Between about two and three months, you will be getting your puppy. At this age, the pup has already started to develop strong dominant and subordinate relationships in the litter. They begin to learn proper doggy behaviour during this period. Young puppies have a very short attention span, but they are learning very quickly – they are like little sponges! Now is the time to start exposing them to all different sorts of environments so they can build their self-confidence. this is a good itme for the pups to go to their new homes, otherwise they wills tart to bond more closely with each other and may not be as interested in people as they would ideally be,and that may make them more difficult to train.
For the first month or so, try to take the pups to a new place several times per week….just for a short visit (half an hour or so). Also, try not to leave the puppy alone by himself for long periods of time Do not isolate the pup during this period for great lengths of time – he may get into destructive behaviour patterns you don’t want him to continue with as he develops into a 100 kg adult!
You also want ot build up the puppies confidence now – so try not to be telling him “NO” every five minutes! If he is getting into something or doing something you don’t want, then either remove the problem or give the pup something else to do that he is allowed. Now is the time to spend lots of time with the pup, playing with him, grooming him and beginning to train him. If you want your dog to happily accept having his nails trimmed, do one nail, give him a treat, do another nail give him a treat etc. do this for any training you want to teach him at this stage. Also, as you toilet train him, don’t use harsh methods, rather just show him where you want him to go and reward him for good behaviour…when he has an accident – just ignore it, clean it up quickly, then take him to his special place and reward him…. .this is also a good time to let him interact with adult dogs under supervision – and that way he should never develop fear aggression of other dogs. Most Mastiffs are really good with other dogs, so this should be fairly easy to do!
As the puppy gets a bit older, between 3 and 6 months, he will be teething – so he will be chewing and biting everything – including your fingers (and your children’s if you have them).. Be sure the pup has HIS own toys to chew on and give correction for mouthing or biting you. A loud “OUCH” and take your hands away will give him the idea. Don’t smack your pup – he just wont get it…
Around 4 to 5 months, pups may go through a bit of a fear period – he might become very suspicious/scared of anybody and anything new. Just keep things Normal for the pup during this period and exposure should be kept at a quiet minimum. If you do come across something new, then don’t make a big deal of it…if the puppy is frightened, don’t molly coddle him, just say “its only a such and such” and treat it like the non issue that it is…he will take his cue from you. Determining Pack Leadership happens during this period also. Once he learns that you are the pack leader, he will remember this then for life and be a much better behaved member of the family. I have a bit of a lesson on that below too… Around sizx to seven months males in particular may start to become teenagers and a little rebellious/challenging to you as leader…Do not allow them to get away with behaviour that they know is bad. Thankfully Mastiffs are generally pretty good like this and only need to be reminded of their place occasionally…
Around the 9 to 12 month stage, some pups may go through another fearful period. Don’t let the pup go all shy and run AWAY from a situation, rather make them remain with you in the fearful situation and make them submit. be firm with them and tell them to not be silly…They will soon find that their fears are unfounded and everything will be back to normal in a very short period of time. We have just gone through this stage with Bear – he was frightened of the mail boxes on our daily walk…that we had gone past for weeks! I just made him stand there and laughed at his silly behaviour…he got the message, and quickly stopped being silly.
All through this time, you should continue taking your pup out to new places and situations.. these might be places he has been before, but irregularly. Take him to meet new people, keep him socialised and he will develop into a happy, confident dog who is a pleasure to be around in all situations!