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First time mastiff owner, any ideas?

What’s your go to?

  • Presa canario

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Boerboel

    Votes: 2 33.3%
  • Cane corso

    Votes: 2 33.3%
  • Bullmastiff

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Total voters
    6

PRIMEHS

Member
Hello everyone,

I’ve been a member on the forum since 2013, forgot my old login so had to create new. I’m 2013 I spoke extensively to members of the forum based on the following breeds:

Boerboel, Presa canario , Cane corso, bullmastiff.

my understanding of the breeds is as follows:

boerboel: large and aloof to strangers , pack oriented.

presa canario: DA, cat like and should be in a 1 dog household.

cane corso: lean and active mastiffs with less DA and protective instincts.

bullmastiff: watchdog, more laid back, not as active. More likely to be friendly to a stranger.

these are purely assumptions ^

I am looking to get a puppy after 7 long years of waiting. I’m currently located in Canada and work with the Army. I wanted to wait until I was financially comfortable before bringing in a second dog. I currently have a 9 year old intact male golden retriever, he is my main man.

my two questions are as follows.

1) what breed would fit the bill for me.
Assertive and calm owner, with extensive knowledge on mastiffs and territorial dogs.
Would like a protective dog that is watchful , accepting of family. Can be aloof to other dogs as long as he gets along with my intact male. Protective of property and owners , without being extreme (e.g fila ). Stockier and larger dog is preferable. Not overly soft or inactive. Lots of owners are inexperienced here and let their dogs loose, would like a dog that can handle their own but not afraid to look the other way. Protective and large , I especially love the darker brindle and dark faced fawn looks off the boerboel and bullmastiff.

2) dog that is not DA, aloof to strange dogs but will put up with my golden retriever. My golden is older and docile, aloof to other dogs. But compassionate and active. I would like a dog that would bond with him and not challenge him as he would lose 10/10 times. I’m not looking for answers such as the following:

“ don’t get a dog it’s not fair to your golden, it’s gonna end up bad for him. The other dog will maim your golden retriever”.

As we all know there are plenty of pack oriented dogs that bond well with familiar animals under assertive ownership. I’m going to get a puppy I just want recommendations on what’s best for me. If anyone thinks I’m unfit to be a mastiff owner I’d be surprised to wonder who is?


My dog experience is as follows.

parents have owned: German shepherd, bully kutta.

me: golden retriever and fostered a GSD / LAB / Rottie mix.

not overly extensive with experience.

last but not least... thank you.
 

Loverboy Skyline

Well-Known Member
I happen to have a Bullmastiff that will soon be 5 months old, and I've had experience with other large breeds including American Bulldogs and Rottweilers. The Bullmastiff will be the least risky of your choices because he's the least aggressive. He's also the softest and most inactive. I wouldn't recommend it if you run a lot and want a running partner, but if you enjoy a brisk walk around the neighborhood they're fine. Training will be different and challenging. They are intelligent, but they think independently and aren't that interested in pleasing you, so you have to be motivational, and they take it personally if you hit them. The same correction that will make a GSD or Rottie more obedient could make a Bullmastiff fearful, avoiding, and stressed out so it could take his training backwards.

Since you are concerned about dog aggression, I recommend that you pick out a submissive puppy with any breed you choose. With the right owner any breed can learn to be tolerant of your older dog, but the expertise requirements go up the more dominant the dog is. There are several puppy tests you can perform that you can find with a search on the internet and see which ones you are comfortable doing in the breeder's home.
 

PRIMEHS

Member
I happen to have a Bullmastiff that will soon be 5 months old, and I've had experience with other large breeds including American Bulldogs and Rottweilers. The Bullmastiff will be the least risky of your choices because he's the least aggressive. He's also the softest and most inactive. I wouldn't recommend it if you run a lot and want a running partner, but if you enjoy a brisk walk around the neighborhood they're fine. Training will be different and challenging. They are intelligent, but they think independently and aren't that interested in pleasing you, so you have to be motivational, and they take it personally if you hit them. The same correction that will make a GSD or Rottie more obedient could make a Bullmastiff fearful, avoiding, and stressed out so it could take his training backwards.

