English mastiff new puppy but mussel is not black

[Kak]

Hi,

From a breeder I bought a 8 weeks english mastiff puppy female, there were 5 pupps from that litter all fawn color but two of them 1xmale 1xfemqle did had the black mussel although I bought the same female pupp not having the black Mussel bcz otherwise she was with very good bone structure wrinkles on face and active. By the way I saw both parents and they had proper black mussel

Now I like o know is it normal and going to change in some time or is it a defect

 

[Bentley]

From what I have read the muzzle can darken with time, as she matures but maybe someone else can confirm this. Welcome. by the way.

 

[Ryan Davis]

I too have read the muzzle can darken with time, but personal experience tells me the opposite is true that with time and age the muzzle and ears lighten if they change. I would give her to 6 months and see what happens if it doesn't darken I would consider it a fault that strays away from the breed standard and would recommend having her fixed. This way the fault can not be passed on. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Mongo]

From personal experience its the opposite for me. With age the mask fades and Im not talking about senior dogs turning gray. Ive seen a full masked puppy grow up and the mask "shrinks"

I dont think Ive every heard or seen a true english mastiff not have a mask.... besides the brindles

 

[moose]

Welcome ! Do you have any pics?

 

[morrigan05]

i have a 6 1/2 month old english mastiff female. she is an apricot. now she does have a mask but it is not as full as others. i am not bothered by it. in my opinion, the darker color mastiffs dont have as big of a black mask. i could be wrong though. my fawn mastiff has a very full mask. my apricot mastiff, is a really dark red color but when i got her at 6 weeks, her apricot was very light. so i do see how color can darken as they get older.

 

[DancertheMastiff]

ive never heard of a English Mastiff not haveing a mask..but you can also talk to other Mastiff Breeders about this....

good luck and welcome....

 

[Gwenstone]

Generally, the mask should be there as a pup. The muzzle will not darken. This is not always true with the ears though. The pup can have black ears that fade. As long as there is black under the ear, the black should come back. It is a cosmetic fault which does not adhere to the standard. A light or fading mask is difficult to 'fix' with breeding. It has a tendency to stay in the line.