Bullmastiff demeanor and possible new puppy

[acampo26]

Hi everyone first time posting here! So we have a 2 1/2 year old bullmastiff, Hercules. When we got Hercules as a puppy we already had a yorkie, Mia, in our house. The two dogs had their share of typical growing pains adjusting to each other with Hercules being a puppy and Mia adjusting to another dog in the house. However, they grew to love each other and all is well. Hercules plays with Mia and is very gentle with her. Our current situation brings me to my post now. A friend of my wifes' recently picked up a purebreed english bulldog and they already had a french bulldog in their home. Unfortunately the french bulldog has no taken any kind of liking to the new english bulldog puppy, his name is titan, and reached out to her friends about possibly finding a new loving home for the bulldog puppy. So my wife spoke to me about possibly taking the dog off their hands but we wanted to see how he was with our current pack situation in our home but that if it worked out I wouldn't be opposed to it. I said that we would need at least 2 days to gauge if things could work out or not.

So about 2 nights ago the english bulldog puppy was dropped off at our home right around dinner time for our dogs. Titan being the curious little puppy that he is walked over to hercules bowl while he was eating and Hercules didn't like that and snapped at Titan a little bit. We corrected them both and I wasn't too alarmed at that being Hercules is protective of his domain and a foreign dog was trying to sneak into his food. Over the past 2 days Hercules has seemed almost indifferent to Titan being around. Titan has laid in Hercules bed and I would have thought Hercules would try to nudge him out of his bed he's chosen to lay on the floor somewhat away from all of us. He'll occasionally come up to titan give him a sniff and wag his tail but that doesn't always mean he's in a good mood and accepting of Titan. Other times Hercules will be laying in his own bed and Titan will go up to him to try to play or assimilate and Hercules will growl at him or his jowel will quiver a little as if he's going to snap at him but not all the time. We immediately correct Hercules because we don't want him to think he can do that to every dog that comes around. We feel so bad for TItan and want him to be in a good loving home so we asked for a few more days to see if things got any better or worse to know for sure if this will work out or not. So given Hercules behavior and being so indifferent has anyone else encountered issues like these when introducing a foster dog to a resident dog that is a bullmastiff? Or have any tips or suggestions on how to get Hercules to be open to welcoming another puppy into the pack?

 

[angelbears]

I wouldn't expect any problems until Titan starts hitting puberty. 6 months to 11/2 years from now. Then all hell could break loose. Then again they could be best friends. There really is just no way to tell.

 

[DDSK]

Someone may need to get neutered.

 

[karennj]

It is very normal for adult dogs to not like puppies. They are annoying, have horrible impulse control, don't follow dog etiquette and do not have great doggy language yet. The fact that your dog is not fully snapping at the pup is a very good sign. I had a hunting dog before getting my swiss mountain dog and when I brought her home we did a meeting on neutral turf and my springer growled and snapped at her. She was too much excitement, moved too quickly and he wanted nothing to do with her. About a week later they were playing non-stop. Also, it can take some time for the current dog to accept a new dog into the home. Just think about it, what if you were living in your house and then all the sudden a new person moved in and your supposed to be best friends with them all the sudden?

I would not correct the BM to harshly for growling. You really need to be correcting the pup IF it is not respecting the growl. Your BM needs to be able to communicate when they don't want interaction and a quiver or growl is a perfectly acceptable way to do it. Do not force your BM to accept the pup. For now I would focus on these things and keep at it for at least a week (preferable 2) before making a decision.

1. Give the BM a safe place to get away from the puppy.
2. Respect the BM wishes to be left alone so the puppy can only be allowed free access to the BM for now while you can supervise. If the BM shows any sign of stress or discomfort, distract the pup with something else or take it out of the space. Don't allow the pup to bug the BM.
3. All food and high value bones should be given separately. You don't want your pup thinking he can steal whatever he wants and you don't want your BM thinking he has to protect his food now. There is no reason for dogs to have to eat side by side. It creates unnecessary stress.
4. Do lots of bonding things with both dogs. Take them for walks in new places, car rides, training classes together, obedience sessions, etc.

When I brought Bear home he and Sadie were totally ignoring each other. It was very awkward the first couple days. I dealt with some resource guarding with both which is completely normal. I made sure that all good things came when both of them were together. I gave them lots of love and treats when they were together. We did hikes, car rides and went to fun places when they were together. Now they get along just fine but they still don't play with each other 9 months later. I don't think they ever will play with each other. It is just not the relationship that they have and that's ok. They follow each other around and when we hike they investigate things with each other and they enjoy that relationship.

 

[Liz_M]

karennj nailed it. My little JRTx Fiona does not like puppies, but she is fair and firm about establishing boundaries with them and it's the best thing for a puppy, especially a pushy one! She's helped "raise" several foster pups and is great at teaching them manners and respect for their elders. She is doing that now with my EM pup and because I trust her, I let her discipline him and it's working out fine. It sounds like Hercules is being very appropriate with your bulldog pup and I would not discipline him for this at all.


My black Lab is much softer and more patient, almost too patient, and my pup has gotten overly pushy with him...I stop it when it happens and when Deefer (the Lab) gets fed up enough to WOOF and warn Booker he's being too bratty, I praise him for it.



