Making Progress

[dmouse66]

Don't know if anyone recalls my issues with Raistlin leaping at the leash at the end of our walks... I was going to try & get one on one help from a trainer. That never panned out & then my husband lost his job so hiring one is not an option... so I went to the ASPCA website... they have a ton of info on training and it's paying off! I take a baggie full of diced hot dog on our walks and use them for 'special training treats' and even in the house. we're working on impulse control and making progress! Another thing I learned with him... Mastiffs hate to displease their people... when he does something he's not allowed if I say' ahhh, what did you do?' in a disappointed tone - he stops! Immediately! I cant say enough how much I love this dog!

 

[Tunride]

I had no idea ASPCA had all that information on training! Hadn't thought of hotdogs for special treats either, another Duh moment. I'm going to use the "ahhh, what did you do" as soon as I catch her using my kitchen floor! Thanks for the great information! Hope Raistlin pays attention.

 

[Skilly]

I am yet to embark on training a mastiff as I go back to puppy raising with my new apricot EM next Thursday. I did however, obedience train my rotty for ten years (6yrs ago now since we lost him). He was very similar in nature and eager to please but very sad when I told him off a little too firmly. I learned when he was very young never to raise my voice as it would send him cowering in the corner in a pool of urine... It was as if he had experienced cruelty before I got him. So I only yelled no! at him once when he was about 12w old and never did it again.

As he got older the dominance started to come out and I found the best way to discipline him was a calm, not too loud, but firm, low "no". When he looked like he was about to do something he shouldn't, a low "uh uh" was all that was needed. Dogs do very well with positive training sessions where ther is more reward than discipline. Getting him food motivated is the perfect start. Now that you are seeing progress try making him work a bit harder for his treats and start to give more physical reward so that he doesn't become too reliant on the food. Also, don't forget to feed him less to compensate for the food treats. I have read people that feed dry food measure out half of their daily ration to give as treats through the day with training. I used to use dried liver. Try to go for lower calorie treats if you can.