Living with a Mastiff....

First let me apologize for being so long to post. Its been a bit mundane here. However, thanx to The Handler, I have applied for a job that, IF I get it, would have us moving....more on that later.

So, living with a Mastiff. For those that have never lived with an extremely LARGE dog, it definitely has its...well....situations.

First, even though the dog is 30 inches at the shoulder, and well over 100lbs, he is still an 11 month old puppy and should be treated as such. Yes, sometimes its hard to look at him and "think" puppy, but then he does something that quickly reminds me, he is ALL puppy. We'll start with trying to climb into my lap:



Then, when he doesn't get his way, he tries to "suck up" by giving kisses:



How am I to resist this face?



But alas, we pout:



Then we are outside, trying to find something to play with. Evdidently I'm such a meany, that he must scavenge pieces of PVC pipe to entertain himself with. Secretly, I think he knew he was making me laugh. In fact, I literally almost peed my pants watching him. The only dog I've ever owned that could fit a 4 INCH piece of pipe in his mouth:



But as I said, he is still a puppy. You know how it goes, the "back talk" when you want them to do something (especially when he knows I can't reach him for a correction), the sneaking around to see what that one shoe smells like way down deep, or why that mousetrap smells like peanut butter, or even trying to climb into the dryer. You know it smells good in there, and when it stops, its so warm and snuggly!!

All in all, I wouldn't trade my "snuggy bear" for the world. He only drools after drinking water, and wants so badly for "mom" to be happy. He just wants to be close, even if it means leaning on my legs while I'm doing dishes, thus pinning me to the counter. He wants to be brave for me, and will sit very "proudly" when Greg is around. He tries to be "easy", but just hasn't gotten that down yet. Excitement gets the best of him, and the "body-wag" coupled with the need to touch sends him into overdrive and I get stepped on, pushed, and snorted on....not to mention a good whipping with that tail!

He knows to sit for a rub, and has learned "platz" (down), and for some reason I am using the command "wait" instead of "stay". I don't know why I have, but it is working so I'm not going to change. He does real well for being a puppy, and I can see lots of potential when he learns to settle down. He will never leave my side, but then at the same time can be so incredibly stubborn you would swear he was deaf. He sings to me each morning, and doesn't try to run me down getting to the door. And he still wants something to suck on:





I had to take this toy away because he was becoming obsessive about it. He would carry it around, and suck on it for hours, like a pacifier. He used to want to walk beside me with my hand in his mouth (a previous owner thing) but he has dropped that annoying habit. I never encouraged it, and for a long time walked around with my hands in my pockets. He eventually forgot all about it.

But as I said, I wouldn't trade him for the world. After all, who can resist such a sweet face?