Bull mastiffs.. any owners with advice...

louisa200

Ok, so partner wants two bull mastiffs... he has being going on about it for years and now it looks like he will be pursueing his dream in the new year.. he has spent hours and hours researching breeders and information on mastiffs... he will be looking to show, and/or breed... He has had big breed dogs before and is amazing with dogs, including my now deceased terrier who would have peed in your eye until he trained it in three days (after me having the dog for 2 years, trying everything to no avail)
We live in the country and have ample space, we also have an estate car for transportation if need be, partner works from home most times so no worries of them being left alone etc for long periods of time..

I am just looking for any advice any of you guys who have mastiffs have, I dont wanna ask him because, well, regardless of my concerns it is his dream, he loves these dogs more than anything..

We have three children, two are babies.. we would be getting the dogs young and I anticipate they will be outside in the summer and in the utility/workroom we have in the winter.... do bull mastiffs chew everything in sight, do they shed loadsof hair, do they slobber loads (lol)...

How do you find your ull mastiff temperament.. one of our neighbours has one and to be honest even though it is so big it seems, well, dumb (sorry doggy)....

i am sure I have loadsof questions but was just looking for some positive and negative feedback from mastiff owners... these dogs will be a huge (literally) addition to our family so am looking for any advice going, many thanks, louisa200 x

cianer

First of all let me say I really like bull mastiffs as a breed, they're lovely dogs and mostly gentle giants, certainly with people.

But they do need to be brought up properly, and do need to be very well socialised with all types of other animals when they're young. As they're a bull breed they have the bull headedness of those breeds so you really will have to start a training plan and stick with it.

Unfortunatly my sister's collie had an unfortunate encounter with 2 male bull mastiff brothers in England, they attacked her dog and peeled a third of his skin off, he was very lucky to survive at all. These dogs were male litter mates (never a good plan), un-neutered and very under socialised. Basically unresponsible owners who liked the look of the breed but weren't prepared to put the hard work into making them the gentle giants they can be.

louisa200

Oh thats awful.. no the dogs will not be litter mates.. I suppose I am a bit concerned in wether the dogs will listen to me too.... he is fabulous, almost a doggy whisperer, i however didnt even get repect from my terrier lol, so maybe its not the dogs that will be the problem but me.. obviously they will have to be under my control too, and they will have to be under me in the pecking order, maybe i need to go to doggy borstel myslef

cianer

You'll be grand! Just don't get taken in by their very cute puppy faces and let them get away with anything bold. Keep in the back of your mind that they're going to be at least 50 kg each with whatever good or bad habits they get into as pups! You can begin teaching them good manners from the moment you get them - walking nicely on lead can be taught in your house and garden while they're waiting for their injections to be finished. Not jumping up as pups will be an important one too!

andreac

As an owner of a large breed, a rottweiler, mastiffs are big strong dogs, esp the males.
My fella is about 50kg at the mo and not fully matured yet.

I would highly recommend training from a very young age, large breeds like mastiffs, rotties and so on need a good firm hand and lots of socialisation from day one, so be prepared to put in a lot of work, but once you do you will have fab doggies.

My fella is brilliant with children but doesnt realise his size sometimes and can knock over a child without meaning to.

Bullmastiffs do drool and do shed so do expect that. Any dog will chew if its bored and not stimulated so just make sure the pups are exercised enough for pups, not too much though as large breed dogs must have restricted exercise until they are fully grown as it can be harmful to their joints if they get too much.

I wouldnt recommend getting 2 young pups together, i would get one then get another when the first pup is a little older, this will make training much easier when you only have one to train on its own. Also getting 2 males you will need to be careful when they mature if they arent neutered as 2 entire males might not get on once maturity hits, so just be aware of that.