Considering a mastiff, is it the right dog for me and my family?

[stephanieb]

Welcome!

Thank you for doing your research. I am about to say something you probably do not want to hear, but I am just trying to be honest. Please do not get a mastiff of any kind. I am not trying to be mean, but these dogs are truly sensitive and very attached to "their" people. If your wife is not a fan of dogs in general multiply this by the size of the waste, drool, stubborn. Happy wife, happy life. And in this case I see an unhappy wife and a not so happy puppy. That being said I have 2 under 2. One an EM who is the easiest puppy I have ever had, and I have had large dogs my entire life, and an EM/BM Cross that I love to pieces and is easier than lab puppies, but has still been a lot of work in terms of socialization. They are funny, wonderful, easy maintenance dogs... if you are a dog person. If you are not a dog person, they are large, intrusive and a LOT of work in terms of drool, slobber splashed up your walls, scratched hardwood and kibble everywhere when they are done eatting (for some reason mine seem to store it in their jowls and loose it all across the floor sometime after the meal is over)

I love my dogs heart and soul and will never again have anything but a mastiff, but recognize they are not for everyone.

Hopefully I have not offended, but have given you food for thought. If you decide to go ahead and get a mastiff, with small children I would recommend an EM. Ours has taken cherrios out of the hands of toddlers. Yes, you have to watch puppies and kids getting knocked over, but they are loving, sweet, truly gentle giants that if you are prepared to put the effort in are more than worth it. Even my daughter that is not really a big dog person says that when she has kids, she will be getting and EM and learning to deal with the mess.

Again, thank you for joining us!

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Oh the shoe strings, that's easy just sling when wet, chip when dry.

 

[Gunny]

We are the proud owners of an 8 month old EM and he's been quite the challenge. He is the first dog I've ever had (grew up with cats) but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world. He has his puppy moments, which will test your limits, but otherwise he's a joy to have around. I would be a little concerned if I had small children, since he doesn't seem to know his size/weight. As far as the drool, it's only prevalent after he drinks. They really are couch potatoes though, so I wouldn't worry about the size of your house or yard. When he's not in one of his play modes, he's laying on the couch or on the floor chilling.

In the end, I doubt I'll ever own anything but another breed of Mastiff. There's just something about them that will steal your heart.

 

[SeaNile]

An EM, I am coming to realize, would be very different compared to the lab and especially the Irish Water Spaniel I had previously. The lab was pretty much the typical lab, high energy, docile, loved the outdoors, etc. The IWS on the other hand, my god that dog was wild. Smartest dog I have ever seen but athletic and had energy off the charts. The IWS would swim in the pool solo, do laps, get out to jump off the diving board and repeat 100x.

I'm not looking for a dog (lab) that has boundless energy and needs 4hrs of exercise a day. My wife is a stay at home and I have a pretty flexible schedule so the dog would rarely be left alone. On the nights I am away from home my wife, although 40, still has her mom come and stay over. It's just the feeling of being solo in a dark house. The EM disposition sounds like a good fit for us. The slingers on the other hand will need to be considered!

Thanks again. Great forum!

 

[Gunny]

According to my wife (who is also a homemaker), Gunny is quite the good boy during the day, it's only when papa comes home that it's play time. As far as boundless energy, I think the EM would be on the polar opposite of that spectrum. If I play chase or hide and seek with Gunny for about 10-15 minutes, he'll be sacked out for a few hours recovering.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

I write this with a massive EM head covering one hand and laying on my laptop keyboard in such a way that I hug him to get to the keys I need (My space bar sticks because of drool from said dog) LOL. You can look at my past posts and see where I have written near entire paragraphs without spaces and hit submit without looking (I do try to catch it). Drool is a big deal if you are dealing with a person seriously opposed to the yuck value so considering it is important. As for small children, it is a matter of training, like anything else. Ruger does amazing with my three grandchildren (4, 2, 2) and outside of the occasional tail slap (I am training the kids to watch for that) He is great! He doesn't chase them, play hard and NEVER jumps on or at them. Other than the drool factor it sounds to me that you have a lifestyle that would be good for these sensitive loving giants. Again,Good luck to you. I hope you and your wife get a chance to visit with a few EM's...You never know, she may fall in love! I was an absolute clean freak before Ruger and people always talked about how you could eat off of my kitchen floor and although I am still a cleanaholic, More times than not (Rugers bowls are in the kitchen) I would not suggest sitting on my kitchen floor let alone eating there, LOL

