Meeting Goliath

Yesterday afternoon Wet Nose Rescue went out on the first dog intervention and owner training session. Yes i said owner training session.We find more and more that the dogs are are love just not very well understood.There are many people that love dogs but routinely choose the wrong for the wrong reasons.
Upon reaching the house i was met outside by the owner and walked to the front door where Goliath A 1 1/2 year old bull mastiff was there to greet us at the door.My first impression was wow what a happy dog friendly but a little unsure of him self.the second thing i noticed was that Goliath was still intact.Now with a dog like this thats has no real understanding that his place in the house is not Alfa male.Although he has some real good training under him with all the basic commands and a sweet loving demeanor towards the family.My work was pretty cut and dry.I needed find out the reason the owners are having a issue with Goliath just lunging at the random person.
So i started with some basic observation of not the dog but of the owner.Well for me i saw right of the bat this dog was very loved,but missing one very important thing that all dogs need.this dog was starting to coming to his own.By that i mean he was developing with a level dogie testosterone.With such a big dog and no real understanding that hes not the Alfa.His owners were being presented with new behavior challenges every day .He has had several thing that need to be worked on. First I recommended getting him fixed.Second was they need to confirm that they were in control and the pack leader Alfa.Things like this make a stronger bond with your dog .When you are a strong stable calm presence to your dog you are allowing him to more at ease in his surrounding.This will translate to a happy well balanced dog.Dogs are pack animals and in every pack theres a leader .Problem with Goliath was he was given tons of love and training but he was not real sure of the mixed signals he was getting from his family.This is very common as we tend to feel worse after we yell or discipline then i find its very common to find people praising the dog for listening to us yelling.Its very important to keep the two very separate and define actions.With discipline not just being a means of control but a direction from the pack leader (you).your dog will love you even after you yell and sometime even more.Your dog want to please you and if he feels acting out gets him attention thats what he will do.My goal is to teach the owners to have control with voice and hand commands. Myself I found that a dog will grow with ever lesson and every new command.With this family i found a dog that was very willing to please intelligent.But I also find him to be unsure of how to act with strangers.
Once in side it was very clear that this dog new i was not a threat but i was also Alfa.I than noticed that my Working partner Steve who has a huge heart and calming demeanor.I observed that while Goliath wanted to greet me but wanted to give kisses to Steve.This was good to see and point out to the owners that if someone allows Goliath to work out his comfort level with new people.With every new encounter the dog is presented with new smells actions and personality's.For a dog that wants to be friendly but has not found the true comfort that being submissive to his pack leader provides the dog is now left to determine how to respond with new people. Its funny how the presence of a someone who is in control can make a big change in the way your dog will respond with very little effort from the owner.Now every dog is different but they all need the feeling that the owner is in control.
Well after the introduction i need to see how the dog would respond to the Wife when putting the dog in a submissive position. And as i suspected there was a level of uneasiness the dog started to show.This was seen by me when Goliath was compelled to start chewing and mouthing at the owners hand.The owner said this is very common.He does this a lot when spending time or interacting with family members.I have alway felt that before any dog is allowed to feel my hand with there mouth they know its on my terms and i'm in control.This is something i enforce every day with touch verbal or even just a body tone i will carry.
Well the time has now come for me to show the proper way to put the dog in a submissive position known as dominance down.This simply means getting the dog to lay down and relax.It sound easy but with a dog thats having trust issues.This was very apparent as i got him to lay on his side it did not take long for him to try to bite me.Knowing this was a possibility i was ready to do something that was not only dangerous but necessary. As he tried to bite me i took control of his head and mouth pinning him so i could be ready to display my dominate position
in our relationship.If this dog though for one second thought I was going to allow him to intimidate me i would never get him to understand i'm not there to hurt him but help him.When i let him up with total control.I than pushed him far away from me while jumping to my feet ready to do battle if the need should arise.As I suspected he started to lung right at me but with a stern voice and a hand gesture he stop dead in his tracks.Then as I thought he hid behind his mommy.At this point I maintain constance eye contact letting him know I was Alfa. The next 20 minutes were tense but very productive. While i now was faced with the task to build trust.This was not easy but I did use this to help point out the dogs behavior.All in an effort to make better more aware owners.
It took almost an hour but with me this was well worth the time to help them see he is more afraid of me than i was of him.But he was soon wanting me to give him attention.Now that he has felt the need to stop hiding behind his mommy and wanting to approach me .I sized this time to build a bond by doing some simple sit stay give paw rollover and hand commands to see how Goliath was going to respond.With every command i found this was a very smart and willing to please dog.Things are now starting to make sense as with every minute that passes i am now able to point out some very obvious body language that the owner was not aware of.With each new thing I was pointing out i was able to see that light go on in the eyes.It was clear that with a new understanding of what Goliath was displaying with his body language.Buy using some simple observation skills.This would help the owner be better prepared to help their dog have a long happy life with the family that gives this dog confidence and the ability to respond properly with guidance form the packleaders.It did not take long for me to show the the owners that this dog not only feared me but was very much ready to trust me as this time the submissive position I was now able to put him in.This was now a trust that the owner thought I would never obtain.But due to a calming soothing tone firm touch he soon felt that i was not going to hurt him and that my presence meant a happy safe place. In no time Goliath acted as if he was my dog wanting do please with every wage of his tail.Its these simple thing i was able to get the owner to see and practice every night.My partner Steve and I leave there felling a great joy in helping a family keep their beloved dog Goliath.