Since you are concerned about dog aggression, I recommend that you pick out a submissive puppy with any breed you choose. With the right owner any breed can learn to be tolerant of your older dog, but the expertise requirements go up the more dominant the dog is. There are several puppy tests you can perform that you can find with a search on the internet and see which ones you are comfortable doing in the breeder's home.

well I don’t think picking up a submissive dog would do much for me. A mastiff’s a mastiff at the end of the day. I have friends that have picked up submissive GSD pups, only for them to be extremely confident and dominant at the 9 month mark
 

Loverboy Skyline

Well-Known Member
well I don’t think picking up a submissive dog would do much for me. A mastiff’s a mastiff at the end of the day. I have friends that have picked up submissive GSD pups, only for them to be extremely confident and dominant at the 9 month mark
My experience is a bit different. My AB was the most submissive in the litter. He turned out to be the most easy going dog I ever had, easiest to live with, and still had enough drive for me to put protection, obedience, and weight pull titles on him. My Bullmastiff was one of the more dominant ones in the litter. He is a handful. He keeps nipping at my little Shih Tzu who is no threat to him, and I can tell from his behavior that he challenges her in the hierarchy even though she's only 15 pounds. My AB would totally let small dogs and cats do whatever they want because they were no threat to him. Most people would think that the AB would be the harder dog to deal with on dominance issues with other pets, but it was quite the opposite for me.
 

Loverboy Skyline

Well-Known Member
Just wanted to clarify, that when I say submissive I don't mean a wallflower or a fearful dog. I just mean a dog that is less inclined to challenge you or the other dog for pack leadership and also less inclined to assert his dominant role. I always look for drive and an outgoing nature in my dogs; it's not mutually exclusive of submissiveness. A dog that looks to you for leadership and wants to please you is joy to have.
 

PRIMEHS

Member
Just wanted to clarify, that when I say submissive I don't mean a wallflower or a fearful dog. I just mean a dog that is less inclined to challenge you or the other dog for pack leadership and also less inclined to assert his dominant role. I always look for drive and an outgoing nature in my dogs; it's not mutually exclusive of submissiveness. A dog that looks to you for leadership and wants to please you is joy to have.


Ahhh , that makes a lot more sense. Thanks for that, something to definitely look into.
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
I think your high level breed summaries make sense. That‘s a good way of organizing your thoughts and narrowing it down.

On another note, would you mind sharing some pictures of the Bully Kutta that your family used to own? And maybe some summarized info on the experience, challenges etc.? I know it‘s not related to the thread, but we used to have one on Bully Kuttas with some good information, however, nobody in here had really ever owned one.

Just curious, didn‘t mean to derail the conversation on this topic.
 

PRIMEHS

Member
I think your high level breed summaries make sense. That‘s a good way of organizing your thoughts and narrowing it down.

On another note, would you mind sharing some pictures of the Bully Kutta that your family used to own? And maybe some summarized info on the experience, challenges etc.? I know it‘s not related to the thread, but we used to have one on Bully Kuttas with some good information, however, nobody in here had really ever owned one.

Just curious, didn‘t mean to derail the conversation on this topic.

Hey Tyler, the Bully kutta doesn’t have the generations of confirmation shows and generations of temperament breeding most mastiffs do.

The Bully kutta we owned was in India, that’s where my family originated from.

The dog stood 40 inches tall and was over 200 Lbs, this dog did not look like an English mastiff. It looked like a massive muscled Great Dane. I’ve seen Presa Canario’s , Caucasian shepherds etc... but a bully kutta is a different animal. When this dog pulls, it really PULLS. Wicked strength.

This dog was more laid back than a Fila, with the brute strength of a presa canario with the size of a Great Dane. Great dogs, and a healthy creation, but I wouldn’t recommend one. Loyal and loving but very hard driven bloodlined dogs.

If someone has to summarize this dog in I would say:

loving , protective , EXTREMELY LOYAL, incredible strength. These dogs do back off, they do not look for fights, and will often separate themselves when enough is enough. Smart dogs, but heavily driven. Picture a neo mastiff with the workability of a Doberman. These dogs aren’t fighters , lovers mainly but they take protection and power to another level. This dog will drag you across acreage.

Just my two cents from what I’ve seen. Cheers!
 

PRIMEHS

Member
Hey Tyler, the Bully kutta doesn’t have the generations of confirmation shows and generations of temperament breeding most mastiffs do.

The Bully kutta we owned was in India, that’s where my family originated from.

The dog stood 40 inches tall and was over 200 Lbs, this dog did not look like an English mastiff. It looked like a massive muscled Great Dane. I’ve seen Presa Canario’s , Caucasian shepherds etc... but a bully kutta is a different animal. When this dog pulls, it really PULLS. Wicked strength.

This dog was more laid back than a Fila, with the brute strength of a presa canario with the size of a Great Dane. Great dogs, and a healthy creation, but I wouldn’t recommend one. Loyal and loving but very hard driven bloodlined dogs.