 

[Gunny]

^ Great point about the tail. I swear he could take out a small tree with it when he gets excited.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Without a doubt and I don't see anyway to train the tail so the kids get the training. Amazingly, my grand daughter Kingslie is already an expert at dodging the tail so she doesn't get slapped and she is at the ripe old age of 2! LOL

 

[mklamcc]

Welcome to the forum John! I have an almost 11 month old EM. I can't comment on the young puppy stage as I have only had him for a little over a month. I got him from a friend (she couldn't afford him) so unforunately I didn't get experience that part. But in the time we have had him he has been a wonderful addition to our family. My kids (4 yr old son & 9 yr old daughter) adore him and he is awesome with them. My son climbs all over him and he just sits there. He loves their friends too.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Lmao!!!

oh the shoe strings, that's easy just sling when wet, chip when dry. :d:d

 

[mklamcc]

Wanted to add... we love Leo but he is a big dog who can lay his head on our counter. He snores (loud), he farts (loud & often), he drools any time drinks, before he eats, if he is excited, if he nervous, ect.

 

[smfidler]

We may have been lucky or the fact that Bentley is only 12 weeks, but he seldom has gas, but boy when he does it can be bad. So far we don't have slingers but we have water drips from drinking, I just need to get a pad for under his water dish. Something I didn't see above, as a pup you want to feed 3 meals a day, which we have found if they are regular then housebreaking is so much easier. My dad had a set of EMs when I was younger and even then it took us almost 5 yrs to finally take the plunge and get one, my husband is in the marine corps and all the housing that we have lived in has had stairs. We finally got a one story house when we moved and knew it was time. I am thrilled that you are doing your research and getting to know the breed first, it makes all the difference.

As for the floors, I take Bentley to have his nails trimmed and I don't hear them on the floor anymore, so I am hoping they aren't causing too much damage. He only goes through a 20lb bag of food every 2 weeks($24 for the diamond large breed puppy lamb and rice) but we just uped his feeding amounts according to his new weigh range and age so it might go faster now. Honestly I wouldn't care if it cost more to feed, we love him. Chew toys cost us a lot more! Bentley is a chewer, but as long as I have plenty of new chew toys for him he leaves the furniture alone. We have another dog for him to play with so he gets plenty of inside exercise right now, which is good since his vet still wants him to only go out for bathroom and then right back in til we finish the last set of puppy shots, parvo is big here.

Training has been somewhat easy, he has mastered sit, until we are somewhere he is too excited to listen. Housetraining is a little more challenging, he can go all night. During the day we have to take out after naps, playing, drinking, when he stops playing, if he's walking around a lot, but if you are consistant it'll come quick enough.

 

[SeaNile]

The cost for feeding, toys, crate for training isn't a concern. What I was curious about was are these dogs excessively predisposed to major health issues once they become X years old. I don't mind an occasional vet bill but if from year 4 on is heart, eye, bone and joint issues and thousands of dollars a year in bills then i would have to take all of that into consideration.

Part of me wants to lean in the direction of a lab because of the playful nature and chasing balls with the kids for hours but the reality is we don't have enough land and play area for a lab. A nice big lap dog is what I am after!

 

[ruthcatrin]

The can be pre-disposed to alot of things. Doing a TON of research on breeders and buying a pup from a solid line thats been health tested helps with ALOT of that though. It means the pup will cost more up front, but generally less later in potential vet bills.

---------- Post added at 09:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:33 AM ----------

I had to go find another post cause I don't do EMs....ok, for an EM the health tests that would ideally be performed:

Hips/Elbows - either certified by OFA or PENNHIP
Eyes - CERF exam by an opthomologist, DNA test for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
Heart - Cardiac examination
Cystinuria - DNA test
The above tests would be considered the minimum acceptable. However there are several other conditions it is recommended to test for:
Thyroid - certified with OFA
Eyes - DNA test for Canine Multifocal retinopathy (CMR)
Patellas - certified with OFA
Degenerative Myelopathy - DNA test

(thanks to Tailcreek)

Any OFA test results are publicly availible on OFA's website. I'm not sure if Pennhip will release results on request or not, but they are apparently putting together an online database similer to OFAs, hopefully for the near future. DNA testing, and cardiac testing by a vet, would most likely require you to trust the breeder to show you the right paperwork, and I'm not sure about CERF results.

