I know he's been with 3 owners, 2 are friends of my brother's...The first owner had him for a little over a year and had about 3 other dogs. This owner decided they had too many dogs and could not handle a big dog, which is when a young couple bought him from an ad in the paper. She is a vet tech, and has great things to say about him, but became pregnant with their second child...in an apartment, so from there...they gave Sam to a friend, the guy that kept him in the garage and basically did not have time for him. When I heard he was looking for a good home, I was interested because I met the dog once before and really liked him. Now he's in a stable environment, I have 2 teens that love him, he's on a schedule with eating, etc. I really feel Sam should be here, so I'm willing to do whatever I need to for all of us to coexist here <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

lisa,

i am concerned that you are not powerful enough physically to handle this dog when he goes off over another dog.

unless an experienced trainer here thinks they can advise you how to handle this dog yourself, i really think your best bet is to find a good, local trainer experienced with powerful, giant breeds, and have the trainer work with you on correcting the problem.

in the meantime, can you take someone strong with you when you walk him, or take him someplace where he won't encounter other dogs?

good luck!

If you haven't already done so, try reading Ed Frawley's information on Ground Work and Dominant Dog Collars here -- Meanwhile, you're right in NOT taking them offsite together & if you're currently walking your BM on a prong collar, you may want to add a muzzle, until you get the re-directed aggression solved (because using a prong CAN rev up the drive level of a dominant dog)...

Lisa,

Put a pinch collar on the Bullmastiff and walk him by himself. Walk him by other dogs and correct him when he first begins to focus on the other dog. Do not let his aggression escalate to the point of lunging, etc. You need to correct him at the very first sign of aggression, once he is "red zone" his brain shuts down and he is unable to control himself. The dominant dog collar may be overkill, he could end up climbing the leash and biting you. Finally, your "true" leadership skills are tested when there are distractions, in this case another dog. He may view you as his leader and listen to you at home, but he does not view you as the leader when you are out and about. Remove your affection from the dog for a while and he will begin to view you as the leader.

IF the dog is so heavy that Lisa can't lift him then wouldn't the use of a dominant dog collar be a moot point?

Being that the dog is 2 and new to the family, I would hesitate to put the prong collar on him because if the shepherd mix isn't there, he may redirect at YOU. I would get the dominant dog DVD Ed made, and go from there.

I have a mastiff cross, possibly BM, and a shepherd mix. When there was something to bark about, if the shepherd mix tried to bark and run to the fence, my mastiff cross would stop him. My shepherd mix would back down in those situations and understands what the mastiff x expects of him now, so it's not a problem. Your shepherd mix doesn't back down, so I would not walk them together ever, and I would be careful letting them out in the yard together too, because if the shepherd mix decides to bark at something, the BM may attack him and then a big fight will break out. This isn't uncommon. One dog thinks he's the alpha, and expects the other dogs to let him handle whatever the issue is. Before that I had a Presa, and he saw himself as Alpha and attempted to correct the mastiff x and shepherd x for dealing with things he thought were his responsibility.

Again, be careful with the prong and this dog. I grabbed my dog by the collar from behind one day when he was in a zone and he went for me. Luckily for both of us, he realized it was me before he connected with me. Get the dominant dog DVD, read the groundwork article and everything else you can on this site.

i agree that ground work is *crucial* here. especially with the ownership history.

please walk the dog with a muzzle on until you get this figured out!

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Does anyone have a "most effective" way to correct my BM in the moment just before he gets focused on an approaching dog?

try turning around and walking the other way. seriously.

I had a thought. Not being as experienced as Will and Ed, I have to say this is advice and advice is like opinions, and we all know what opinions are like....But here's my $.02. Get an electronic collar. After an appropriate introduction to the collar in whatever way the instructions suggest, walk the dog alone with the collar on, and muzzled. When he very first starts displaying any kind of agression whatsoever, give him a low-level correction. If he does not submit, give him escalating corrections until he does. When he has submitted, praise him like CRAZY. MAke a total idiot of yourself praising the dog for submitting to you instead of attacking the other dog. Treat, toy, whatever it takes. Repeat as necessary. Good luck!