I want a Mastiff

In My Humble Opinion
21

I highly recommend a book The Good, The Bad & The Furry for a very realistic look at all the major breeds. It is a gas to read too. I’ve shared my copy with many people and they ended up buying a copy for themselves.

Here is what the author says about Mastiffs:
Weight: begins at 120 and can exceed 200
Height: 26-36 inches
Build: Massive
Coast: short hair
Brains: Average intelligence, though some can be buttheads about training. Obediance classes are mandatory.
Bladder matters: No particular house training issues.

Trademark Traits: Well Bred examples of this lumbering beast are ( thank god) even-tempered, trainable and loving towards their families ( particularly towards children). However , they retain enough of their old traits and frightening looks, to make them extremely effective guardians.

Headaches and Hassles: This isn’t a cheap dog to keep. A full grown mastiff canhammer down 40-70 poubds of dry food each month. They require extra big clippers for their massive nails, a sleeping crate the size of a minivan , and monstrously huge toys to fit their monsterously huge mouths. Mastiffs also dig, snor, and drool by the gallon. Owners often keep drool rags nearby to wipe off the slobber. These hulking canines can be problematic with cats and other small animals if not carefully trained at an early age. Also, be advised that the might mastiff, like all giant breeds, produce movements that would make Mozart proud. If you don’t poop-scoop regularly though backyard will turn into a Superfund site in short order. These dogs are also very sloppy eaters and drinkers. After a visit to the water bowl they will leave a trail of liquid through the house. They can knock over toddlers and old folks ( w/o even trying.)
Special Perks: A stern voice is all a competent owner needs to control a well trained socialized mastiff. These dogs require regular walks and fun frolics. Nothing excessive. The typical mastiff prefers stretching out across your bed or crashing on the couch, so you may have to coax it out the door.

Bugs in the system: Mastiffs can face a raft of genetic difficulties, including hip and elbow dypslasia, heart disease, immune disorders and eye problems.
**
If someone broke into my house, this dog would: ** stand still and stare. This alone should ward off most intruders. If not, the mastiff will release a powerful, savage-sounding bark. And if that doesn’t work, they’ll kick butt. The whole process takes about five seconds. Mastiffs act and look lethargic,but when necessary they can move like lightening.

If you like the mastiff, check out: The more streanined ( and less drool-intensive) Great Dane. Or the slight smaller bull mastiff.

Who should get this dog: An individual or family with the cash necessary to support it in style and the inclination to give it the love and attention it craves. This is an enormous dog that will take up alot of time and alot of space.

My dog is a lab-mastiff mix and she has no drool issues at all. The fur, OTOH, is an epic twice a year when she blows her coat. If I could clone this dog, I would, as we’ve had no health issues at all with her really in the near 11 years since she came to us. Her personality is sweet, loving, clingy-during-storms, she poops where we want her and she cleans up after dinner. Very trainable ( not like the German Shepard) but she understands alot of verbal and hand commands. She snores and shares our bed in the winter. Completely happy and adaptable. More people should be like my Murphy.

22

OF COURSE, YOU NEED TO WATCH THEIR DIET. LINK
Oh, Deefer! You’re a deve!
:smiley:

23

In case anyone thinks I was dissing Mastiffs, I was not. I believe people should know everything about a breed before they own one. One should never get a giant breed or potentially dangerous breed on a whim, they are a huge commitment both literally and figuratively. Researching the breed and knowing what you’re getting into could prevent a lot of unwanted pets ending up in shelters or meeting an early demise.

I actually like Mastiffs, I’ve met many sweet ones and only one aggressive one (an aggressive 200 pound dog is truly scary). I love to pet their huge heads and hug on them (not the aggressive one of course) but I would never, ever own one. Always keep a drool towel on hand.
I remember many years ago, we had a mastiff we had to neuter at the clinic where I worked. It was only myself and the vet there that day. The vet had a bad back, and I barely weighed half of what the dog did. needless to say that neither of us could even lift half a 200 pound dog so we had to do surgery on the floor. The clinic I work at now, if we need to do surgery or xrays we’d have to get the owners to help us lift the dog, until we finally got a lift gurney. Still it’s a lot of work getting them the few inches off the floor onto the gurney on its lowest setting and moving it on and off the gurney to xray and surgery tables and into cages. Since we most often see them for bloat, all that moving around is very necessary. Vet medicine for these large dogs is very problematic and not all vet clinics have lift tables/gurneys.
If you really think you’d like one, volunteering to be a foster parent first as suggested by someone else would be the best idea, so you could have a trial run.

24

My friend just got rid of a mastiff pup. She said he was mean and extremely hard to control. In the dog’s defense, she was forced into caring for it when she and her husband separated, but it sounds like you would need to invest lots of time and physical energy into a dog like that.

Plus, the slobber factor.

Plus, BIG POO.

Three deterrents worth considering.

25

I hope this thread does indeed make people think twice about choosing a breed merely because it’s gigantic.

But every puppy deserves lots of time and energy, whether it is a Mastiff or a Chihuahua.

