Training Your Mastiff

Anyone that has owned a mastiff or another type of dog, knows that training is top priority. Mastiffs are very large and if not properly trained you'll have a nightmare on your hands, and since this breed expects to live like their owners (in a house, your house) they need to know the basic commands at the very least. Basic commands are sit, stay, come, lay/down. Use treats, it makes the process easier for you and tastier for your mastiff. Once they have learned their commands, they will always & forever need to be re-enforced. You can reward them at this point with tons of praise and loving affection, such as hugs (a favorite of theirs, litterally)!

Training can be easy, but it all depends on your commitment. You should train your mastiff a few times throughout the day for about 10-15 mins a session and progress from there as you see fit. However, mastiffs get easily bored so try not to overload them, hence the 10-15 mins sessions. Keep in mind that if you only work on training every couple days, it'll take forever. Your mastiff will look at training as bonding time, so you should approach this with the same attitude. They love to please their owners. They LIVE for it.

Remember, if you're getting a female at the LEAST you can expect her to be 130 lbs and a male 175lbs grown. That is a lot of weight! Mastiffs are very sensitive and have big hearts worn on the outside of his/her chest for their family members, so even with the best training when they are frightened, hurt, confused you WILL NOT be able to move your mastiff and they WON'T budge!!! They want to please you more than any other dog breed that I've been around. Even big Deuce's feelings get extremely hurt if my husband scolds him with a loud voice (there's a difference between loud and stern) & acts as if he'd like to crawl into a hole if he could (however, he'd never fit)!

That's with proper training, so imagine how life would be with an untrained mastiff...extremely unfair to them!

I'm just trying to send home how important proper training is, for any breed, but especially one so large that can overrule you!