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Help Your Mastiff Master Social Skills

By Brendan Forde

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 24May2008 Word count: 464 Viewed: 321 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Because they grow up to be such large dogs and tend to be sensitive and quiet, training your Mastiff puppies in the social skills is absolutely crucial for the caring owner.

The Mastiff puppy develops most of his motor, sensory and learning skills in the first 12 weeks of his life. What he learns about his owner and other humans, interacting with a variety of people, other animals, and even places - these lessons will imprint on his brain, and will probably stay with him for the rest of his life.

It stands to reason, then, to devote as much of your time and energies as possible developing a close and loving bond between dog and owner and family. Get as much physical contact as you can, in play and in rest. Develop a planned timetable for these vital weeks, so that puppy Mastiff gets used to a routine from an early age.

A good opportunity to interact is grooming time. Have a fixed time for this exercise, and gently brush his coat and wipe his ears. Not every young puppy will welcome grooming, but gentle perseverance will win him over. Never shout or speak sharply at this stage - all communication should be gentle and kind.

Get him out in public as early and as much as possible, but avoid any situation that might pose a threat to a sensitive young dog mastiff puppy. Make a conscious decision to visit several locations a week, and introduce your young mastiff to many different people, so that he learns to cope with this strange animal that is Human, and gets used to the noise and bustle of daily life. And of course, see that he also gets to meet other non-threatening animals and dogs.

If at any time you sense that he is getting distressed or fearful, pick him up and gently reassure him that all is right, and try to put him back in the situation so that he accepts that he can cope, that his fears were unfounded.

Remember that he looks to you as the leader of the pack, so he will be extra sensitive to your emotions and behavior, and you must at this stage be a master of calmness and gentle strength. Avoid bad temper and angry words in his presence.

Often in his third month the young mastiff puppy may go through a "fearful" period of 2 or 3 weeks, when he can easily get distressed. If you experience this, best advice is to moderate his social outings so that you avoid particularly and very noisy or crowded situations.

If you follow these simple guidelines, then your young mastiff will be on his way to being socialized, so that he can be a faithful and confident companion by your side.

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