American Mastiff

[laksh]

Looking for a breeder in western Canada, I live in Calgary Alberta. Any thoughts about this breed?I've never owned a mastiff before, hoping to meet some soon and see if this is the dog for me.

 

[NeoBull]

It's a mix of Anatolian Shepherd and English Mastiff... I'd research both of those breeds well before getting this mix because you never know for certain what traits from which breed might pop up, be sure you could live with either!

---------- Post added at 12:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:02 AM ----------

I also don't know if any there are any ethical breeders out there breeding these, I kind of doubt there are... you want to make sure they're doing genetic health testing a joint screening OFA hips and elbows... If they tell you they don't need to health test beause they've bred all the health problems out, because of hybrid vigor, or any other BS I'd run the other way.

 

[NeoBull]

I also don't know if any there are any ethical breeders out there breeding these, I kind of doubt there are... you want to make sure they're doing genetic health testing a joint screening OFA hips and elbows... If they tell you they don't need to health test beause they've bred all the health problems out, because of hybrid vigor, or any other BS I'd run the other way.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

I don't know of any "quality" breeders here in Canada of them but sometimes they can be well hidden if they aren't on many boards or don't have a website.

Like was said above be sure to do plenty of research on both breeds that are being mixed to make this breed.

 

[Oak Hill Farm]

I would say you aren't going to find a quality breeder as it is an irresponsible cross in the first place that serves no purpose to either breed. If you want larger predator control there are already breeds for that, if you want a more territorial EM, there are breeds for that as well. I think it is a horrible idea for a cross as the breeds were designed for very different purposes and "ethical" or "quality" breeders wouldn't entertain the idea.

 

[GavTheMighty]

http://www.olympicdogs.net/

Always been an interesting read for me as an offset view to the cross breeding ring.

 

[Oak Hill Farm]

Interesting-that would be a word I guess I would use. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole as the saying goes. That program is a hot mess and all the talk about "other breeders" really turned me off. And again no real concrete evidence on the fact that ANY of his dogs are better than other proven breeds.

 

[Cody]

Wow, a kennel of expensive mutts.
And he is making a profit. All he needs now is to slap a fancy name on them and label them designer....
The mutt myth about better and healthier has long since been debunked. Yes a pup may get the best qualities of both parents, but 5 more may get the worst. They can end up with the poor genetics of both sides and judging from the little I read I can't see buddy doing any screening or really anything with his dogs but pumping out pups for some $$$$

 

[GavTheMighty]

Wow, a kennel of expensive mutts.
And he is making a profit. All he needs now is to slap a fancy name on them and label them designer....
The mutt myth about better and healthier has long since been debunked. Yes a pup may get the best qualities of both parents, but 5 more may get the worst. They can end up with the poor genetics of both sides and judging from the little I read I can't see buddy doing any screening or really anything with his dogs but pumping out pups for some $$$$

Lol this is exactly what I mean everyone reads or takes what they want from various sources be it the internet or real life or books etc. I always find it facinating to find out different opinions about such subjects for example as we are talking here about cross breeding over pure. I have my own opinions but I wont share them here or on any forum I dislike to argue subjects in which I already have made my mind up about. But still it is good to read what others think.

 

[NeoBull]

My take on intentionally breeding mutts... if there weren't already so many homeless dogs out there, if they were doing ALL the health/genetic testing, if they were really focused on temperament, focused on sound functional conformation, if they were breeding them for a purpose (actual working ability), if they have good goals/direction for their breeding program, if they had homes lined up and were willing to take a dog back at any time during it's life to insure they never ended up in a shelter or rescue... then sure... cross breed. They'd be doing a better job then about 99% of the people out there breeding purebreds.

 

[Smart_Family]

I agree with everyone, not to mention the American mastiff isn't actually a real breed. The continental kennel club is the only club that recognizes it and from what I've been told they would register a pile of dirt so be prepared to explain that your dog is an EM/Anatolian mix because very few people know the actual term American Mastiff. I just don't understand why someone would pay more for a mix than a purebred. I don't have a problem with mixes at all, some of my favorite dogs ever were mixes but if I'm going to pay a large amount of money for a dog I would be getting a purebred so I could at least know the likely temperament and characteristics of my dog.

 

[GavTheMighty]

This gets my thumbs up.

My take on intentionally breeding mutts... if there weren't already so many homeless dogs out there, if they were doing ALL the health/genetic testing, if they were really focused on temperament, focused on sound functional conformation, if they were breeding them for a purpose (actual working ability), if they have good goals/direction for their breeding program, if they had homes lined up and were willing to take a dog back at any time during it's life to insure they never ended up in a shelter or rescue... then sure... cross breed. They'd be doing a better job then about 99% of the people out there breeding purebreds.

