Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO General Forum => General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws => : April and Triton May 03, 2008, 01:27:50 AM
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I need some advice! I am getting an english mastiff puppy in a week and just got word from the breeder that he is very insecure in new environments. He is great with new people, but when you get him out of his home environment he hides in a corner for about 10 minutes before slowly venturing out to check things out. I want to be able to take this puppy with me everywhere as I want to use him for therapy work.. being great with people but not new environments makes me nervous.. has anyone had experience with this?? Will he snap out of it with enough work or am I doomed to have a 200# boy who will hide in the corner when we go out? ? Any advice is appreciated.
Sorry!! Forgot to mention, he is still with the breeder and litter mates, I am not bringing him home until he is 8 weeks.. he is about 4 hours away so I have not met him, this is just input I am getting from the breeder.
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I agree with the ladies. That is really early . Another concern is that they learn bite inhibition from their momma and littermates in those first 8-10 weeks. They bite when they play and momms lets them know when it is too hard. Pups seperated too early have been shown to have some issues with teething WAY too hard later on.... Is there a way the breeder will let you hold off another couple of weeks? I always think of it like human pregnancy, there is a magic cut off point when a baby is considered safe to Exit the Womb so to speak... any time before that is not ideal. Pups are the same way. You bring htem home before 8 weeks, you've got a preemie.
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Congrats on the new pup!
At this age it sounds pretty normal to me. No matter the temperment you will have to work diligently with socializing and exposing him to different environments. If he is shyer it will take him longer to get used to new places but eventually it should happen.
Gunther was very introverted as a pup. When I first started taking him to the dog park, granted he was a puppy, but it took him about 4 straight days of going before he would venture out from next to me. After that, you couldn't stop him! ;D And after really working to increase his confidence he now does great in social settings. I'm sure yours will too. ;)
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We got our mastiff boy at 9 weeks old. The first couple days at home with us he was quite laid back, scared of loud noises and skitish. He will be 11 weeks old on Wed. and he is no where near same dog we brought home 2 weeks ago.
He is well adjusted and just as loud (at times) as the rest of my family. Now if someone yells(with 2 teenagers and a 7 year old, that would be quite often..LOL) he comes running to see what is going on. If there is a loud noise he is right there to inspect it.
He greets EVERYONE now, where as the first couple of days he would run and hide if he heard a new voice.
we have introduced him to our neighbors and our kids friends. As soon as we get the go-ahead from our vet we will begin socializing him with other dogs outside of our home.
Through all the introductions and interaction he has come out of his shell and insecurities.
Best of luck and cant wait to see pic's of the little big man!!
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Hey, thank you for the encouragement. It's nice to know that your puppy is overcoming KiranGunnersmo m, I hope we have the same experience. I finally figured out how to put a picture up.. that's Triton at 5 weeks. :) I'm so happy to have found this forum!!
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ohhhhh, your baby looks like a silver brindle. He's so cute!!! Two of Gunners brothers and a sister were apricot brindles. I wanted a silver or one of the brindles but Gunner untied my shoes then sat on my feet, so he pretty much made the choice for us(he's an apricot)...lol!
Keep us updated on his progress and of course the weekly pictures because that is how fast they grow and change!
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Your guy is a cute chunk. He reminds me of Butler when he was that small. The only piece of advice I can give that has not been said is to stock up on rags or dish towls cause your gonna need them for slobber patrol ;D I always have several staged in strategic locations in my house.