Very (over?)protective 9.5 month old English Mastiff

[emeliz87]

Hey everyone! I haven't posted here before, but I have read this forum off and on since last spring, when I decided to get my first English Mastiff.

Bernie is the first dog I've ever owned, and definitely my first mastiff. I grew up with large dogs (my parents always had Old English Sheepdogs growing up), but the English Mastiff is new for me. I did a lot of research prior to bringing him home, and he's really a very good dog, but I'm a little concerned about just how protective he seems to be, and am hoping for your thoughts and suggestions.

I apologize if this has already been covered; if it has, please feel free to post a link and I'll just read the existing thread. I didn't find it in my searches though!

So, here's the deal:

My boyfriend and I got Bernie at 8 weeks old on August 21st. He's been pretty easy, though he is more timid than I had expected. This doesn't bother me, really, but since I don't have any first-hand experience with a dog as timid as he is, I'm not sure how to address his sudden protectiveness.

We moved a few weeks ago to a smaller building (a 4-plex), because it has a yard and is near a nice, dog-friendly park. I don't know if it's just that he isn't as used to our new place, and he's still a bit uneasy about it (though, it seems to me that he now feels pretty at home), but he has started to bark at the front windows, and will bark VERY assertively if anyone knocks on our door. This happened so rarely at our old place, that I don't know if he's developed this habit recently, or if he would have done it all along, but my question is:

How do I train him when to be protective, and when it isn't necessary? Is this possible? My boyfriend likes the idea of Bernie being protective, and it's not that I mind if he is, but I certainly don't *need* that from him.

Is this something he will figure out on his own? Or is there a way I can guide him? I don't want to train him never to bark or growl or anything, because I don't think that's healthy for dogs, but I would be much more comfortable if there were a way to teach him when it's appropriate.

Am I being ridiculous? I just want him to be happy and healthy, and I feel like if he feels the need to protect us and our home from any/every person who visits, that's not a very healthy mindset for him. I just want him to relax.

(He's perfectly fine with everyone who's visited after a minute or so. I'd just like it to be more immediate.)


Sorry for the long post! I haven't found any posts as of yet that are very similar to this!


Thanks for reading, and thanks for any input you have to offer!

 

[Smokeycat]

To be honest it sounds like normal Mastiff behavior to me. One thing I did with Kryten was to teach him "OK I got it". This means thank you for letting me know but I can handle it. This lets him do as his instincts demand but he also has an off switch. The only time it doesn't work is if he thinks the threat is greater than the attention I pay to it. I know then that I need to see why he really doesn't like something.

 

[musicdeb]

Great advice, Smokeycat!

Listen to your dog's warnings, learn your dog's body language to know if he really means business and when people enter your home tell them "no talk, no touch and no look" until the dog has checked them out.

Mastiffs are guardians and he is doing his job. It's up to you to let him know whether or not you've got it, like Smokeycat said.

At 9.5 months he could be in a fear stage which should pass soon. He may be afraid of the windows. Slowly expose him to the windows, bring him closer. Watch his body language, if he tenses up, then back away. Reward him with motivational rewards as he gets closer. Do not coddle or baby him when he is afraid, as this rewards the behavior.

Canine Body Language | ASPCA

 

[LizB]

I'd say the fact that he was "timid" when you first got him is an indication that he lacks confidence from early on. This lack of confidence becomes a fearful nature as he matures, which could make him this way for sure.

I second the above advice, and work on obedience exercises that will build his confidence. You don't have to train him when to be protective, trust me, it is more important to train him how to control his impulses.

 

[DennasMom]

Third the advice, above!

If you haven't already, teach him "speak"... then you can more easily teach him "quiet".
We also use the "Ok, I got it" and "enough" as cues for Denna to quit barking at the person coming to the door. It takes time, consistency and many repetitions, but it's worth it.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

I just want to add that all you guys are amazing. Hearing everyone's advice is so helpful as I am sure Linc (6 mos) will soon start the bark at the door, people etc. I think I will start with "I got it" before he starts with the protectiveness
Thanks

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[season]

Great advice right there LizB....you took the words right out of my mouth. Confident dogs don't constantly bark. Constant barking is sign of insecurity/anxiety. Build confidence through training and repetition.

I'd say the fact that he was "timid" when you first got him is an indication that he lacks confidence from early on. This lack of confidence becomes a fearful nature as he matures, which could make him this way for sure.

I second the above advice, and work on obedience exercises that will build his confidence. You don't have to train him when to be protective, trust me, it is more important to train him how to control his impulses.

 

[lups0501]

Emily, is that you?? This is Jeni, with Windsor. How many Emily and Bernie's can there be??

