New Here - Recently rescued Henry

[kgraves]

Hi - We just recently rescued a 3-year-old English Mastiff from an owner who was relocating. We were told that the dog was socialized and grew up with other dogs as well as children. We have had our mastiff for about 3 weeks and though he is wonderful with us, we are finding that he is aggressive towards strangers. We knew before hand that the breed is a protective breed so we have taken measures to introduce the dog to strangers but the aggression is more than we anticipated. He has lunged and tried to bite a couple of people. Can I assume this is because he is still getting use to his new surroundings? Is he too old to try to train him socially?

 

[7121548]

Hi! First of all, thank you for rescuing. I also rescued a 3 year old mastiff who I discovered was aggressive toward strangers. I had to seek professional help from a balanced trainer to get his aggression in check, and that was after he bit someone. He will never be 100% safe with unfamiliar people, but at least we can walk by people in public without him lunging and going crazy. It is very difficult to socialize a dog at that age, especially if he's been lunging and trying to bite people for years and has never been corrected for it. Keep him in a highly structured environment where he knows the rules and limits, and hold him accountable for every little instance of bad behavior. It's possible that he's just testing the boundaries and seeing what he can get away with in his new home, but you will want to stop that before it really gets out of control. I would also suggest you get a muzzle and muzzle train him if you're bringing him out in public because a lunging mastiff can be really dangerous. Good luck with everything! I know how stressful it can be, but don't give up!

 

[DennasMom]

Dogs are never too old to learn new tricks! (unlike many humans)
It can take a long time (6 months-ish) for a re-homed dog to really relax in a new home, though, so I'm sure some of the stranger-danger issues you're seeing are related to new-home-jitters.

A 3-yr old is still fairly young in the mastiff world. I would suggest you look at taking some obedience classes together, or hire a personal trainer to work with him on the stranger-danger issue. It might be that he's not comfortable trusting YOU to make decisions about strangers for him (yet), so he's being a bit pro-active in his protection stance. You need to convince him to look to you first for direction on strangers.

I agree with the above, that getting him trained to accept and be comfortable wearing a muzzle is a good idea. They look terrible to non-dog people, but they really can help YOU be less stressed about being close to strangers, which will help HIM also relax. It also will help strangers ask first before coming too close, which can be a BIG help in training!

You might also want to look into additional tools to help with stopping the lunging... the best method would be redirection and positive reinforcement (of looking away and not lunging, for ignoring strangers, for walking away from strangers, etc), but a prong collar might not be a bad idea, too, if he's ignoring you on just a flat collar or martingale.

You can work using positive reinforcement by finding out where his trigger distance is, and challenging him just long/outside of that distance... if you see someone approaching STOP before he alerts to them, have him sit and look at you, and get a reward (as high value as required to be really motivational in the beginning). If he starts to lunge, start walking AWAY from the 'target' until he relaxes. Once he relaxes have him sit and get the reward. Don't reward him for barking or staring down the 'target'... make sure he's looking at YOU before he gets the reward.

Teaching commands like "leave it" and "let's GO" can be good redirectors when he starts to key in on something you want him to leave alone, too.

He might also be a good candidate for clicker training - work on simple commands first, so he gets the hang of the method - then when he looks at a stranger (with no reaction... still far enough away to be 'comfortable') - click and when he looks at you, treat. Keep challenging him in different locations at different distances until he learns to trust you and look to you FIRST before taking things into his own paws.

So glad you were able to take him in and he's doing well at home. I'm sure with a little consistency and repetitions, he'll continue to settle in well!
Keep us posted!!

 

[Boxergirl]

I think this is a case where none of us on the internet are qualified to give training advice, other than suggesting management tools (like a muzzle) and recommending calling in a certified behaviorist. It's just too risky for everyone involved. Rescue dogs sometimes have a past that we don't know about. Relinquishing owners don't always tell the truth about problem behaviors.

A basket muzzle is what you want to look for. They allow the dog to pant, drink, and eat while wearing the muzzle. Here's a video for muzzle training. I used this method with my Ella and it worked very well.

 

[Hector]

Hi, thank you for rescuing a dog in need and welcome to the forum.

As for the training part..he lacks socialization and doesn't know how to react and the only thing he knows how to do is to lunge and try to bite because he is scared. He's not trying to protect you. He's trying to protect himself. Can you describe the incident in detail as to how the people almost got bit? Also, with a strong dog that lunges and tries to bite, you must have proper equipment to control him. If it makes you feel safer, get him a muzzle. Then, get a prong collar and watch solid k9 training's videos on youtube on how to fit, use it, introduce it to the dog.

The next step is to teach leash pressure (look all this up on youtube - conversational leash pressure). Use this while you take him out on his walks and socializing. Socializing is not having people give him treats, not having people talk or pet him, not having him go up and greet people, not pulling you around on leash, not going to dog parks, not meeting other dogs on leash. Socializing is utilizing space to expose him to things that scare him and using leash pressure to redirect his focus onto you. While doing socialization, advocate for his personal space. You need to show him you can keep him safe. At the same time, study the dog, know his signs, know his triggers. Typical pre-reactive signs are ears up, staring, tail up, mouth closed. If you redirect him with a quick pop and release on the prong when you see those signs, it will be enough to snap him out of it. Key points are to keep moving in a way the dog has to work to pay attention to where you are, correct early, correct effectively (how much strength you use - this is trial and error - more amped up = the stronger the pop, calmly walking but scanning = a light pop) and utilize your space. Don't crowd yourselves. Be aware of your surroundings.

Utilizing space means if dog is reactive to people, don't walk towards a person jogging towards you. You guide the dog and move away and go away or go around the jogger. Another example, don't command him to sit and stay while people continually move into his space. Instead, have a person stand still and walk around the person using ample space. At first, walk at a safe distance then slowly decrease the size of the space bubble. If he starts getting tense, relieve the stress by walking away from the person. Continue to walk around and then towards then away, towards then away, always reading the dog.

If this seems overwhelming and confusing, then find a trainer that can show you how to use a prong collar and work your dog. A prong collar used incorrectly with bad technique is ineffective and will make things worse.

I want to show you a few clips of the dogs I worked with. They are all the same: scared, nervous, under socialized, under corrected, lacking guidance and a person that can advocate for them.

 

[kgraves]

thanks for all the replies, suggestions, and links to training info. I should have been more specific, he is actually fine meeting people when he isn't at our house. I can take him in to the pet store or to the vet and anyone can come up and pet him.

We got a basket muzzle and are starting to work with him on that. We are looking around for trainers as well.

I was wondering if it would be better to introduce him to people outside in our yard rather then inside the house.

 

[Hector]

thanks for all the replies, suggestions, and links to training info. I should have been more specific, he is actually fine meeting people when he isn't at our house. I can take him in to the pet store or to the vet and anyone can come up and pet him.

We got a basket muzzle and are starting to work with him on that. We are looking around for trainers as well.

I was wondering if it would be better to introduce him to people outside in our yard rather then inside the house.

Work on him not reacting towards new people outside of the house and then everyone goes inside the house with the dog either leading and keep him on leash the whole time while the guests give him tons of space without any interaction the whole time and you keep watch on his body language the whole time and correct for anything you don't want. Definitely find a trainer that can work with him and you. It's always the humans that need the training.