Which kind of Mastiff will fit our situation?

[obiaj]

Hi, it's my first post here. I have been reading on the forum here for a few weeks. Thanks for all the great info so far. We are considering to get a dog for us and we are not sure which kind to get. Here's our situation.

We (my wife and I, no kids yet) recently moved to a new country. It's usually 25-32 degree celsius all year round (humid also). It's not a very safe here and burglars/robbers may carry guns and they break into houses. We try to stay in a better neighborhood already but sometimes you never know. We have a yard of about 5000 sqft and all fenced even in the front yard. And my wife may sometimes need to stay home by herself when I go out or travel. Windows and doors are all metal-fenced as well. It's common here as you can see it's not very safe. We are looking to get a dog that can gives us some kinds of protection. I know sometimes having a big dog and barking may do the trick already.

We feel better having a mastiff because we like them a lot and they are big and look more intimidating. We ruled out Rottweiler, Doberman, pitbull and German Sheperd as my wife is not too keen on them. We read some mastiffs will not do too well on hot weather, like bullmastiff. Not sure if that's true. We can easily get Fila here but after all the research, I'm a bit hesitated because it will not do well with strangers. My friends and colleagues come to the house sometimes. We also like English mastiff (not sure if I can find one here locally) and Bordeaux. We also are thinking Cane Corso. Or even American bully (with its look, it may scare people away haha).

Fila maybe best because we don't need to train them much for protection. It's what they do naturally with strangers. But what do you guys suggest? Your comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Nik]

What level of experience do you already have with dogs? Why did your wife rule out the other dog breeds?

Do you have air conditioning in the house? Would the dog be living inside?

Aside from looking scary and being protective what else are you looking for in a dog?

If you are looking purely for protection/deterrent and not for companionship I wouldn't recommend any mastiff breed dog. They bond closely to their people and want to be with them all the time.

 

[Hiraeth]

I think a Fila is a bad idea for a first time Mastiff owner. They are difficult and potentially dangerous dogs when handled by people without plenty of experience.

Just honestly, a dog is only going to deter amateur thieves. If someone really means to steal your property, or really means to harm you or your wife, they're going to kill your dog (shooting, stabbing, poisoning, etc.) to do so. IMO, dogs should be viewed as a last line of defense, not a first.

Can your wife take some sort of self defense or weapons training in order to feel safer when she's home alone? Can you install a security camera system with motion detectors around the perimeter of your home? Those things will keep you far safer than a dog will, in the long run.

 

[obiaj]

thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention that we have years of experiences with dogs, from small to big dogs. We are not just looking for protection, but also companionship mainly. I understand if someone really tries to do damage to us, nothing can stop them. We have alarm system and camera already. She also knows how to operate arms. Maybe in my first post, I over emphasised on the protection concern. But we are mainly looking to have a big dog (I always love big dogs) that we can enjoy time together and at the same time "deter" some possible break-in when others know we have a big dog.

The reason why she ruled out the types we mentioned is only personal preference, nothing against them. We took in a Rottweiler that went to our warehouse a few years ago. We took care of him and brought him to vet. When he's at the vet for shots, I think he got panic (not his fault), he bit me on the collarbone. After that, my wife was a bit worried on having a Rottweiler again. But we both know it's not about Rottweiler kind. It's just a memory she has. At the end of the day, we just want to get the kind that we both love and also fits our situation including the weather. And we've narrowed down our choices. Of course we are open to other options.

Our house is AC equipped. We plan to let him stay both indoor and outdoor. When we go out to the backyard, I'm sure he will follow us. And we work from home. So we will be spending most of the time together in the house/yard.

 

[glen]

Welcome to the forum. I have 3 male cane corsox. Previous to these I had rottie for over 25 years, I used to think they were the best gourd protection dog I'd had for us and our kids, that was until I had these. Our dogs are a bid part of our family they live indoors we take them on holidays with us these are not a background breed. Gaurding/protection in my experience as not had to be trained as they mature it comes natural. But you need to train them very very well,socialise as much as possible, and they need a bond with the family. They need exercise being careful not to over do it as they grow, good luck in your search

 

[obiaj]

In terms of exercise, we are not planning to run with them. Most likely, we will walk them daily and play with them in our fenced yard. We will have our colleagues and friends coming to our house, some on a daily basis. We will try to socialise him as much as we can. I know this is very important. How does Cane Corso do on hot and humid weather by the way?

 

[glen]

I live in the UK so hot weather is not a problem here, lol. And with visitors coming to your house a well trained corso will accept someone coming into your home if you say it's OK.

 

[Hiraeth]

I definitely wouldn't recommend a CC for someone who isn't planning on exercising their dog extensively (in other words, not just playing around in the yard). CCs are intelligent and athletic, and really need mental and physical stimulation to feel fulfilled.

If you're just looking for a companion who is large enough to scare off of intruders, I think an EM sounds perfect for you. They require the least exercise out of the molosser breeds in general, they also have protective instincts in general, and they're large enough to scare non-determined thieves at a glance. If you have AC and don't do a ton of hardcore exercising, an EM should be able to live in that type of warm environment.

 

[marke]

from what I've seen , if you want a mastiff that does well in the heat , you want a lighter less massive breed , a longer muzzle and less abrupt stop ...... my thought is a cane corso would meet those criteria ..... I've seen 90lb bitches and 100-110 lb dogs ...... I've never had one , but I've never noticed one with an elongated palate or esophageal obstructions , which are two of the worst heat tolerance problems ....I think you'd find them very similar to your rott in care ...... my personal observation is the bigger more massive the dog the more crucial exercise is to it .... a large massive unexercised dog will have a shorter life than their already short life span ....... a lighter dog is less likely to break down from lack of exercise ............... as far as protection , I agree as stated previously , a gun is better , and safer .............

