, and/or stuffed animal in the crate. Be aware that some pups do not like items in the crate with them but if they do, it will help the pup to relax.


*POTTY TRAINING

The pup may have to be re-trained to potty outside especially if they have lived in a cage at the shelter/rescue. If the pup has been in the shelter for more than a couple of days, they have learned to potty on the concrete in the cage.

*FOOD

Find out what kind of food the shelter/rescue/breeder was feeding the pup and continue to feed it to the pup until you transition to a newer food because most shelters/rescues/breeders use the cheapest food, meaning it is not very good for the pup.

Slow transition to the new food is as follows to prevent diarrhea. If at any time during the transition, the pup has diarrhea return to previous amounts of food per feeding. If you are switching flavors made by the same manufacturer, you should not have to do a slow transition.

Amount per feeding:

Day 1-4 ¾ cup of old food and ¼ cup of new food.

Day 5-9 ½ cup of old food and ½ cup of new food.

Day 10-14 ¾ cup of new food and ¼ cup of old food

Day 15 Start 100% of new food

Generally, mastiffs are allergic to grain and chicken found in kibble. You can check www.dogfoodadvisor.com for dog food ratings and customer feedback. Mastiff puppies should eat Large Breed puppy food and they can continue to eat the food all of their lives or you can switch them to a Large Breed Adult Food at about 8-10 months.

Check out Acana Regionals, Wellness Core, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm*s or Taste of the Wild. Chewy.com is a great place to order dog food.

You may want to check out the raw diet for your pup. Check out the sub forum on raw diet that has a wealth of information. It is not recommended to feed the pup kibble (one with grains) and raw food. Dr. Becker talks about this in one of her videos. Search Dr. Becker*s videos on youtube.com for a lot of great information regarding the raw diet. There are 3 parts to the series. Well worth the time to watch the videos.

*PUP NOT EATING WHEN YOU FIRST BRING THEM HOME

The pup is not used to their new environment and this is a natural behavior. Take the pup to a quiet place at meal times and sit and hand feed the pup. This will help the pup to eat when they are placed in a calm atmosphere and it helps you to bond with the pup and helps the pup to establish trust with you. As they become settled, they will naturally follow your routine.

*TRAINING

Start basic commands and reward with motivational treats (fav food or fav toy). For an older pup, train for about 10 minutes a day to start and increase training time as the pup starts to trust you more. For a younger pup, train for about 5 minutes a day to start. 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.


*SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE AND SOCIALIZE SOME MORE

Do not take your pup to dog parks until you have learned his body language. Learn the pup's body language! Know when he is getting stressed or excited around humans or other pups. Walk your pup at a regular park on leash to learn his body language.

*EXERCISE

Structured exercise/play on hard surfaces and where they don't have they ability to pace themselves is where you need to be very careful. This type of exercise could harm the pup*s joints and bones. Puppies should not do any excessive exercise, i.e. walking, jumping, running and navigate stairs for the first 12 months to avoid injury.

Stairs should be maneuvered while on leash (even in the house) especially going down the stairs. Stairs should have carpet or rubber matting to give the pup traction. Mastiffs should be assisted up and down stairs until they are about age 12 months to prevent injury.

Most mastiffs can be very lazy but they still need to exercise. Generally, the amount of time to exercise is 5 minutes per each month of age.


*CHILDREN IN THE HOME

Until you know how the new pup will react to the children, leave them on leash while in the house. Teach your children to bond with the new pup by hand feeding the pup, brushing the pup, walking the pup in the house or your own yard and training the pup.

**DO NOT allow the children to get on the floor to play with the pup.

**DO NOT allow the children to play around the pup while the pup is eating their food or high value treat or their favorite toy.

The new pup may have resource guarding due to their life in a shelter or rescue.
If the pup has resource guarding, here*s a great article: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/food-guarding

This type of behavior can take up to 4-6 months to correct and requires a lot of patience and consistency. During this time, DO NOT ALLOW children or other pups around the new pup while they are eating or enjoying a treat/toy.

*DE-SEXING YOUR DOG

Health Issues Linked to Spaying and Neutering Dogs


Enjoy your new family member~

 

[Harrygto]

welcome love pic's

 

[cj-sharpy]

Are you sure you've not adopted my max? The story is almost exactly the same.
First thing is you both WILL get there. Right now he knows you but he won't yet love you so getting him to do as you want purely to please you will be hard. I went heavy on the treats but he wasn't to bothered about them.
The turning point for me was when I realised he wasn't a lovely little puppy to be spoilt.
Set ground rules for your DDB. No getting on the sofa unless invited. He doesn't get his bowl of food or water till he's done something to earn it. I stand outside in the rain after work via I won't open the door until he has sat down.
NILF seems to work.

As for walking I found best if we spotted a dog in the distance to walk at the other side of the field, then when he stopped reacting get a little closer next time. Close enough where he did react then keep that distance until he stopped reacting. It's just knowing the signs. I there are a few good threads in the other section about this.

Best of luck and keep plodding on. He'll get there