Puppy pacing and leaning

• 10-14-2009 11:29 AM

  Fenris Joined on 09-28-2009 Posts 15 Points 0

  Puppy pacing and leaning Reply Contact We have a 10-month-old bullmastiff puppy, female, spayed. She's staying with our rescue mix, who she has been raised with, while our two-year-old boxer is going to another home (earlier thread, fights in the house, thanks everyone for thoughtful responses). To give us a little time to place the boxer, we've farmed out the bullmastiff to a two-week board-and-train. When she comes back, there are a couple of things I want to look at. One is pacing. She paces morning and night, when she's excited, when she's hungry, when anyone else is up and moving around. She'll have her head and neck straight out, not stiff or up or down, just forward, and she likes to carry something in her mouth when she does that. Tail as well, not up or down or wagging much, just level and swaying back and forth just a little. Her steps are sort of long and very deliberate. When she greets, she'll do that in a circle around you and snort a lot. There aren't any signs of aggression to it, but it gets annoying and it seems to stress other dogs. Any ideas what that's about? Other thing is leaning. She leans on you like a bag of lead. Everyone loves it, really, because she's doing it for affection -- lean into you, put the whole weight of her head on you, do the puppy eyes thing. Everyone melts. Petting and baby talk ensues, never fails. That's exactly how we brought the boxer up spoiled rotten and contributed to his possessiveness. The last thing I want is to repeat that mistake with a 120-lb guard dog with a head the size of a watermelon. I want to discourage dominant leaning, because she's already figured out how to use her weight to push other dogs out of the way -- what's to stop her from trying it on us? At the same time, I don't want to discourage affection. That's what's so lovable about this dog, the way she's just loves on people.  Thoughts?

  Post Points: 0

• 10-15-2009 2:58 AM

  In reply to Fenris

  Bruister Joined on 09-19-2009 British Columbia, Canada Posts 153 Points 35

  Re: Puppy pacing and leaning Reply Contact Bullmastiffs snort and lean just like they drool and love to crawl onto your lap.  It's all part of the charm.    Mine used to snort profusely when he was watching strangers walk past the house.  The result was messed up windows all the time. It's like "I am processing important information therefore I snort."  As for leaning with other dogs, you will probably see that when she plays, she will bump/kind of shove the other dog with her shoulders or hips which is common, but it is not aggressive, just kind of herdy.  Regarding pacing day and night..it sounds like she just gets excited...ie it happens at meal times etc.  If the pacing keeps you awake at night, you might want to crate for awhile to get her into a sleeping pattern. Sleeping is not usually a problem for BMs, but she is still a baby. You will know more when she gets back home.  A well loved and well trained Bullmastiff is the most laid back dog ever....enjoy      Say No To Breed Specific Legislation...

  Post Points: 0

• 10-16-2009 7:01 AM

  In reply to Fenris

  spiritdogs Joined on 09-10-2007 Posts 11,726 Points 1,020

  Re: Puppy pacing and leaning Reply Contact I wish you had asked us before you shipped your dog out for "board and train".  The facilities that provide such services often use harsh techniques, and while your dog may behave, may have had some not so nice experiences along the way.  Not only that, you often pay way more than you would if you just took a class.  Why wouldn't you go to class WITH your dog and learn to manage his behavior yourself???  Perhaps, if you had attended a positive class or two along the way, you would not have chosen the dogs you did, or had the problems you had with them.  Please, get educated yourself - it's much safer for your dog.  BTW, go to a session at that school - don't announce yourself, just walk in.  You need to know what they are doing to your dog.  There are horror stories of people using electronic collars on dogs without their owners' consent, and using outdated practices that are stupid at best and inhumane at worst.  Forget about dominance - it's largely a myth.  if you don't want your dog to lean on you, simply keep moving through her path and say "excuse me" in a polite tone as you do.  She will eventually learn that the term "excuse me" means "get out of the human's way."  If she does it while you are seated, stand up and leave.  Dogs hate isolation, and will learn that the leaning behavior causes you to go, so they will eventually stop.  FYI, some breeds lean with NO thought of domination, they are just dogs that like close contact (Dobes and Great Danes are prime examples).  If you have a herder, you might have noticed that they want to be with you all the time, just not ON you (they watch from a short distance so they can always see you, and know when you are about to go anywhere, so they can go, too). Regional Director for Massachusetts, International Positive Dog Training Association Director, SeniorCare Pawsitive Connections Program AKC CGC Evaluator #3669 Therapy Dogs, Inc. Tester/Observer Sioux, CGC, TDInc. Maska, CGC, TDInc. Sequoyah, CGC Fergie, Retired Lap Dog, Age 20 1/2 Dancer, CGC, TDInc. (1989-2006) #1 Heart Dog In memory of Mike, please become an organ donor today. "If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." - Chief Dan George "The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift demanding no less binding moral responsibilities than the friendship of a human being. The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be." ~ Konrad Lorenz

  Post Points: 0

• 10-16-2009 10:56 AM

  In reply to spiritdogs

  Fenris Joined on 09-28-2009 Posts 15 Points 0

  Re: Puppy pacing and leaning Reply Contact I hear you. A little more context will probably reassure you somewhat that we're not just flailing. The bullmastiff had to be out of the house while we place the boxer. We're too much family crammed into too little space with way too much activity and spastic-kid excitement going on for a crate-and-rotate routine, let alone desensitize these dogs to each other and rehabilitate the boxer. The boxer gets agitated just at the scent of the bullmastiff. It's too risky to have them both in the house. One way or another, she was going to have to board somewhere temporarily. We've boarded with this facility before, know the trainer, and trust him with our dog. Board and train made sense given that she would have to go somewhere regardless. She has a good obedience foundation from (yes, positive training) puppy classes, but it will help me a great deal to have her come back from boarding with really solid commands that I can reinforce and, not least, the kids and my wife can use. It's become very clear to me that there's not enough time in the day for me alone to train the bullmastiff properly and give our kids the attention they deserve and keep putting time into working with our fearful and reactive rescue mix. What's developed with our boxer is our own fault. We spoiled him. He was the baby and received no structure, no boundaries, from his humans. It's not "alpha" or "dominance," it's an insecure dog feeling at the same time empowered to own food and objects against other dogs when "his" humans -- my wife and kids -- are around. We are not going to make that mistake twice, which means we need to raise a bullmastiff we can trust and who trusts us. I don't want to raised one I can bully into doing things but one who knows what we want when we ask her to do something. The leaning and pacing are just me fussing, probably. I'm overly sensitive to their body language right now because I failed to pick up on signals before. If there was anything there for me to worry about I'd want to nip it in the bud. Sounds like there's not.

  Post Points: 0