# Advise with my Neo Mastiff



## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

I have my Neo Mastiff / 'Pitt' mix puppy that is now 4 months old. I have had him from birth and my sister and brother-in-law and I all have part time 'custody' of him. (He technically belongs to my brother-in-law, but he is a truck driver and hasn't been able to make it back to pick him up.) My sister really has no desire to train him as a puppy and is almost to the point that most of the craigslist posters are... Wanting to get rid of him! At that point, I get to bring him to hang out with me and my Bull Terrier, Owen.
Right now he is with me and I have never had dealings with the giant breed dogs and I am at a loss as to where to start. He jumps on people, including my niece and nephew who are 2 and 3. He taunts Owen when it is feeding time by walking up to him even though Owen is telling him to step away... This sounds like children!  He won't go away from me to fetch a ball, so playing with him is limited. (he likes the kind of play that includes my hand in his mouth) I have tried giving him the cow hooves that you can get at petsmart and he only brings it to me and goes and lays down. Does anyone have any idea as to where I can start or what I can do? He is food driven, so we have been working on the basic sit, down, stay. (Slow process) 
I would like to start him on Prey Model feeding, but when he goes home with my sister, she refuses!! Any advise about this also?? Thanks!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Explain to your sister the benefits of raw and how similar it is to making food and shopping for herself only without the pesky, cumbersome process of having to cook the food. Just take it out and hand it over. 

As far as the training goes, puppies are a pain in the butt to begin with. Giant breed puppies, I can't even imagine! My initial reaction is to get a professional trainer (like sign up for a training class) so your puppy can be socialized and taught by you and a professional. Make sure you find a good trainer who likes your dog to do the command right on the first try, rather than saying "sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit SIT sit sit sit sit sit" and hoping your dog will eventually get bored and sit down on its own. I hate that so much. Watching the training classes at Petsmart reminds me of banging my head against a wall. 

So umm I bet RFD has some great advice for you though, since he's a retired trainer and has giant breed dogs.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

EnglishBullTerriers said:


> I have my Neo Mastiff / 'Pitt' mix puppy that is now 4 months old. I have had him from birth and my sister and brother-in-law and I all have part time 'custody' of him. (He technically belongs to my brother-in-law, but he is a truck driver and hasn't been able to make it back to pick him up.)


First, you must decide where this dog is going to live. Moving from house to house with defferent rules in each house, different people, different diets, different sleeping places, different people to play with is just too much for a dog to handle and remain well adjusted.

Once you decide you are going to be sole owner of the dog post again and I'll be glad to help you. I can't help you in the condition that exists now.



> At that point, I get to bring him to hang out with me and my Bull Terrier, Owen.


As long as he just comes to hang out with you sometimes, you are very limited in what you can do.



> Right now he is with me and I have never had dealings with the giant breed dogs and I am at a loss as to where to start.


Giant breed dogs are no different than other dogs. They are just bigger. A LOT bigger. Control is mandatory.



> He jumps on people, including my niece and nephew who are 2 and 3.


He is in a huge need of someone with the knowledge and desire to control him but in your situation, it just won't happen. Even if you get him perfect, when he goes to live with sister then brother-in-law or whichever and then comes back to you, all you taught him will have been lost and you have to begin again from scratch. Each time it will get more and more difficult.



> I would like to start him on Prey Model feeding, but when he goes home with my sister, she refuses!! Any advise about this also?? Thanks!


As much as I am a strong proponent of prey model raw feeding, in your situation, unless everyone is on board with it, it won't happen.


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

I understand what you are saying. I guess I was just hoping that someone would be able to help with a 'quick fix'. Always looking for the easy way out I guess. I will try to talk to my sister and her husband about him again. Thanks for all the help/ wake-up call. 
So, If I were to be keeping him with me and train him, there is no difference between a giant breed learning vs any other dog? I know that my EBT was very challenging to get started, now I am almost the only one that he will allow to tell him what to do. (He did pick me out and come home with me.) Titus was the same way, that he usually will follow me around versus the rest of my family. The only other person that he does that with is my brother-in-law. Owen and Titus will sometimes even get into scuffels around my feet because they both want to be right next to me. I also understand that they both need to be 'fixed' and that will help a little, but not having a job kinda puts a kink in that right now. That is the first thing that I will do when I start my new job in Jan. 
Any kind of suggestions are greatly appreciated. THANKS!


