Tibetan Mastiff Puppies After 6 Months of Age
With your TM puppy, you’re about to begin a new developmental stage that’s similar to a human child’s early adolescent years. Many of the aspects of the TM character, especially the guardian instinct, are beginning to turn up a notch or two, and most of you may be stunned to realize just how powerful your TM’s character can be.
The Male Puppies
One of the less evident indicators of maturity is a simple reality of life, and it may have already occurred in the case of your male TM puppy. Males are making sperm now or will be soon. Please don’t be deceived by your puppy’s innocent expression or his antics. If given the chance, these male pups will indeed easily sire a litter.
Assess backyard fencing, double gate locks, and tighten any loopholes on your property that could allow your male to escape before the chilly autumn days begin. The fact that the cuddly girl Golden Retriever right down the street is not really a Tibetan Mastiff doesn’t bother your TM. If you have numerous dogs, take extra precautions to protect those intact females who may live alongside you. Keep an eye out for signals that your little girl is approaching her period. Plan to board your male TM or consider a secure and safe confinement option as soon as possible.
The Females
Intact females will experience their first fall or winter season and, as a result, their first heat cycle during the next 3 to 6 months. Females may begin to act strangely toward you or become overly friendly. It’s possible that they’ll grow “clingy.”
Females, just like a male TM, frequently express a great urge to breed when the time comes. If necessary precautions are not taken to protect your female’s safety, that need will surprise you. Consult with your puppy’s breeder about appropriate containment options.
Raging Hormones
Raging hormones dominate the day in Tibetan Mastiff puppies, just as they do in young teenagers, and you may see noticeable changes in your TM puppy. Skin problems in young dogs can cause them to “break out.” Both females and males become tougher, more stubborn and autonomous, more territorial, and bark more frequently and for longer amounts of time at this age.
Hormonal changes in your pup’s life will also indicate a STRESS time. As your dog goes through a stress period, his temperament may change. Your Tibetan Mastiff may be frightened by loud noises, vehicle rides, and also being around outside. When visitors or guests enter “their” homes, “their” yards, or approach “their” cars, most dogs will have a quick change of attitude.
Socializing The Tibetan Mastiff - The Owner's Role
Despite these adjustments, it’s still the accountability of the owner to socialize their puppy. If you’re not paying attention, a tiny change in importance to welcoming people into your house may now be provided. While it is critical to do everything possible to guarantee that your puppy develops into an exceptional representation of the breed OFF-PROPERTY, you must not overlook the importance of holding ON-PROPERTY socialization sessions. Your Tibetan Mastiff should be socialized to other dogs on his own territory so that he can learn acceptable responses and reactions.
Tibetan Mastiff Socialization Off-Property
There’s nothing quite like a weekend walk in the early morning light. Leaves blowing softly in the air, birds chattering in the trees, glittering dewdrops glistening on the grass, an attractive dirt road beckoning you and your dog on a pleasant trip It’s so simple to take off that collar…
As caregivers, we appear to seek satisfaction in witnessing our “dogs be dogs” in the great outdoors. There’s really nothing more joyful than watching your TM pup enjoy the entire freedom to try a hiking trail, a secluded sideroad, an unfenced area of your own property, or an open field, but in the actual world, these Disney happy visions can quickly vanish.
T Mastiff Safety Issues
The problem with the freedom concept is that the unpredictable is predictable. The issue is that both you and your TM will very certainly come across a lone figure, a pair of owner and dog, vehicles, or wild creatures, and your TM will feel challenged or would like to explore and/or defend you. Your TM’s guardian instincts may be triggered by a brief meeting with a stranger, and he might be attacked by some other dog as a result. (And just though you’ve never seen your TM do anything except being lovely, you can rest confident that your dog will not back down.)
It’s possible that a fun game after a mouse or rabbit leads your dog away from you and then into the unknown. Perhaps a simple glimpse of an unusual animal, like your neighbor’s roaming new cat, can turn disastrous. Disasters can occur simply as a result of the TM’s want to explore, attack, or kill an animal within his range in an effort to guard against the unknown or out of pure prey drive.
Keeping Your Dog Off-Leash Is Irresponsible
Forming the practice of allowing your TM off-leash in the first place is irresponsible and hazardous. Those who have begun the practice do so with the purpose of confining their dog to a collar & leash “at the first signal that he would not listen.” This is an incorrect and irrational way of thinking. It’s possible that the first time your TM doesn’t respond to you is when he collides with a car’s bumper or scares or bites a toddler.
As with any off-leash situation, you have no way of intervening with what is happening in front of your eyes, and what you believed was a safe environment for your dog can quickly turn dangerous or even life-threatening. Although it may not appear to be a nice picture, a quick tug on the leash will quickly prevent disaster and heartache.
Off-Property Socialization Vs. Off-Leash Parks
The ordinary Tibetan Mastiff does not behave nicely in an off-leash park setting, despite the fact that it is an enjoyable location for many breeds. A Sunday romp in a fenced-in park with his furry little companions sounds ideal till “that moment.” Differs from dog to dog, but once “that moment” strikes your Tibetan Mastiff, the consequences are just the same.
