Hi and welcome to BPO. I'm Misty and I have an English Mastiff (just turned 1 year last month) named Gracie. She's nervous around new people who are excitable when they meet her and also children here lately have made her a little nervous. Also, tall people make her a little nervous as well. What has helped Gracie become more comfortable is constant socialization. We go on walks everyday. We spend a lot of time at the dog parks and we are also very active with an obedience group and take a lot of classes. So far I've only seen her display the submissive peeing once and than was when a friend squealed and threw her arms in the air in excitement to see Gracie and that totally freaked Gracie out. So she tinkled a bit. I actually practice being calm to encourage Gracie to remain calm when she is greeted. As for the baby talk, I've used the method that Peyton's mom was explaining. Now, I don't for a second believe the dog actually understands the words that I'm saying but I do believe that when I say "Gracie, that is a boy on a bike, Gracie, that's the door bell, or Gracie, that's thunder" I think that it's the tone that keeps her calm and I use the same phrase every time we see a boy on a bike and or it thunders and she freaks a bit. Again, I have no idea if it's the words she remembers or if it's the fact that I tell her to remain calm by saying the words using a calm tone. Either way, it's been effective for me. My advice is to continue to socialize the dog as much as possible. Be consistent and don't reward the dog when he is being nervous. Meaning don't stroke him or baby talk him like Peyton's mom described. I think you should keep in mind that your pup is still pretty young. A one year old is still very much a baby. Be patient with the big guy. I wish you luck and please come back and tell us how your big baby does. Also, we'd love to see some pictures of your dude.