 

[laksh]

Thanks for the advice! You seem to be quite knowledgeable about mastiffs, so I hope you don't mind me asking some more questions I really love large breed dogs, and was thinking some type of mastiff would be good forour family. However, when I was talking about getting a mastiff with some friends at work today, one of them warned me that they can turn on young childrenwith no warning....Her mom had bullys crossed with boerbelles (?) and this had happened twice during her childhood. Are these dogs that unpredictable? What breed would be best with very young kids? I was thinking either bullmastiff or english. Also, can you recommend any good books about the care and training of these breeds? Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for your help!

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Thanks for the advice! You seem to be quite knowledgeable about mastiffs, so I hope you don't mind me asking some more questions I really love large breed dogs, and was thinking some type of mastiff would be good forour family. However, when I was talking about getting a mastiff with some friends at work today, one of them warned me that they can turn on young childrenwith no warning....Her mom had bullys crossed with boerbelles (?) and this had happened twice during her childhood. Are these dogs that unpredictable? What breed would be best with very young kids? I was thinking either bullmastiff or english. Also, can you recommend any good books about the care and training of these breeds? Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for your help!

Dogs with unstable temperament can be this unpredictable but no a mastiff that is well bred and stable should never turn on family. We have 2 young children and 5 Corsi and 1 rottie and we have never had any problems. There are a few precautions as my kids are still young and don't always remember their dog manners but we don't leave them alone with the dogs and they help with feeding and such with the dogs. The dogs are made to understand that kids rank higher in the house than they do. As for which is best with young kids, as long as they are from a responsible breeder I think most mastiffs are fine with kids. Usually the biggest problem you will have is they are big so sometimes they knock kids down without meaning to. There are at least a couple owners of the mastiff breeds on here(some there are lots for ) that can help answer any question you have so ask away.

 

[NeoBull]

I'm assuming you wouldn't leave your young kids alone with a Lab either BlackShadow? Just so laksh knows, breed isn't the issue, no young children should be left unsupervised with any dog.

 

[seeknoxrun]

I've always liked the saying, "Blame the deed, not the breed."

In my personal experience, I'm a nanny for a family that has an English Mastiff and I've never seen a dog more devoted to and tolerant of children. The children are young (under two years) and Gunner allows them to crawl over him, pull up his lips and ears, tie things around his neck, and on and on. Their two lab females, on the other hand, I generally encourage the kids to leave them alone because I've witnessed both growl and be cranky with the kids.

I have a young English Mastiff (7 months) who also absolutely adores children. He actually shakes with excitement when he my niece and nephew come to visit. I was at the vet one day and he was, of course, overly excited with all the other dogs around. And then a kid in a stroller came in, and you would have thought he was going to have a stroke from the excitement. He spent the rest of our wait laying a couple of feet from the stroller with his head resting on his paws, tale wagging gently. He couldnt have cared less about the other dogs anymore.

 

[Kelly]

This is one of my favorite stories about Tess. Shortly after I got her we were at my brothers house (who she is terrified of). A whole bunch of relatives of his roommates came over and we were all in the living room. There were multiple dogs in there as well. someone came in with a new born baby and sat down on the sofa. Tess immediately got up, and went over and stood in front of the lady sideways and watched the other dogs, making sure they didn't come near that baby. Just this natural instinct kicked right in. Tess has always been a timid dog, but her protectioin instincts always seem to take over her fear.

 

[awfarmington]

Our English Mastiff is not only protective over our kids but kids who come over. We had a Standard Poodle that would chase the kids and jump on them when they would run in the yard. She didnt hurt them but it would scare the neighbor kids. So our EM took it upon herself to always run in between our poodle and any kids. She actually got along very well with our standard poodle, they were best buds. But when it came to the kids, Sadie laid down the law lol. Our youngest is 5, and I would trust her more than I would trust my husband babysitting .

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

I'm assuming you wouldn't leave your young kids alone with a Lab either BlackShadow? Just so laksh knows, breed isn't the issue, no young children should be left unsupervised with any dog.

Absolutely... should have said we don't leave them alone with any breed!

 

[CowboyBebop]

I did a little research on them when I was looking at EMs. Supposedly, the original kennel started off breeding EMs and wanted a dog with tighter lips to cut back on the drool. As far as it being a mutt, no argument here, but every purebred starts off as a mix of some sort, or is engineered through inbreeding which is worse IMO. I would just prefer to get a dog after all of the "kinks" are worked out in its breed and you have a good idea what it will turn out to be.