[LMH]

So my 7 mnth old 70lb female cane corso will just start snapping at me, jumping at me and if I stand my growd and put my hands on my hips and say no she will growl and lunge at me. I really don't know how to handle it. I raised a 160lb mastiff before but in the end he was the best companion ever so I don't remember if he had any of these issues. I think he did but not as bad.
She was doing good for a few weeks and I thought we got past her wild behaviour but she started up again. I can't even go outside and play with her because it always turns into her attacking me.

 

[Willowy]

Is she outside-only? How much time do you spend with her? How much exercise does she get?

 

[LMH]

She is outside during the day then inside and out as she pleases. I've taken her to puppy class and basic and i'm taking her to intermediate in October. She does not really act like this with my boyfriend yet I am the one that is up in the morning feeding her and I'm the one who walks her. I was walking her about 2 times durning the week and always one the weekends but withthe heat wave we had I stopped and only went on the weekends. My probably is I lose my patience and end up yelling which gets her more excited and lunge at me more. She was allowed in the house more but when she acts like that I put her outside. I try to spend all weekend with her and after work durning the week.

 

[Willowy]

That really isn't enough exercise for a big young dog. Remember, a tired dog is a good dog! You can't expect an active teenager to be happy with that little exercise. And all that pent-up energy has to come out somehow. . .

 

[LMH]

I do understand that but she is a large breed and taking her out for exercise is supposed to be limited. I just go at her pace and sometimes her just running around in the back yard is enough. She loves to chase her tennis balls back there. Also she recently started limping out of nowhere and I read it could be Pano. So for now no exercise. I will be taking her to the vet for the limping. She's very lanky and I have to be careful with her bones. But why does it have to come out at me! haha. Why not my boyfriend.

 

[mashlee08]

If your not gonna give her more exercise then give her more mental stimulation.

 

[LMH]

Good idea. I will think of some games for us to play.

 

[sheep]

Walking is also mental stimulation, and more importantly, socialization and getting used to different experiences and outer stimuli. A dog that can have enough of that will be more well balanced and not reactive towards what she doesn't understand and make her insecure.

Maybe you can walk her for around 10~20mins around home 2 or 3 times a day? It's a short walk so that it won't make her really tired, but she got to see the outside world.

 

[Willowy]

She's not a giant breed. . .will probably only be 85 pounds or so at maturity. But even giant breeds need exercise---lack of muscle tone causes more trouble than anything---you just shouldn't overdo it. I hardly think a few walks a day is overdoing it.

 

[petpeeve]

I've taken her to puppy class and basic and i'm taking her to intermediate in October.

Have you been keeping up on training, on your own accord, in the meantime ? Walking is fine, play is a good outlet too. But there is no replacement for actual, STRUCTURED training.

Training provides mental stimulation for both parties. Brushing up on what you've already learned in puppy and basic class will re-affirm your expectations and keep them fresh in your dog's mind.

The symptoms you describe sound more like a solicitation for attention. Daily, at-home training is a great way to fulfill that request, while you are waiting for the intermediate session to begin.

 

[doxiemommy]

Just a thought, and I'm not there, so I can't say for sure, but is it possible that she's playing. All my dogs do some sort of play growl, and play bow or lunge when they're playing. Of course, the sound of the play growl is different than a real growl, and the lunging is different, too. BUT, if you yell and put your hands on your hips, she may think you're trying to play. Yelling often seems like "barking" to a dog, and she may be trying to use some of her pent up energy by asking you to play.....

Disregard this, if you see signs that she isn't playing, like her hackles are up or she appears to show some other signs of aggression, showing teeth, etc.

 

[LMH]

She's not a giant breed. . .will probably only be 85 pounds or so at maturity. But even giant breeds need exercise---lack of muscle tone causes more trouble than anything---you just shouldn't overdo it. I hardly think a few walks a day is overdoing it.

The mom is 120 and the dad 130 so i'm sure she will at least be 100lbs. But unfortunately a few walks a day isn't possible but one walk in the evening is. On the weekends I could do it though.

