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Need some help with a crazy puppy...

cashman

New Member
Hello! I’m a new corso mom. I’ve wanted one my whole life and after having multiple jobs, being a vet tech, I decided I did enough research to get a puppy. My boyfriend and I got a beautiful boy named Johnny Cash. We got him about a month ago he’s 4 months now. He is as sweet as pie, we can take him everywhere, do anything to him, he’s great with strangers, other dogs. He is super socialized. Everything he gets in life is a reward, food water, cuddles, play time etc.

that is until night time... around 5-6 until we put him to bed he turns into a maniac. I know of the puppy witching hour, but this one is scary. We keep him on the leash in his play area for quick control since we do have cats he’s getting used to. but any sort of correcting after 6 pm turns into a crazy battle. He growls, bites, barks, lunges, tries going for the face, arms, feet, legs, anything he can reach. We do the ignore method, we get up and walk away from him. But he doesn’t respond to that, we’ve tried doing the lay down and submit method, that doesn’t work either. He gets worse. (We didn’t stick to that one for long).
He started this a few days after we brought him home. Unfortunately I was almost attacked by a stranger while walking him at night. The puppy got so scared, he messed himself and was scared of men (including his dad) for a few days. We’ve worked through that by having guy friends come over, go their house, he’s over that. But now as soon as the sun starts setting he turns into a mess.
We stay super calm. We don’t want to call him aggressive, I know he’s still learning and figuring things out. He listens super well during the day, is great off leash, knows his commands, potty trained after a week of having him.
But this is something I never expected. My heart breaks because I love him so so much but I can’t trust him. He hasn’t bite enough to break skin but he makes contact. He pushes it with his dad more than me.
We signed him up for puppy day care and training to continue the socializing snd training without us so he gets used to being without us as well during the day. He starts that next week. But after we showed the trainer a video of his outburst now he wants to do a board and train for a month. It kills me that I will barely be able to see him for a month.
My question is to you corso parents, has anyone dealt with anything similar? Do you think we are right in doing the board and train and having him stay there for a month? We trust the trainer, it’s just more of will this work for him.
Sorry for the long rant.
 

kingmark

Well-Known Member
Hello! I’m a new corso mom. I’ve wanted one my whole life and after having multiple jobs, being a vet tech, I decided I did enough research to get a puppy. My boyfriend and I got a beautiful boy named Johnny Cash. We got him about a month ago he’s 4 months now. He is as sweet as pie, we can take him everywhere, do anything to him, he’s great with strangers, other dogs. He is super socialized. Everything he gets in life is a reward, food water, cuddles, play time etc.

that is until night time... around 5-6 until we put him to bed he turns into a maniac. I know of the puppy witching hour, but this one is scary. We keep him on the leash in his play area for quick control since we do have cats he’s getting used to. but any sort of correcting after 6 pm turns into a crazy battle. He growls, bites, barks, lunges, tries going for the face, arms, feet, legs, anything he can reach. We do the ignore method, we get up and walk away from him. But he doesn’t respond to that, we’ve tried doing the lay down and submit method, that doesn’t work either. He gets worse. (We didn’t stick to that one for long).
He started this a few days after we brought him home. Unfortunately I was almost attacked by a stranger while walking him at night. The puppy got so scared, he messed himself and was scared of men (including his dad) for a few days. We’ve worked through that by having guy friends come over, go their house, he’s over that. But now as soon as the sun starts setting he turns into a mess.
We stay super calm. We don’t want to call him aggressive, I know he’s still learning and figuring things out. He listens super well during the day, is great off leash, knows his commands, potty trained after a week of having him.
But this is something I never expected. My heart breaks because I love him so so much but I can’t trust him. He hasn’t bite enough to break skin but he makes contact. He pushes it with his dad more than me.
We signed him up for puppy day care and training to continue the socializing snd training without us so he gets used to being without us as well during the day. He starts that next week. But after we showed the trainer a video of his outburst now he wants to do a board and train for a month. It kills me that I will barely be able to see him for a month.
My question is to you corso parents, has anyone dealt with anything similar? Do you think we are right in doing the board and train and having him stay there for a month? We trust the trainer, it’s just more of will this work for him.
Sorry for the long rant.
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have boerboel and had a similar problem when my girl was puppy. We took her everywhere and she was great with anyone but when she was home then show started :) she was very bossy and wanted to argue in anything that wasnt what she wanted, not to mention aligator mouth biting everything :) as she grew out of that behaviour very quickly she is now super sweet girl at home and only problem i have with her is that she doesnt like females so much especially those that challenge her. so my advice would be a lot of patience and redirecting him also founding his exactly triggers to behaviour and talking with him repeating stuff and command even if it needs thousand fime to say. As day care i dont know if you must leave him there for a while ok, but i wouldnt let anyone train him or anything like that while you are not there. I wouldnt leave my dog anyone to a minute especialy when she was pup so be careful with that. Here are people with more experience so they will give you some more advices. Also pictures are a must :)
 

