The main reason that you should engage in mastiff training is primarily to teach your dog to behave the right way. Consequently, doing training also teaches your dog what are the wrong things he shouldn’t pick up. There are two kinds of training then that all dog owners should learn about. If you do not learn for yourself the proper way of controlling your mastiff, both you and your dog will feel bad. You can’t exactly blame it for breaking a rule it doesn’t know shouldn’t be broken, right? If you start yelling at it for something that it did not know was wrong, it won’t really understand why you’re doing that but it will understand that you are upset with it. As such, if you’re going to be doing mastiff training, best to teach your dog first not what “do not touch” means but rather what are the things that shouldn’t be touched, and not after the deed has been done.

Mastiffs like the feeling that you are giving them a mission or a task to accomplish. They like feeling that they are doing something useful, and you in turn appreciate what they are doing. Through proper training, you can let your dog feel important, smart, and appreciated in the family, which will be really good for its self-esteem. If your mastiff is happy, the more attentive it will be to what you are saying, and the more likely you will be able to teach it tricks.

Theres also what is known as problem-solving in mastiff training, wherein activities are done with your dog involving the use of its brain and the task of choosing between possible outcomes. For instance, you can let your mastiff find a hidden object, open a box with a treat within, or simply move something to get to another object. This is good training for your mastiff because not only is this a brain activity but you engage the body as well so it can also be your dog’s daily dose of exercise.

Mastiff training is beneficial to your dog, but what you’re forgetting is that mastiff training is a great way to build a relationship with your furry dog. A mastiff may be one of the largest dogs in world, with males growing up to 190lbs, but all they really want is to have fun. It might seem daunting to entertain a dog that is possibly bigger than you are but you will find that it is rewarding. Be firm but don’t be too formal and serious. Let your dog see that you yourself are having fun and it will ease up and join in on the fun. Sure, you can teach your mastiff to obey you by making sure it remembers there will be consequences if it doesn’t, but wouldn’t it be better if your dog obeyed you because it wanted to? Again, be firm. Not violent. Not aggressive. You want trust, not fear. And you’re never going to get any trust if you’re always seen as the cruel master.