introducing Monty the mongrel. rescued by a young woman who stopped his owner drowning him in a canal at 7 weeks old but she struggled to look after him in a council flat so he was handed over to a rescue centre where he's been for the past 2 weeks (with foster carers)
assumption is he is a English Mastiff / Lab cross but cant be sure. he's 14 weeks old and already a good size – chunky legs and massive paws suggest he's going to be a big boy!!
so – any gems of wisdom for integrating a puppy into a household with a toddler but no other animals??

Awe he is sooo cute. As they r both young they shud get on just fine as they will grow together. Just always be careful when they r playing as puppy will grow faster and stronger than baby and might hurt him accidentally. Never leave a dog alone with a child. I know people who swear blind their dog wud never bite, turned their back for 5 and little one was bitten, only in play but even still….. That's all common sense thou. Awwwww I want him!!!!

stunning.

drowning him in a canal at 7 weeks

not-so-stunning 😡

2nd emma82, socialise them together, you supervise. If the puppy gets at all dominant with your child flip him on to his back and make you hand into a claw and press (firm but not hard) your fingertips into his neck area. This simulates a bite telling him he has overstepped the mark. It's a bit 'ceasar milan' but it works. Better for the dog if your child can do it, but 14 weeks is a bit young!

You have to be the boss, then your partner, then your kid, then the dog. He'll be happiest that way.

And never, ever, leave them alone. 99.9% of the time you'll be ok. A friend of mine had half her face bitten off by her family's golden retriever. She would have been really pretty but her face is now a jagged mess of scars….

Get rid of it now, you'll thank me in the end ….

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Kona-Ona – sounds interesting. pretty easy to show him where the mrs and i stand the domestic pack but harder to do it for the baby, and i know full well how important that is!

he's a wee bit protective of his food too. not sure if that's a function of his upbringing so far or normal for a pup so looking for a solution to that too.

puppy classes as soon as he's had his final inoculation…..

Shame you can't put his scum prevoius owner in a sack with a few bricks and drown them in a canal.

He's going to be a big lad, no doubts on that. He'll definitely grow into that head and those paws!

Sounds like basically know what you're doing with him (and very importantly where you need help to get things nailed down) so everything should be great. Rescue dogs are the best dogs, all the best with him and I hope you all get along great.

Cracking looking dog , has a touch of the ridge back about it me thinks.

jesus, he is going to be massive. Only bit of advice I can give it be very strict but fair with him, I have a big dog and you have to be in 100% (or as near as you can to 100%) control of them otherwise you are going to have a nightmare of a time.

I read the book Think Dog, which was very helpful with mine (who is a hard headed bastard, at the best of times), as it basically teaches you to treat a dog as a dog (and how to do it) and it in the long run makes them much happier as they don't have to worry about anything, as that's not their job.

Oh yeah, you need to be prepared for the puppy zoomies as well, as with a dog that size he is going to do a fair bit of damage when they strike.

He's going to be a big lad! Watch those dew claws, they can be awkward on bigger dogs. Personally, I'd have him neutered at a suitable age and the dew claws taken off at the same time. Ted suffered a DIY job with his previous owner and the resultant 'sprouting' of claw was a ballache until we had them removed.

Puppy classes is a very good idea, as is socialisation with other dogs every day on his walks. You don't have to go over the top with the pack order thing, it's easy to do without being bonkers about it.

I know I've suggested this many times on dog threads here, but google for Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF). The general principles are a great foundation for a puppy (or an adult rescue) and worked wonders for our Ted.

There's nothing worse than a dog that doesn't want to be pack leader but is forced in to the role by it's owner not assuming the position. Good luck with him, and well done for going down the rescue route. Beautiful pup.

Just socialize him with other dogs and if you can cats and be a responsible owner. Enjoy.

when out with the push chair make sure the dog walks behind the chair, he will try and nose out in fornt of the child. WE got a puppy and a abay a few weeks apart, now they are bh around 3.5 we are teaching our little boy to tell her to go to her bed and then lead her to it if she does not go etc, getting lad to give commands such as sit and putting her food out, she'll soon learn he is way ahead of her in the pack

Very cute!

Agree with what fat elvis said about the previous owner 😡

Firstly decide – can I give this dog a good home for it's whole life? If yes get it out and socialised the minute it has had it's jabs, it is so important and makes a real difference in how it interacts with other dogs and people.

