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Our shelter rescue, Thunder. First time Mastiff owner.

jeekree

Active Member
I love pictures and seeing owner's progress and time go by with their pet so I thought I would do something similar and post here.

Here is the last thread posted in the Cane Corso sub-forum:

http://www.mastiff-forum.com/index....der-impressions-questions-and-pictures.30217/

Long story short, we have two dogs and a cat and had no intentions on rescuing Thunder, a Cane Corso Mastiff. My wife stopped by a very large and well-run shelter near my work and saw Thunder. Usually I am the one to give the reasons why another animal is too much but I fell for him right away.

I've always loved Mastiff breeds since I was a kid. Great with people and children, low energy when lounging around, and usually pretty even and predictable temperament. On top of that they are large breeds which I am a sucker for. I like the protective aspect of a dog (even though sometimes it can be a handful and too much). After reading about this breed extensively, general consensus is that they are good family dogs who are great with children, and other dogs... But also that they are confident, stubborn, and determined. "No Fear" is a great way too describe what I have been seeing so far with him, but at the same time extremely docile and very trainable; he listens very well.

It's been just about 1 month since we took Thunder home and it's been a rewarding experience. I was looking for any comments, or advice along the way and I hope pictures and various updates are okay here. :)

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- Thunder was born on 05-15-2016, so he just turned one year. His papers listed him as "Cane Corso" but then later in the shelter he was put down as "Mastiff-Bulldog mix". I am not sure how pure Corso he is. But from everything I have seen and read he looks and acts completely like many that I have seen online.

- 85lbs when he left the shelter and was a bit underweight. I am guessing the shelter didn't feed him quite as much as he needed. His spine was poking out a good deal when sitting. Since then he is right around 90-92lbs and looks to be at a good spot. I am open for suggestions though! I imagine with age he will fill out more, but I don't see him really exceeding 115lbs or so. I see some owners with very large Cane Corsos (130-145lbs). I know some American bloodlines are usually larger. Most statistics state 90-110lbs being the average range for males and he seems like he will fall into that category. How much more growing am I looking to see? He also stands just at 26" in height.

- Fantastic on a leash. Only need to pull when he found what he believes is food or another animal's poop. A "Thunder. Come." and a tug gets him right back. He really seems like he would be fine with no leash at all. He has been leash-less in fields when there is no one around, always stays close by. Follows me and my wife everywhere. Got to load the dishwasher? Here comes Thunder. Need to go to the bathroom? Here comes Thunder. During walks we encounter a lot of other dog walkers. Thunder perks up and observes but that is really where it ends. No interest to approach them himself. If I know the people or we want the dogs to sniff one another I have been getting down to his level and saying "who's this? or it's okay thunder." in a very calm/upbeat tone. His tail shows huge signs of how he is feeling from situations. If it starts flying everywhere I know he is ready.

- Great with all dogs but plays better as the dominate one:

We have a female pit who is a sweetheart but always makes it known she is the leader. She can be a little bit sporadic but we know when it happens and it's controlled. She can be food aggressive when feeling threatened. Never goes after other dogs food but if one of the other stumbles by her bowl she can be snappy. We feed them separately though. Always have.

Thunder loves to play with other dogs. Our pit usually says no way and if he tries she gives a good bark to the face and that is that. He looks sad and shocked and walks away haha. Sometimes she will want to play but in short bursts. As soon as Thunder gets more into it, it seems she understands he is a much bigger dog and doesn't like that. I have a video of this funny "bark talk" he does when he wants to play and she doesn't. It's very funny.

Our other dog is the exact opposite. A male english bulldog / basset hound mix. Never aggressive ever, but peanut brained and as stubborn as they come. Bad listener too (I blame that on the hound dog part, I had a lot growing up as a kid lol). They play and play and play. I need to keep an eye on them though because if it keeps going they can get pretty crazy and rough. The size difference it why I keep them supervised all the time.

- Cat killer but getting better:

When we first introduced the cat we were worried. It was a mess. Thunder seems to have low prey drive for the most part (zero interest in bird or squirrels) but we have seen two foxes so far during walks and it alerts him a good deal. Nothing like the cat though. First few days home we were sure he would eat the thing. We've been stern with him so it seems now he has accepted the cat as living here. They don't approach one another and he still gets iffy with him but nothing like before.

Here's a link to the two public photo albums of the dog. The latest has the video clip of the talk-barking he does to our female when he wants to play and she doesn't.

https://goo.gl/photos/icFpSVj4B35CZXuV8

https://goo.gl/photos/1qWjshyFPANQDrBVA

Thanks for reading and letting me share. I am loving this site. Any comments or pointers are appreciated. And any input on the weight is appreciated too. Thanks again!

- Jamie
 

7121548

Well-Known Member
I am so glad you decided to adopt Thunder! He looks happy and healthy in his new home. Hoping he continues to improve with the cat situation! Thanks for sharing.
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
Thunder is just gorgeous!!! I love all the photos and stories.

You know it is funny with cats. My dogs have totally accepted my indoor cat BrrBeary as one of them. BrrBeary will even follow them into their crates so he can share a water bowl. And our outdoor cat Pixie they just sniff and go about their business. But, the neighbor's cats they want to chase. They somehow know who belongs to them and they are happy to share their home with "their" cats.

I sometimes worry about whether they would harm the neighbor cats if they ever caught them in the back yard. My husband insists they would not but after our recent rat incident I am not convinced they wouldn't treat an intruding cat the same as they would an intruding rat.

One thing we made a point of doing with the cats is giving the cats a lot of affection and love in front of the dogs. BrrBear my indoor cat even knows a few commands and I make a point of having BrrBeary do his commands in front of the dogs as well. The other thing I do is call BrrBeary over so I can pet him at the same time I am petting the dogs. The dogs seem to notice all of this and it helps t hem understand that BrrBeary is one of them.

As far as weight is concerned just watch his body condition. There should be a nice tuck in profile view but you don't want him to be overly boney. As long as his body condition is good and his poops are nice and solid you are good. I think Diesel finished his development around 2 years or so but with large breeds you can see some growth up to 3 years old though not always. Typically I think development can stop anytime between 18 months to 3 years. Emotional development seems to stop at about 3 years as well but I noticed a huge personality difference and maturity around 2 years with Diesel. He still has a bit of puppy brain (he isn't 3 yet) but it is a giant difference how he was at 1 versus 2.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Great photos! Looks like Thunder hit the Jackpot getting to live with you and your pack.
The white&tan pup looks totally infatuated with the new guy, too. :)

Congratulations! He gorgeous!

Please do keep the updates and photos coming!