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## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> First, you must decide where this dog is going to live. Moving from house to house with defferent rules in each house, different people, different diets, different sleeping places, different people to play with is just too much for a dog to handle and remain well adjusted.


I agree! 

RE spaying/neutering: In our county we are allowed one free spay/neuter per household. You might want to look up your "government" website in your area and check it out. It will help immensely if they offer this program. Good Luck!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I know in a lot of places, if you have a Humane Society, they often have a free spay/neuter program for pit bulls and pit mixes. It's kind of funny, they'll look into it and make sure the pit mix looks "pit enough" so it's "worth it" for them to do the surgery. However, they're doing an incentive now of paying people $5 if they bring their pits in to get fixed so that's something. So you should look into your county rules and the Humane Society and local shelters and rescues to see if anyone can help you. 

Oh almost forgot, you should look in the most obviously place: your brother-in-law's wallet! I believe neutering may help at least a couple of your problems. In the mean time, I'd say just work with him on the basics like manners and commands and then tell your sister what you've been doing with him and explain to her how important it is for her to be consistent with his training. There is nothing worse than a fully grown giant breed who's young and hasnt had any discipline growing up. 

Explain to her the situation of how this is a very unstable way for a puppy to grow up, maybe you guys can come up with some sort of solution/compromise to work it all out. 

Good luck!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Oh and pick your battles, too. While good nutrition is imperative in a dog's life, the dog needs stability and a permanent home first. So don't bring up the raw thing until you've convinced her to do what's right for the dog as well as a living arrangement goes (whatever you two decide that will be).


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## lorih1770 (Jun 17, 2008)

One thing I can think of in training your giant breed is that you really want to make absolute sure that you have 100% control over him. You HAVE to be the boss/alpha. It's annoying if a small dog is out of control, but you have serious problems with a giant dog out of control. And make sure you get him to always come to you when you call him without exception. The only difference with a giant breed is that if he were to bite it would be much worse than if a smaller dog bit just due to size. Training is vital just so that you have control. 

Neutering him and having a stable home will definitely help too.

My dog Clyde is a 150 lb. St. Bernard.


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## ghosthorse (Feb 20, 2009)

I agree you need to work with the pup and make sure he knows you are the dominant one of the family and get him plenty of exercise. I have a presa mastiff and she demands alot of time and energy because i want her to be well behaved and socialized. She's quite a character but she definately likes to run the show if she can get away with it.


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## Ali (May 20, 2009)

I notice this subject is old but the poster seems to still be a regular so I'm wondering what became of this Neo? I hate to think he's still being passed around and not living in a home providing the structure he needs.


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

Ali said:


> I notice this subject is old but the poster seems to still be a regular so I'm wondering what became of this Neo? I hate to think he's still being passed around and not living in a home providing the structure he needs.


Thank you for asking.
He was living with my sister in her backyard for about 3 months before she ended up having to move out of her house (economic problems) and is staying with my mom. My mom doesn't have the space to keep my sister, her 2 kids, my sisters 2 chihuahuas and the Neo (Titus). So I went down and picked him up about 2 weeks ago and he is with me till they get things figured out. It will be a while and I don't plan to give him back if they are just going to put him in thier back yard and leave him by himself. In short, he is with me. We spent the first week in re-training and reminding him how to be a nice dog. He tried to bite my neighbor twice in one night, the about a week later, after more working with him, he walked up to them and gave them a big lick on the hand and sat down with the guy that lives next door. That was the same guy that he had tried to bite the week before. He is still having trouble excepting dogs other then Owen (the EBT), but we are working on that. 
He had forgotten how to go into his crate, not beg for food, walk on a leash, sleep through the night... It was a lot for him to remember, but he got it back quick. We went on our first walk last night and Titus stayed right beside me and Owen was the one pulling me down the street for the first half of the walk. Then that wore him out and I was pulling him! I really need to work with him on that more.!  
He is doing well and working out his puppy-ness. However, I have been told that I am not to feed him ANY raw food AT ALL!!! I do anyway. Not every meal, but back and forth. I usually mix raw ground beef with his kibble and sometimes I give him a full chicken leg quarter!  :biggrin: He loves it and I tell him 'Don't tell mom!' (With the full understanding that he has NO idea what I am saying!! :wink: )
I will say that I will not let my sister take him back until she gets her life in order more then just financially. Plus she needs to have a low-maintenence dog, not a Neo/Pitt mix!


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