Very Very Protective

[Zeela]

Hello all, Happy New Year! Zeela this month will be 1 yr & 8 mos. old, she is doing fine! she is so good, I could not have asked for a better companion. the one thing that has been changing is she is very very protective of me, it's not a bad thing, I just never had a dog that protective before....forget about trying to sit next to me on the couch while she is in the room, she does not like it.
I wonder what makes a certain dog breed more protective than others?

 

[Ben Curtis]

The thing I like about the breed over others that I have owned, is that you need to earn there trust and respect, it isn't given freely like a lab or golden. It's just such a different type of thinking in the breeds. I believe because of this they develop tighter bonds with there humans, and that's where the need to protect comes from.

Just a guess on my part. Enzo is also very protective. Still working on him to accept who we tell him he should accept.

Artist did a painting of Enzo recently that i've attached.

 

[Boxergirl]

My Ella is also very protective of me, to the point of not liking anyone to touch me or sit close to me. It's something I don't allow. When she is overly protective of someone that I have allowed to be close to me or touch me, she is sent to her place or to her crate to take a break. While I do feel very safe with her when my husband is gone, or when taking her for a walk, it's important to remind her that she's not the decision maker in the house. You're close to the 2 year mark, which is when many dogs really start to come into their temperament. I would caution you to not allow any behaviors that you don't care for or that may escalate into behaviors that are problematic. Just my opinion.

Ben, that's a great painting! I was just wondering how you guys were doing.

 

[Ben Curtis]

My Ella is also very protective of me, to the point of not liking anyone to touch me or sit close to me. It's something I don't allow. When she is overly protective of someone that I have allowed to be close to me or touch me, she is sent to her place or to her crate to take a break. While I do feel very safe with her when my husband is gone, or when taking her for a walk, it's important to remind her that she's not the decision maker in the house. You're close to the 2 year mark, which is when many dogs really start to come into their temperament. I would caution you to not allow any behaviors that you don't care for or that may escalate into behaviors that are problematic. Just my opinion.

Ben, that's a great painting! I was just wondering how you guys were doing.

Enzo is progressing very well for the most part. He is the star in advanced obedience class by far. For the most part he adjusts well to new comers, or at least he gets comfortable faster it seems.

We are better at reading him, and for the most part if he shows any signs of being uncomfortable he can go lay in his crate, often times with the door open, and we let him decided when he is ready to come out.

Recently he seemed more aggressive towards visitors to our house on two separate occasions. Both when I was not home. We've been putting the prong collar on him so my wife or daughters can get his attention better. One slight correction with that and he gets the message loud and clear. To me he seems to be asserting himself a bit more, and becoming more confident. I think he is testing to see where he is in the pecking order.

Today a delivery came, and we had the collar on, but my wife put him in stay across the room and then answered the door. He didn't budge, growl, bark or anything. Quite proud of my big boy today. He got some puppy ice cream for that.

I could go on and on, but that's a brief synopsis.

 

[TylerDurden]

I think it‘s absolutely common to observe this in Mastiffs of that age. I agree with @Boxergirl . It‘s definitely a great quality, but should never turn into a "me against everybody else" type of behavior. Interestingly enough, most Mastiffs seem to be very capable of reading and interpreting situations. I personally like how they sit back and observe, while you always know that they would be right there if needed.

 

[Zeela]

My Ella is also very protective of me, to the point of not liking anyone to touch me or sit close to me. It's something I don't allow. When she is overly protective of someone that I have allowed to be close to me or touch me, she is sent to her place or to her crate to take a break. While I do feel very safe with her when my husband is gone, or when taking her for a walk, it's important to remind her that she's not the decision maker in the house. You're close to the 2 year mark, which is when many dogs really start to come into their temperament. I would caution you to not allow any behaviors that you don't care for or that may escalate into behaviors that are problematic. Just my opinion.

Ben, that's a great painting! I was just wondering how you guys were doing.

hey Boxergirl...yes, I agree, Zeela does know that I am the boss. and as you said, I can see how her temperament has and is changing.
thanks. Hope all is well with you. I miss the forum. and I really think that Zeela would go wildly crazy if someone ever tried to harm me. ya know what I mean?

 

[Zeela]

The thing I like about the breed over others that I have owned, is that you need to earn there trust and respect, it isn't given freely like a lab or golden. It's just such a different type of thinking in the breeds. I believe because of this they develop tighter bonds with there humans, and that's where the need to protect comes from.

Just a guess on my part. Enzo is also very protective. Still working on him to accept who we tell him he should accept.

Artist did a painting of Enzo recently that i've attached.

Great Pic. and I sometimes think Zeela is not just a dog.

 

[mmmcc]

at what age your cc started to show protective skills? I mean not just barking on anything around but more protective of you.

 

[Steven C]

A great thread to see some of the natural instincts of the Corso. Its par for the course and some might be more then others, but at the end of the day a Corso is a guard dog. Trying to take that away from them is just not natural. I have learned that mine is fearless at this point, dark warehouse that I visit 2 times per month, she goes right in with no trouble. I have to visit the ATM almost daily and she sits next to me as I make a transaction, however my bank has now developed a new drive up machine and unfortunately she sometimes lays down in the car while i'm at this machine and I am trying to change that and figure out an "on" switch. It's very easy for someone to run up to the car and swipe cash while trying to deposit so I need her head out the window and alert the whole time.
She is now somewhere around 19 months and the excessive running from one end of the house to the other started at about 16 months, dominating windows standing on the sills looking out which I found very impressive, not like other dogs in the past, she actually stands on the sill muscles flexed and dominating intensley looking around. If the bell rings normal dog thing but I put her in a stay 10 feet behind as I open the door works pretty well. I have also taught my more aggressive Toy Poodle to stop barking on command which helps the Corso understand its ok now.

As Tyler said she is very good at observing what is unusual and what is ok. When I purchased my Dogue de Bordeaux it was before I was married and whenever I took a girl home, the dogue would not let them in the bedroom. Became very aggressive and let them know with barking to start but that progressed quickly if they didn't back away. So I would have to put him in another room. It could become dangerous so my advice would be not to test the limits with untrained professionals.

 

[Boxergirl]

There's protective instincts and then there are protective behaviors that go over the line into resource guarding. Not wanting someone to sit on the couch next to me (you) can quickly develop into a problem with some dogs, no matter the breed. It's always good to be on top of things to prevent any future problems.