New Pet?

Welruc

Hi all, im thinking of getting a dog but wondering what breed to get. Im leaning toward a mastiff, i know they are a big dog but i have plenty of room for one. The thing is i have a 7 year old daughter and im wondering how are they with children? Leaning toward a English mastiff. Anybody have one and know what they are like as pets then i would appreciate your comments.

hadook

Is this your first dog or, most importantly,have you had a large breed before? English Mastiffs were bred as guard dogs and need proper socialisation and training from a very very young age to ensure that you don't end up with a 200 pound dog who takes a dislike to people or other animals. While they are traditionally now known as couch potatoes you'll need to be out walking and exercising them every single day for socialisation reasons more so than pure exercise. Having a big garden is not enough - you need to get out and about with them.

Another thing to consider is that they're prone to an awful lot of health problems so you'd need to find an excellent breeder who knows what exactly is carried in their line and pet insurance is a must. They're prone to hip dysplasia, bloat, CHD, gastric torsion, ectropion, PPM, vaginal hyperplasia, elbow dysplasia and PRA. Occasionally seen is cardiomyopathy too. Any of the painful conditions mentioned above might leave you with a cranky dog (pain does that to everyone) and that's not a good thing with a child around.

All dogs are potentially child friendly, the question really is - how dog friendly is your child? Some 7 year olds are wise beyond their years with animals and some have a couple of years yet to go before they learn that dogs are living breathing creatures that need respect and love to get that back from them. How is your child around other dogs?

You'll be introducing a pup that hasn't a clue of how big it is, how fast it grows etc. Giant breeds mature slower so expect teething from about 3 months to 18 months - is your child likely to leave toys lying around? Normal puppies chew toys. Giant breeds destroy toys within minutes. (And occasionally walls, door frames, furniture etc). If you reckon you can cope with that (and slobber, there's always slobber) and have a big enough car (vet trips etc, you're not going to find many taxi drivers who'll let you stick your dog in the back) then a Mastiff might be for you.

looserock

deuceswild wrote: »

Hi all, im thinking of getting a dog but wondering what breed to get. Im leaning toward a mastiff, i know they are a big dog but i have plenty of room for one. The thing is i have a 7 year old daughter and im wondering how are they with children? Leaning toward a English mastiff. Anybody have one and know what they are like as pets then i would appreciate your comments.

I have an 8 year old English Mastiff [not Bullmastiff] and they are excellent family pets.

They are the kindest gentlest dogs of all the breeds and I would highly reccommend one.

They can have health problems like every other breed, but not necessarily, the only problem my fella ever has are ear infections.

SunnyP

I have a 7 and 8 year old and 2 boxers and a Jack Russell. I find the boxers great with the kids the Jack Russell Im a bit cautious of as he gets very excited and jumps around them alot.

Last night the 7year old and her dad had a bit of a row bout eating dinner the child started to cry and straight away up jumped the boxer to cuddle into her. It was the sweetest thing in the world

A bull mastiff will get to be a really big dog, I think boxers are quite similiar in appearance and wont grow as big. In my opinion they are great with kids