 

[zyppi]

Personally, I'd get a German Shepherd. Trains easily and will protect - and folks fear them, though they are loving with family
No dog is safe from a gun.
Get your wife a shotgun.

 

[obiaj]

Thanks everyone. I'm an active person and do different kinds of sports/exercises. The reason I said I will not run with him is only because I read online that it's not good to have excessive exercises with these kinds of breeds. It may actually hurt them in a way. But if it's good to have short run with them like a few times a week, I have no problem with it at all. But how do I determine what's excessive exercise for these breeds? Will 15 mins easy run be ok? Or need longer or higher intensity?

Dogue de Bordeaux and bullmastiff maybe a problem as I know they have a shorter "nose" and may suffer more on the hot weather. I personally feel ok with the temperature (27-30 degrees celsius usually). It's not like the summer heat in Vegas. If I can find the breed here locally easily, can I assume they should be ok adapting to the weather already? Of course I don't plan on getting a husky locally.

Burglars/robbers prefer to have easy targets. With alarm system, metal bars, sensored lights and dog, it should give them something to reconsider breaking in. And we will bring the dog with us often when we are outside too. When people see we have a big dog, it's less likely they want to come straight to us and rob us. It's not uncommon here.

 

[marke]

here's izzy , one of many dogues I've run with ..... done properly not only can it be done , but I assure you it will lead to a longer than normal lifespan ......I started in 1992 with a dogue that would outrun izzy and bred on that until today ...... the video is one video , youtube only downloads so many mb at a time , it's 8.24 miles in 54 minutes , she's not the best one I've had at it , but the one I had a go pro with ..........

 

[obiaj]

he's nice good looking. So I guess I will have no problem jogging with a mastiff for like 20-30 mins then. Before I was worried that it is not good for them from what I read. I used to have a husky and she really could run. I ran with her about 3 times a week. I saw you are living in a colder environment. Should be fine with dogues. Just curious to know how they will do in hotter weather like ours. It's not super hot though.

I think now we should also rule out a fila since they will not do so well with strangers and we usually try to bring our dogs with us when we go out where it is allowed. And I have to be extremely careful, even with training, with a fila when he's outside, especially on the streets. I can smell troubles already.

 

[obiaj]

zyppi, you are right. When we meant protection, we are just trying to deter people and make them think twice before doing anything crazy. But if someone is determined, there is only so much we can do.

 

[gilles]

get a good CAO and no (unarmed) creature will bother you ....if you are a first time owner of large dogs , a rhodesian ridgeback is a very good protector and very athletic.

 

[Lukeslav]

A boerboel sounds like it would be perfect as long as you find the right breeder boerboels are farm protection dogs an in South Africa one of the most dangerous places in the world an If a boerboel is going at a human I'd bet on the boerboel all day long here are some pics of just my breeders ones

 

[obiaj]

I've read more info on which mastiff breed is not good for hot weather. Most mentioned English mastiff, bullmastiff, Neo, Dogue, Tibetan (obviously). If I go by these lists, it seems cane corso or boerboel is the one we can consider. Our weather here is 76 to 89F all year round.

 

[Boxergirl]

get a good CAO and no (unarmed) creature will bother you ....if you are a first time owner of large dogs , a rhodesian ridgeback is a very good protector and very athletic.

Two amazing breeds, but both breeds - CAO and a Ridgeback - really need a specific kind of owner. They are not for everyone and at risk of offending someone - they're too much dog for a lot of people. And the problem is that people don't find that out until they already have one.

Obiaj, it seems like you've gotten some great input from the other members. Wishing you luck finding the right fit for your lifestyle.

 

[marke]

Our temperatures range from -20 to 104 , at least from what I’ve seen in my life . our average summer temp is around 76 degrees , with the average highs 80 to mid 80’s , my dogues don’t have a problem with any of the temps we get here ……I actually think humidity is a much greater factor than the temperatures we get here , hardly a day in the year where our humidity doesn’t start out at 80-90% … breeding dogs without breathing obstructions helps , and exercise does increase their heat tolerance ……….. I remember a bitch I had named digit , she was 150-160lb dog , she never ran great distances , but she had no problem running 6 miles at 80 degrees as long as the humidity wasn’t too high ……. I had a 160lb bullmastiff that looked like a giant black masked English bulldog that ran 4 miles on a regular basis ………… I’m pretty sure it has a tremendous amount to do with the raising , you need to exercise them properly from day one , so as not to orthopedically trash them , but make sure your getting them as strong as possible throughout every stage of their life ……….. you also need to recognize what’s normal and what’s not in a tired dog , recognizing a tired dog and a struggling dog , or a dog that’s about to get in trouble I think is not easy without actually having seen it ……… I’m well versed in our weather and how it affects the dogs as I’ve run with dogs for at least the last 45yrs . I now bike and they run , as you seen with izzy…… I’ve seen folks running in the heat with ridgebacks , cc , boerboels and bloodhounds , those are four breeds I’ve seen impress me with their heat tolerances ……… another thing I remember about them , they were all skinny dogs……. I’ve also found a puppy that moves symmetrical , is a much better candidate ………..

 

[obiaj]

marke, great info. thanks. now I feel a bit better for them with the climate here. I agree humidity is the more important factor that I should pay attention to. I will exercise him properly as I also love to exercise. It's part of my daily routine. now, my choice just opens up again. lol. I think I will pick one out of these four breeds: dogue, cane corso, boerboel and bullmastiff. I will do extensive research on them and also try to find out which one is easier to get locally. My last resort is to import him over but that's really last on my list.