Hey B !

[eSPO]

Butch ,in your opinion what is the best way to raise and train a potential PP/Family companion Dog such as the Presa..? At what age do you start ? How doyou spot an early candidate ?

[ButchCappel]

First I must say that I bellieve all mastiffs, be they Presa, Fila, Grt Dane, are good PP candidates. They may not succeded in some "sports" trials as those tend to lean to the creators personal favorite breed, but they are all great PP dogs. That is why so many have excelled in K9 PRO SPORTS it is a PP certification system first.

So if we are starting our Presa with an eye to PP, AND possible competitions I would use the tried and true formula of "Soicialize, expose, socialize, expose." I have a 7 month old Fila Brasillero in the kennel now for training. The dog has spent the 1st 2 weeks just learning that people are not all out to swallow her. She has no desire to listen to even a basic "sit" command because she is so defensive.

So if you have a good prospect from the breeder, and wish to make them better (latest research points emphatically to "nurture OVER nature" as the deciding factor in success) Get them out in the world and of course do all the tug of war and ball chasing games you can come up with. Remember the molossers are going to be very defensive and buliding prey will be an important part of making them a well rounded, capable PP as well as competition dog

[SarahC]

Hi Butch!

I have a question regarding this post. From what I understand about the Molosser is that they take quite some time to mature - sometimes as long as 3 years. If I start out with a pup - and just let them be a pup - socialise, play games, and OB - then will I have a more stable confident PP prospect if I start training at say 3 or 4 years old? What would happen if I started the pup before they were mature enough to really handle it? For example - say the pup exhibits tons of prey drive and plays really hard; maybe to an inexperienced owner thinks that is time to start more serious training - but if more pressure/stress is exherted the pup starts to go into avoidance what then? Is the pup ruined? Also, what happens to a pup if they don't get to do the normal puppy things THEN is placed into defensive training?

Thanks,
SarahC

[ButchCappel]

Hey Sarah,
Great question,
Sarah; "If I start out with a pup - and just let them be a pup - socialise, play games, and OB - then will I have a more stable confident PP prospect if I start training at say 3 or 4 years old?"

Definitely, Absolutely, and Positively!!!!! I think we all get in too much of a hurry, especially when it comes to mastiffs. As to stressing them too much that is a definite possibility. I was told years ago that "If you make a mistake with a dog you can ALWAYS go back 2 steps and correct it".

That seemed to apply until I started working younger dogs and molossers' in greater numbers. I would now say you can correct 85% of problems by going back and starting over, but a deep stress, or fear related problem may be the 15% you cannot correct. This is where experience and the ability to read a dog is much more valuable than a ton of techniques.

Thanks for the question Sarah.