english mastiffs and newfoundland owners (how much, boxers, bullmastiff, science)

[SouthShoreShannon]

we are looking into both breeds and cant seem to decide on which one we prefer...we want a big dog that is good with kids....would love to hear what owners of either have to say..

[kahskye]

Hi, Welcome! I'm new here too. We just put a deposit down on a Newfie pup. My dh has wanted this breed for years, and we're at a good time in life to add him to our family. From what I know of people that had Mastiffs, they had more of an aggression issue, something Newfies don't have. Newfies are excellent w/ kids.

[riveree]

Both are nice dogs.

Mastiffs do not have aggression issues, quite the opposite. They do make excellent watchdogs, they were bred for guarding.

I've only had a bullmastiff mix (part bullmastiff), but he was typical in the mastiff personality - very trustworthy, mellow once mature, gentle with my other animals (including a cat and parrots), top-notch guard dog.

Mastiffs are also know to have a "guilty conscience" even when they've done nothing wrong!

As I'm sure you know, English Mastiffs are HUGE dogs and therefore, not very long-lived .

You might want to give Bullmastiffs a look, they are very similar but are smaller in size.

[kahskye]

Originally Posted by riveree

Both are nice dogs.

Mastiffs do not have aggression issues, quite the opposite. They do make excellent watchdogs, they were bred for guarding.

I was only commenting on the ones I have been around. I know there are always exceptions to every breed.

Moderator cut: edit

[Wendell Phillips]

Newfoundland (dog) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[southward bound]

I love the newfie - we almost got one, but I found out how much the drool. I don't think I could deal with all that drool. The mastiff is the same. Beautiful dogs, both of them.

There's a mastiff in my training class. He came up to me once and left a long line of slime down my leg, and drooled all over my dog. It was quite a job cleaning all that off of both of us. A friend had beautiful boxers, but at meal time, or when drinking, when they shook their heads, slime flew all over the kitchen, onto the cabinets and the appliances!

Those of you who have these breeds, how do you deal with dogs that drool all over you and everything else? It's hard enough to keep the house clean with dogs in it - and I'm not particular about housecleaning as long as it's reasonably clean and healthy - I just don't think I'd want drool to be a part of it.

I still love the newfs, and met one recently, and he wasn't drooling...so I'm wondering whether it's as much a problem as I've imagined it to be.

If the original poster finds that it's not a problem for her, I'd say definitely go for the newfie. They are wonderful dogs.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by SouthShoreShannon

we are looking into both breeds and cant seem to decide on which one we prefer...we want a big dog that is good with kids....would love to hear what owners of either have to say..

We are on our third English Mastiff. When we got our first mastiff, our younger son was 4, the older one age 10.
Our first two did go through a real adolescence, but grew up to be the typical placid gentle giants. Our 4 year old would crawl all over Tucker and yes he did get a few rides. Tucker managed to live until 10 and a half, that's a pretty good age for such a large dog. Rosie, our second, only lived until 7.
Our third mastiff, Elwood, has been a bit of a pistol but at age 4 finally settled down. He has indeed displayed aggression to other large male dogs, and is very protective of us, but is very well trained and would rather die than have me scold him. As Riveree says, mastiffs are very sensitive and do want to please their owners.
In Denver we had good friends who bred Newfies so we saw a lot of them.
They are sweet, gorgeous animals, of course they do have a lot of hair to contend with.
With either breed, obedience training is a must. These are big dogs.
Also, if you do not have a strong stomach, do not bring a mastiff or newfie into your life. They do slobber. It's not unheard of to get stuff on the ceiling.
Obligatory photo:

[Wendell Phillips]

A dog that doesn't drool isn't much of a dog.

[Honeycrisp]

Originally Posted by Wendell Phillips

A dog that doesn't drool isn't much of a dog.

LOL, not long ago saw a ceramic statue of a beige mastiff (or great dane), it was cartoony and actually had drool (as in plastic glue) coming out of the dog's mouth as he was shaking his head (had to use some imagination but it was pretty darn cute!)

[SouthShoreShannon]

i've actually seen "drool free" newfies advertised...anyone heard of this one yet?