Because of his territorial tendencies, this form of socialization eventually allows your TM to build his independence, bullying skills, and outright supremacy. Whether he challenges or is challenged, he will be challenged. He’ll either guard or square up. He may even leap over the park’s low barrier, flee, or get killed in traffic. To clarify, as with any off-leash situation, you have no way of intervening with what is happening in front of your eyes, and what you believed was a safe environment for your dog can quickly become a disastrous or even life-threatening scenario.
Your TM Dog Needs Routines - Not Flair
For many of us, life’s patterns gradually shift as seasons merge into one another. When it comes to flipping the pages of the calendar, humans are usually pretty adaptable, but keep in mind that the TM is not a fan of change. Weather, various job schedules, or a change in family flow in and out of the house are all things that can cause a young TM to sense the need to challenge.
Workers such as housekeepers or those with a home-based business may no longer be regarded as friendly. Returning to school, dating, and suddenly showing up in their boyfriend’s jacket, as well as friends wearing caps, dark sunglasses, or thick fall or winter gear, may set your TM off. If you have older children who are leaving for university or college, their unexpected return around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays may be perceived as threatening. Take a little additional time to reintroduce family members in a thoughtful manner.
Your Tibetan Mastiff Becoming Possessive
Owners can readily accept the idea that dogs may become guardians over items such as dog food, bones, or personal belongings, but we rarely consider the possibility that a dog may become guardians over endlessly repeated food, animal holes created in the yard, or even underwear that was taken from your bedroom.
While these instances may appear ridiculous and foolish to you, they are real issues that have progressed into biting incidents that breeders have had to counsel owners about when puppies have shown a willingness to assert dominance. Regardless of the fact that we refer to him as man’s closest friend, we must remember that a dog is not a small person dressed in a fur coat. Humans and animals experience the world differently and communicate in different ways.
The Tibetan Dog Is A Guardian Breed - Remember?
Now take a deep breath and acknowledge that you have taken a primitive GUARDIAN breed into your household, while charming and cuddly, incredibly friendly and devoted to you, and soon winning your heart. Allowing your puppy unlimited freedom around your home and yard conveys to him that you also trust him to have the maturity, intelligence, and responsibility to defend “his” territory, whether you realize it or not.
Keep Control Of Your House
That isn’t the case, of course. Giving your TM complete access to your home and property is the equivalent of giving a 13-year-old the house keys, car, and safe deposit box. Tibetan Mastiffs require an established set of rules, constraints, and a firm reassuring hand on the leash to guide them through their puppyhood, just as children require rules, boundaries, and a guiding hand to behave maturely.
Train Your Tibetan Mastiff Basic Manners
When other people enter your home, take reasonable measures. Allowing your TM to approach the door when people arrive is not a good idea. Teach him that a knock on the door or the ringing of the doorbell is a hint that he needs to brush up on his manners. Allowing your Tibetan dog to charge strangers or guests on your property is also not a good idea. Crate training, putting the puppy in another room, or having a leash on hand to secure your dog are all good options.
Prepare your Tibetan Mastiff for the type of conduct you want him to have. Let your TM make the effort to be out in public, and start with a gradual introduction of the dog and guests. A more relaxing attitude can help your dog cope with the natural excitement and tension that may arise. Combine indoor leash training with verbal commands to assist your dog to understand what is and is not appropriate behavior. Begin with minute intervals so that your TM can get to know your visitors and gain your praise for his good conduct.
Socialize Your Tibetan Mastiff Puppy Early On
Make it clear that it is indeed your territory, not the Empire of Tibetan Mastiffs. Don’t ever let your T Mastiff lie flat in doorways, across stairways (indoor or outside), or put up to “nap” in hallways because TMs are extremely alert to the activities going on in your home or outside in your yard. Your TM’s best hope for supervising and managing the activities of the family, guests, and/or domestic staff in the house is in these key places.
Several TMs will make a decision that guests are welcome to sit and visit in the living area, but that unexpected, unusual, and unattended departures to other parts of the house (including a quick trip to the restroom, for instance) may set off your TM’s internal security alarm, particularly if your visitor is asked to step over your dog at the room’s threshold. When social situations necessitate the serving of food, keep TMs at distance.
TM Puppies And Food Servings
A tiny toddler racing around with food in hand, or an adult balanced on a knee with a dish of food, might make a viable and risky situation. Rather, plan ahead of time and give your pup time free from the stress of loud talking or laughing and odd motions by strangers. When you have visitors, you wouldn’t want your pup to waste all of his hours in a crate, a room, or behind a fence, but your TM also doesn’t have to be on show for the duration of their visit. There must be a nice balance.
While you may think your puppy’s personality is charming and non-threatening, your TM is starting to trust his own guarding instincts even more. And, regardless of how much we want everybody to “just get along play well,” dogs don’t always respond the way we want them to or in ways that are easy to comprehend.
Use Common Dog Sense
Once it comes to understanding scenarios that caring for a TM may bring to you, you must employ a combination of common dog sense plus instinct in addition to the direction and experiences that your dog’s breeder can provide. Plan ahead of time to lessen your puppy’s need to be on guard, patrol, and defend before problems emerge.
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