Socializing?

Question

We have a 22wk mastiff who is already around 60 lbs and looks very intimidating but is really a big baby. She loves to bark at people, especially our neighbors when they are walking around in their yards. Her bark is very loud and I think we are scaring our neighbors. We just moved in and don't know them yet and I feel we are making a bad impression. She loves people and is just trying to say hi. Any ideas on how to get her to settle a bit. Her breed is part guard so she is being protective too. It seems she just gets so excited (her butt shakes constantly) she can't calm down. Any help?

Answer 1

Hi. I remember this stage well:) I own a nearly ten month old English Mastiff named Monty and I run a mastiff play group here in town. They frequently have this problem I think because they are very happy to greet people and friendly by nature. But they can bark in a way that is so loud it gives the pee in the pants reaction almost! Mine used to get overly excited and lunge/jiump when it saw ANYONE coming in our direction. He would sometimes literally freeze in the middle of a sidewalk and refuse to move if someone was crossing the street he HAD to greet with his tail going crazy and he wouldnt listen or stay calm once they got close. People then react scared because they can see you are not in control and they dont want to get caught in the crossfire.
Here is the best advice I was ever given on the subject. DO NOT just see a person coming your way or a situation brewing and wait in fear hoping for the best. Chances are you are still more perceptive than your puppy and can see trouble coming before they notice. As soon as you do, take them off to the side and into a "sit" Then ask the neighbor or whoever to come to you and tell the dog to "sit and greet" putting emphasis on the T's in the words. Be very firm. Do NOT let anyone give the dog love until the dog is staying seated. You may need them to be quiet too since yours is a barker. Then let the greeting happen. After almost two weeks of this tedious process, my dog would see people he wanted to say hello to and take himself to the side and sit and look at me wagging his tail and then them and then me to let me know he was going to be good. They want to meet people. Meeting people is a reward/treat for a mastiff. Make them do something to get the reward. but do GIVE the reward, because they need to get used to meeting people. We get no less than 35 people a day wanting to meet Monty because he is huge and goofy. He is socialized now and thank God because if he wasnt we would be up a creek without a paddle. Walk her around the neighborhood and practice the sit and greet every day - you will see a difference because they tend to be very social and they want to learn and please. The other poster was right about needing the neighbor's participation. They will need to know how old the puppy is and the plan you have to socialize so that they can take part effectively.

Answer 2

My cousin has one of the finest mastiff kennels in the US. She has sixteen at the moment. I called and told her your question.
"The mastiff is a big barker, they seem to enjoy hearing themselves. Take her out and meet the neighbors. Walk her around the block first to get rid of some of her energy, don't tire her, they don't do well in heat with a long walk. Get the neighbors to like her so they either tolerate her barking or won't feel that they can't talk with you when she does. Do everything you can to socialize her, make her think she's every ones pet. She will still alert you to things she doesn't understand, but know she is not always right to get upset. Never make these dogs mean. Never praise her for barking, she will not be able to understand what is good barking and what is bad barking. She is just vocal and she is loud. They are a wonderful pet, devoted, gentle, and clean (for the most part) but they are loud. Good luck you have a wonderful breed."
I hope that helps. Without knowing the animal she can't do much except just generalize. She's had her kennel for 30+ years so she must like the breed.

Answer 3

This is a good opportunity to get to know your neighbors and ask them to help you. Ask them if you can approach them to say hello with the puppy. Give them treats to give to her. Let her see that they are friends. Do this as often as needed until she realizes they are not something to fear. Do not let her behave like this. A few barks as an alert is OK, but after that tell her "quiet", then do some obedience exercises and commands to take her mind off of barking--that is not a good behavior. You do not need a Mastiff acting in any way aggressive or you'll have a lot of trouble on your hands. Enroll in a training class in order to work with her under supervision. Take her lots of places and meet lots of people to socialize. You will be living next to your neighbors for some time, and you do not want your dog to get a reputation as aggressive. I strongly recommend Dr. Ian Dunbars book "AFTER YOU GET YOUR PUPPY". He discusses this plus many other necessary things owners need to teach their puppies. It's about $12.00, and you can order it from his website or Amazon.com. His website is www.siriuspup.com.

Answer 4

Ooh, she does seem a bit scary!

Does she act like this by nature? Or do you think it's because of her new home with all of these new sights and scents?

If this is just her nature, I am sorry, but I don't know what to do. You might want to be careful, because some people are uptight and would like to call the police for disturbance of the peace. I think dogs her size and personality belong in a more open environment, places where houses aren't connected by sidewalks.

Good luck! :)

Answer 5

Yeah take her for a looooong walk and tire her out.. Then set out on your socialization walk with the neighbours.. Give them a cookie and tell them not to give it to her til she is calm, you are teaching her to be a nice loving sweet member of the community.. They will appreciate that you are teaching /training your dog and that you want your dog to like them.. They 'll help you and it will give you bonus points as they will see that you are working on things.

Answer 6

Try and take her out. You'll find a lot of people if you take her into Petsmart/Petco, as well as other dogs, that she can socialize with. Also, take her to local dog-friendly parks. Take her for walks around the neighborhood.

Answer 7

stand with the dog as she stands next to people... get the dog use to it.

Answer 8

Yes.