What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

Reputable Bullmastiff Breeders...

jbhuff10

New Member
In the following states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virgina, Virginia, indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia. Does anyone have any recommendations? Any info is greatly appreciated.
 

Hiraeth

Well-Known Member
There are a few on the ABA (American Bullmastiff Association) website that fit your critera:

Ohio - Faithdriven Bullmastiff Dogs and Puppies in Ohio - Has a current litter of puppies (if you're in a rush) from a UKC CH bitch and a UKC/AKC CH sire who both have CGCs and multiple sport titles. Not sure if all of the puppies are spoken for or not.

North Carolina - index - Has a litter due in March from a GCH sire. I'm not a huge fan of the bitch, but it's your puppy and maybe she fits your aesthetic.

Georgia - Home - They do a lot with their dogs, which I like to see. Their best bitch is "Ch Beowulf A Mother’s Glory VCD1 (CD & TD), BN, RE, OA, OAJ, NAP, NJP, OFP, THD, CAX, CGC, WDV2, WDA1, NAC, ASNA, TT, UCD, TDI1", which proves they breed more than just conformation dogs. Not sure about upcoming litters as their site isn't updated frequently, so you'd have to e-mail and ask.
 

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
When I clicked on the second link the first thing that came up was about a dog "ruby" who has had 14 litters. That seems like an awful lot of litters to me.
 

Hiraeth

Well-Known Member
When I clicked on the second link the first thing that came up was about a dog "ruby" who has had 14 litters. That seems like an awful lot of litters to me.

He's a male. I don't think it's at all uncommon for high quality males, especially in rarer breeds like Bullmastiffs, to sire that many litters. It actually is a huge credit to his quality if he was studded out that many times, less of a credit if they were all 'in-kennel' breedings, but I doubt they were.
 

Hiraeth

Well-Known Member
My mistake. I thought Ruby and thought girl. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Easy mistake to make! I looked through all of those sites thoroughly and looked into each of their 'best' dogs and would feel comfortable buying from any of them, as far as I could tell. I'd never recommend someone else look at them, otherwise. :)
 

Hiraeth

Well-Known Member
I don't want to knock any breeders, but when I see someone breeding dogs, I want them to be breeding with a purpose, personally. I want to see them DOING something with the dogs they're producing. When I see a breeder who doesn't either have show, performance or working titles on their dogs, it makes me a little leery.
 

Cur

Well-Known Member
I don't want to knock any breeders, but when I see someone breeding dogs, I want them to be breeding with a purpose, personally. I want to see them DOING something with the dogs they're producing. When I see a breeder who doesn't either have show, performance or working titles on their dogs, it makes me a little leery.

100% agree.

Take a look at the point totals on the AKC website for bullmastiff's, and that will tell you who is breeding to the standard. These breeders will also have companion pups out of their litters.

Yes you'll probably pay more, but you are sure to get a pup that will be healthy, and have a wonderful temperament.

Since you mentioned Indiana... I'll have to throw out our breeder, dal Primo bullmastiffs.


dalPrimo.jpg
 

marke

Well-Known Member
I don't know if she still breeds , I bought a bullmastiff from Melkev's in Kentucky , if they're still around she's definitely got some experience ...... as far as looking toward show breeders as some kind of affirmation of health , I would disagree ........... you'd be best served looking at the dogs their breeding as opposed to what their breeding for ...... show breeders breed for type and to win , most of the times at all cost ...........

here's the bullmastiff I bought from melkev's , I can tell you he was well bred as I got a look at his offspring , most all of them made 10 and 11 , he only lived to 9 , cancer .........

simon

Picture1159a.jpg


Picture4975a.jpg


Picture1203.jpg


Picture5143a.jpg


Picture4390a.jpg



here's a few of his daughters

Picture41773a.jpg


Picture4704a.jpg


Picture3304.jpg

Picture3008.jpg


Picture4551.jpg


Picture41355.jpg


Picture41335.jpg
 

Cur

Well-Known Member
As far as looking toward show breeders as some kind of affirmation of health , I would disagree ........... you'd be best served looking at the dogs their breeding as opposed to what their breeding for ...... show breeders breed for type and to win , most of the times at all cost ...........

Meh.

I 100% disagree with this. Dogs from breeders you see on the above list breed for betterment of the breed. Conformation showing is a byproduct of producing a world class dog. Not some overweight smush nosed thing "people" think looks 'good'.

