we have a 14 month old male great dane x cane corso - he is a big soft lump with lots of kisses and cuddles for us, but he HATES anyone else coming to the house including friends and family, he jumps around and barks and will do anything (including biting my husbands hand) to get to the door, on the 2 occasions he has managed to break free, once he ran into the garden and ignored the man at the door and the second time he shut up once stroked, but we were lucky and i dont know what he might do in the future. We have cage trained him but now have to padlock him into it as he has destroyed it to break out. If out for walks he gets nervous/defensive if anyone comes towards him but can be won over with treats, but again has never gone for anyone. We have gone over and over this in our heads and decided to rehome him - daneline and dogstrust both said that it would be unlikely he would pass their tests and if he did because of his nature no-one would want him. We cant afford the £400 for basic training but i am a trainer myself and he is such a clever dog picking up on basics easily. He would be ideal as a security or patrol dog. The vet has said its only a matter of time until he hurts someone and shout be PTS.... but he is easily won over and has not shown signs that he would hurt anyone so i feel this would be like giving up on his especially since he is so young.... we wouldnt have our child PTS if they had ADHD so why our dog... or are we kidding ourselves and nothing would help and it is the only answer.

I am sorry at the position you find yourself in but he can not be re-homed - just how would you deal this a report in the future that he had seriously injured or killed a child.

Why do you think he would make a good patrol or guard dog, to be a good dog at this sort of work they have to do as the handler wants not act on there own feeling.

I am sure many will think me harsh but if a dog of this size can not be trained to be well behaved in and out of the home then they are an accident waiting to go off and the situation has to be faced.

I have to agree with Nova.  A child with ADHD is not a danger to the public, I'm afraid a dog of this size is.

>He would be ideal as a security or patrol dog.

Remember that security and patrol dogs are not allowed to bite. If this degree of control can't be guaranteed then the dog would have no future in that role.

If out for walks he gets nervous/defensive if anyone comes towards him but can be won over with treats,

That would not make a suitable security dog -they have to be confident and must be able to safely be walked in crowds including around children WITHOUT reacting unless told to. It sounds like his main problem is insecurity. I don't understand why basic training would cost £400? Even when I had a vet referral to a vet/behaviourist the cost was only around £100, and you could find a good reward based trainer to do one to one work for less. Where in the country do you live? Somebody on here might be able to recommend a good trainer. You do need to be prepared to spend a long time on the training though. Personally I don't think it's the sort of dog you rehome -not when there are easier dogs being put to sleep due to lack of good homes.

I know it is always very difficult on a forum to interpret a dogs behaviour what you are reading and seeing with body language and vocal noise we may view completely differently, it is why it is so hard in situations like this on a forum.

From your description I imagine a very excitable young adolescent who jumps and barks when someone is coming to the house and is nervous and excitable outside too. He hasn't actually bitten anyone he has got out to in your garden or home has he? In fact you say he will accept treats and was quiet with the man at your home when stroked.

Could this dog just be desperate for attention, why is he still crated at 14 months, how long is he crated, does he get enough exercise and mental stimulation and did you do the initial puppy classes to help with socialisation with people and other dogs?

Adolescents are boisterous and can be very demanding, especially when strong and with a strong will, he sounds as though he does need lots of training you needed to take charge of him before he got so big, you say you are a trainer and he is clever and picks things up so I am a bit lost that he does not listen to basic commands of stop, quiet, wait, or even just a nice sit when he starts to get excited, he should be being trained and commands practiced every single day especially now that he is at the adolescent stage, a novice owner I can understand things getting out of control quickly but as a trainer you should have this down to pat.

Of course I guess it could be down to bad breeding and a temperament that is not acceptable the two breeds together could have created a monster, but that sure as heck would not make any kind of patrol dog they need to concur to all commands and have an excellent temperament. A dog out of control is no good to anyone.

I suggest that you put all your energy into training, painstaking as it will be he needs it continually and hope he comes out the other side, he just sounds like a dog who knows no boundaries, you need to set them with praise and reward training, sounds like he is up for that if he likes his treats and petting. :-)

Don't give up on him yet he's at the worst age right now, but that means you need to be at your best in training him. :-)

Just to add with regards to your home visitors, the way to go seems that he is happy with a treat and a pat from them, I would continue with asking people to come and give that treat, keep him on lead to support him and keep him from jumping up (or biting if he is inclined though hopefully not) and have him sit next to you by the sofa when they come in, ignore him and talk to your visitor when calm and sitting nicely next to you give him a treat eventually allowing the visitor to also give a treat. 

