Thank you Ruth you are awesome that is all the information in a nutshell that I have been searching for and I'll tell you why...LOL My last male shepherd that I have from our very first breeding almost 13 years ago "Rudy" is really failing health wise right now at 12 and a half years and you have just described his personality to a "T"...You see he is not your typical GSD and has always had extremely protective instincts much like your Tibetan and that is what we have loved most about him...Although he was very difficult to show and work with and judges didn't always appreciate his personality, as it's not really correct for a GSD, he has been the best dog ever protecting my family and our property and people have always said when they pull into the yard and we are not home they feel rather uncomfortable getting out of their vehicles as he would be making such a ruckess jumping at the fence and barking and although we have always known he would never attack anyone it always made us feel better knowing that he was doing his job...Living in the country most of the time by myself and raising children I always felt safe as my husband travels alot and now I am going to be all by myself as my kids are almost gone...The more and more I learn from you I really think a Tibetan is what we are looking for...Next question we have a 2 year old very submissive male English Mastiif what are your thoughts on another male or should we get a female??? We would be showing the dog for sure and I would be also doing obedience work as I do with all my dogs...and I guess if you have any reputable breeders I could talk to I would love to check them out as well...Thanks again Ruth you are the best...Judy
(quote from other thread)
Seriously consider getting a female rather than a male. Its possible that you'd be fine, but its also VERY possible that as the TM matured he would decide he didn't want the other male mastiff around his property any more and decide to do something to enforce that. Especially if the TM was the more dominent of the two. Apollo's breeder said she often see's that change at about 2 to 3 years of age (assuming it doesn't happen during the first breeding season, which it often does). Oh, as a primitive breed TM's have a true, reasonably predictable, breeding season, during which bitches go into heat and the dogs actually go into rut. The males are still technically fertile outside of rut, but the horomones kick into high gear for that time period, one of those cool little tidbits.
Obedience: go for it, but be prepared to not be able to do the off-leash portions in public. Maybe you'll get lucky and get one of the exceptions to the rule, but just be prepared to have it not work as planned.
Definetly spend some time on the link I posted in the other thread (
www.tibetanmastiffinfo.com) as they are a VERY good resource of information on the breed. They also have a breeder list, and are working on a breeder code of ethics requirement for listing. I went through Susie at
http://www.tibetan-mastiffs.net/ in VA to get Apollo. Though I don't believe she has any future litters planned at this time she often has rescue dogs on the property if you were willing to consider getting a dog rather than a pup (infact last year, just about this time, she had a female from one of her litters come back to her due to the owners health, no idea if the female still needs a home or not), she also knows a large number of the other TM breeders both in the States and out of the USA, and so could likely point you to a breeder closer to you who'd likely be a good match if you do want a pup. Also if you're close enough to arrange a visit to her place I highly recommend it, as she has some awesome dogs. She's also a very "alpha female" who WILL tell you what she thinks and has owned and bred TMs for some 25yrs. She's also busy as heck right now so if she's a little slow to respond to your email don't worry.
edited: I take back what I said about no litters planned, looking at her site she's got 3 co-owned litters planned with her kennel partner in India with two of the litters to be born in the states. The sire for the two is one of Apollo's littermates and an absolutely STUNNING dog. His temperment is WONDERFULL, and he's HUGE.
