Aggression in English Mastiff ??

[Myleo]

Today I bought some organic chicken gizzards to cook up and give to my English Mastiff Leo and my golden Retriever Molly. Leo is now 8 months and weighs close to 150lbs. While I had a piece in my hand, Leo jumped and took the meat out of my hand and pretty much bit 2 of my fingers, no blood or broken skin !! needless to say I was in shock and thought for sure I had 2 fingers missing !! He has never done this before. Is this normal for a English Mastiff ?

 

[Cody]

I wouldn't say is aggression as much as it is rude.
He was going for the food, and disrespecting you at the same time.
Can I ask what you did when this happened, what correction did you give? And yes, it is normal for all puppies until they learn respect, should have been done prior to 8 months, but is not too late to do now. I would get on it fast however.

 

[Sabrina]

I have heard trainers say that raw meat brings out dogs' primal behaviors that you don't necessarily often see...i would use this treat as a training tool next time....make the dog sit and if he breaks his sit to go for the meat, he gets a correction and is put back into sit...he doesnt get the treat until he sits and stays for a certain amount of time...

 

[Myleo]

What I did was yell at him. I didn't know what to do. I then had him go to where he sleeps and he was quiet. I think he knew I was angry.

 

[Cody]

I have heard trainers say that raw meat brings out dogs' primal behaviors that you don't necessarily often see...i would use this treat as a training tool next time....make the dog sit and if he breaks his sit to go for the meat, he gets a correction and is put back into sit...he doesnt get the treat until he sits and stays for a certain amount of time...

ditto

 

[morrigan05]

i have an agressive female english mastiff on several different levels..you can ask cody, he has replied to my string of posts bout her. she is 6 1/2 months old and 70lbs. she had jumped to get food out of my hand once before. for that certain event, all i had to do was yell at her but keep my eyes on her and not let go of the gaze until she did first. the only tim she jumps now is on command. it is true though, the heavier they weigh, the more it will hurt if they dont jump easy. also, just remember when they get bigger, so do those canines!!

 

[Cody]

I am a she

 

[morrigan05]

opps, sorry bout that!!

 

[Ron]

I have had the same issues with my male and female.But I have never been bit.There are a few Idea's that I use to keep my fingers out of the way.I either put my hand under there chin so they dont have to try and jump for the treat.I have noticed that when they jump for a treat.They loose there visual on the treat and grab fingers and all.I also toss them a treat after they perform a command.That way my hand is never in close contact with their mouths.My children like to hand feed them snacks and they do get abit hyper.So they hold the treats in there hands and tell the dogs ..easy..and now the dogs are catching on so they will lick your hand to get the treat.Raw can be tricky like previously posted.It brings out the animal in your animal lol.The way I broke my dogs from snapping at food was to hold the Rib or Chicken in my hand and I kepy my fingers as close to there mouths as possible.They knew when my fingers were close to there mouths and they never went past that point.It took a few weeks of working with and a few scrapes but there smart and caught on.I also use this method when feeding them sections of chicken that I dont want them trying to swallow whole.Just continue to work with Leo.They last thing the big guy wants to do is hurt you.Hope this helps.

 

[mia]

I have heard trainers say that raw meat brings out dogs' primal behaviors that you don't necessarily often see...

This is totally not true as there are millions of dogs that eat raw meat daily without issue, granted the meat is a higher value item over kibble or a milk bone. My dogs get raw bones/meat all the time without bringing out any primal behaviors except excessive drooling. Sabrina is correct in using the treat as a training tool to teach your dogs some manners.

It's a matter of teaching your dog to be polite, imagine someone dangling a prime rib in front of you and you didn't know P's and Q's? Remember it's up to us to teach our animals what we want, sadly they don't come prepackaged.....

 

[Cody]

My dogs get raw as well as kibble.
I will put food in their dishes and can send them out of the room to their beds to stay until they are told to eat.
They eat side by side, without issue.
I understood what Sabrina was saying was that there is more a natural reaction to raw meat then kibble. A dog may not jump up and gulp down a bisquit like they will a chunk of liver. Of course it is training that makes the difference. The only time my Boxer has ever curled a lip was over a raw bone, when he was younger, a fear of god punishment ended that quickly.
I still say this is a training issue NOT an aggression issue. The word aggression is too easily tossed around, it doesn't help our breeds when lack of manners, human error, is blamed on aggression.

 

[acoz47]

yes 8 months is about 6 months after eating ritual shoulda coulda been established. My girls also will just keep eye contact until I say eat and eat next to each other without issue. Training especially with such a large dog any dog I agree would be most important.

 

[mia]

The word aggression is too easily tossed around, it doesn't help our breeds when lack of manners, human error, is blamed on aggression.

Have I told you lately that I love you??? This is one of my BIGGEST issues with ALL owners. Until you are bleeding and require stitches or a trip to a hospital your dog didn't bite you, he/she showed good inhibition. People forget that a dog can just kill you for sport. We forget to thank our dogs for behaving and tolerating all these stupid HUMAN rules on them. Respect is a two way street.

 

[suzu600r]

Have I told you lately that I love you??? This is one of my BIGGEST issues with ALL owners. Until you are bleeding and require stitches or a trip to a hospital your dog didn't bite you, he/she showed good inhibition. People forget that a dog can just kill you for sport. We forget to thank our dogs for behaving and tolerating all these stupid HUMAN rules on them. Respect is a two way street.

AWESOME!! I love the way you said that. Totally makes sense.

 

[Cody]

Aawwww shucks...
That is one of my peeves as well. Aggression is a serious issue, most threads where people use the term aggression is due to lack of respect plain and simple. People getting large dominant breeds and not understanding the amount of work and socialization they require. That is why I hate the term gentle giants. Yes they can be, if one is willing to train and devote the time needed to create that.
First and foremost these are working breeds however.

 

[mia]

DING DING DING we have a winner! LOL

I have to say though that Mamma is a gentle giant and hasn't done anything naughty since the day she walked in this house. You can lie on her, kiss her lips, pull her ears do what you want and she just wags her tail! Bless her.

 

[Gemsmom]

Have I told you lately that I love you??? This is one of my BIGGEST issues with ALL owners. Until you are bleeding and require stitches or a trip to a hospital your dog didn't bite you, he/she showed good inhibition. People forget that a dog can just kill you for sport. We forget to thank our dogs for behaving and tolerating all these stupid HUMAN rules on them. Respect is a two way street.

Excellent post Mia and so true!!