WTH am I doing worng with my bully?

[Odin]

So, I just got a bullmastiff about 6 weeks ago. He is about a year and a half old, apparently hasn't been housetrained, and is the most skiddish dog I've ever met. He is great with me, but still really jumpy with any sound he doesn't recognize. If there is anything in the house that wasn't there before, he freaks out. He isn't making any progress in being housetrained. And as you all know, when a bullmastiff isn't housetrained it's a lot different than having a maltipoo that isn't housetrained.

I really have no idea what to do anymore. I've owned multiple huskies and akitas and had very little trouble housetraining them or making them feel comfortable around the house. This poor guy seems WAY high strung, which, from what I've read, is unusual for bullmastiffs. He seems like he prefers being outside. I will leave the back door open and he processds to run in, sniff everything, and run out. He continues this for a while until he decides to lay in the shade outside.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. As a side note, he isn't neutered and is a hell of a pain to get to go anywhere because he freaks out in new places and especially with people he doesn't know. Oddly enough, he is amazing around any other kind of dog. He seems to not have a malicious or skiddish bone in his body when it comes to other canines, male or female. He immediately thinks he's there best friend.

Sigh...I feel lost and exahusted.

 

[mightymastiffs]

Are you crate training?? If not, the situation screams for some form of control for both of you and the crate would also really help him relax inside after a bit. Sure, for the first day or two it would be pretty rough if he is not familiar with a crate but in the end it will be 1000x easier on both of you to go through the necessary steps.

 

[Mamie2shoes]

Get a crate and start crate training. This will help in all areas. The house training will go smoother. I am guessing he was an outside only dog by the actions you describe. The not being housebroken, prefers outside, and only dashes in. When they are outside only dogs, they will often dash in to play and get attention, then run right back out. As for the socialization, be patient. He also sounds like he was left alone a lot. Keep him with you as much as possible. Even put treats on the bathroom floor and talk/sing to him as you shower. Take him for car rides and walks. You carry the treats and share them with folks that wanna meet him. It is gonna take him about 3-5 months to really feel comfortable around the house after rehoming. Then you can really train him well. Also, go to a training class asap. This will help ya'll bond. Let him adjust at his own pace, he will get there. To get him used to noise, maybe leave a radio or tv on often to help him learn to accept constant changing noises. Keep us posted and I hope all transitions well.

 

[ShellNZ]

I agree with the last 2 posts. Crates are great, but the poor boy will probably totally freak out if he isn't used to it so lots of praise, treats and patience will be needed. Otherwise are you able to block off a part of your lounge or put him on a lead while inside. We have 2 kiddie gates, one for the hall door and one in our laundry which is directly off our kitchen/dinning/lounge area. We find it great knowing where our dogs are at all times, making it easier to see if they wander to the door needing a toilet stop etc. When our Rottweiler was a pup she was in the laundry with a papered area on floor in case of accidents, she could still see us and it definitely makes cleaning up easier if there are accidents. A room may be less scarey than a crate. Ruby still sleeps in the laundry at night, though we did need to slide an extra board on top of gate if we couldn't trust her not jumping out. We have also screwed a dog lead to the floor by the dogs bed in the past as another option. I agree that your dog was probably an outside only dog. We had a Labrador which was an outside dog until old age, when we used to let him in at night to help ease his arthritis. Max was very nervous initially because he knew he wasn't usually allowed inside, but they do adjust with time and encouragement. Hope he settles for you soon.

 

[NeoBull]

Yeah sounds like he spent the 1st year of his life outside, it's just going to take longer to house train now. I agree with ShellNZ too, given what you've told us I'd introduce a crate very slowly and make it as positive a thing as possible!