I've done this with excitable youngsters to teach them to sit nicely and not jump up at visitors when they come, hopefully it will in time do the same to relieve the angst or excitement he feels when people come too, but remember he will have guarding tendencies anyway due to the breeds he is, so it is not unreasonable for him to display guarding behaviour though he should listen to your commands or sit quietly but watchfully where you ask him to go or when behind a dog gate.

I may be completely wrong here but might it be worth trying the suprelorin implant to try and calm him down a bit.
I've never used it but have read bits and pieces and it can help calm behaviour problems linked to hormones and as he is at the teenage stage thought it might be worth a try .

to me he sounds like a typical adolescent male dog- just he is big. 
he needs socialising and training but they shouldn't cost £400 .
find a good local training class that uses kind reward based methods and join up- often these are as little as a few pound a week. and they will be able to sugguest ways of managing him through the hard teenage stage of his development. 
I agree if you do nothing he will be a dangerous dog but from what you are describing this is fairly normal unruley behaviour rather then nastiness so with professional guidance, patience and firmness plus plenty of work by all of you he should come right.   if you aren't able to do that though it may well be that the answer is to rehome to someone experinenced or pts.

Your dog is only 14 moths old, he is a mastiff mix - not a push over to train add to that the energy/working drive from the corso and you have a great deal of work on your hands FROM DAY ONE.
This dog should have been recieving a LOT of socialisation with people at the very least, there is a huge chance of a guarding/protective instinct, the socialisation should have allready been in place from before now.

Personally, what worries me, is not your dogs behaviour but the way you are so worried. If you lack confidance in your dog or your handling/taining ability, I would be pretty suprised that you could get a mastiff mix to do anything you asked reliably, you really do have to be in controll, but in a cool, calm, collected, confidant & kind type of way NEVER in a 'dominating' way.

> he jumps around and barks and will do anything (including biting my husbands hand) to get to the door

Does he really hate people coming to the house or is he very excited about people coming to the house? I may be jumping to the wrong conclusions here (and apologies if I am), but if he's destroyed his cage, then surely he is spending too much time in it and is getting bored - visitors being the out-let to his boardom.

My dog used to get very excited about people visting, however, it was becasue he paired visitors with treats, so he couldn't get to the door quick enough to get a treat. He's gone through my legs and given me a ride to the door a few times when younger. It took a LOT of effort to teach him how to behave when visitors arrived/came in. The first battle was the race to the door, the next one was stopping him chewing the visitor (his idea of play & how he expresses excitement).
With him, if my OH grabbed his collar when he was excited, he would swing around and mouth his arm - he knew my OH was wary of him and that would make him let go, the bugger! It took a lot of work to get my dog to listen to my OH, not just with the dog, but with my hubby too.
I'm sure, as a trainer, you allready know this, but men can appear to be confrontational to dog as they tend to give stronger eye contact and have deeper voices and more 'confrontational' body language - especially true if they are getting irritated that the dog wont listen. To some dogs (especially those that are meant to be couragous!) they will not respond like a push-over to 'confrontation' like this. If your OH is wary of the dog - he wil know and will know he can boss your OH around, the same goes if you are wary of him.

There is an awfull lot of work that needs to be put into this dog, not just a couple of months, there is a mix between a large & giant breed (including guarding/protective instincts), you should have at least 2 years worth of work ahead of you without the problems you currently have. He's got the teenage stage to get through, probably just entering that and will be like that for another 12 months or so, then you need to make sure the transition into adulthood goes smoothly as that can bring about behavioural changes/problems as guarding/protective instincts may strenghten or show thierself.

Personally, if I had any doubt about my ability to handle such a dog and I could not get the help of a behaviourist, I would have the dog PTS. This is not some easy-to-handle family pet, this is a potential monster if he is not taken controll of. I honestly believe that a huge part of the responsibility when owning a very large dog, should be to the potential publics safetey, if you can not physically stop your dog from escaping at 14 months old, you don't stand any chance when he is mature and stronger. A big dog need not be a biter to injure people, a large dog romping around loose is enough to knock a person over.

What exactly is the training you have looked at?  All I can think of for £400 is residential training - if that is what you've looked at then I would forget it straight away (if you were thinking of saving up) - he needs to be trained in situ as his problems are arising in his home and walking environment.

You have already been given heaps of very sensible advice.  While you say that you are a trainer, I honestly feel that you would benefit from joining a class, and work under a GOOD trainer (reward based.)  If you didn't realise that your dog would most definitely NOT suit the work of a patrol dog/security dog, accept that you could learn more.

Exactly how long is he left alone - and do you give him plenty of mental stimulation?  Not just sit, stay, shake a paw stuff.

