Mastiff Dog

Sweettart
Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
edited December 22 in Chit-Chat
Does anyone have a mastiff? I have a mastiff shepard mix who is a year and a half. I also have another dog and the mastiff dog has always been in a crate when we arent home. He has chewed some trim by his crate. We started leaving him out of his crate but he was has chewed a couple chair cushions, wooden chair frame and now the pool table! He onlyh chews a little bit of those items. We built him a bigger wooden crate on the wknd. He was in it yesterday for an hr and a half and cewed a bit. Today was in it fo an hr and a half and chewed a lot more and even started chewing the end if his tail.

Does anyone have any advice or have been through this situation?
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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    How many walks a day are you taking him on? He's basically an adolescent who has nothing to do all day. My personal feeling is a young, working type dog, like a Mastiff/Shepherd needs to be walked or run twice daily for a minimum of an hour each. If you can't provide that, get a dog walker.
  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    we got our dog a large bone, but she grew out of the chewing phase. ours is an American bulldog. try chew toys and more walks and playtime if you can and it'll end sooner or later
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Sounds like he's bored.
  • Sweettart
    Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
    Its so hard. The dogs are left alone for 9 hours a day but nothing we can do about that since we are gone to work. Just dont know what to do.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    A mastiff can deal with and appreciate some very tough chew toys. Look for a giant-size Kong and line the inside with a reward paste or something.
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
    Mix dog food, peanut butter and water and let sit until paste like substance.

    Fill kong or any hollow but sturdy chew toy with paste.

    Freeze overnight.

    Give him in morning. That should keep him busy for a while.

    Also invest in some type of bitter spray. You can spray this on anything you don't want him to chew.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    How many walks a day are you taking him on? He's basically an adolescent who has nothing to do all day. My personal feeling is a young, working type dog, like a Mastiff/Shepherd needs to be walked or run twice daily for a minimum of an hour each. If you can't provide that, get a dog walker.
    Absolutely this
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    do you have a yard ? sounds like he's bored to death.
  • enyo123
    enyo123 Posts: 172 Member
    He's bored out of his mind. I'd look into hiring a dog walker or putting him in a doggy day care here and there.
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    I have a Fila Brasileiro (Brazilian Mastiff). Although he still steals stuff sometimes, and still chews up a few things outside, his indoor chewing has seemed to stop with age. I think it was more of a puppy behavior with him. Which is good because he chewed our leather sofa, a wooden chair leg, some baseboard corners, and a myriad of clothing and household items. Most recently he has been interested in pulling out various parts of my newly-installed drip irrigation system in the back yard which has really pissed me off a few times.
  • erobinson90
    erobinson90 Posts: 36
    I have a Cane Corso English Mastiff who is 15 months and I find that she is still teething.. So that could be part of his/her problem..
    We make sure that whenever she is left alone that she give her a bone that she only gets when she is alone. As well as make sure that you go on lots of walks.. I know a Mastiff isn't a dog that can go for very very long walks/runs at a time, but I make sure that I take mine on lots of shorter walks. But a Shepard needs lots of exercise so a happy medium,
    Best of luck, I know its not always easy.
  • strunkm4
    strunkm4 Posts: 265 Member
    Hi! I have a pure bred English Mastiff. When he was a puppy, he used to have severe seperation anxiety, and actually the one day I came home at lunch time from work, he had eaten half of our laminate floor in our kitchen...literally the whole floor. We started penning him up with our chocolate lab in a metal pen, and he's seemed to calm down now that he is 2. I've actually started letting him out again while I'm away and he seems to have gotten over his seperation anxiety. How old is your mastiff? My guess is it's either boredom or anxiety from being alone. I know my Mastiff is attached at my hip 24/7. When I leave the house, my hubby says he doesn't leave the front door waiting for me to get home.
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
    My boyfriend's parents have always had two mastiffs and one of them just finds peanut butter jars in the trash and chews them up all day.

    They are HUGE, goofy dogs. Does he have another dog to play with?
  • RicSnyder
    RicSnyder Posts: 129 Member
    I had a mastiff and they are great dogs, but they can literally eat a couch. We had one that grew out of this stage. How old is the dog? Also, does he have any toys that he is allowed to chew on? I would suggest a very very large bone, the you can get at a pet store or butcher shop.
  • SkinnieFinnie
    SkinnieFinnie Posts: 145 Member
    He needs exercise... very badly (we had a mastiff/pit bull mix). Have you heard of Cesar Millan? Exercise, discipline, affection - in that order.
  • angelashay42
    angelashay42 Posts: 286
    Its so hard. The dogs are left alone for 9 hours a day but nothing we can do about that since we are gone to work. Just dont know what to do.

    GET A DOG WALKER! Sorry, but I manage vet's office and I tell this to people all the time. You would be bored too if you sat in a cage for 9 hours straight. Can you come home during lunch to walk them? If not, hire a dog walker or put them in doggie daycare, they are everywhere these days. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to have 2 dogs. If you couldn't afford car insurance, would you have a car?
  • johnwhitent
    johnwhitent Posts: 648 Member
    When my lab was young I had to take her to the river to run and swim three times a week or she would destroy the house. I'm so glad I lived out in the country where I could let her run free.
  • Kerri_is_so_very
    Kerri_is_so_very Posts: 999 Member
    Sorry, no advice...but I saw a mastiff in the back of an 86' Honda Prelude today and I couldn't stop giggling! LOL Well passenger seat was flipped up and his head had to stick out the window....funny stuff!!!

