8 month old female cane corso full of anxiety , barking at strangers and easily startled

[Mouse1988]

I have recently took in a 8 month old female cane corso puppy , she is a lovely girl full of energy good with kids but on the flip side she is aggressive to strangers and barks / lunges when she sees someone coming towards us outside or if anyone new comes into my house we also have a 1 year old Alaskan Shepard who we’ve had since he was 8 weeks he is completely socialised and trained well , I have tried being firm with her and telling her no but she can’t seem to calm down outside at all , in the house she is sort of fine but is prone to barking a lot doesn’t like being left on her own and doesn’t really listen to us all the time I can get her to sit and lie down give me a paw with a treat but sometimes she backs herself into a corner and if I even attempt to touch her she gets bity she is so highly strung but at the same time I see her potential and I know she is a good dog I just have no idea what else to try I was thinking of getting a mussel until I can get her calmer around strangers but I wasn’t sure if that’s the right thing to do I have kids aswell but she is fine with them and kids outside and fine with most other dogs outside aswell

 

[timmy59]

I have recently took in a 8 month old female cane corso puppy , she is a lovely girl full of energy good with kids but on the flip side she is aggressive to strangers and barks / lunges when she sees someone coming towards us outside or if anyone new comes into my house we also have a 1 year old Alaskan Shepard who we’ve had since he was 8 weeks he is completely socialised and trained well , I have tried being firm with her and telling her no but she can’t seem to calm down outside at all , in the house she is sort of fine but is prone to barking a lot doesn’t like being left on her own and doesn’t really listen to us all the time I can get her to sit and lie down give me a paw with a treat but sometimes she backs herself into a corner and if I even attempt to touch her she gets bity she is so highly strung but at the same time I see her potential and I know she is a good dog I just have no idea what else to try I was thinking of getting a mussel until I can get her calmer around strangers but I wasn’t sure if that’s the right thing to do I have kids aswell but she is fine with them and kids outside and fine with most other dogs outside aswell

I'm not a dog trainer.. Only a many dog / animal owner.. My 2 cents, Recently took in.. 8 months old, you have a lot going on with kids and house.. IMO, She has to have more of your time, in that time you have to burn calories, stimulate brain cells and teach manners.. Discipline and structure.. Does she play frisbee or fetch ?

 

[Mouse1988]

I'm not a dog trainer.. Only a many dog / animal owner.. My 2 cents, Recently took in.. 8 months old, you have a lot going on with kids and house.. IMO, She has to have more of your time, in that time you have to burn calories, stimulate brain cells and teach manners.. Discipline and structure.. Does she play frisbee or fetch ?

This is the thing she does chew on toys but other than that it’s as if she had no idea what to do with toys I’m literally sitting / sleeping in the living room with her so she’s not upset or lonely but I know in the long run that’s not good as I can’t be with her 24/7 eventually she will need to learn to cope in the house for a hour or two on her own when I’m at places I can’t take her , I’ve been taking her out 4 time’s a day as she wasn’t toilet trained either she gets plenty of attention from my partner also

 

[glen]

Welcome to the forum, and thankyou fot giving her a new home .
Firstly do you know how she was treated in her previous home, was she abused, was she tsken out for walks, 8 months old and not toilet trained sounds like they didnt do a lot,
Ccs go through fear stages also and at 8 months could well be a little of that also.
Was she in a crate previous in her last home.
You say you got her recently, how recent. They can take a while to adjust, shes got to learn to trust you before anything else.
You say she lunges at strangers when your out.can you explain what you do when she does this, also if she does it in your home. Then i will try to help.
Shes still very young, you can do it.
Do you walk her eith your other dog.
If you can give a bit more detail on how you deal with the situations theres many people on here that will give you great advise.
I have 3 ccs they are worth the time you put in.

 

[Bailey's Mom]

Fabulous dogs the CC's. Love irons out a lot of past negativity. Give lots of love and affection, and TRAINING. These are dogs that like to be engaged. They like to have a job. They like responding to expectations (especially if training treats are involved)

One of our old members who is somewhat retired from the Forum used to advocate for Mastiffs (in particular, Mastiffs) to be allowed to sleep in the same room as their owner. The reason was that they are a very emotionally deep dog type. Now, if that sounds extreme, I have to tell you, they are...they are very, very emotional. I had war with my husband about allowing our girl to sleep in the same room, but it worked out for the best, and now it is just fine. (He snores, my girl Mastiff snores and, if my husband can be believed, I snore.)