The drool is for real, though I don’t think the poop is all that bad. (But then, I am a preschool teacher, accustomed to all matter of human bodily functions;
I suppose I have a strong stomach for stuff like that.)

Just reading about a “mean” mastiff pup blows my mind–I kid you not.
Mastiff pups are strong, and definitely go through an adolescence, but mean?
If your friend thought the pup was mean, that is really scary to me.
I know that Mastiffs are already being mass-produced in puppy mills, and I hope the breed does not end up the way some others have.
BTW
No diss taken on my part, Wile E.
My vets have always operated on my guys on the floor. :slight_smile:

26

If you’re of the mentality amenable to Mastiffs, but want something a little smaller, I suggest a Boxer. Not as much drool, about the same temperament, and easier on the furniture. The downside is the preponderance for cancer. I’ve lost everyone I’ve had to that damned disease.

You can’t beat Boxers for loyalty, intelligence, protectiveness, and innate goofiness. Plus, they’re already mastiffs…

27

Boxers are awesome. Pure wiggly beany crazy-calf-eyed love!
But they can be a hyper bouncy zoomy handful to someone expecting the serene and sleepy Mastiff. Once they’re over 2-3 years they mellow out, though. This works out conveniently for those in the know, because there are heaps of perfectly lovely adult boxers in rescues awaiting permanent homes. Puppies are adorable but I’ll always take a seasoned and mature boxer over a wee bitty fellow anytime.

28

Of course you want a Mastiff, all rational people do. I have three mastiffs, two Neapolitan Mastiffs and an English Mastiff X (Father was English Mastiff, mama was English Mastiff X Wolfhound).

The Neos are hard work, the OEM is the nicest dog I’ve ever owned. He’s about 80 kilos, but he’s as gentle as a mouse. Although not the smartest dog I’ve ever owned, (not stupid, just not as “on” as the working dogs I’ve had in the past), he was easy to train because he was born wanting to be good, and he’s so sensitive that a stern look will correct him.

Thing to remember about the mastiff breeds is that they are guarding breed, which means they were bred to make some decisions for themselves and to be a bit independent. This means that when you’re training them you need to get used to the idea that they will have opinions of their own, and they can be a bit stubborn because of it.

Yes Mastiffs do drool, but it’s not usually constant, mostly after eating, drinking or exercise. A handful of paper towels will fix that, and you get used to it. They can have a myriad of health problems, but there are some very dedicated American breeders who are serious about breeding for health. The MCOA also has a longevity project where they are tracking the bloodlines of Mastiffs which live past ten … I have heard of 12 and 14 year old Mastiffs.

I got my first mastiff through rescue, more or less by accident, but I’m in love with them now, drool, shedding, snoring and all. The breed standard says of their temperament, “A combination of grandeur and good nature, courage and docility.” That’s been exactly my exerience of the Mastiffs I’ve met, and certainly it describes my dog.

If you like big dogs, but want an apartment-friendly couch potato, Greyhounds make great small space dogs. Not very mastiff-like I realise, but generally healthy, long-lived, friendly and kind-natured, and there are many in need of homes.

29

I love mastiffs myself too. A friend of mine lived with some people for a while, one of whom had a mastiff. She was the cutest big dog I had ever met! Not the brightest, or most obedient dog I knew of, but I think it was because her owner didn’t train her properly. I’ve always maintained the bigger the dog, the more gentle they are. The mastiff had a knack for wanting to climb up on the couch and snuggle like a big fuzzy lap dog, but the smaller dogs that I knew, always, always ran around barking like they were some hot shot guard dog out to protect the territory that was rightfully theirs. Don’t take another step towards the little dog’s food bowl, because you could end up with a bite mark on your ankle! :rolleyes:

The only thing I found problematic with the mastiff I knew (aside from the drooling, which I could deal with, when one day, I own a mastiff) was that she was very very very attached to her owner. Unless her owner was around, she was a big lump on the couch. Holding a treat out to her and calling her name would not motivate her enough to get off the couch and come to me, unless her owner was standing right next to me. Even if I stood next to her and held out a treat, she wouldn’t do much more than move her head in my direction, not even to stretch her head out to lick the treat off my hand. I know most dogs are very loyal in this regard, but it was kind of upsetting to see her respond to no one else other than her owner. What happens if the owner were to die? The mastiff I knew, would probably will herself to die if she didn’t get to see her owner each and every day.

30

Mastiff owners in this thread and no pictures? What’s up with that?

31

Mastiffs
Auntie Pam
For whatever reason, I am having trouble with the copy and paste of my breeder’s site. But if you click on Litters, and click Puppies, Puppies Grow Up, then on Elwood, you will find our third Mastiff baby.
I agree that training counts for a lot. And as I said before, but perhaps not that clearly, problem-solving ability is not the same as understanding of commands and/or instincts. Mastiffs are not dumb.
I do think that Mastiffs are very attached to their people–and not necessarily the people you’d assume would be their favorites. Our mastiffs’ fave peeps have been different over the years. Our first liked me the best, our second favored our son, our current mastiff adores my husband. I was/am the major trainer and feeder of all three.