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Is my puppy a mastiff? We think a Mastiff/German Shephered

Naten00

Member
Do you guys think he is mastiff... In the first picture he (River) was 29.8 lbs 12Wk... In the last picture with my wife carrying River he was 40.8 16.5 wk on the 23rd of Jan and today he is 46.2 17.5... What do you guys think?


IMG_4424.jpgIMG_4578.jpgIMG_4730.jpg
 

irina

Well-Known Member
I am no expert, but can see some mastiff mixed in with something else. In the second picture his head and muzzle shape seems a bit long and narrow to be a full mastiff. There are many more knowledgeable people on here that might have more educated opinions.
 

Robtouw

Well-Known Member
Cute pup! I can see the long facial lines of a shepherd but no facial em traits. His body color is a nice brindle, which could indicate mastiff lines along with tbe white blaze on the chest, and the nice stocky build and large paws. It is possible he could be mixed with mastiff. Most em pups have a nice wide head eith a small boney protrusion at the back of the head between the ears, a beauty spot on both sides of the face, masking and extended muzzling as they mature. If he is a shep/mastiff mix, you are in for a real treat! I've owned six em's and adopted a shepherd in Germany, the fun energetic personality of the shepherd mixed with the emotional, gentle response of the em will make one sweet pup! Regardless of breed mix, enjoy-he is a cutie!
 

Catia

Well-Known Member
Whatever he is--he sure is cute!!!

I'd have to say yes he has some type of mastiff in him, what type, I have no clue, but with those paws-& that growth-my vote is YES.

To me he looks more lab/mastiff than shepherd/mastiff IMHO. I just don't see the shepherd.

Get him on some puppy food that has the right calcium/phos levels for a large/giant breed, & don't run him too hard while he's growing.

What's his name?

Welcome!
 

cayeesmom

Well-Known Member
I'm with Robtouw on this one, the the long face and the eyes looks like shepherd to me. Color and growth, mastiff. I do not see any lab in that face. Great looking pup!
 

Naten00

Member
Here is a picture of him laying down... He has pointy ears and webbed feet with rear due claws... His skin is droopy and saggy including around his eye's

20140129_202740.jpg
 

fdchampion

Well-Known Member
I agree that he looks like a Mastiff/German Shepard mix, like Robtouw said, face looks like shepard and body looks like mastiff. Whatever he is he's a gorgeous boy!!
 

Catia

Well-Known Member
found some picsMastiff-Labrador-Mix-Puppy.jpg
gypsy-the-mastiff-dog-picture-1-5279909cbb599ea3a6000001.jpg

1 is a black lab mastiff mix, the other is a mastiff shepherd mix

Did you get any history on him that you know is true?
 

Robtouw

Well-Known Member
The rear dew claws makes me rethink the mix, em's do not have them. There are other brindles that do. Will give it more thought, but either way he is a cutie!
 

Naten00

Member
We were told his parents where a very large Brindle dog and a very large white dog.... Other than the due claws we were thinking GSD Mix but we also think Great Pyr... As he was listed as a Great Pyr/Mastiff... But other than the extra rear claws I don't see Pyr in him...

Do you think his weight is on track in-between those two breeds... I am going to measure his withers again when my wife gets home...

The pic of the Shephered Mastiff mix really looks like him...

He is a very playful and a very calm dog... He goes through his moments as any puppy but that is his personality...
He loves to carry things when we go on walks... If that information is helpful at all..
 

DDSK

Well-Known Member
I don't know if he has any mastiff in him, but your wife is sure strong if she can lift, hold and carry a dog that big!! :)
 

Bentley

Well-Known Member
He looks a lot like a Shepherd/ Great Dane mix puppy that I met a few years back. Had a look on google images and found some quite similar pics.
 

Catia

Well-Known Member
It is my understanding that most dogs do have rear dew claws & that they are removed by people the 1st few days of life.

The thing that is different with a great Pyr, or a TM for that matter, is that they often (but not always) have 2 sets of rear dew claws-& there is much argument that Great Pyrs & TM's do still use their dew claws, while most other breeds do not.

My last girl, a shepherd/dane mix had her dew claws her entire life with zero problems. I was bummed Tessa's were removed.
 

Naten00

Member
He looks a lot like a Shepherd/ Great Dane mix puppy that I met a few years back. Had a look on google images and found some quite similar pics.

That is interesting... I will research that... I am curious with his measurements how everyone think he is doing...
 

Catia

Well-Known Member
No one can really answer your measurements question because without knowing the mix, there's really no way to gauge it to give you a guideline.

To me, he looks healthy & not fat or skinny-that's basically what you need to go by-how he looks.
How he looks is more important than any #'s on a piece of paper-they grow so fast, & in spurts, & different breeds grow a bit differently, some heavy boned, some more muscular etc

Also, despite not knowing what mix he actually is, I think the safest assumption is to assume he is a mastiff mix, doesn't matter which one, & feed him the same as a giant breed.

*be very very wary of dog foods that say 'large breed puppy'--they *often* are GARBAGE only a few brands have proper ratios for large/giant breed pups.
Protein levels are no longer an issue, but calcium/phos ratios for giant breeds are-
Please do your research, the people on here can help you find the better brands with proper calcium/phos ratios.
This is really important for their joints & hips--I can't stress this enough.
I took the same steps with mine, I am feeding Orijen 6 fish currently, & plan to switch to raw within this year.

You also want to keep his growth slow, & possibly keep him on the thin side throughout his puppy growth.
Slowing his growth & keeping him on the thin side will not affect the size he is meant to be, he will get to his genetically determined size, but slowing it allows better development & less stress on joints is my understanding.

Better safe than sorry is my thought on feeding & exercising him: do it the way you'd feed/exercise a giant breed whether part dane /EM or some other type of mastiff-he's gonna be big & that puts stress on developing joints.
What you do now is his building blocks for his future, & all large/giant breeds have some risk due to size/heaviness etc
It does no harm at all babying his joints now, even if he landed up being a toy poodle...which clearly he is not.

The food issue can be overwhelming-just a heads up-and some brands are very expensive, but there are some really good threads & people will share their info-so just dig in.

many others here will have better info than me, just wanted to get you out a basic response for where to begin.
 

Naten00

Member
Well we feed him a mix of the "large breed" Blue Buffalo Wilderness and add in some Raw food as we read that Raw bones and such (uncooked) are the best ways for him to get the vitamins for his joints... Plus he really likes to eat his food with a lil bit of the raw food we get from the butcher...

We also give him a join supplement and a vitamin with low calcium in it (as far as I can tell)..

So I don't really know how to tell if he is "overweight" since he is a puppy... All of our previous dogs where grown.. This is our first puppy..