Hi everyone. I am hoping you all can help me out with this. My young pup mastiff is very afraid of noise right now. We live in NYC, so this is a problem. There is construction going on, car doors slam, etc. 80lbs of mastiff pup bolt for home. The only time this does not happen is when we, as a WHOLE pack go for a walk in the evening when most of the noise calms down. By whole pack, I mean my 16 month old Black Russian Terrier, me and my husband. I am the main trainer for both my dogs.
He is too stressed to eat, so food rewards are not good. I have tried to sit outside my home with the pup to make him get used to the noise.
He has a wonderful temprament, but was the only pup in a litter born and raised in the country. I have been told this is a common problem for mastiffs at this age. He loves children other animals, is comfortable in the house, car and our other home.
I really need to know how to get the bolting under control, as he is not very responsive to recall. We are working on it! Just an aside, he is very brick headed, but smart and loving.
I have thought of using a gentle leader, but do you think that is appropriate considering his young age!
I also have to admit that my BRT was VERY easy for me to train, as is their nature, so am having problems finding a good and positive solution for my poor mastiff pup.
Thanks, I realize I have left a lot on the table!

What do you do when he reacts to a noise? You don't correct, I hope.

What is his reaction? Bolting? He is off-leash??

I say NO with a quick pop/tug and a "yes" when he starts to move again. A noise when he comes out of the house can ruin any time outside. He just wants to go home and bolts toward home. He is most definately ON a leash. I'm in NYC. Funny enough when he is at our beach house, he plays in the sand and water, drags a leash and has little reaction to the occasional noise.
I use Leerburg "your pup 8 to 8" "Basic obedience" and The family pack DVDs.

I would look at your status as the Alpha. You said the dog is fine when you are with your other dog and husband. I think he may see one of them as his leader and not you. When dogs have a strong leader they are relaxed around them because they feel safe. They follow their leader with no apprehension because they know they are protected. I would start with the groundwork and go from there in establishing yourself as his leader.

Also, you can either record or purchase a tape with the "city" noises on them and play them around the dog, going from soft to loud over time. This can really help to desensitize dogs to the noises and eventually is becomes a natural thing to hear.

 Quote: niomi smith

I would look at your status as the Alpha. You said the dog is fine when you are with your other dog and husband. I think he may see one of them as his leader and not you. When dogs have a strong leader they are relaxed around them because they feel safe. They follow their leader with no apprehension because they know they are protected. I would start with the groundwork and go from there in establishing yourself as his leader.

Also, you can either record or purchase a tape with the "city" noises on them and play them around the dog, going from soft to loud over time. This can really help to desensitize dogs to the noises and eventually is becomes a natural thing to hear.

There is the possibility that he does not see me as alpha, but then HE would be alpha since he listens to no one! LOL He is great in the crate. He sits at the doors before exit and entering, including the crate, he sits for his food, he does not do stairs much yet, but this is the only time I allow him up first because he is just learning steps and overcoming his fear of them!
My hubby's Cane Corso (deceased)also went through this as a pup, and he used a trainer to get the pup through the learning to walk on the leash time. After I met my Husband, I over took the training, and abolished all the rest of his fears by not allowing the fears and having the Cane Corso train during thunder/fireworks. So I do understand, I am just missing something. Also, the age of this pup, just under 5 months, is a factor.

Never mind. I upped the ante, and went raw! I guess noise fades to a dull annoyance when faced with an empty belly and raw beef! I went outside on my stoop and did a series of sit, touch, and gaze excercises. Yay!
Thanks Niomi and Connie for your suggestions.
I think it will be little by little here on out

Ohhh...raw beef....I thought you were in the ra...umm...never mind.

Ha ha Bonnie. I see we both have too much time and too little "drive" LOL Good to see you here too. You'll need it as Dory grows up!

Pei -

You are correcting your puppy for being afraid? I hope I misunderstood your post. It sounds like you are saying that you are correcting your pup for being unsure.

If you are you need to stop. YOU are creating a much bigger problem. Correcting in this situation is very unfair to the puppy. He is unsure of what to do because he is frightened and you then correct him for being unsure.. creating more uncertainty and fear. He needs encouragement, not punishment.

You may be overloading him. Start close to home, find his safe zone and gradually increase it. It is great that you found a food reward that the pup likes enough to focus on you in spite or despite of stress, and I suggest you continue to use it.

What toys does the dog like? Squeekie toys? I have had a lot of success using the plastic insert for squeekie toys to make a sound distraction that causes the dog to look to the source - me. Mark and reward the attention on you. You need to be more important and more fun.

You need to be a leader and protect the pup. Currently, if you are correcting for fearful behavior, you are becoming a source of fear yourself. You are not showing him that you are protecting him if you are correcting him.

Focus is the key. The dog needs to focus on you, the handler, the leader. Don't allow him to get to the point where he is so afraid he is ready to run home. Patience and time are huge with training puppies. Don't coddle and coo and pet him when he is fearful, distract him with movement or a possitive sound or a well understood command. Often if you move in a happy upbeat manner and call the pup to you, moving backwards, the pup will come to you, praise and reward, and use the momentum to continue your walk.

Jennifer,
No correction just a tug to let him know what direction, or to break his attention. High squeeky voice praise when he moves again. Also, he is even MORE secure when my 4 yr old sone comes on pack walks with us, and my son is not Alpha.
As for distance, we get about 50 ft from the house if at all.
I am building confidence by exposing him to things that he fears and not allowing anything bad to happen to him. But, I DO expect him to complete something I ask him to do. Like sit before he enters my home. etc. Usually patience wins the day, but as you all know, sometimes it's hard to stay unaffected.;p
He's coming together nicely, now. Breeder says age and stage has a lot to do with it and that I am doing the correct thing. I would not harm my pup, to the best of my ability and knowledge. I have started taking my stable 16 month old, well adjusted well trained Black Russian Terrier outside with us and my mastiff is eager to get his share of treats! Then I have only the chaos of a NYC sidewalk, two pups, passing trucks, dogs, street cleaners, concrete trucks, cranes etc. LOL. Life is a challenge!