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Bullmastiff Training
Obedience Training
We encourage obedience training – it is fun and your and your dog
will be taught to work as a team. It is also rewarding to have a
well behaved pet!
Puppy kindergarten classes are an excellent introduction for your
puppy to other young puppies which provides time for play activity
with other new breeds of dogs. Keep in mind that the giant breeds
mature slowly and that classes run continuously for an hour. Be
cautious that the play activity does not become to stressful on
your puppy’s unstable joints.
Bullmastiffs can be good in obedience but the key to success is
motivation (for both the dog and the handler), i.e. you have to
make it fun filled event. I recommend that a flat collar be worn
in beginner classes and not a choke collar. Check with your
instructor on the appropriate collar and leash.
It also pays to check out the credentials of the instructors
prior to enrolling in a course. Unfortunately, some trainers
believe in manhandling dogs into submission and this does not work
with a Bullmastiff. Dogs learn best by receiving praise and other
positive feedback. Negative feedback tends to confuse dogs, makes
them stubborn, and can eventually make them resentful. Keep
training session’s fun for you and your dog! The best advice in
training your dog is to take him/her everywhere with you, expose
your dog to different things. It is a lot of fun for your
Bullmastiff to travel and have a job. The job of keeping you from
being alone. Our dogs love to travel and are good travelers.
Everyone of our dogs are trained to behave on a leash in public.
Be careful when the weather gets hot and do not leave them in
the car when the temperatures go up in the summer time.
Show
Handling
Puppies can be exhibited at conformation shows from 6 months on.
There are also sanction matches, which are “just for fun” events.
This is a great way of putting your puppy through the show routine
and it cost only a few dollars to enter.
Sometimes, Bullmastiff puppies require their ears to be taped so
they will have the proper ear carriage for the conformation ring.
According to the Bullmastiff standard, the ear flap should form a
triangle and lay flat on the side of the head. During rapid puppy
growth stage, the ear cartilage is very soft and an improper fold
on the ear cartilage can easily result due to teething or vigorous
exercise. Taping the ear flap with duct tape and a support will
ensure correct ear carriage. This is simple ear taping on the ear
flap which will not bother or harm the puppy, if done correctly in
early puppy hood can give lasting results. Taping is usually done
after 4 months of age.
You have to enter your puppy/dog in a Recognized Canadian Kennel
Club Conformation Show by advance registration only. Entries
usually close 3 to 4 weeks prior to the actual show date and the
cost is about $24+ per show.
We have been handling our own dogs at the show which is
rewarding. It can be fun, in a challenging way, and professional
handlers can be expensive ($50 and up). If you are interested in
showing, we will gladly help you with it. Of course, not all dogs
reach show potential and many owners just want a good pet. But if
you have something special, why not flaunt it? Conformation
showing can be a great deal of fun and they help in promoting your
chosen breed.
Some
Basic Rules for Dog Obedience Training
1. Be
patient, consistent leader and make learning fun for you and your
dog. Never lose your temper; you’ll do more harm than good, try
later or the next day.
2. Normal
dogs can learn at any age.
3. Spend
5 to 10 minutes two or three times daily separated by 4 hours for
maximum efficiency of learning. Repetition makes dog training 90%
successful. Practice 6 days a week, rain or shine.
4. Train
the dog to come, sit, stay, down, down stay in that order. Also
train to lead as well as heel. If the dog fails at any level
don’t reward and start again with a simpler command. Motivation
decreases as the complexity of the task increases.
5. Use
one word commands. Do not combine with dog’s name.
6. Train
the dog in a quiet environment and once the response is learned in
that environment move the training location to a more complex
stimulating one. Gradually increase the complexity of the
environment i.e. basement, parking lots, school yards, parks,
malls, etc. Move to new training locations to provide further new
distractions.
7. Rewards
are to be given immediately (1/2 second) after desired response.
Most rapid learning occurs if every desired response is rewarded.
Once the behavior is established reward the behavior
intermittently thus it be comes more permanent or resistant to
forgetting. Use values rewards, find out which reward your dog
likes most (food, touch, voice praise). It may be necessary to
keep your dog slightly hungry in order to increase learning.
8. Do
not punish the dog but punish the incorrect behavior. Use only
voice as a reprimand, be firm and use deep tone of voice. Be your
dog’s master.
9. Once
the dog has learned the commands from one person; generalize to
all members of the family.
10. The
longer an unwanted learned behavior has been performed the longer
it takes to recondition it.
11. Be
consistent in your dog training, use the same word commands and do
not switch them. Don’t allow the dog to do something and not
allow him the next day, otherwise he will not learn what is right
and what is wrong.
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Knatchbull
Bullmastiffs
Ontario, Canada
hansmann@ican.net |
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