I'm wondering SmokeyCat and DennasMom, do you do something (ie, hand gesture, put dog in sit) when you say "Ok, I got it" so they know to stop barking?? If this is the Bernie I know, Windsor (my 10 month old) is Bernie's litter mate. We don't get this reaction from Windy, however maybe he'll start?? Or since we have ground level windows and he's grown up with them, he doesn't react when people come to the door. I do need to start the "quiet" and "speak" command tho, as he likes to bark at the cat (who wants NOTHING to do with him).

 

[Smokeycat]

I started by getting his attention and telling him he was a good boy for letting me know. While I was doing that I was also approaching his position and looking to see what it was that caused him to bark. I would then acknowledge what it was and tell him it was ok as I was petting his head. I still acknowledge what it is most of the time (Oh it's people, it's just a cat, yep it's a dog, etc.) but he comes to me to get pet. I've found with him that using a tone that sounds like I think he is being silly/ridiculous he relaxes and just keeps a passive eye out for possible danger instead of looking for it.

 

[LizB]

I know for me and my BM if he went on any kind of alert, he'd look to me or my husband. We'd say "go see" if we were releasing him to handle whatever it was in whatever way he wanted to (i.e., sneak out into the back yard in the dark to investigate a noise), or we'd say "I got it." or something like that to indicate we wanted him to stand down, so to speak. Sometimes it was only an eye contact thing, where we'd communicate with our energy that we could handle the situation, like someone at the door, etc.

Our BMs never barked at the door. You could knock and ring the bell all day and they didn't make a sound. When we went to answer the door, one would go with me, the other would circle around the other way, coming through a different door, and sort of flank me, standing just slightly behind me on each side. VERY COOL, and we didn't really teach this to them specifically.

I have a half GSD half Dane and he is very insecure (taken from the litter too young, before we got him) so he barks like a fool at every flipping thing, which we are not used to. We are doing what I mentioned, trying to train him in a way that builds confidence. It is working, but very slowly! I can't take the racket, lol.

 

[Cyndnelson]

I started by getting his attention and telling him he was a good boy for letting me know. While I was doing that I was also approaching his position and looking to see what it was that caused him to bark. I would then acknowledge what it was and tell him it was ok as I was petting his head. I still acknowledge what it is most of the time (Oh it's people, it's just a cat, yep it's a dog, etc.) but he comes to me to get pet. I've found with him that using a tone that sounds like I think he is being silly/ridiculous he relaxes and just keeps a passive eye out for possible danger instead of looking for it.

I tried a couple different ways to rein in the barking as well, and this tactic works for me. This is my first dog and one of the reasons we chose the EM is because they DON'T bark. Only when we're playing and hide his toy or if there is someone at the door.

If he would bark, bark, bark at the door, our first reaction was to say (yell), "Ok" or "No", but then I read that you don't want to correct a dog for barking so we stopped that right away - they're just doing their job! The second thing we tried was to say "Thank You" then walk to the door and use 'pressure' to get him away from the door (walking toward him so he turns the other way). But this didn't work either - he'd just go right back to the door. Then it occurred to me that I wasn't really looking what he was barking at, so the third tactic, which Smockeycat refers to is what works for us now.

We go to the door, actually look outside (duh) then say Thank You or Good Job/Boy. And then he's like, "Ok, well I just wanted you to know that I saw something..." and goes back to his bed.

 

[ruthcatrin]

If he's barking at something, whether someone (or something) passing by, or aproching the door, he's being a normal mastiff, and I don't really think confidence or lack there of has anything to do with it. You can teach him to quiet down after giving you an appropriate warning by using the techniques above. Its very normal mastiff behavior!

 

[Jakesmum]

We do the same as Smokeycat, when Jake is barking at something out the window we go check it out and tell him thank you and pet him this tends to settle him down. He also does the same as LizB's bullmastiffs, he doesn't bark when someone knocks at the door but will come and check it out when I go to answer it, if it doesn't feel right to him he will put himself between me and the door or person or if my husband is home he will pace back and forth between me and my husband, but if it's someone he knows or if I am comfortable with the person he will come up and want to be pet.

 

[emeliz87]

Oh my gosh. I feel like such an idiot for not realizing that I not only posted the same thing more than once (I didn't think this one worked!), but that I never responded to any of you.

Thank you all SO much for your responses!!

He has outgrown the barking at the door thing (I think he was just adjusting to our new place), but he does randomly bark at people sometimes, and barks at people who enter our yard from any except one (the approved!) gate.

He seems more confident in general than he used to, but he's still pretty selective which strangers he wants to let pet him. He doesn't do anything except move away from them when they try, but he's making progress with this as well.

Again: thank you all so much! Sorry it's taken me so long to acknowledge! I guess I'm not so great at technology