He has definitely not been socialised well enough if his kisses and cuddles are only for you.  You say that he hates folk coming, and this should have been resolved well before 14 months of age.

Join a class, for just a few pounds a week, and in between classes, practise what you have been taught - every single day.  And do let us know how he improves.  Slowly and surely I hope!  :-)

I know I said I would have such a dog PTS is I could not get his behaivour under control, but that is MY opinion. You obviously will make the choice you see fit, if you are still considering re-homing then these people may be worth chatting to.

I think there is always a good match out there, for any dog. Someone who can take it on and do right by it, and bring it on.

Unfortunately the way the world works, it can be hit and miss, and what the owner thinks is best may not be best for the dog. It's not a case of throwing money at the problem and hoping that will work- it's often just having the right people, which is why going through the Yellow Pages or small ads for dog training seldom delivers.

To the OP: I feel you would be better off working with a APBC/APDT trainer/behaviourist. It will not cost you anything near that £400 quoted. But you will get - for less - a committed person to help you, who will take on your dog and find what works.

And something you might also find as you go along... People who have had difficult, reactive dogs (yours is this type!) who have found ways to work their own dogs out of this rut are those who will be happiest to work with yours... at some point they have been as despairing as yourself :)

Mmm....I'll shut up now..lol

Fantastic post mastifflover!
Like others have said, just because he doesn't like strangers, won't make him a good security/protection dog.
A lot of people think that aggressive dogs make good protection dogs, but that is sooo not the case. Good working dog needs a solid temperament, nerves of steel and lots of self disapline, none of which your dog seems to have.[I base my opinion on your post]
What your boy is doing doesn't surprise me at all. I hear this kind of story regularly with my breed, specially with the adolescent males like yours. You've given him the chance to get on top and he's now got you well trained and rules the roost. To knock him off his pedestal is going to require a lot of hard work and commitment from all of you, so you need to have a good think whether your ready to put in the work?
I would NEVER rehome a dog with even a hint of aggression [he's already bitten your husband!].
Socialising with people is so so important for the guarding breeds and I would have thought that as a trainer you would have made sure that he'd get that? You have to have people coming to the house on regular basis from 8 weeks and you have to sort out any unwanted behaviour as an when it happens.
I would advice you getting in touch with a really good behaviourist. It might cost you a bit, but after all, you've taken on a life, so it is your responsibilty to look after that life not just pass it to somebody else when things get tough. After all, dog is what you make him/her and people should think very carefully what kind of dog they go for and whether they have the knowledge to handle this particular breed.
Good luck for your boy whatever you decide to do with him.

My niece has two mastiffs about 12 months old, they are a handful,I made sure  Iwas friends with them from the start as although im not worried about big dogs, when those two come at me (for kisses and hugs) for a split second my mind says oh god they are huge,and not yet fully grown.
I dont know what your walking regime is but these two get two long walks a day,they have so much energy.
My own dogs hate strangers and in the past before we knew better bit a couple of our friends(not badly but thats not the point)they were 4 when we got them and rescue so trying to train them not to do this has taken a lot of effort and I still dont trust them, but we have control.If someone  they dont know comes to the door they go straight in the garden to calm down.they are then let in and ordered to thier beds and are only allowed to come and say hello when I say so,soon as they realise its all ok they act perfectly normal.
They are not out and out aggressive,they just try to guard and protect me and its a double edged sword,they had at least two homes that we know of before us .
If we had handed them back after the first incident they probably would have been pts,and it would of been wrong.
Back then, I went to a trainer who told me the problem couldnt be fixed as it was too late.She was wrong.I did not know enough to seek another trainer,so we just worked it out ourselves.
Pegg and daws walk off the lead, play with other dogs,walk fine on the lead(unless we see a fox) and in general  are all round good dogs,it is just the strangers in the house issue which is managed, not cured.
Please dont give up on your boy,life is less stressful when you have a plan of action and  I know it can feel at times as if you are getting nowhere,keep positive.

Along with the excellent advice you've been given I'd suggest you buy him a muzzle and keep him and you safe from the law, it's so very easy to run foul of the dangerous dog legislation, if someone complains about his behaviour it could see him seized and you in court, having him muzzled when out for a walk and when visitors are arriving may also make you feel more confident about handling him, I'd suggest these ones http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=baskerville+ultra+muzzle&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=15524687750&ref=pd_sl_90geos4t49_b.

