Help me with my Neo Mastiff

[Zues is my baby]

Hello all

My Fiance and just adopted a Neo Mastiff he is now about 13 weeks old, he is so cute. His name is Zues he is learning so much so fast. the only problem is that I was at the vet with him lastnight getting him some food. this was the first time I have seen him barking and growling at other dogs. I think he scared the heck out of the other puppies considering he is the same age and 2x bigger. He now weighs in at 30lb. Is that a sign of aggression or not. Can this be corrected easily. As well I have another concern, there are times that he won't eat. We are giving him his meals at the same time everyday. I even come home from work every day at lunch to feed him and let him out. But just some days he won't eat his breakfast, or it could be his dinner, or even times it's lunch. It does seem like we have to be there for him to eat will this pass or is it something we should be concerned about as well? who ever knows anything about these breeds well especially at puppy age, please help.

[DogueLover]

I do have Dogue De Bordeaux and when Angel was a puppy, after we first brought her home she would sometimes not eat one of her meals. I asked our breeder and she told me that she was probably just adjusting to her new home and surroundings.
I do know that Mastiffs love to be with you all the time. I can`t tell you how many times I have tripped over my dogs when I am at the sink washing dishes or at the stove cooking because they lay directly behind me so that they can be close to me. Often at our house you have to be careful getting up off the couch because they are laying below your feet.
As for his barking and growling at the other dogs, I am not sure that is an aggression issue, he may just be expressing himself, you can correct it by telling him "no" in a stern voice. With my mastiffs, they never need any more correction than that, and as a puppy Angel would pout if I scolded her. ( She still does this now).
My douges will only bark at other dogs if they get too close or become aggressive toward them. Both of them know that if they are barking their fool heads off and I ask "where are your manners?" that they should stop.
Teaching them "quiet" has been very helpful as well.
I am sure Tenderfoot, or Mastifflover can give you some help. Hope that what I have posted helps somewhat.

[StaceyB]

It is never good when a puppy of that age, or any age shows any kind of aggression. Socialize, socialize, socialize. Take your puppy with you whenever possible. Training is so very important. Get your puppy enrolled in puppy classes with a positive trainer right away. Your puppy may be teething, keep on your feeding schedule. You may want to remove the lunch feeding. Missing one of their meals is usually an indication that they are ready to cut out a meal, split what you were giving at lunch into the morning and evening meals. Whatever you do don't leave food out for puppy to free feed, and don't add items to food. This will negatively effect all areas of training you do with puppy.

*We never get a puppy to have a bad one- Socializing is not with what they know but with what they don't know*

[Zues is my baby]

Yes we have been socializing him as much as possible but because he dosn't have all his shots we have been too afraid to bring him places where there are too many dogs. He was sick he had kennel cough and plenty of worms to go around for everyone. Now that he is almost 100% we are feeling a little better about socializing him with other dogs but should we still be casutios about bringing him around other animals? He has soo much energy now that he is feeling better it would be nice to bring him to a dog park would it be safe to do that. As well we just bought him a bigger bowl for his food and he seamed to gobble up his food could that have been the reason for the not eating thing?

[StaceyB]

I start puppies in classes at 9-10 wks. With thousands of puppies through class, so far happy to say no issues. Not to say it will never happen but by the time your puppy is completed vaccinations, 4 months. In my opinion I would not suggest waiting that long, you are losing precious time. Since your puppy has been ill, make sure health is cleared first.