Doxiemom that is true it could be her just bullying me to play. Her hackles aren't up and she runs around me in circles sometimes and just gets really excited.
I try to take her to the stores with my on the weekend and I take her to dog events every chance I get so she can be exposed to as much as possible. I will work with her more on her training. I do forget to go over her commands with her so maybe that will help. =)

 

[beverley]

branston used to be the same, you need to manage her as she may be as pig headed as branston! we found that the best way to deal with this behaviour is to ignore it. does she go into a play bow first or during any of this?
when she starts just turn your back dont stand there with your hands on your hips shouting because she will think you are playing. it does get easier the older they get!
i still train branston every day even though he's 2. we do sit, wait, down, leave etc at least once a day every day.

 

[Laurelin]

Another option for exercise would be to take her on a walk somewhere and then just hang out or take a break on a long line. Or stop and do some training work to break up the walk. From what I understand is it's okay if they're going at their own pace and have time to break in between. It's just you don't want a lot of strenuous and repetitive motion especially on concrete.

 

[aiw]

I think she's not getting nearly enough exercise. Take her to the vet for the limping for sure and I would ask what the exercise requirements and limitations are for her breed and size. When we raised our Bernese Mountain Dog (110 lbs) and our hound mix (85 lbs) they would have both gone stir crazy with two short walks a day or just on the weekends. Our vet said the worry about exercise is specifically repetitive motion like jogging or biking and concrete which would stress his joints, that free play when he could stop if tired or sore along with lots of walks is what was best.

Once you get the green light for exercise is there a park you could take her to so she can wrestle and run with other dogs?

 

[LMH]

branston used to be the same, you need to manage her as she may be as pig headed as branston! we found that the best way to deal with this behaviour is to ignore it. does she go into a play bow first or during any of this?

She does the play bow thing sometimes. Braxton looks so cute by the way. Yeah I think she is being very pig headed. haha. I guess I will need more patience. If I turn my back on her when she does it she just nips my butt or paws me really hard. I know this is a phase I just want to know what to do so she know it's not an acceptable phase. Thanks.

 

[LMH]

Thanks for everyones advice. I will be walking her once her limping subsides. She really is active on her own though. In the morning while i'm getting ready for work she is outside playing chase with her self. She flings the ball in the air and chases it. I hear her running up and down the yard. It's so cute. So she doesn't really seem hyper, she comes in the house when I get home and just lays by my feet so it seems more like respect thing to me but I will definitely give her more mental stimulation and start going over all her training once a day. I'm just really cautious about her bones because my last mastiff had the beginning stages of hip dysplasia and a torn acl and then he got bone cancer. Not that exercise will caus bone cancer.

 

[Canaqua]

My neighbor as a young Cane Corso...great dog, but he is BIG!

As to why the dog behaves better with your boyfriend, it could be as you've guessed, that you get impatient and yell/lose your temper. Is your boyfriend calmer and more patient? Keeping emotions out of training is important for a lot of animals as they can be very in tune to your emotional state and body language, more than what you are saying, as they don't speak English. If you get excited, the dog will too. I was riding a very reactive horse last year and the key was to stay 100% calm and non-reactive myself, no matter what he did, just go back to the exercise at hand without reacting. Just roll my eyes to myself or laugh to myself at his crazy (and sometimes scary!) behavior and carry on. It made a big difference in his remaining calm and paying attention rather than freaking out or getting excited about every little thing. My trainer told me that the only appropriate emotions to have around a horse are humor and humility . Could apply to dogs too. I tend to be pretty calm by nature, but, if I was having a bad day and was feeling more impatient than usual, I'd either change my plans with the horse to be less ambitious (i.e., something he found easy and was confident about) and/or take 15 minutes to take deep breaths, let go of whatever stress I was bringing with me and then go to the horse in a state of mind where I could be the one who was thinking, not reacting. It's OK to cut a training or play session short too, if you find yourself getting upset or angry, better than than getting the animal wound up, which might put you behind the eight ball for the next session.

 

[LMH]

Thank you so much. I guess I do have to calm down. My b/f does stay more calms but I attributed that to the fact that she doesn't act up with him. What comes first the bad behavior or the calm emotions-haha. I guess I have to practce my patience with her and just walk away or put her in a sit stay when she acts like that. I don't mind the challenge. That's part of why I always have big breeds. They are challenging but so worth it. =)