Expert: Jennifer Date: 3/8/2004 Subject: Mastiff puppy
Question I got a mastiff puppy about a month ago. She was VERY timid and I don't think she had ever seen anyone but the woman who owned her mother. We have been working on socialization and at times she appears to be doing much better, especially when she is outdoors. We have also been working on housebreaking. I am using a crate and it seemed to be working, but now we have an issue. The other day when she was outside she got her collar caught on a low tree branch and now whenever you take hold of her collar she screams and pees everywhere, also she loves her crate and when she goes in you cannot get her to come out and she fights and pees when you hold her collar to get her out. As you can imagine this is getting to be a big problem since she is peeing in the crate as you are pulling her out and it is also impossable to teach her to come when you call her if you have to touch her collar. Any suggestions?
Answer Hi,
It is very unfortunate that such a stressful thing happened to her when she was just coming around. She may be screaming and peeing because naturally the mother grabs her pup by the back of the neck and shakes them or carries them to teach them right from wrong. She probably thought this when she got caught on the tree. Now she thinks that it is wrong to be outside and when she gets pulled out of the crate. It is very natural for dogs to love their crate, they are den animals and this is instinctive. Do not try and pull her out of her crate, I have never done this with any of the pups that I have reared. Instead make it a game. Have a treat that she just loves and call her. Use something like boiled chicken, most can't resist this. If she still won't come out, get a ball and start bouncing it around or a stufed toy and play with it. Something will trigger her. The whole time reassure her softly and make her feel at ease. As she starts to make progress and come out of her cage little by little give her a small piece of chicken, just enough to wet her whistle and tell her "Good girl!". Eventually she will begin to trust you again. Don't touch her collar for quite a while, a swift NO will get her attention enough and you can then pick her up and move her if necessary when she tries something bad. These processes may take longer, but then she won't associate you with the awful thing that happened to her. Everytime you grab her collar she associates you with getting caught on the tree. She pees because she is showing submissiveness and yells to let her mother or the person hurting her that she is sorry. You may even want to take her collar off and show it to her for a few days to let her know that she is okay now. Hopefully, these things will help. Good Luck, let me know if I can be of further assistance. Jen
