Hi all,

Hope everyone's holiday was great.

I am looking to get a Bull Mastiff Puppy. Do any of you own one? If so please comment on the breed. If you do or do not own one, but know a good breeder please let me know as well. Any help is appreciated.

Cheers!

Dan

anyone?

i do not own one, but i have 2 Cane Corso Mastiffs. pretty close to the same thing, except the Cane Corso is a little more athletic.

all "big working dog" rules apply. if you have never owned a large breed dog (Mastiff, Rottweiler, Doberman, bull dog etc.) then i STRONGLY suggest having it proffesionally trained. you have to start from day one showing it that you are the alpha male (the boss). one trained properly can be the best companion you'll ever have. one with poor training will flat out be a nightmare. training is not hard, but most people dont understand how firm you need to be early on. no need for cruelty/beating, but if you start out being a nice guy the dog will own YOU.

they also need LOTS of attention and positive reinforcement. if you want a dog to lay around in the backyard so you can play with it every now and again, this is not the dog to have. they are very hands on and affectionate. most have that natural instinct to guard the home front, so most usually stay around the house without getting out too much. i can let mine out in the front yard with no leash, and not worry about them so much as walking over to the neighbors yard.

they are prone to hip displacia, so you really need to watch the amount you feed it; especially when it is under 1 yr. old. also, due to a somewhat calm sedimentary attitude, they need some excercise and food limited on through adulthood. if you leave it on an automatic feeder, or feed it too much, it will get very fat.

anymore questions, feel free to ask. i also highly recommend checking out the general info on www.bull-mastiff-dogs.com

yes.. i agree 100% with james. listen to his advice.. ESPECIALLY the alpha part. if you don't make yourself (and your wife and kids if it applies) the dog will make himself the alpha. their signals for doing so are often misunderstood by humans as being "cute" little things the dog does such as "play biting" and jumping up on you when you walk in the door. with a dog of that size.. it needs to be well trained. they are a naturally protective dog so make sure you understand that.
and what james said about the hip dysplasia is critical as well. don't let your puppy get fat. make sure you walk and excersise him so he stays healthy.
they are great dogs and will love you to the end. just make sure you are the ones setting the rules. good luck and post some pics if you get one.

james.. i think its easy to tell we are dog people! :)

I have emailed a girlfriend of mine to ask her if I can give you her email address. Her family breeds them in Charlotte, NC. When she responds Ill let you know!!! She has two right now.
Joshua

i can tell you right now- if jumping up when you walk through the door is cute- it will not be cute when you are brought to the ground by a 140 lb. Mastiff (my male).

as far as discipline goes, i used a rolled up magazine with one of my wifes "hair scrunchies" around it. dont roll it up tight, leave it loose so it will make lots of noise when you strike the dog on the rear. this sounds very harsh to the normal small dog lover, but i PROMISE, in early stages it will be neccessary. say NO in a very, very aggressive "manly" way and lightly strike the dog on the rear with the paper to signify that it is doing something wrong. the rolled up mag. will not in the slightest hurt the dog, it will only get its attention. i may get some sh!t over this, but if you dont do BOTH negative and positive reinforcement you will own a very aggressive and mis-behaven Mastiff. you only want to get its attention. my dogs are 3 yrs. old and 2.5yrs. old, and i can now look at them and make them mind. it has nothing to do with being an abusive @sshole, just the fact that i "spanked" them when they were young. most people i know are completely amazed at the fact that my dogs are so well behaved, and that i can carry them to the park and walk them without a single misshap- despite the constant tuanting by other owners' small yipping dogs. they are there for the sole reason to obey you. make them do that. i know it sounds harsh, but if a 10lb. "rat dog" bites your friend's pantsleg, its cute. if a 140lb. Mastiff bites your friend's pantsleg, well he wont bite his pantsleg, he will proly bite his throat; and thats not good. dont be intimidated by PETA and other B.S. orginizations that claim animals are equal to humans. fact is, this dog will be more deadly than any human you have ever known (and more loyal, too.) treat it as such. THIS IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY... THINK OF IT AS OWNING A HANDGUN.