Do find a good trainer, but definitely make sure you sort out the feeding issue immediately. You should be able to take it's food bowl away whenever you feel like it with no reaction from the dog. It is a lovely looking puppy and will grow to be a very big dog, make sure it know's the humans are it's pack leaders.

Sounds like he eventually landed on his feet. Best advice I can give is don't let him get away with stuff because he's a cute puppy now. Set the ground rules and stick to them. If you don't, what ever he gets away with now, he'll think is the norm and expect it always.

On second thoughts, you'll never cope, let me look after him for you! 😉

We had a chat last night about sofas. Monty made his case for relaxing in it, I made a better case for him sticking to his blanket on the floor. Had to remind him a few times but seems to have got the message.
He went off to bed in the kitchen last night and moaned for a few minutes when all the lights went out but quitend down quite quickly and was chlled out till morning. Happy days!

Awwwwwwwww

Socialise him early and lots, with other dogs, other people and kids. Puppy classes are good for this.

Crate training is good for the first 6 months too, gives him a safe little den of his own and reinforces his position at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Get him de-knackered, if not done already, and be scrupulous about worming him, because of the contact between him and your daughter.

He looks like a fantastic dog, mongrels are the best.

And I forgot to say, lots of exercise. Help with being calm around the place. You wouldn't want a neurotic dog around the nipper.

And if the food is a problem, same routine. It's his food but as you're the boss you can take it when you want. Be a 100% consistent and he'll be a happier dog in the long run.

Puppy classes are essential, meeting other dogs and walking with them will all help.

He looks lovely, don't forget to post some more pics on here…

Ah now it's interesting you say lots of exercise because some people agree with that whilst others say that as he's a big breed that we should be very careful to limit his exercise.

I wouldn't advise running him until he's developed. Best ask your vet when going for jabs about his breeding and suitability to run with the bike.

I'd say most breeds aren't that suitable. My lurcher was ok for a few years, ss only. Now he's slowing down a bit I'm careful not to overdo it. However, all dogs need to work. Bodies and minds. Some more than others. And being pets, their physical work is walking.

But as he develops you must make sure he gets out regularly. An exercised dog is a calm dog = great state of mind to be in around kids. An hour a day is a general rule of thumb. My two would quite happily quadruple that, given the chance!

He is going to be one big handsome mutt.

Echo all that's been said above re firm/fair/pack leader. He'll be a handful but looks intelligent (if that's possible to tell from a pic?) and should be great fun.

Well done on giving him a home 😀

Sounds like he eventually landed on his feet.

It'd be hard for him not to, look at the size of them!

Get him to hang off a big stick then walk round the park with your elbows at right angles posteuring in front of everyone 😉

nice post petrieboy.

How could anyone think of drowing a puppy?

Sounds like he had a lucky escape and has now landed on his feet.

Neighbours used to have Mastiffs, very loving and clever dogs.

I'd be slightly worried, but not over so at his age, with the food guarding. Its not something I've experienced before so have no real advise. My dog and all the ones I've had in the past will sit and wait for their dinner and allow anything to be taken away. With a little kid about this could be a worry.

otherwise, go to puppy classes, with our somewhat exuberant lurcher these were amongst the most knackering things I've ever done, but were very useful for socialization and keeping u on the right track, the mrs found them very good as she's never had a dog before and doesn't believe much of what I say!

then

nowish

the decking could do with a paint and put the black and decker workmate away 😀

nice dog!

you think the decking could do with a paint then, you should see it now!!

So that's the bike security sorted then. He is going to be a big boy 😯

Lots of good advice given above, but would advise going to puppy classes as soon as he is old enough as well. It's good to get the opinion of a trainer who see lots of dogs on a regular basis, as they can see things that you sometimes miss and give good advice on how to sort them out.

Also, as he's going to be a strong dog as he gets bigger, Halti collars really work.

Cool dog(s). Would love to get one but spend 12 hours out of the house at work each day.

One day.

whilst halti collars do work, he's young enough to learn how to walk on a lead well with a normal one. As I have learnt puppies take a hell of a lot of work but if you put the time in early on it pays you back later.

lovely looking dog. good luck with him.

Quick update – bigger. much bigger!

Awww, very cute 🙂

we found that hand feeding our puppy stopped her getting protective of her food. she came to know that it was ok to leave it as we werent going to eat it. also, try to make sure he sees you eat first and then he gets his.

feedings well sorted – put his bowl down and he just lies down looking at it 'till you tell him to eat and i can put my hand in his bowl too. the toddler hands over treats too and he takes them gently. poor mutt takes a lot of abuse from the toddler as it happens!!