Tips on Dog Socialization

Dirty Dingus McGee

Hi.We have a Bull Mastiff bitch and we have just bought a new Basset Hound pup, however the Bull Mastiff used to loathe our previous Basset Hound and would attack him on and off if he went near her and often for absolutely no reason.

Although we are going to keep the pup well away from the Bull Mastiff for a while and we can separate them with a fence it would be better eventually for the dogs to mix and I am wondering have people any tips for improving the Bull Mastiffs behaviour towards other dogs.

The Bull Mastiff wasn't reared alongside other dogs and my sister basically treated her like a child and she wasn't really used to other dogs until she moved to our house when she was about a year old.She is a very friendly dog around people and has a lovely character but she didn't seem to take well to our Basset Hound.She doesn't have any issue when she meets dogs on a walk so maybe she just had an issue with our Basset.

Does anybody have any tips for getting her used to the new dog so we don't have the same issues again.

DBB

As a matter of interest, with the last Basset, who was there first? The Basset or the Bullmastiff?
Is the new pup male or female?
What age is the new pup now?

Dirty Dingus McGee

DBB wrote: »

As a matter of interest, with the last Basset, who was there first? The Basset or the Bullmastiff?
Is the new pup male or female?
What age is the new pup now?

Basset was there first.
New pup is a male and is 10 weeks old.

tk123

I have a 4 month old female pup and a 4 year old adult male.. At first he was a bit unsure of her and either gave out or blanked her every time she went near him so we made sure to not let her jump all over him and to supervise them - for his sanity lol! More than anything he just needed space and reassurance. She's learnt not to jump all over him when he's resting etc and they're buddies now playing togther all the time - especially since they've been on walks together.


EDIT - just a word of warning..the pup tried to get milk off him the first few days and he got very afriad so be careful your pup doesn't so the same and frighten the life out of the other poor dog!

DBB

I'd also be inclined to do stuff that will help soften the presence of the pup. Dogs are usually much more peaceable with one another when they go out for walks, so I'd be inclined to go out on several very short walks per day (you need to be careful not to overdo it with pup, carry him if need be for spells. And of course, he'll possibly not have finished his vaccines yet, so you'll need to not do this until then!)
In the house, to my mind you need to jump straight in there and have the dogs together as much as possible BUT with terms and conditions attached.
For instance, I would keep puppy in a crate or playpen when the Bullmastiff is about: he needs to be kept safe from her, whilst still being in the vicinity. This allows the older dog get used to the youngster, who kinda becomes part of the furniture when you do it this way. It also stops pups from hassling her, a scenario that even the most patient dog can find irritating!
If he's out of the crate, I would keep her on a lead so that she can't go overboard with him... by all means let her sniff him, and even growl at him and bat him with her paws, but if she is going too far, you'll be able to stop her quickly.
It might not do any harm to get a professional in to spend an hour or two with you and the two dogs, so that they can give you a more accurate picture of exactly what's going on here: you might be surprised at what may be causing the Bullmastiff to be cranky with the other dog! A good behaviourist will also be able to show you various techniques and tricks to help smooth the path between the two dogs. But take care to get a qualified person in, as there are a lot of cowboys out there.