cashman

New Member
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have boerboel and had a similar problem when my girl was puppy. We took her everywhere and she was great with anyone but when she was home then show started :) she was very bossy and wanted to argue in anything that wasnt what she wanted, not to mention aligator mouth biting everything :) as she grew out of that behaviour very quickly she is now super sweet girl at home and only problem i have with her is that she doesnt like females so much especially those that challenge her. so my advice would be a lot of patience and redirecting him also founding his exactly triggers to behaviour and talking with him repeating stuff and command even if it needs thousand fime to say. As day care i dont know if you must leave him there for a while ok, but i wouldnt let anyone train him or anything like that while you are not there. I wouldnt leave my dog anyone to a minute especialy when she was pup so be careful with that. Here are people with more experience so they will give you some more advices. Also pictures are a must :)
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have boerboel and had a similar problem when my girl was puppy. We took her everywhere and she was great with anyone but when she was home then show started :) she was very bossy and wanted to argue in anything that wasnt what she wanted, not to mention aligator mouth biting everything :) as she grew out of that behaviour very quickly she is now super sweet girl at home and only problem i have with her is that she doesnt like females so much especially those that challenge her. so my advice would be a lot of patience and redirecting him also founding his exactly triggers to behaviour and talking with him repeating stuff and command even if it needs thousand fime to say. As day care i dont know if you must leave him there for a while ok, but i wouldnt let anyone train him or anything like that while you are not there. I wouldnt leave my dog anyone to a minute especialy when she was pup so be careful with that. Here are people with more experience so they will give you some more advices. Also pictures are a must :)


Thank you so so much for the advice. We don’t feel 100% comfortable with the board and train either. We just want what’s best for him. I’m so glad your girl has matured and become so sweet. I really hope he gets to a point where he will be the same way. We will do anything we can to accommodate him and help him be happy and comfortable! I’ll try to post some pics. I’m new to this site and not sure how to do so:) thanks again! So much!
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi and welcome,
The dark is very normal, my eldest cc wouldnt go outside the minutenit became dark, fear stage, we went outside with him and made it fun, just in the garden at the start, we played, praised when he played, treats, toys, take his mind off his surroundings, it works,
I dont like the idea of sending these away to be trained, i agree with kingmark on that.
The time and effort you spend with your pup now will pay off big time as they get older.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Would you mind answering some questions? How much nap time is your puppy getting during the day. Overtired pups are ten times worse at night, in my experience, than one that is rested. The fact that puppy is well behaved the rest of the time and turns into a devil at night suggests to me that perhaps he's tired and overstimulated. I see you mentioned you tried a lay down and submit method. Was that suggested by your trainer? What methods does your trainer use? Would you be willing to share his/her name and web page?

I believe that the methods used at almost all board and trains would be terrible for your puppy. Especially for a dog as young as yours. The methods are most often harsh and that is NOT something that is a good idea. I strongly believe that there's only one way to get certain training accomplished in a short amount of time and that is usually through pain and fear. There are better ways to teach. I also think that at this age it's crucial that your puppy be with you. Some pups have a much harder time with impulse control and it's your job to help him learn that. I'll stop here and wait for your answers to the above questions. I'm very interested in the methods used by your trainer.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Another question. Why board and train as opposed to you working with a trainer one on one or in a class? Also, if you're concerned about aggression have you consulted with a certified behaviorist, or are you willing to do so?
 

apollo92

Member
My Cane Corso is almost 6 months and he’s my first one. He was and still is very mouthy(though he has never growled at me he definitely tries to push his limits in our home especially during his witching hour - going for our legs, arms, jumping on furniture he’s not allowed on... he thinks it’s a game) my advice to you is always stay calm and consistent with your training. When he does this we : give him a leash pop with a firm NO, NO and walk away immediately/stop play immediately if you are playing... what I find works best for me is when I tell him NO followed by placing him in a sit and stay until he is calm than “break” “free” him from the command. Another thing that works well is have lots of toys on hand and redirect his biting.

Again stay calm and consistent with your training- this is normal puppy behavior.