If someone has to summarize this dog in I would say:

loving , protective , EXTREMELY LOYAL, incredible strength. These dogs do back off, they do not look for fights, and will often separate themselves when enough is enough. Smart dogs, but heavily driven. Picture a neo mastiff with the workability of a Doberman. These dogs aren’t fighters , lovers mainly but they take protection and power to another level. This dog will drag you across acreage.

Just my two cents from what I’ve seen. Cheers!

if looking at livestock guardians, people deal with Caucasian shepherds , Tibetan mastiffs etc.. but imagine a 40 inch tall 200 lb mastiff that gallops like a horse LOL.

DA is there, but tenacity is not. Powerful but backs off if need be. Seems like a stable dog, just VERY dominant.
 

PRIMEHS

Member
if looking at livestock guardians, people deal with Caucasian shepherds , Tibetan mastiffs etc.. but imagine a 40 inch tall 200 lb mastiff that gallops like a horse LOL.

DA is there, but tenacity is not. Powerful but backs off if need be. Seems like a stable dog, just VERY dominant.

the very sad part is, these dogs do not get loved like a North American dog does. They’re often chained for their short lives and fought often. Imagine a bloodline that is chained it’s whole life, unloved and fought and must use everything it has just to survive multiple organized fights. A very sad reality that has Molded that dog into forced warrior, the dog reminds me of Olden day enslaved Vikings.
 

Loverboy Skyline

Well-Known Member
Hey Tyler, the Bully kutta doesn’t have the generations of confirmation shows and generations of temperament breeding most mastiffs do.

The Bully kutta we owned was in India, that’s where my family originated from.

The dog stood 40 inches tall and was over 200 Lbs, this dog did not look like an English mastiff. It looked like a massive muscled Great Dane. I’ve seen Presa Canario’s , Caucasian shepherds etc... but a bully kutta is a different animal. When this dog pulls, it really PULLS. Wicked strength.

This dog was more laid back than a Fila, with the brute strength of a presa canario with the size of a Great Dane. Great dogs, and a healthy creation, but I wouldn’t recommend one. Loyal and loving but very hard driven bloodlined dogs.

If someone has to summarize this dog in I would say:

loving , protective , EXTREMELY LOYAL, incredible strength. These dogs do back off, they do not look for fights, and will often separate themselves when enough is enough. Smart dogs, but heavily driven. Picture a neo mastiff with the workability of a Doberman. These dogs aren’t fighters , lovers mainly but they take protection and power to another level. This dog will drag you across acreage.

Just my two cents from what I’ve seen. Cheers!
My experience with fighting breeds has actually been very good. I've been around a lot of Pitbulls and American Bulldogs. They are the most loving and loyal dogs I've ever seen, and I'd have to say my best overall dog that I owned (best working dog and best home pet) was an American Bulldog. What is it about the Bully Kutta that you wouldn't recommend it to someone?
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
In my experience picking your breed is the tip of the iceberg. They each have their own individual personality so really when you pick the new dog try to choose someone who really knows the personality of their puppies and can steer you to the right pup for you. My part cane corso dog is very DA (except with our other dog thank goodness). Our other dog is 1/2 DDB and he is the opposite. Loves all other dogs. Our cane corso boxer mix is not the greatest guardian. She is pretty mellow about people being near the house and only flips out if it is another dog near the house. Our 1/2 DDB on the other hand is major guardian. He is very friendly with people when properly introduced but he gets very loud and guardy whenever anyone or anything comes near the house (or the car when we are driving or me if he feels I am in any kind of danger). The neighbors, people walking by, people driving by, the mailman, the neighbor's cat, a squirrel, etc. He once broke our front window trying to get to a delivery guy. Scared the delivery guy half to death. He just threw the package at the door and ran. We have since got him to a point where he only barks aggressively but won't try to go through the windows. I should also note that the DDB has a submissive personality in that he will always back down to any other dog that challenges him or to me and my husband. However, he will not back down when he sees someone as a threat to his territory or his people. He is very smart and will listen to us so long as he can see that we have seen the threat and checked it out and he feels we have it in hand. If we call him off without actually getting up and checking on it he will not stand down since he knows we haven't confirmed the threat yet.
 

Canedogo

New Member
How long did your 200 pound bully live? I cant imagine a "normal" dog like that passing 10 years but this seems like a special breed. Also, the online pics kinda make them look sway backed. Is that a normal look or are the pics of unhealthy line bred dogs?