What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

I found a Boerboel Pressa Canario Mix

Racer X

Well-Known Member
Hello Everyone
I have been rescuing animals for a long time. Mostly cats and a couple dogs. I get them fixed shots and find them homes. The ones that are misfits I keep around and have a loving family.

About four months ago. My wife came running in the house yelling about a dog that was tied up behind the abandoned house across the street. She had been hearing a whining for a couple days and finally located it.

It was what looked like a big brown pitbull tied to a tree with about four feet of rope and no water. Everyone was afraid to go near him.
I ran and got a bowl of water. I offered it to him. As soon as we made eye contact I knew he was OK and needed help. So I cut the rope and took him home.

He is a very good dog. I have three other dogs and I run a tight pack. He is about a year old and was happy to follow along. I have a big brown girl that leads things. And a Daschound that thinks he is in charge. Everyone has there place and he fits in perfectly.

I got him fixed and shots and tried to find a place for him. Not and easy thing to do with a 70 lb pitbull. And Maryland was doing some breed specific legislation that has the pound full up. I started him on obedience training and was noticing he was not like the other dogs. He was like a super dog. Stronger and faster than anything I have ever seen.

One day while walking him. I found out what he is. His mother is a pure breed Pressa Canario. She is huge. I remember the dog. It was behind my house across the ally. She had 14 puppies. He is one of them. The father is a pure breed South African Boerboul. These puppies sold for 1500 dollars each. I guess drug dealers wanted them for protection or something. Finding out he was a Pressa Canario. Meant NO ONE wanted him. At least no one with good intentions.
I have named him Gaston and he has become my best friend. He looks after my wife when I am away racing motorcycles. She feels very good having him around.

I am doing all the obedience training I can with him. He does not do anything wrong. He does pull when we walk on lead out side the property. But in the yard he is stuck to me like glue. I am working on the pulling thing. I have tried the gentle lead. He hates it . I have a prong collar I hate it .But it works sorta. I am using the Illusion collar and it seems to work as well as the prong. I am making progress with his pulling on lead. It is the only thing he has not gotten and I know he will figure it out .

So I have joined the forum with the hopes of learning all I can about this fantastic animal. He is truly a joy . He is also tipping the scale at 100 lb. So obedience training to the highest level I can is a must. He is to big and strong to be out of control.
089.jpg
 

Cody

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum and thanks and congrats for giving he big guy a great and loving home :)
 

CaneCorso

Well-Known Member
Congrats! He's a really nice looking dog. Do you have any full body pics so we can see his build?
 

Racer X

Well-Known Member
This is a shot when we first found him
carolsfile018.jpg


carolsfile016.jpg


this is from September. He has picked up about thirty pounds.
bonnevilleBUB2012027.png
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
What a handsome boy! Thank you for rescuing and rescuing Gaston! You have some great karma going on...
 

Racer X

Well-Known Member
Thank you for the kind words. As always it's the animals that save the people.

I have been taking him on pack walks and he is so ON and alert he will not pay any attention to me. He pulls me around. Up to this point I have just tried just ignoring him to get my energy off him . It does help and he seems to stop pulling when we head home. He know the hunt is over and he is pretty good. This week I am going to start training him to walk on heal. I can do this in the yard. He responds well to training and I hhope this will carry over to walking with the group outside the fence.
 

Racer X

Well-Known Member
I have been taking Gaston to work with me every day. He sleeps next to my tool box and goes to lunch with me. He is no trouble very quiet so it is working out nicely.

for Christmas I made him wear the bunny suit. He is so good sitting for the picture. It took like five tries to get him looking at me and the red eye thing.

Next week we begin more training. It will be fun now that I am with him 24/7.
 

Attachments

  • christmas 2012 003.jpg
    christmas 2012 003.jpg
    95.5 KB · Views: 123
  • gaston at work 009.jpg
    gaston at work 009.jpg
    92.2 KB · Views: 121

mastiffico

Well-Known Member
Thats a great story ...it sounds like yall both have a new friend ...glad you kept him ..thaings that make you :)
 

Kentopp

Active Member
sounds like you are doing all the right things. Cant wait for my pup to come hang out with me at the shop and just snooze instead of jumping at every little sound haha.
 

DMikeM

Well-Known Member
Wow what a great find, how lucky are the both of you! Haha you could have named him Rorschach for the splotch on his chest. What a great beauty mark. You can see the Boerboel head, what would be really neat is to breed against another Boerboel now and see what turns out. Not saying we are offering but now I am courious now.
 

Racer X

Well-Known Member
Thanks I am very lucky to have him and that he is so well behaved. The mark on his chest looks like a maple leaf. He could be a Pressa Canadian.
I had him fixed. So there will be no little ones.
Since I have been learning about the mastiff dog bread. I have become very jaded. There are mastiffs and the rest are just dogs cats. I still love them all. But having a Mastiff as a best friend and 24 hour companion is special.
 

Racer X

Well-Known Member
Sorry I have been away so long.
Gaston graduated from his intermediate obedience class this week. I will be in advanced class as soon as they get enough people. He did great and was much better than the rest. He is the teachers pet and is used as the deminstration dog during the class. He still has a little trouble walking on lead. But off lead he is great. And he is getting bbetter at not pulling me around. He does drag me a bit if we go into a new situation . He needs to sniff everything. But he settles down quicker as he gets older.

I hope to get his good citizen award someday.