> If we had handed them back after the first incident they probably would have been pts,and it would of been wrong.
>

I'm glad it worked out for your dogs.
The OPs dog is a cross between a great dane and a cane corso.The cane corso - even if socialised very well can still vary in it's attitude towards strangers from wary to agressive.  It is a dog that has stong protective and guarding instincts that it will not hesitate to act on in an extremely agressive way if it thinks it needs to.
It is an energetic breed and as most mastiffs, should not be excercised much before skelatal maturity- even at 14 months old it should not be having lots of runs. This energy will require a lot of work to manage without harming skeletal development (I found that tricky with a low-energy Mastiff).

Allthough I am a strong believer in deed not breed, breed has to be taken account when evaluating the options available for a dog that cannot be controlled by the owners. There is a chance this dog may respond better to people that know what they are doing, but that will not take away it's protective instincts. If the dog has not been socialised well, it will never be safe with people, it can only be managed. If this dogs behavior is down to poor handling and not poor socialisation, then it could still be a dog that is likely to have very strong protective and guarding instincts and not be afraid to act on them in an agressive way.

But, after all that said, the Cane Corso temperment I'm talking of is that of a 'well bred' corso. How would a poorly bred one behave? How will a corso-cross behave? - Who knows, it's a gamble.

I am appauled at the 'breeder' crossing a highly-reactive, protective breed with a giant breed - what were they hoping for?????? A litter of highly reactive stranger-haters the size of great danes????? Irresponsible, completely irresponsible......

Have to echo what lots of others have said, think you have a typical teenager on your hands who's breed type is not that of a collie/GSD hence your issues.

Your a trainer which can mena that maybe you'reputting yourself under too much pressure and maybe doubtiing your own skills. As a trainer myself I find that I put such a pressure on myself and my dogs to be somuch better than everyone else I forget to ENJOY myself, RELAX and see the problem for what it is.Sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, you become consumed by what it MIGHT turn into!! I'm based in Manchester PM me if you're local I'll help you out,no charge. Or if you're away from me I know lots of trainers all over, all positive based, all people I would train with all good trainers.

There are several Canos near me that I have worked with and their are great dogs, but I treat them as mastiff type purely and find that works best. Don't forget at 14 months lots of instincts will be kicked and kicking in, guarding top priority. Needs a strong owner with strong stop command.  But my gut feeling is that you took on a strong dog as a trainer determined to prove that these types make good pets and have lost your way slightly and are feeling pressurised which won't help. A vet who says PTS without a background in behaviour is covering their own back and £400 for training is outrageous and I must increase my prices if this is the going rate!!! I'll just book my 3 holidays for next year now!!

Hi all thanks for replies...... a few things, he has been socialised with friends and family since he was 7 weeks and out for 3 walks a day since his second jab at 10 weeks, mixing in local parks and around schools... even as a pup he would hate having people come towards him. He is still using the cage at this age when we go out or at bedtime because he likes to destroy our things despite the number of toys or treats he has and has cost us a fortune, in clothes, shoes and furniture. He is very rarely left home alone as my husband does not work and if he is alone it is for maybe an hour to go to the shop. We have tried to find a training class locally but we live miles from the nearst town and can only find a puppy class but are waiting on a reply from the trainer. Thanks again for everyones replies, fingers crossed we can find a solution to help him get a bit more manageable. thank you to the person who suggested and implant we are looking into this too.

> he likes to destroy our things despite the number of toys or treats he has

My dog was hardly interested in toys as a pup (unless he could play tuggy with our other dog) and even less so now he's 4 yrs old.

The only things he actually likes to 'do' with toys is to rip the eyes & nose off a stuffed toy (when the face is gone, he looses interest!) and has never been interested in things like nylabones.
I never felt comfortable leaving him unatended with a soft toy (wouldn't know if he'd swallowed the eyes or they'd rolled under somthing if they were missing), so that was not usable as an occupier when he was left, but he is a PIG, a total food-aholic, so I got a Kong and used to leave that with him with a bit of peanut butter smeared around the 'inlet' hole and a large biccy wedged inside. He soon sussed he could crush the kong & subsequently the biccy inside it - to get the biccy out instanstly, but the sticky peanut butter would  have him licking away for a while.

Another thing I used was cardboard boxes, any sort, from ceral boxes to large packaging boxes. I would hide a dog biscuit in a box and Buster would enjoy shredding the box to find the biccy. As he got more used to the 'puzzle', I'd hide the biccy inside a smaller box, in the box, or scrumpled up in newspaper before putting it in the box. I found this a great thing to use as a boredom breaker (he could only have limited excersise due to being crippled with elbow displasia, boredom could make him very excitable) and it also seemed to satisfy his need to 'shred' things.

