Just so you know, this is "the fiancée" writing now as we are both just as concerned about our dog and her behaviour. Many thanks for all the responses, we really appreciate it. Any help and advice is always welcome. [color=red]"Really sound to me as if SHE rules the roost. She is grumpy when you tell her not to get on the couch?? OMG. She needs more obedience and a firm kick in the arse if ya ask me. I wouldn't tolerate nipping and jumping up on me from any dog." I did have one female that nipped my hands when around other dogs to get attention. With some behavior modifications and more individual attention she stopped. This doesn't sound the case with your girl. Tell me, why get a "working type" mastino if you aren't intending to "work" her?"[/color] She does indeed think that she rules the roost. We have bought the book "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell, which has really helped us understand the dogs way of thinking. Of course we understand that the breeder is going to back the dog he bred and we have taken his advice with a pinch of salt- hence coming onto this forum to seek some new answers. I myself have never owned a dog before but have grown up around them (not Neo's granted!) and have loved dogs since day one. My fiancée has owned a GSD, a Boxer and an English Bull Terrier, the last two who have been particularly stubborn and boisterous. He has studied dogs for most of his life and knows a great deal about them. Obviously has never owned a Neo before but had done a lot of research about the breed before we got her. I don't want to get into a discussion about the pros and cons of working/show type dogs. We got a working type as we prefer the dog to be more athletic, lean and less wrinkled, with less of the health problems that some of the ultra typey ones have in the UK. We believe that this is what a true Neo should look like when you compare them to the original pictures of Neo's from the past. However, this is only OUR opinion, we totally respect why others may not agree with us and this is not why we joined the forum. We had planned for our dog to be trained in personal protection when she reached maturity as we live in a tough area of South London where there is lots of crime and wanted a good guard dog. [color=red]"Lets try this one again but first please understand that you are not being judged here. There are many knowledgeable members here and many Neo owners also. Fully understanding your situation will enable us to help you. Most of the large Mastiffs and Guardians tend to be boisterous puppies unless they are shown the rules early on. Many owners make the mistake of accepting goofy behavior from a puppy and then are surprised a few months later when the no longer cute puppy is a challenging adolescent. Behaviors not corrected early are somewhat more difficult to correct later - difficult but not impossible. If you do intend to keep the pup (and fiancée ) you may follows Frank's suggestion and seek out a trainer who is familiar with the Neo or Mastiff breeds. It is always best to start out with absolute rules of behavior and boundaries in the house and then to relax those as the dog matures and can make better judgment. One absolute I would not put up with is any of my dogs showing aggression towards me or other family members in the house. The correction would be swift, painful and memorable. I also do not allow running, playing or boisterous behavior inside the house. All dogs MUST be calm inside the house. The house is my domain. Dogs stay downstairs, off the furniture, out of formal rooms and basically can be in the living room area only. The rules are set and they know it. Breaking the rules results in punishment and banishment to some other place (outside, kennel, garage). Your dog needs some urgent help because it is at the stage when the temperament is being constructed and firmly implanted. You must be careful not to crush her spirit and make her fearful but must also give her some rules before you have to give her up. I don't think she will outgrow the behavior unless it is corrected in her head first. By posting here and asking - you are on the right track and I hope you are able to get the proper help. Your are to be commended for asking as most Neo owners would not have the nerve to ask for help for fear of the Neo community descending on them. Good luck."[/color] Thanks for the reply! When you say "One absolute I would not put up with is any of my dogs showing aggression towards me or other family members in the house. The correction would be swift, painful and memorable. I also do not allow running, playing or boisterous behavior inside the house. All dogs MUST be calm inside the house. The house is my domain. Dogs stay downstairs, off the furniture, out of formal rooms and basically can be in the living room area only. The rules are set and they know it. Breaking the rules results in punishment and banishment to some other place (outside, kennel, garage). " We have tried everything when she acts like this. Please don't think for one second that we allow this behaviour or do not reprimand her. When she acts like this, we have tried everything from turning our back and ignoring her, shouting commands, squirting her with a water pistol and my fiancee hitting her very hard but she is so game and tenacious that literally nothing will stop her until she has decided it to. We literally have run out of ideas! In the house, if she gets too lively, she is instantly shut in the kitchen and not allowed to return until she has calmed down. We have tried Jan Fennells training idea of ignoring her and only giving her attention on our terms, being in the house isn't really the problem as she has a good grasp of basic obedience. She always stays downstairs and is never allowed up. This she does always adhere to. If we open the patio doors and we want her to stay where she is, she will wait on command and not push past, so she does understand that we are the alpha pair in the home to a certain extent My fiancée, never lets her go through doors first. If she tries to get out the door first on a walk, we stop and the walk is put on hold until she goes back behind us. If she pulls on the lead, we stop her and stand still so she realises the walk will only continue when she walks to heel. But it is like trying to get blood out of a stone, no matter how many times we tell her, it's going in one ear and out the other. I really think that a trainer is the way to go, it's a horrible feeling admitting defeat, but it is definitely what we need by the sounds of things. [color=red]If you are in the UK I suggest you see if you can track down a well known British dog trainer Barry Eaton.[/color] [color=red]He has alot of experience working with dogs exhibiting what appears to be dominant and aggressive behavior. [/color] Many thanks for this recommendation, I have just sent him an email already! We are indeed UK based. [color=red]Challenging dominant behavior is very typical of a mastino. Not so much in females though. We are trying to help, not be harsh- but your situation demands harsh, swift behavior. Find a good trainer. Fast. Any fear that your fiancée displays will only make these situations worse. There are a few things you can work on in the meantime. Not letting her on furniture. At all. You walk first through doors. She doesn't tell you when she feels like being petted- you tell her. YOU are the boss- not her. You give a command, she does it- PERIOD. If not, force her. And only give a command once. Don't allow her off lead. Ever. Avoid walking in the woods until you consult a trainer if this is the only place it happens.[/color] You're totally right, the fact I get fearful does not help at all, she can obviously read these signals and play upon them. However, it's really hard for me to not be frightened as fear is not something that can be easily controlled. I try my best to ignore her, turn my back and even shout at her, but none of this works. Literally nothing. You are totally right, we need a trainer and fast as both myself and my fiancée have run out of ideas on how to combat this and have never come across it before! It's really difficult not to take her for walks in the woods/fields as a walk around our streets will nowhere near tire her out and she will be hyperactive all night, leading to a very stressful atmosphere in the house. In short, after reading all your comments, it is clear we need a trainer and quickly as we have literally run out of ideas on how to train her. We have tried every avenue and nothing seems to be working. We have spoken to other owners of Neo's from the same breeder (different litters) and they have said that the general temperament of their pups is totally different. They are calm, relaxed and not remotely highly strung, and none of this is through training (we have asked), it's just the way they are naturally. We just seem to have a particularly highly strung animal. We will not give up on her as we are determined to combat this and change things for the better, no matter how challenging it becomes. We are very grateful for any tips on training and thank you for all the help we have received so far. It is harsh hearing things sometimes, but indeed harsh is what we need!!