Sleeping together supports the dog's mental health, and it sounds like your girl has had a few bad breaks in life, she might benefit from the closeness. Separation Anxiety can be a very difficult thing to deal with and sometimes is just means letting them be in your presence, but, it isn't that simple.

I was lucky, I had the summer off when we got Bailey our girl. But, I had to get her used to me going back to work, so, I would get up every morning, bring my housecoat downstairs and I'd place it on the living room floor. I would get a few treats and place them on my housecoat. I would kiss her and tell her I loved her and I would go out the door. At first I would only be gone for 15 minutes, but then 30 and then an hour and then...well, you get the picture. And I did this little ritual for at least a month or more. And, by the end of the summer, my girl was not scared and was not filled with anxiety, she was sad, maybe, but comfortable. Mommy always came home. She'd snuggle up on my housecoat, sniff my Mommy smells and eat her treats. Mommy always came home and life was good.

As for lunging, well, I haven't had that problem, so I'll refer you to Glen and Boxer Girl and the others who have had to work with this problem from scratch. I can tell you what it will look like when your girl is calm and assured...she will stay by your side with only a word from you. Even when a dog fight breaks out at the dog park, a simple word will keep her at my side. She obeys. It's a beautiful thing. However, if I were to say "bad man", she would go on full protection mode and scare the "you know what" out of anyone who planned to do our family harm.

They are a great, soulful breed, worth their considerable weight in gold. Love, Honour and Cherish your girl...She will Love, Honour and Cherish you and your Pack (family) in return.

 

[Elizabeth Balcomb]

Hi there. My boy is 2 now. When we have any visitors to the house , strangers or those he knows, we put him on the back veranda where he can see through a glass door, to the front door and all of the activities. He stays out there until the initial excitement energy has subsided, and then he is allowed in, and gets patted if he sits. There seems to be a thing with dogs, that initial energy, like when you first arrive in a new place, if theres going to be a dog fight or aggression, it will happen upon arrival. I always leave dogs in the car until this phase has passed, and there is more calm.

Every time a dog shows a behavior it strengthens that behavior, so you need to find a way for her to feel safe, and she is physically restrained, so she literally cant get at your visitors until she can see that you all are welcoming of the stranger and there is no danger. Ccs dont like strangers, but if approached in the right way, they learn that if the stranger is your friend, then they will be their friend, and their memory for individuals is just incredible.
A lot of people believe that socializing your dog means they should be fine with strangers walking straight toward them, leaning over them and touching them everywhere. Now imagine if that were to happen to you? You wouldn't be comfortable at all, in fact you may even slap that guy who did that. I don't know why we expect our dogs to tolerate this. It is enough for her to just see strangers, and you'll need to find the distance at which she is comfortable with this, treating her all the time. This is for when you're out the property. Also their fear stages are very powerful, and they need to stay in their comfort zones during this time.
Definitely you need to earn her trust, it's a beautiful thing, the trust of a cc. Be her mother, her emotional needs are great, let her sleep in your room. When we got our boy at 8 weeks, he slept in a box next to the bed so I could put my hand in when he needed reassurance. Pups sleep in puppy piles, they need a presence. He now sleeps in the lounge, my husband cant sleep through his snoring, and Lupo is totally fine with being in the lounge.
All the comments above are dead right, I'm sure boxergirl will comment too. It may be worth getting a behaviorist to help, as she will be big and powerful one day, and you want to make sure she learns to fit in to human society while shes still young.

 

[Boxergirl]

I haven't had time to fully read the responses yet, and I have appointments limiting my time the next while, but skimming says you've gotten good advice already. I just wanted to quickly post something that supports what Elizabeth was saying above about socialization. It puts things in a bit of a different perspective for us humans. For now take things very slowly. Your dog needs to feel safe and not pressured to accept things that she's uncomfortable with. Build her confidence by building her trust in you to keep her safe. I suggest no physical or coercive techniques. Reward every small thing you like. For now, here's a read on socialization. It's long, but it's good.

https://suzanneclothier.com/article/just-wants-say-hi/