Hi. New here. Recently lost my best friend, Recon, a beautiful bullmastiff. 10 years old and it was time due to seizures likely from brain tumor.
Now he was a rescue and pretty healthy. No hip issues, PRA etc. Age finally got him.
I'd like a new bullmastiff. Family pet. No showing or breeding but I'd like to leave him intact at least for the first couple of years to allow proper development.
I have never used a breeder before however I would be willing to pay the 2or 3 thousand dollar fee if the dog was sound. i just cannot find a proper rescue at this time.
I have read a lot on what to look for in a breeder thanks to this website.
I suppose my question boils down to this:
Just how important is health testing? Clearly a pup that comes from 2 parents with excellent hip rating can still develop dysplasia. I imagine the only sure guarantee is with something like PRA. Both parents homozygous normal and the pups just cannot acquire PRA , correct?
So if I find 2 breeders of bullmastiff and one does extensive testing inc. PRA genetics, OFA etc and the other does not am I "in general terms" safer going with the breeder who does extensive testing?
Yes they may be more expensive but are my chances of a healthier dog greater?
As I mentioned at the outset Recon was a rescue and AFAIK no testing, papers etc but lived to 10 without any issues till the end.
Lastly, can anybody recommend a reputable bullmastiff breeder in Florida?
I like the Jenkins site but looks like no testing which begs my initial question, does it matter??
http://bullmastiffpuppybreeder.com/
Now he was a rescue and pretty healthy. No hip issues, PRA etc. Age finally got him.
I'd like a new bullmastiff. Family pet. No showing or breeding but I'd like to leave him intact at least for the first couple of years to allow proper development.
I have never used a breeder before however I would be willing to pay the 2or 3 thousand dollar fee if the dog was sound. i just cannot find a proper rescue at this time.
I have read a lot on what to look for in a breeder thanks to this website.
I suppose my question boils down to this:
Just how important is health testing? Clearly a pup that comes from 2 parents with excellent hip rating can still develop dysplasia. I imagine the only sure guarantee is with something like PRA. Both parents homozygous normal and the pups just cannot acquire PRA , correct?
So if I find 2 breeders of bullmastiff and one does extensive testing inc. PRA genetics, OFA etc and the other does not am I "in general terms" safer going with the breeder who does extensive testing?
Yes they may be more expensive but are my chances of a healthier dog greater?
As I mentioned at the outset Recon was a rescue and AFAIK no testing, papers etc but lived to 10 without any issues till the end.
Lastly, can anybody recommend a reputable bullmastiff breeder in Florida?
I like the Jenkins site but looks like no testing which begs my initial question, does it matter??
http://bullmastiffpuppybreeder.com/