> a few things, he has been socialised with friends and family since he was 7 weeks and out for 3 walks a day since his second jab at 10 weeks, mixing in local parks and around schools... even as a pup he would hate having people come towards him.

What were his parents temperaments like?

All the Great Danes I know are rather a handful in a clumsy way as pups turning into dignified adults with a pretty easy going temperament.

The Cane Corso the other breed in the mix from what I have read in the breed standard http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/343gb2007_en.doc it should not display 'extreme' guarding traits.
"BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Guardian of property, family and livestock; extremely agile and responsive.  In the past, it has been used for herding cattle and hunting big game"

As the latter breed is relatively new in the UK, I cannot conceive anyone using a good (meaning typical in temperament and healthy) representative for crossbreeding, as especially in a bitch this would be a total waste of their breeding potentials, ans as Great Danes are not long lived, and slow to mature surely wasting it's breeding potential (not using them in a pedigree breeding program) does not speak well of their quality either.

This rescue may be able to help with advice http://www.canecorsoukmolosserrescue.com/

> it should not display 'extreme' guarding traits.
>

The thing is with this part, as with other guarding breeds especially some of the molossors, is that in order for them to know what NOT to guard against, requires extensive socialisation, if things go wrong with the socialisation in a less reactive guarding breed, there is less of a problem, but the Corso seems to be up at the top for reactiveness (and this is for well-bred dogs).

The following is an extract from the BCCS (British Cane Corso Society, who seem to be offering a lot of good advice and even have a segment on BARF & how to spot a reputable breder :) )
But this dog is not for all people - headstrong, stubborn, and often difficult with other dogs, the Corso requires an experienced handler - one who can devote the time, energy and emotional investment required in a dog of this nature.  Ever ready to exploit a lapse in your concentration or regimen, in the wrong hands, a Corso can be another thing - a liability.

I imagine that a well-bred, well-raised, well-trained & well-socialised Cane Corso is a fantastic dog to have, I love the look of them (LOL, It's a mastiff :) ) and they are very trainable (if you know how to handle them), so great fun if you are the sort of person that can handle a dog like this (not for me! I'll admire it from afar).

Meanwhile muzzle him in a big basket- type muzzle, get his nails clipped as short as possible and start calming, consistent training.

Shut him away while opening the door, ask trusted friends to stage a scenario, coming in and completely ignoring the dog. You have him on a lead, keep calm, hand movements slow, no shouting until he settles...then soft tickles on his head.  
Try this a few times using the same staged rules..keep him on a lead/muzzle on in the company of other people but always end with dog settled and head stroking.

Dont be tempted to let a well meaning person who says " Oh its ok let him off".....you need to ingrain that he 'settles' and is calm around other people, this will take time.

I agree a bad combo a BIG cane corso but its what youve got. NOW in adolecence you need to establish good habits or he may be doomed.

Dont try and pass this big thug onto some other person, get help to turn him around yourself....he is probably at his most tiresome right now but with patience and strict rules he will improve.

The thing is with this part, as with other guarding breeds especially some of the molossors, is that in order for them to know what NOT to guard against, requires extensive socialisation, if things go wrong with the socialisation in a less reactive guarding breed, there is less of a problem, but the Corso seems to be up at the top for reactiveness (and this is for well-bred dogs).

Mastifflover, can I say you are writing some excellent common sense posts :)
I must say that the great dane/cane corso cross is not ideal and especially considering it will produce a very large dog which may want to think for itself at times.

I appreciate this dog appears to have been socialised, so either the socialisation was not quite right for this dog (perhaps it was overwhelmed? I see this sometimes - I call it "oversocialising" but it's not a good description. A friend went to see a dally puppy and the owner said the litter were being socialised to children, whilst letting her 18 month granddaughter basically maul the pups ..). Or it might be that the dog is genetically a little unsound.

Whatever, this is a problem that won't go away. I too would recommend acquiring the services of a reputable behaviourist (try www.apbc.org.uk) who will assess the dog, the situation and your own abilities and who may come to the conclusion that the dog is in fact simply in need of structure, certain training, and continuing correct socialisation and learning to help him like or at least tolerate the presence of others. If they feel this is not possible then they will be honest with you :)

I wish you good luck and suggest you take steps as soon as possible to remedy the current situation by getting someone in. I suggest the APBC as they are reputable. Some behaviourists are very old fashioned so don't just get one out of the local paper, go to this proper organistion.

Kind regards
Lindsay
x

What area are you in because if you are near we could look at him and see how he reacts to things
and do some basic bits to help you.
We also have a wonderful behaviourist that works with us from time to time
she is in the Kent area..