Mastiff Puberty
WHY has my sweet little puppy suddenly turned into a monster?!
Somewhere around 9-12 months your puppy will start puberty. This usually lasts until they are about 18 months old (but hopefully less!). During this period your sweet little puppy will become a total brat. It seems to hit boys harder than girls. Not every puppy will act this way but many of the boys do.
Some of the behaviors can include but are not limited to:
Fearfulness - all of a sudden they have irrational fears of silly things.
Aggressiveness - suddenly your puppy will start barking and growling at things that were just fine a month ago.
Destructiveness - the sweet little puppy that you could trust alone at home suddenly decides to eat your couch (this is where the crate training REALLY comes in handy).
Defiant - your puppy will backtalk and sass you and decide he doesn't have to obey you.
Forgetfulness - he may forget that he is housebroken and that he knows how to walk on a leash.
Please keep in mind that your puppy is the equivalent of a 13 year old human boy. His hormones are surging and he doesn't know how to control them or what to do. This will pass. Once they get out of this stage they are the best dogs ever. This is one of the hurdles of mastiff ownership. Every situation is different so if you're having problems let me know so I can help you through this.
Somewhere around 9-12 months your puppy will start puberty. This usually lasts until they are about 18 months old (but hopefully less!). During this period your sweet little puppy will become a total brat. It seems to hit boys harder than girls. Not every puppy will act this way but many of the boys do.
Some of the behaviors can include but are not limited to:
Fearfulness - all of a sudden they have irrational fears of silly things.
Aggressiveness - suddenly your puppy will start barking and growling at things that were just fine a month ago.
Destructiveness - the sweet little puppy that you could trust alone at home suddenly decides to eat your couch (this is where the crate training REALLY comes in handy).
Defiant - your puppy will backtalk and sass you and decide he doesn't have to obey you.
Forgetfulness - he may forget that he is housebroken and that he knows how to walk on a leash.
Please keep in mind that your puppy is the equivalent of a 13 year old human boy. His hormones are surging and he doesn't know how to control them or what to do. This will pass. Once they get out of this stage they are the best dogs ever. This is one of the hurdles of mastiff ownership. Every situation is different so if you're having problems let me know so I can help you through this.