Originally posted by james t
i may get some sh!t over this, but if you dont do BOTH negative and positive reinforcement you will own a very aggressive and mis-behaven ... [/SIZE]

exactly. treat training may work on a rare occasion but i guarantee if your dog is "treat trained" and he is going after another animal or person or running across the road or something, he will NOT respond to you giving him a command. pack animals in nature use positive and negative reinforcement and dogs are pack animals. i can tell my dogs to sit if they are running after a squirell (sp?) at full speed and you will see two butts hit the ground immediately. they know if they don't they will be disciplined by me. they are also fully trained on hand signals, and one of them is just at 7 months old. i use a "pinch collar". that's the metal collar that has the prong like links. many people think this is cruel, but your dog has a very high pain tolerance and things that we think hurt just don't hurt to a dog. get that sucker trained no matter what method you use.

and when you start... make sure you constantly work the dog. if you get the dog trained by someone other than yourself, don't expect the dog to just mind you forever. if you don't work him too, he will begin to "rebel" against you by breaking commands here and there or not complying to them at all or maybe ignoring you completely. this is their way of testing you to see if they can make alpha spot again. you have to constantly let them know they are not the leader.

nyisles_99 - have you owned a large breed in the past?

Originally posted by jasonb
nyisles_99 - have you owned a large breed in the past?

I'll have to stress this to you. If you have not had a large breed before, seriopusly think of something a little smaller. Large dogs can be a handful. They also cost a lot more. I buy a 40 pound bag of dog food every two weeks. It adds up. Also large breeds always cost more when you take them to the vet or kennel. And from the other posts you can see that they require a LOT of work. Don't get me wrong, I'll never go back to owning small dogs (under 60 pounds). As a matter of fact, our next puppy will be a Mastiff. The stud these people use is named Thor and weighs 240 pounds. He's been sireing some big pups.

Think carefully about whether you're ready for a dog that big. It will chage your life.

BTW, a pinch collar is much, much better for your dog than a choke collar.

A German study found that choke chains nearly always casue some sort of damage to the dog, while pinch collars do not. I reccommend that everyone uses these. They really don't hurt the dog, they are just really uncomfortable. I know, I tried it on myself.

Originally posted by jasonb
nyisles_99 - have you owned a large breed in the past? jason- i think we scared him away.:D

Originally posted by james t
jason- i think we scared him away.:D


Better that than ending up with a dog he can't handle. It takes a lot of time, money, and work. My poor little puppy (only 125 pounds) just tore a ligament in his back leg. Now it's going to cost just over a grand to get him fixed up. I'm doing it with no regret, as I'll pay whatever to take care of my dogs, but some people aren't willing to spend that kind of money on a pet.

Hey,

Thanks all. This is really great stuff. Not scared at all. I am a huge dog lover.

i will more than likely do the training on my own as I have attended many training sessions and shows....etc but will also consider puppy kindergarten.

Bulls from what I have been reading are really great and not as stubborn as you have mentiioned, I will take your advice as you have them as pets.

great stuff thank you

I totally agree with everything said here, I had rotties for yrs, and used the methods described, It work's, one point I'd like to make is to remember to scold on the butt and praise on the head. meaning if the animal does something wrong DONOT pop it with the paper or anything else on the head, I've seen somany people do that and wonder why there animal is a nutcase, everytime an animal does something good the natural reaction is to pet/gently pat it on the head.. when you smack it on the head, the animal is like WTF?

in wife's voice- "aawwww... look at the wittle cute puppy! i could pet him and love him forever!"

in wife's voice- "dear God... James, what have we done!?!?

nyisles_99
The friend of mine said I can give you her email address, so I will PM it to you!! I asked about specifics like when the next ones will be ready and how much but she hasnt responded. She is getting me one next summer! But they breed good dogs...they have done some for a few Carolina Panthers football players!