I've also found that taking my three for (very short) walks and doing little training sessions with all three at once helps with the bonding and (if you believe in it) pack hierarchy. Adult dogs get their meals handed to them first, then puppy goes to his crate to eat. He learned pretty quick to be patient and not try to grab Fiona's food LOL.


Keeping high-value items and meals separate is a good idea, no point in creating a reason for conflict and allowing a situation for bad behaviour.



As to whether the bulldog will work out in the long run, it's hard to predict whether problems will crop up when he starts into adolescence. That depends on the temperaments of both boys and to a lesser extent, the level of training and control you have over them.

 

[acampo26]

Someone may need to get neutered.

Hercules was neutered right around when he was 15/ months old

It is very normal for adult dogs to not like puppies. They are annoying, have horrible impulse control, don't follow dog etiquette and do not have great doggy language yet. The fact that your dog is not fully snapping at the pup is a very good sign. I had a hunting dog before getting my swiss mountain dog and when I brought her home we did a meeting on neutral turf and my springer growled and snapped at her. She was too much excitement, moved too quickly and he wanted nothing to do with her. About a week later they were playing non-stop. Also, it can take some time for the current dog to accept a new dog into the home. Just think about it, what if you were living in your house and then all the sudden a new person moved in and your supposed to be best friends with them all the sudden?

I would not correct the BM to harshly for growling. You really need to be correcting the pup IF it is not respecting the growl. Your BM needs to be able to communicate when they don't want interaction and a quiver or growl is a perfectly acceptable way to do it. Do not force your BM to accept the pup. For now I would focus on these things and keep at it for at least a week (preferable 2) before making a decision.

1. Give the BM a safe place to get away from the puppy.
2. Respect the BM wishes to be left alone so the puppy can only be allowed free access to the BM for now while you can supervise. If the BM shows any sign of stress or discomfort, distract the pup with something else or take it out of the space. Don't allow the pup to bug the BM.
3. All food and high value bones should be given separately. You don't want your pup thinking he can steal whatever he wants and you don't want your BM thinking he has to protect his food now. There is no reason for dogs to have to eat side by side. It creates unnecessary stress.
4. Do lots of bonding things with both dogs. Take them for walks in new places, car rides, training cl$#@! together, obedience sessions, etc.

When I brought Bear home he and Sadie were totally ignoring each other. It was very awkward the first couple days. I dealt with some resource guarding with both which is completely normal. I made sure that all good things came when both of them were together. I gave them lots of love and treats when they were together. We did hikes, car rides and went to fun places when they were together. Now they get along just fine but they still don't play with each other 9 months later. I don't think they ever will play with each other. It is just not the relationship that they have and that's ok. They follow each other around and when we hike they investigate things with each other and they enjoy that relationship.

thank you so so much for your adive and feedback! WE have been walking Hercules & Titan together and of course everyone gets fed in their own area but we make sure Hercules gets his food first then Mia and then the puppy. As far as correcting Hercules I would say it's in line with your suggestion of not being too harsh but just letting him know to be nice and that's it's just a puppy he's not trying to hurt you. Since last night we have noticed Titan feeling himself a little bit and being more adventurous with Hercules. He's been trying to play with Hercules and any time we've caught the pup trying to bit or anything we'll correct the puppy immediately. We were very lucky with Hercules in that he took our training well and we were on top of him. Can't say that Titan would take the training the same way but if we end up keeping him we absolutely would be on top of it for sure and you can tell he's a quick learner. In the 3 days he's been here you can tell he's learned so much already. Also anytime Hercules feels like he's being bothered he removes himself from the situation and goes to the kitchen or living room and lays down, so the space is there for him to just get away if he feels like he needs too. I get they might not be the best of friends but it would be nice if they got along. As others have mentioned, it is hard to predict exactly how these two would eventually get along but fingers crossed it does work out!

 

[karennj]

If you can train a mastiff you can train a bulldog. You guys are going to do great!

Sent from my ALCATEL ONE TOUCH 4037T using Tapatalk

 

[acampo26]

Just a couple of pics:

This is our precious Hercules


And this is Titan

 

[angelbears]

OMG! That is one of the cutest puppy pictures I have seen. Hercules is a handsome man.

 

[Yamizuma]

OMG! They are just too adorable! Little Titan's smooshy face with his tongue poking out made my morning! And Herc is quite simply awesome!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[norcal408bully]

Not much advice, but I recently added a frenchie (cash) to the pack with my bm (knox). Knox has done very well with him and is very tolerant. I think the biggest hurdle was to not show the new puppy anymore attention then I did to knox. He is very jealous and hated seeing cash get more attention, Especially from my wife and I. Other than that, they've become the best of friends and cash is always looking up to him (literally) and following him arnd everywhere. Which makes recall that much easier. I jus call knox and cash follows him everywhere. Wld love to add an English bulldog to the pack, but I the wife will not go for it. my idea of owning three different size bully didn't seem as great to her as I did to me. So we'll jus do with the largest bully you can have with the smallest. Here's a pic of my pack.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk