I have a 1yr old bitch bullmastiff who is really lovely. She is well house trained, no chewing, fowling or general bad behaviour. She is a friendly dog who loves to play but can be a little overly boisterous due to her size.

She has grasped commands well and does all the normal sit, down, come etc. however she currently is a little choosy with her timing (ignores when something more interesting going on)

The problem I am having is when playing with other dogs. She is friendly with all dogs but does not always get the same response. If a dog is not friendly towards her she will continue to hassle them, wanting them to play. The first time this was a problem she got a nick from a Staffordshire bull terrier, she then fought back and they had a nasty fight, and she got a bad bight to her leg.

The second time a timid border collie snapped at her and caught her. She attacked the dog and it had quite bad injuries.

This behaviour has now caused me to be scared of socialising her and I try to walk her where it is quiet, however my anxiety and her separation from other dogs I feel will make this worse.

She really is a lovely dog who has never shown any aggression except on these two occasions. We have been careful to make sure she allows lots of human interaction and was well socialised with dogs (until recently). she wouldnt dream of growling let alone biting at either myself or my partner and ive never known her to growl at other dogs although she does try to be dominant to other dogs.

Please please help as she deserves to enjoy our time out together...

Have you thought of maybe asking owners first if their dogs are nice to play with.  A couple of people have done this with me out on walks and I warn them that the older one is fine with any other dog unless they are in his face and wont leave him alone, he will then growl to warn them off.  My other one is fine but is a little wary of large dogs.  It is always nice to be asked if your dogs want to play rather than have a dog appear out of nowhere trying to play.  Personally my dogs go onto the lead if dogs come our way that we dont know.  Both of mine have been attacked twice which has made me even more wary.  If they are dogs we know are nice they stay off and have a nice play.

Claire

I agree, I would find out what the other dogs are like first - then at least you can avoid the dodgy ones so your bull only socialises with good dogs.  That should avoid her becoming fearful of dogs in general - not something you want with a bullmastiff I'm sure!!

If you can't ask the owners for whatever reason, and anytime you see a dog anyway, I would put her on lead - then you can avoid encounters like you've had.  It's frustrating having to do it, but I have to with both of mine - they are very friendly, but at least near me, the vast majority of dogs out for a walk don't appreciate having big, boisterous dogs in their face.  Makes me feel bad too!

I would also start working on building a rock solid recall - then if she does play with a dog and starts pestering it, you can call her away and put ehr on a lead.  If you can get it really, really solid, it could help you avoid potentially dangerous situations.

Thank you - I agree that the main problem is her recall (which as i explained is perfect when she wants it to be!!!)

If she spots another dog before i do im stuffed as she'd be off like a rocket with no thought of listening to me.

I will deffinitely look into a local obedience school (im in surrey if anyone can recommend one) and also can anyone recommend some techniques to perfect recall - i have tried so many things - treats, roger mugford collar - shes a strong willed girl!!

http://www.apdt.co.uk/trainers_area.asp?area=Surrey

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/Lesson6.html

This is the method I'm using for recall with my two.  It's working a treat on my dobe, the rott X is taking a little longer tho - she is just so distracted!  As long as you match the treats to the stage you're at, i'm sure you'll get the recall you want - for example, with my two, cat biscuits are fine indoors, but outside I have to use cheerios; if we're somewhere very distracting, then it's up to bits of ham (I buy the tinned stuff, cheaper!) or bacon, if there's dogs everywhere I have to use lumps of bacon or bits of liver.  Be careful if you do use liver - some dogs get the runs with it, you have to build it up.

Good luck!

You need a socialisation specialist and now - if you would like to contact me direct I may be able to put you in touch with someone in your area.  This type of work helps dogs like your girl that are unable to take no for an answer - it is very common in bull breeds, its like they are missing a part of their communication skills.  A socialisation specialist will be able to help resolve the problem and the sooner the beter before it becomes more of a problem.

You do not want to spend the rest of her life hiding from other dog owners and as she has already damaged two dogs she will do so again.  She is no doubt a lovely dog and at a year old can easily be shown how to behave around other dogs so please contact me and let me put you in touch with someone who can really help.

contact me at mail@k9clininc.co.uk