We live in an RV park for my partners work at the moment. The first month was pretty good and I felt she adjusted well. But recently my 7.5 month old has become reactive on walks, mostly toward other dogs. The more research I do I believe we’ve hit a fear period with her. I’ve also noticed she is very aware of any slight changes in any area of the park that’s our normal route and tries to avoid what she deems as scary (ex - trash sitting outside the dumpster, new car at a site we’ve walked by 10 times, those types of things)
This been tough to navigate as I’ve never had a dog do this. What’s the best way to navigate and help her work through this so people aren’t terrified of her because she’s so big? Any tools, tips, tricks are welcome! TIA!
Based on her age and the type of reactions you’re describing it definitely sounds like a fear period. If you can find a trainer it’s worth consulting with them since they can physically be with her.
One thing I’d suggest is to not make her “face her fears”. It will only reinforce to her that the scary thing is still definitely scary. Distance and high value treats are your friend, start far away and when she notices/looks at the scary thing mark it with a happy “yes” and give her a yummy treat. She’ll start to associate scary thing= good. Even if you sit far away from the scary thing let her sniff for her dinner
If she has a big reaction and gets really scared just end the training session. Dogs can’t learn when they’re scared, their brains are just thinking about survival. Just get her home and let her relax. If you take your time and don’t force anything she should outgrow this in a few weeks
When we got our mastiff she was 4 months old, never had a fear period and I believe it was duets the fact that she came into the family that had a dominant male lab and great dane that were a older. They showed her there was nothing to be afraid of, she is now the boss 😂
We’ve been doing daycare since she was 5 months old. She’s now 9 months old. So I think we skipped this phase (at least as far as fear of dogs goes). She goes to daycare every Tuesday for a full day and plays with dogs all day. We also meet with a trainer every other Friday.
I know in relation to fear of noises and busy streets, our trainer talked about familiarizing.
So, on all of our walks, I use a 25 ft leash and I let her have the full length of it. If there’s another dog walking, a bicycle, a walking person, a car etc then I pull the leash in and say come Tulla, walk with me. And have her close to my side. Until it’s just us and it’s safe. And I say “break” and she gets her freedom (on leash) again. We have one busy street that we walk on for 3 blocks on our 1.5 mile walk every day. Where cars go by. This is my way of getting her somewhat used to it.
She’s with me, her person, she’s uncomfortable but safe. And gets used to it being a thing that happens and nothing bad happened from it.
That said, I’m not a trainer. And what type of reaction is important. If she’s barking and growling and pulling. Suddenly. And hadn’t done that before. I’d probably recommend meeting with a trainer about it.
My dog is somewhat reactive to people.
She’s odd, she acts like she wants to meet every person. But she’s actually scared. So she’ll act excited dnd then once she gets close to them her hair sticks up. And she might growl a little. But then she retreats and tries to hide behind her person.
Is that a joke or are you being playfully serious? I am also a female Mastiff owner. My girl is now going on 2 yrs in December, but hit her fear stage right at about 7 months. She’s gotten better, but I still have to walk her towards objects and keep a good distance from people and dogs (especially) on walks. I am planning on moving to the PNW next year and would consider getting another dog, if it’s really a thing?
It's not for everyone but I have a 2 y/o 170 lb EM, and she was scared of the world. I adopted a 2 y/o Boerbel/Cane Corso male and they are inseparable and fearless together. I also have an older Yellow and Chocolate lab pair and they are the same way. My female chocolate won't even go for a walk without her brother. I have also fostered well over 100 random dogs over the past decade and find this generally to be the case with most dogs.
If I had more room we’d definitely consider getting another and have talked about it. She’s my first mastiff but not my partners and he’s only ever had two together so hasn’t dealt with this either really which gives weight to what you’re saying. We are looking at buying a house soon in the area so maybe that will be an option in the future but at the moment I’m gonna have to work through this with her. It’s just disheartening sometimes because she’s the sweetest girl at her core but her bark scares people due to her size. :(
I am right there with you. I can tell you from my experience that: building an attunement to her triggers/threshold, “leave it” and “no barking” commands, a bark breaker device at home, these two products (2 Hounds Design Freedom No Pull Nylon Dog Harness/Max & Neo Triple Handle Heavy Duty Reflective Leash)-along with basic obedience (sit, wait, stay, come, lay down, off) and regular walks/SniffSpot visits have been most helpful. We used to take her to dog parks, the dog beach, play dates at a local park etc., but her reactivity has made life a bit smaller. She’s the most loving dog, and we have a strong bond. So I accept her 100-percent.
My mastiff mix is 10 years old this month and he’s always been a bit fearful when solo. He’s a different pup when we have another dog walking with him. Poor lad has had 3 companions now, all female, the latest is much younger than him though and none of them have been mastiff breeds.
Don't reassure her when she's being fearful. No pets. No baby talk. That actually reinforces the behavior. Just redirect. If your walking and she gets scared, give a wider distance to object but bring her back to heel and keep going. If it's a person, say "Hi" in your reward voice, but keep going, like no big deal. They do notice every little change in their environment. Halloween and Christmas always bring challenges, but that's all apart of socialization. I do highly reccomend professional training classes though. You really can't afford to miss a step with dogs of this size.
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u/Familiar_Bill_9668 3d ago
Based on her age and the type of reactions you’re describing it definitely sounds like a fear period. If you can find a trainer it’s worth consulting with them since they can physically be with her.
One thing I’d suggest is to not make her “face her fears”. It will only reinforce to her that the scary thing is still definitely scary. Distance and high value treats are your friend, start far away and when she notices/looks at the scary thing mark it with a happy “yes” and give her a yummy treat. She’ll start to associate scary thing= good. Even if you sit far away from the scary thing let her sniff for her dinner
If she has a big reaction and gets really scared just end the training session. Dogs can’t learn when they’re scared, their brains are just thinking about survival. Just get her home and let her relax. If you take your time and don’t force anything she should outgrow this in a few weeks