Go to their websites / Facebook pages are read about them. They'll all have very similar mission statements and it's easy to find their pedigrees of their litters going 4, 5, or 6 generations.

There's a huge difference between breeders who care, and breeders who want money. Does your breeder do and list OFA testing for eblows? hips? eyes? Echo cardiac testing? Mine does.

Don't lump them together because of your opinions, do some research and learn about them. Be wary of general statements like "show breeders breed for type and to win... at all cost", because it's just not true and muddies the waters when people want to learn about bullmastiffs.
 

marke

Well-Known Member
I can't speak on any breeder on your list , I don't know them or their dogs . I don't think there are breeders breeding dogs with problems for conformation competitions , I know it , and i know folks who have sold them the dogs knowing the dogs problems , it's not an opinion .........I've seen champion dogs , gr. champion dogs you couldn't pay me to take , I've put my hands on them , knew their pedigrees better than the folks showing and breeding them ....I wouldn't even begin to think a dog show judge could tell me if I had a good dog by looking at him/her for a couple minutes , the thought is ludicrous .. I've seen dogs used regardless of their health because of their pedigrees ....... I've seen "world class" dogs limp to a win on a "world class" stage ........ I've seen folks pay a professional handler to champion their dog that was far from "world class" . then use the dog for the "betterment of the breed" ....... health certs ? I've seen puppymills use them to market their unhealthy junk dogs ......... I don't believe all breeders are incompetent , or all incompetent breeders are breeding for money , I think many don't have a clue what a good dog is , and many just want to win for their ego's ..... a champion dog and a good dog have nothing to do with each other ......seeing a 6 generation pedigree is meaningless unless you know the dogs ........I know some very famous dogs that were linebred on that are responsible for a lot of genetic problems that plague some breeds i'm aware of ........ I don't have a breeder , my dogues are mine ..... as far as melkev's you'll have to ask her , I didn't buy my simon because of his parents health certs , I bought him because of his parents , and the folks that bred him were dog people ..... I wanted to breed to his father , it didn't work out , so I got pick pup in the breeding of two int. ch. dogs , both ROM dogs , that's an accomplishment for a bitch , both fully adult healthy dogs when bred , not 2 yr old puppies , I believe both lived to 10-11yrs ....... the best health cert a dog could possibly have is longevity , and overall health during that longevity ....... I agree there is a big difference between a breeder who cares about the pups they produce and the ones producing pups to make money ...... the problem is the best way to make money on pups is marketing with titles and health certs , even the puppymillers know that
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Melkev's does show AKC and heath test. I considered them when I thought I might get a BM instead of a boxer a few years ago. My opinion is that the we all need to be informed buyers. Not all show breeders are great and not all hobby breeders are awful. While I love mastiffs, I consider my main breed to be boxers and I know them, and the health risks involved with owning them, very well. I also know that it would be foolish to even consider buying from a breeder that doesn't test for things like heart, and degenerative myelopathy. All breeders should health test, without exception, in my opinion. It is good to know the lines for things like cancer, of course, but if I can't get the other testing then I won't give them my money.
 

marke

Well-Known Member
while I do agree , you need to do as much as possible when it comes to producing healthy puppies/dogs ......... the problem with health screens has a lot to do with the age at which a large portion of these dogs are bred , aside from the fact there will always be cheating where money is involved .......... a dog that dies from cardiomyopathy could very well have passed an echo at 2yrs ..... degenerative myelopathy may not be detectable until the dog is 8-10yrs old , or the dog may never be diagnosed and die from other causes , dogs who pass the dna test for dm do come down with it , dogs who fail it sometimes do not ..... dogs who pass an ofa hip cert at 2yrs can and do become dysplastic ..... dogs that "pass" a pennhip test , can be dysplastic at the time they pass .... the European hip test are even less reliable as they are done younger ....... a dog at 2 yrs may very well have normal thyroid function only to go on to have thyroiditis ............. allergies often do not become evident until a dog is 3,4 yrs old , or older ......there are lethal genetic diseases in dogs where they do not survive long enough to breed , you could not have a better health test , they persist ....possibly definitive dna test for these diseases would eliminate them , but I doubt it .. folks breeding for a "purpose" are usually in a hurry to move on to the next generation .............