JamieHalverson
Well-Known Member
Lillie is my first Bullmastiff, she's 16 1/2 weeks old. Some interesting things I've noticed about her, that I've not seen in other dogs are stomping and stalking.
When she's REALLY excited, she will kind of "stomp" both her front feet, like a little minnie jump but not really a jump, like she's literally just getting enough height with her front feet to bring them down hard.
The other is she stalks like a cat. If my adult dog is laying in the yard, she will come up behind him lifting one paw in the air at a time, head forward and stalk slowly, then pounce on him.
She also raises her hackles ALOT. She's not fearful or afraid, her hackles are up sometimes just when I'm about to feed her. It can really be caused by anything. Mostly it's just a ridge all the way down her back, but sometimes she gets the area between her shoulders and at the base of her tail going, too. I know it indicates a state of "arousal" and accompanying body language will tell you if there's fear or aggression or anything else to watch for, but I've just never seen it as often in any other dog.
So the last thing is, she is a thinker and then a doer... I have really found out that her stubborness is not indicitive of lack of intelligence or unwillingness. This morning she and my Yogi wanted to go out of my office. Yogi was sitting there looking at the closed door while I'm sitting at my desk, with my back to them. I hear nails on the door and turn around and here's Lillie standing with her front paws on the door and the doorknob in her MOUTH trying to turn it!!! I kid you not! She might not be doing a bunch of stuff all the time, but she is always watching and learning, just waiting for the right moment to put her knowledge into action, lol!
So, my question is, how much of this is kind of typical Bullmastiff or mastiff-y stuff and how much is more just her personal characteristics?
When she's REALLY excited, she will kind of "stomp" both her front feet, like a little minnie jump but not really a jump, like she's literally just getting enough height with her front feet to bring them down hard.
The other is she stalks like a cat. If my adult dog is laying in the yard, she will come up behind him lifting one paw in the air at a time, head forward and stalk slowly, then pounce on him.
She also raises her hackles ALOT. She's not fearful or afraid, her hackles are up sometimes just when I'm about to feed her. It can really be caused by anything. Mostly it's just a ridge all the way down her back, but sometimes she gets the area between her shoulders and at the base of her tail going, too. I know it indicates a state of "arousal" and accompanying body language will tell you if there's fear or aggression or anything else to watch for, but I've just never seen it as often in any other dog.
So the last thing is, she is a thinker and then a doer... I have really found out that her stubborness is not indicitive of lack of intelligence or unwillingness. This morning she and my Yogi wanted to go out of my office. Yogi was sitting there looking at the closed door while I'm sitting at my desk, with my back to them. I hear nails on the door and turn around and here's Lillie standing with her front paws on the door and the doorknob in her MOUTH trying to turn it!!! I kid you not! She might not be doing a bunch of stuff all the time, but she is always watching and learning, just waiting for the right moment to put her knowledge into action, lol!
So, my question is, how much of this is kind of typical Bullmastiff or mastiff-y stuff and how much is more just her personal characteristics?