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[the sweets]

Hello everyone. we are new to the mastiff breed.we will post some pics of titan.he is a brindle 8 month old.
he wiil not stop chewing on shoes,remotes,and tables. he is fine when we are home but when away its always a task to see what he has eaten.

any help or sugestions would be great

thanks

 

[dpenning]

I would suggest kenneling or crating him when you are away. It is the easiest way to keep them from being naughty.

 

[the sweets]

is it to late to start crating him?we had one when we first got but felt terriblble.i would leave town for a week and the wife works 8 hrs a day. we thought 8 hrs in a crate was a little long. thanks

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

As long as you are providing adequate attention and exercise to him when you are home crating is fine. To me it is more of weigh the options, having the puppy chew something that can be dangerous or actually cause death or have him have to stay in a crate where he is safe and contained for the period you are out of the house for.

Mine don't view their crates as bad places...they have their beds, toys/bone that are "crate only" toys and they know that if they need to get away from something that is the safe place for them to be and no one will disturb them there.

 

[dpenning]

I don't think it is too late, you just have to get him used to it slowly. I'm not an expert on crate training but I'm sure if you search there are tips out there on how to acclimate your dog to a crate. Another thing I have looked into and plan on doing when I get my big baby is doggie daycare. I figure I can take the dog there once every other week or so to keep him socialized and used to other people and dogs. That way if I ever have to kennel them when I'm on a trip they will know the environment.

 

[Marrowshard]

It is definitely not too late. We recently adopted a 3-year-old EM from the local shelter and discovered he would NOT go into a kennel for anything and had to be physically forced in after which he kept us up all night whining to be let out. We always crate at night and when we're not in the house (we've got two cats, wouldn't want something unfortunate to happen when we're not around to stop it). We're not sure if the previous owner used crating as a punishment or if he just never had one, but we've had to start from square one teaching Oscar that crates are NICE places. It's got a couple of dog-only blankets in it (smell association) and a safe chew toy (a braided rope) if he gets bored. We started out just rewarding him with treats and praise when he was inside and leaving him for only short periods of time (going out for lunch, to the bank, etc.) all the while reinforcing the command "Kennel Up". Two weeks later, he still sometimes whines when he's feeling lonely but he'll walk in on his own and doesn't keep us up ALL night like he used to. I would definitely crate train, and I agree fully with BlackShadow: lavish attention and exercise when you can.

As a side note, make sure any toys you leave in the crate with your pup are safe; no rawhides or fluffy toys. Last thing you need is a choking or impaction incident. Also, 8 hours can be a stretch for a pup, so until he gets used to things I'd advise a waterproof kennel mat.

~Marrow

 

[the sweets]

when we tried this when we first got him he whine and bark.eventually he would settle down.when we would get home he would always releive himself inside the crate.somehow he would get the feceis everywhere .is he old enough to hold for those lenghts?
when i am in town i am in and out of the house all day so it wont be as bad.

the other thing he has started doing is when our daughters play with him he starts nipping at there clothes and hands.i have always thought he is just hyper.how do we put a stop to that also.
thanks for all the advice
eric

 

[dsaw247]

At 8 months he should be able to wait to relieve himself outside when you come home. We arranged our feeding schedule around our work schedule to help our 7 month EM out. Since we leave the house between 8 and 8:30 am, I feed Moose at 6 am. This way he is able to eat and digest his food before we leave. I found that providing him enough to time to digest his food so that he could use the potty before we leave him for 8 hours helps a lot. Even on days that someone will be home with him at all times, I stick to this schedule. A consistent schedule really helps with our training in all aspects.

I'm sure other people with more experience can help you more with the nipping problem. However, when our puppy gets too hyper, we make him sit or lay down. He has to hold that position until he calms down. Only when he's calm can he get back up to play. No matter if he's playing with an adult or a child, we constantly monitor him and take those steps when he goes overboard. We also heap on the praise when he plays gently