[Cameron]

I used to breed Dogos. They have a very high prey drive, and are extremely intelligent. They bond extremely well with a family, but can also bond to just one member if a single person does all the feeding and training. That’s something to be careful of, moreso than some other breeds as they are fiercely protective of their family (or who they perceive as family).

They respond well for many things with clicker training, but you need to be consistent (again maybe more than some other breeds because they are so smart, inconsistent behavior can be misinterpreted by them).

I found they are loyal but can also get jealous and rebellious. You definitely need a firm hand with them, but that doesn’t mean beating them. Physically, I’m not sure you could hurt an adult dogo, short of hitting it with a car. They are tough.

Another trait of theirs is an unreal focus. If they get going at something, it’s near impossible to stop them. No training I’ve seen could do it. The key is to refocus them on you immediately so they don’t get into that mindset. I think much of Robert’s training philosophies will work extremely well with the dogos and I would adopt that philosophy. Make them understand what you want and you can make the do or not do what you want, but you have to be clear with them.

We are training a mal puppy now. My wife will tell him NO loudly when he plays too hard with one of the older dogs, but he didn’t understand what she was saying. In the short term I redirected him to distract. I am teaching him the leave it, and modifying it for leave the pug alone, and you’ll get a treat. It’s not an overnight process but he understands it now so we can stop it verbally (still with treats most times though).

I Used to tell my puppy buyers the dogos were smart and watch for it. I recently got caught myself with my mal being smarter than me. After a morning training, I sat down to have a coffee and read while he played in the room. As he would wander out of the room, I would call him and give hima treat. After a few repetitions, I thought I would extent the time so he wouldn’t see the routine. Just before I was going to call him, he walked into the room and right up to me, expecting his treat. He outsmarted me and saw the pattern before I did. It’s humorous but illustrates how smart dogs can see things. Dogos are very much the same (but physically much tougher)as the mal from my limited mal experience.

I stopped my Chesapeake Bay Retriever from humping everything in the parks with an ecollar. It worked quickly, but he needs to be older for it. Try redirecting and correcting to stop the behavior setting now. When you can use an e collar, I expect it will make things easier if applied correctly. I hadn’t discovered e collars when I raised dogos, but I wish I had.

As a side note, comments on breed choice after the decision is made aren’t likely helpful. Speaking for myself only, I bond to my dogs quickly and the idea of giving one up after even a month would be heartbreaking. I will suggest that professional training on such a powerful, willful dog is a good idea. Research trainers! We found quite a few that were not what they represented themselves as.

We are still narrowing down trainers due to covid restrictions. It’s a pain.

[Cameron]

Whats AMA?

[Cameron]

I agree it’s fear, not aggression and the e-collar isn’t appropriate now. I’m finding that he’s more reactive in narrower areas. Yesterday we were walking a path that’s 5′ wide with trees and bushes on one side and a river on the other. A tiny dog approached and he wanted to run the way we came before I even saw the dog. We stepped off the trail and he was straining on the leash to get to the little dog.

5 minutes before, we pass a yard that has an aggressive GSD who lunges at the fence. Athos, my mal, reacts (what I would normally consider an acceptable return show of aggression) but because there’s more room from the fence (15′ in any direction or more), he was easier to guide away and even get to sit.

So proximity seems to be an issue, but feeling trapped might be the biggest (not only) trigger. If given enough room, no leash pressure (thanks to one of Robert’s videos for that), he will start to approach another dog if it’s calm. He will get closer, jump back, approach, until he’s good with it – about 5-10 minutes. Unfortunately I don’t get many people patient enough for that.

It’s not that I think I need an e-collar now, my faith is broken in the trainers that completely disregard it as a tool. How can I trust them if they discard tools blindly? This is my first reactive dog, so I’m in a situation I’m unfamiliar with and the guidance I’ve been able to receive doesn’t make sense. “Don’t apply leash pressure. Don’t let him get too close. Protect the dog by standing in front of the danger. Get out of the dogs way.” Each bit of advice seems to have a contradiction, or applies in very selective situations.

It was a few of the regular dog walkers that took the time to let him come to them that we owe solving his reactivity to humans. He’s not cuddly with strangers, and he’ll jump back if you rush him, but we can safely walk past anybody walking or bicycling. We still need to work with dogs.

So far, the agility training is doing wonders for him. He’s more confident and it tires him out! We’re doing it daily now because of how beneficial it is to him (it’s not hurting my fitness either!) He finally did the chute today on his own! A big accomplishment for him.

[Cameron]

Thanks. We do not allow the puppy with the others unsupervised, and I agree that he’s not biting, he’s just playing. In the first week, the pug loved being chased and it was her that we had to control. Then the puppy had a big growth spurt and he’s more active and bigger and she’s overwhelmed. She’s tried to snap at him, but he’s oblivious to it. The bigger dog can growl and snap and he gets it right away, but she just doesn’t deliver the message to his brain.

Redirecting him works sometimes, but she’s more fun for him so it doesn’t really work. Correcting him works, but slowly. It’s been almost 9 years since I’ve raised puppies and things have changed (improved), so I thought I’d reach out to see if somebody discovered a better way.

He had Pano from his growth spurt so training that second week was non-existent (just worry that it was something more serious). He’s back to 100% so it’s back to 110% for me! LEAVE IT and NO are first on the agenda 🙂