    And and I agree with the above, more exercise :)
  • ChrissyRMiller
    ChrissyRMiller Posts: 42 Member
    All of these suggestions are great! I have a lab (another working bread) and she gets a two mile jog everyday. She also gets left alone for long periods of time because I am in nursing school 3 days a week for 8-10 hours a day. Labs also tend to be chewers and her kennel is actually pulled away from the wall a few inches. Anytime I'm not home she is in her kennel.

    One suggestion is to get rid of the wood kennel as your pup can easily chew through it. Spend the money on a nice, sturdy wire kennel. They have them at most pet stores and I know they come in sizes large enough for a large bread dog.

    Best of luck to you!
  • ravenchick
    ravenchick Posts: 345 Member
    Its so hard. The dogs are left alone for 9 hours a day but nothing we can do about that since we are gone to work. Just dont know what to do.

    GET A DOG WALKER! Or don't have a dog. Sorry, but I work at a vet and I tell this to people all the time. You would be bored too if you sat in a cage for 9 hours straight. Hire a dog walker or put them in doggie daycare, they are everywhere these days. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to have 2 dogs. If you couldn't afford car insurance, would you have a car?

    What she said!
  • mbts08
    mbts08 Posts: 284 Member
    we got our dog a large bone, but she grew out of the chewing phase. ours is an American bulldog. try chew toys and more walks and playtime if you can and it'll end sooner or later

    This^^^^^
  • mbts08
    mbts08 Posts: 284 Member
    Its so hard. The dogs are left alone for 9 hours a day but nothing we can do about that since we are gone to work. Just dont know what to do.

    GET A DOG WALKER! Sorry, but I manage vet's office and I tell this to people all the time. You would be bored too if you sat in a cage for 9 hours straight. Can you come home during lunch to walk them? If not, hire a dog walker or put them in doggie daycare, they are everywhere these days. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to have 2 dogs. If you couldn't afford car insurance, would you have a car?

    and this^^^^
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
    A tired dog is a happy dog! I'd suggest taking him/them for a nice long walk before you go to work to burn off some of that excess energy. It sounds like your dog might be bored and chewing relieves some pent-up energy/anxiety.

    Even if it means getting up an hour earlier it will be well worth it; make the walk a part of your cardio workout! We have 3 dogs that need a lot of exercise, at least an hour off leash every day. Fortunately my hubby works nights & I work days, so he usually walks them early in the morning when he gets home from work. Then they sleep all day until I get home and are too tired to get bored or get into trouble.
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
    Oh, and I would caution against leaving him anything to chew on when you are not home to supervise. A chew toy or even a hard bone can get broken into small pieces that a dog can easily choke on.
  • LaurasClimb
    LaurasClimb Posts: 211 Member
    We have a dog that used to go through a great deal of anxiety when we were gone. We tried crating her but her anxiety was so great we were afraid she would injure herself. We closed her in the laundry room (actually laundry room, hallway and bathroom - large enough area), she chewed/scratched a huge hole in the wall. It was so bad we were afraid we would have to put her down, we couldn't keep her, she was too distructive, we couldn't give her away to be distructive in someone else's house.
    We tried one last thing...we put a soft muzzle on her when we left her. She was free to move around the house, she could still drink, and NOTHING was chewed up when we got home.
    She has since out grown most of this behavior, once in a while she'll get a pencil or something but life is much, much better. She has turned into a really great dog.
  • cyberskirt
    cyberskirt Posts: 218
    Get bones. seriously, get bones, give your dog something to chew other than the furniture or his crate.

    My dog had distractions while I was at work (aka chews) and if nothing was chewed on that shouldn't have been she got a treat.. she's extremely food oriented so that worked for her, took time though.

    When I got a second dog she didn't need chews anymore, they are never apart and keep each other company while I'm at work.

    However, the big thing I learned was to tire her out and to get her bones.

    I don't give her pet store bones, she's allergic to everything anyway, but big raw meaty bones work. Like an ankle bone, it could last her several weeks and she takes to it when she's bored... instead of shoes or furniture.

    If you are worried about giving her bones when you aren't around, get a kong.
  • Sweettart
    Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
    Our mastiff is a year and a half. Hes not alone we have another dog as well. He used to be in a metal crate but he dug the front of it out a bit and starting to rust
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Its so hard. The dogs are left alone for 9 hours a day but nothing we can do about that since we are gone to work. Just dont know what to do.

    GET A DOG WALKER! Or don't have a dog. Sorry, but I work at a vet and I tell this to people all the time. You would be bored too if you sat in a cage for 9 hours straight. Hire a dog walker or put them in doggie daycare, they are everywhere these days. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to have 2 dogs. If you couldn't afford car insurance, would you have a car?

    What she said!
    ^Agreed also
  • puppywalker
    puppywalker Posts: 109 Member
    I would suggest that you ride your bike along side him while he's on a leash; once in the morning and once in the evening. If you ride your bike with him while he walks, you can go further and faster and get him more of a workout. A dog that big wears out quickly and he should sleep all day and all night.

    Our neighbors had 2 mastiffs and had to sell one due to excessive chewing (they rent the house). The other one does ok as far as I know so lot just depends on the dog itself.

    I have 3 small breed dogs so I know how difficult it is to schedule activity and outdoor breaks.

    Good luck!
  • nikinyx6
    nikinyx6 Posts: 772 Member
    How many walks a day are you taking him on? He's basically an adolescent who has nothing to do all day. My personal feeling is a young, working type dog, like a Mastiff/Shepherd needs to be walked or run twice daily for a minimum of an hour each. If you can't provide that, get a dog walker.
    Absolutely this

    yep this^^^ I've had a mastiff, 2 rotties, and other huge dogs my whole life :)
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