8 week old Mastiff pup

[CMW]

If you are reading this, thank you.

We broght Gracie home from the breeder Wednesday night, and she really didn't become aclimated to her new environment until Friday. My wife and I have two young girls 6 and 2. Friday Gracie our eight week old English Mastiff has started to mouth things, like the girls. I need to put an end to this as soon as possible, because I don't want them to be afraid of the dog. Gracie is usually relaxed, like most Mastiffs, but she likes to play as well. The reason we picked the Mastiff was because they are not jumpy, barky and spazzy like most of the dogs people we know own.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated. If you need additional information I would be glad to provide it.
Thank you,
Christian

 

[Love4Pits]

the thing is puppies no matter the breed will mouth things including people. But i do understand you not wanting your daughters afraid of her. I would just say toys, toys, and more toys and treats. Keep her little mouth busy. You just got remember at 8 weeks old still in the litter she would still have her brothers and sisters to play and wrestle with and with your daughters she may be assioating them with litter mates.

 

[Renee750il]

Pits is right! And start having your daughters working with Gracie on her obedience. It's not to early to start learning simple things, like 'Sit' and 'Down.' A two year old can tell a dog to do those things, and the quicker Gracie learns that she has to mind the girls the better. In a very short period of time she's going to be so big that she'll be knocking them down accidentally if they don't have a way to make her mind. And it's good to start out with Gracie understanding that they are NOT just smaller puppies to be bossed around.

The Old English was a good choice. We have Brazilians (Fila Brasileiros) and one is chilled out, but the other one can be a 140 pound Jack Russell at times . . . the members who have been here a while can tell you which one is which, lol!

 

[Valkie]

Kinda there myself right now. I just got 2 pitbull pups and have a 10, 8, and 2 year old human children.

Until my girls have their basic behavior training down, they are confined to the kitchen. The older boys know to tell them 'no' when they start to use them as chewing toys and replace thier arms with something that is appropriate... The 2 year old however doesn't quiet get it.

With him, he isn't allowed in the kitchen alone with the girls. When they are playing, he knows to hide out on one of the chairs... and he's very good at telling the puppies 'no' when they are getting too lively for him. (BTW, first thing I started teaching the girls was 'no'). Once the pups have tired out a bit, I invite the youngest to come over and look at them and pet them. Now, I've only had them for a week, so the baby is still getting use to these little balls of teeth and fur. When we first brought them home, he didn't want them anywhere near him.

As Love4Pits said, puppies mouth things... there is no way of getting around that one. It's just important that they know what they are allowed to mouth and what isn't allowed.

 

[Renee750il]

ROFL! Valkie, I know you didn't intend it his way . . . but you've got the perfect way to keep a rambunctious two year old in one place when you need a few minutes of peace. I have this mental picture of your two year old perched on a chair to stay out of the puppies' reach, totally frustrated because he can't get down and into something utterly fascinating without getting accosted by overly zealous and playful pups.

 

[Valkie]

:lol: it only works when he's not playful himself. When both him and the pups want to play at the same time, he'll jump out of the chair, run up to them to pet them, get scared when they start coming near him, and then run back to the chair.

The closest thing it reminds me of is watching kids play tag with the waves at a beach.

 

[Renee750il]

How are you coming with your Mastiff pup?

 

[CMW]

Gracie

Well we are a little over a week in and things calmed a bit, now they are erupting again. That is a little dramatic, sorry. Gracie is still mouthing everything. She is now starting to bark at us and try and mouth directly after barking. She gets tons of attention. It scares the kids when she gets going, unprovoked, and barks and tries to mouth their hands or feet or pantleg. I am not sure what to do next. My brother-in-law suggests using the bitter apple, diluting it in a spray bottle and squirting it in her mouth when she is doing this to give her displeasure when attempting to do this unwanted behavior. Once again I'm not sure what to do. It is not a bad situation, but I want to nip it in the bud before long. I just want to make sure that I am doing it the correct way.

 

[Barb04]

Don't spray the bitter apple. Puppies are going to nip - that's how they play with each other. Usually cuts down by 4 months. Try to redirect the pup when he's nipping towards doing something else like playing with a toy and don't yell, don't scream, don't spray anything on the dog. If he still persists, you can try lightly grabbing him by the scruff of his neck while on the ground, not lifting him, when he starts nipping and calmly say "no nip", and you have to respect the fact that it's a living animal and it's a dog and maybe you don't want to have you kids all over the dog all the time. Let the dog have his space. This is just my opinion and worked pretty good with Max. You want to take away as many distractions to the dog as to where he won't get in trouble (plants, furniture, pillows). If he can't get at it, he won't get in trouble for it; crates & gates till he gets the hang of where he is living. Never use the crate for punishment. You can play him in a different room if he is really acting up for a couple of minutes and bring him back (don't yell at him). Try these and they may help. Maybe Our Creature Teacher can help.

 

[Valkie]

When my two get too active, it's one of two things. If it's both of them going at it, I get up and leave them. No attention, nothing. They're starting to figure out that I don't stick around when they are misbehaving.

If it's only one misbehaving and not listening to commands, she gets put in timeout in the bathroom for 5-10 minutes. The remaining pup gets the attention until the other one's time is up (note: I don't let her out of time out if she is whining). When time is up, I ask her if she's going to behave, give her the sit command, and when she does what she is told, I give her tons of attention.

Remeber: attention doesn't do anything if the pup doesn't earn it. They will think that they can do whatever they want and it won't effect it.

 

[Renee750il]

You've got one thing really going in your favor; Gracie's an Olde English Mastiff instead of a Bull Mastiff. The Bulls are much more independent; the Olde English are much more clingy when it comes to their people.

Just be very, very patient (all the Mastiff breeds can be stubborn - focused, if we're being polite, lol). Keep stopping her when she gets mouthy and give her a toy to mouth, praising her to the skies when she takes the toy.

It takes lots of patience and perserverence - and consistency - to raise these little (?) monsters.