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M.can you tell me from your experience do mastiffs with proper socialization and training tend to be the type of dog that you can walk through the park with and let people pet them? It has been our experience with a Saint that she gets tons of attention and people always want to pet her because of her size and I would assume its the same way with mastiffs?
Yes.
We are on our third.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard one of these:
"Who's walking who?"
"Hey, got a saddle for that thing?"
"I didn't know livestock were allowed in this neighborhood!"
English mastiffs are probably a lot like Saints. Ours have been excellent with kids (ours and others.)
They are good guard dogs. They do need to be socialized, and they definitely go through an adolescence. But mostly they are big babies.
We have had two males and a female. Our female Rosie loved men.
My old male dog Tucker was very suspicious of men, and had to warm up to them over time. My current male mastiff Elwood is the same.
Mastiffs are not huge problem-solvers like German Shepherds, but they are by no means dumb. They are devoted to their family and mostly just want to be with you.
We are going through the same thing you are. We had to put Rosie to sleep a year ago, and Elwood has been lonely, especially with our youngest off to college.
We are considering another mastiff, but it is a large undertaking: everything is double, heart worm medicine and other meds, the food (we only feed good quality) etc. And yes--the drool.
But once you've had a mastiff, it's hard to have any other breed.
Here are Rosie (who is gone) and young Elwood:
haha, yup if we had a buck for every...
"how much does she weigh"
"who is walking who there"
etc....we would be able to buy a nice beautiful car and pay cash I am sure!
Its good to hear they are like saints....cause we love our girls disposition but i its hard for me to get the same breed....they always just remind me of the other dog and maybe that would be something down the road i could do....but we are really thinking the english mastiff is the best choice for us.
I also have met several Neos and have posted about them here.
I have heard they are a bit livelier than English mastiffs, but as I recall the ones I met seemed about the same in temperament.
Also I have met a couple Dogue de Bordeaux (French mastiff), they are a beautiful color and a bit smaller than the English, but they look quite powerful.
If you got an English, at least, being a Saint owner, you would have some idea of what you are getting into.
I worry a little bit that English mastiffs (and Bullmastiffs) are becoming more and more popular; I have already heard of puppy mill mastiffs (especially in the midwest) and this makes me so sad.
Yes the puppy mills make me very sad as well. Thats certainly not the way we would go if we decide to go ahead with any dog.
We have never met a neo either....maybe we might need to find a breeder and see if we can head out and meet a few to see how we feel about the personality. We have meet several english mastiffs and they really seemed perfect for us.
And yes, your right, we feel pretty well prepared having had a saint bernard. We dont forsee any huge surprises. I think once you have a 160 lb dog that doesnt know her own strength or size...then going up another step and getting a dog 180 or 200 lbs isnt going to make that much of a difference in our lives. Our house is already doggie proofed for big dogs and so we wouldnt need any adjustment. We already have the giant water bowels, raised feeders and big huge dog beds! I do like the idea of a bit shorter hair, our saint is a short hair BUT its still alot longer than a mastiff's coat.
My daddy had an English Mastiff...named her Mabel. She weighed in at 165#, her daughter, Tiny (named by my oldest half sister) weighed in at #180. They were both the friendliest but the dumbest dogs I have ever seen. I loved both of them but esp Mabel. I told my husband that once we get to a place where we have some land, I want a Mabel. The most dangerous part of Mabel was her tail...when wagging it, it could turn into a *lethal* weapon, LOL. Liz
We used to have 3 English Mastiffs, beautiful dogs. They call them gentle giants and they are. They are huge (our biggest female was 200 lbs.) and actually very sweet and gentle and good with kids. Their looks alone tend to keep people away. Keep in mind they drool a lot and shake their heads and it flies everywhere.
I had a female English - she was one of my favorite dogs ever.
Downsides: shorter life span than little dogs. A walk past the coffee table clears it of it's contents. Counter surfing doesn't require taking any of your 4 feet off the ground. AKA snatch and grab is very easy!
Upsides: Phenomenal with children. Very laid back dogs; not hyper at all.
A Neopolitan is a very different dog than an OEM. They are used rather extensively in Bandog breeding, and typically aren't a breed for everyone. If you want a giant Teddy Bear to stand in the yard, play with the kids, and look scary, get an Old English. In my experience, they can be a bit dog aggressive, but they are loving and sweet. As to trainability-not the brightest bulbs on the string, but they are a lot of fun.
My English Mastiff is SOO loveable. my daughter will lie down and he will lie down right next to her. or should i say ON her!! He's 6!
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