Anyone have a Mastiff?

[littleindiangirl]

I'm thinking about getting one next spring, I just think they are awesome. I was looking to hear about peoples experiences with them.

[wolfy-hound]

I've dealt with mastiffs, and I have a few friends that own them.
They are BIG.
They eat a LOT. They drool a LOT.
Be sure you can provide tons of exercise. Letting one into a small yard is not enough exercise. Be aware of the health issues, like bad hips, bad knees etc. Get yours from a acreditted breeder, who can show you documented good hips on the ADULT breeding dogs. Any puppy can get a clear cert, go for the adults.
Don't let them get overweight. Do train them early. Do keep them properly contained. Do be sure you have the space, time and mentality to deal with a large(huge) unruly dog.
Wolfy

[slartibartfast]

Yup, what Wolfy said. They are huge, and you don't appreciate how huge they are until you have to move one that has collapsed and can't get up. That (in addition to the drool) ruled them out for me.

Getting one from a good breeder is paramount. Don't take their word for it that the dogs are healthy. Insist on seeing the hip and elbow scores, and make sure that the parents were older than two years when the tests were performed. Also ask about family history of demodex; we've seen a lot of badly bred mastiffs with that.

If the breeder acts offended that you ask those sorts of questions, don't walk away, run! A good breeder will be proud of their dog's scores, and be happy to show them off. They will appreciate that you care about the ethics of breeding. As animal lovers, we have a responsibility to purchase wisely. That means not putting your money into the hands of an unethical breeder, no matter how cute the puppy is, or how bad the surroundings look.

Other factors to consider:

One of the primary old-age issues in big dogs is arthritis, and having a dog you have to lift up to walk outside multiple times a day becomes overwhelming when that dog weighs more than you do. I have known several very vibrant mastiffs who have been euthed due to management issues...their owners physically couldn't maintain them in the face of increasing joint debilitation. I don't ever want to be in that emotional space, where you feel like you failed them because you couldn't keep up with the care they needed, and I see that a lot with owners of giant breed dogs. Working at the medical end of things has been amazingly eye-opening with respect to a lot of breeds I thought I wanted.

Research "bloat" in giant breed dogs, and make sure you have an emergency plan in place for it if(when) it happens. That's a $1500-$2000 vet bill to be prepared for...have the cash put back, so that you don't have to make a horrible decision.

Also, your flea & tick medication and heartworm prevention can easily cost you $40 or more a month; medications for even a minor infection can put you back hundreds of dollars simply due to the tremendous size of these animals. There are no small expenses associated with them, and that's something a lot of people don't realize when they bring home the 8lb puppy.

Oh, and kudos to you for doing your research ahead of time. :-)

[Holbeird]

I've had English Mastiffs in the past, and I love them, currently I have a St. Bernard and he's awesome as well, but they're a huge responsibility due to their size, health issues, and food requirements.

[littleindiangirl]

Right, this is good stuff. Aside from obvious health concerns and size issues, how are they for training? This is really what i'm looking for; This dog will be a country dog, do they have wander lust? Or will proper training take care of that? How are they in a family? How trainable are they. I've had big dogs before, mostly German Sheperds and a giant poodle, very easy to train... any comparisons???

[doyle033]

i had a neopolitan mastiff for about eight years before my divorce (even tho we both wanted her, the wife kept her as she grew up in that house). she was the best dog i have ever had hands down. we got her from a reputable breeder, but you still run into a small problem now and again. and yes, maintenance meds like flea drops and heartworm pills are a bit expensive. BUT she was a joy to train, on a par or smarter than most breeds. very even tempered, very mellow and slow to anger. great with my kids. if someone came to visit she always stayed between unknown people and the kids, very protective but she never growled or yapped like some breeds. that annoys me to death when you go to visit someone and their yapper is still going strong two hours after you arrive. she was with my kids for all of their toddling years, she was pulled, poked, ridden on, dressed up, you name it, she endured it. she never minded it a bit. if you dont mind alot of love, and alot of slobber, they are a great dog.

[Holbeird]

I haven't noticed the Mastiff having too much of a problem with wanderlust. We had a fenced in yard so I'm not 100% about that, but I took him off leash all of the time, and he never made a break for it. My St. Bernard is the same way. Could be due to the breed, could be the training, although I think I might lean more towards the breed because our Shiba Inu will bolt at the first chance she gets!

[frankykeno]

Is there a lot of difference between the English Mastiff and the Neopolitan Mastiff as far as health issues, temperment, ease of training, etc.?

[Laooda]

I've also owned Neos.... absolutely the BEST dogs I've ever dealt with. Both were from top notch breeders, and I was very lucky to have no hip, skin, or temperament problems. Doyle003 is spot on in his description. 1,000 years ago at age 16 I trained and showed my male, and never had authority issues. *** I'll see if I can find some pix*** They are a very ancient untampered with breed. Amazing breed history... Basically what you see is what you get, and their sole purpose in life is to make mom (or dad) safe and happy. We did have an incident with a goat charging me, as goats will do... and my male took the cue to take the goat out.... it took 30 min. myself, and 3 grown men to get him off... so that is something that I will warn against... if they take a notion that you are in danger, they will act.... they have also recently been excepted into AKC... so I'm very interested to see what changes, (hopefully NONE) will evolve.


Oh, and that scene in Turner and Hooch... where the Bordeaux shakes his head and slime hits the ceiling.....


It happens. Daily!

Hope some of this helps! Please keep us posted!!!

[littleindiangirl]

That is excellent!! This is what I've been hearing from everyone; big, lovable spit slinging pups. I'm fortunate to have some breeders in MI that are associated with the Mastiff Club of America. I only ever buy from a registered breeder, so I hope they can help me choose the new lucky member of our family in the spring. Thanks everyone, i will def post some pics in a few months, God willing we can get one.