 

[ruthcatrin]

I had to go find another post cause I don't do EMs....ok, for an EM the health tests that would ideally be performed:

Hips/Elbows - either certified by OFA or PENNHIP
Eyes - CERF exam by an opthomologist, DNA test for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
Heart - Cardiac examination
Cystinuria - DNA test
The above tests would be considered the minimum acceptable. However there are several other conditions it is recommended to test for:
Thyroid - certified with OFA
Eyes - DNA test for Canine Multifocal retinopathy (CMR)
Patellas - certified with OFA
Degenerative Myelopathy - DNA test

(thanks to Tailcreek)

Any OFA test results are publicly availible on OFA's website. I'm not sure if Pennhip will release results on request or not, but they are apparently putting together an online database similer to OFAs, hopefully for the near future. DNA testing, and cardiac testing by a vet, would most likely require you to trust the breeder to show you the right paperwork, and I'm not sure about CERF results.

 

[joshuagough]

There's a lot of good advice in this thread, coming from a guy who's had more labs than I have fingers & toes, I've sworn by labs all my life.They can be taught anything and are just a all around great dog. Just like my EM, I wouldn't trade my labs for the world.

That said once you own a EM, you won't ever want to live without one. As far as health issue's go it will generally cost more just because of the size of the dog, plus vets see EM's and see $$$ (I'm sure all don't but that's the impression I get).

If you can get a health tested pup that's a good route to go, it gives you better odds.. it doesn't mean it's full proof. There's many good breeders who avoid health testing on the parents due to sedation issues (EM's can have issues with certain types of sedation meds). When you put any dog through sedation there's risk involved and not all are willing to take that risk just to test, when they have proven breed lines.

Mastiff's aren't cheap but to be honest you can find many ways to lessen the cost, we take all our dogs to the local human society for shots. They have a senior vet on site who we've become friends with prior to using them, ask questions on the meds they use, how they store the meds etc. It's less than 1/4 the cost a vet in our area charges. Many human societies offer this, you'll have to check your area.

You will still have to take the EM for vet visits yearly for a script of heart worm meds. Our human society will test but not write scripts for HW. That said your just at the cost of food, I feed both our EM & Lab Fromm http://frommfamily.com/ , we've tried $100 bags of food and they just didn't care for it but do well with this brand.

I say all that to say it would appear you've asked more than enough well thought out questions, and I would HIGHLY encourage you to get a EM.. and start posting pictures!

 

[mastiffico]

i beleive that dogs as pepeople do alot of there problems come from what they eat or dont eat ....i havent had my mastiff a long time but ..i love him already ...he a a big ..gawky ..loving ...friendly..fun ..smart..guardian type of great dog ...mine doesnt drool alot ..ii feed mine the oorganix dry dog food ...and im also incoprating a raw diet into their program ..i just personally thing they should eat the way they was intended to eat and the same with us ...if you dog has joint problems before you take him in for pain meds...look at what he is eating ...i believe the grain and the corn contribute to alot of that ...and yes i am glad i got him !!!

 

[joshuagough]

Ours doesn't drool much either.. I'm amusing that may change over time.

i beleive that dogs as pepeople do alot of there problems come from what they eat or dont eat ....i havent had my mastiff a long time but ..i love him already ...he a a big ..gawky ..loving ...friendly..fun ..smart..guardian type of great dog ...mine doesnt drool alot ..ii feed mine the oorganix dry dog food ...and im also incoprating a raw diet into their program ..i just personally thing they should eat the way they was intended to eat and the same with us ...if you dog has joint problems before you take him in for pain meds...look at what he is eating ...i believe the grain and the corn contribute to alot of that ...and yes i am glad i got him !!!

 

[SeaNile]

Trying to find a way to see a breeder or owner who is kind of close to me. Not sure the wife is sold 100% on a dog but seeing an EM is a good first step. I do know the kids would love it and so would I!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Don't know where Allentown PA is in relation to you, but theres an AKC all breed show coming up on 12/15-12/16 there. Mastiffs are popular enough theres usually a couple. Or you can check here to see other shows that might be closer: http://www.akc.org/events/search/in...ctive_tab_row=3&active_tab_col=2&fixed_tab=12