LauraR
Well-Known Member
We are thinking about getting our first English Mastiff sometime next year and I would really like some feedback from current EM owners. First I will tell you a little bit about my family and why we have decided to go with the English Mastiff.
My husband and I have two boys, 8 and 6(will be 9 and 7 when we get the dog) a tiny Yorkie(2.8lbs) and a cat. We are moving to rural area with a very large yard(1/2 acre has a chain link fence, 4 acres are fenced for horses/cattle). We do not currently have any livestock, but may consider getting a horse or two in the future. My oldest son has Asperger's and his therapist has suggested getting a dog and having him help us with the training. She thinks it will help with his social skills and confidence levels. We had planned on getting a large dog prior to that, but it is a bit of an extra motivator. We are pretty set on going with an English Mastiff because of their size and temperament.
Some of the questions I had for current Mastiff owners are:
How much does your mastiff usually eat? I've read that they will eat anywhere between 2-5lbs of food per day but I would really like the input of someone who actually owns one rather than general statistics.
Like I mentioned, we do have a very small Yorkie. In your experience, do Mastiffs generally do okay with smaller dogs? She is a little yappy pain in the butt, but she is very submissive and I don't see there being much of a problem on her end, but most larger dogs aren't quite sure what to do with her.
I would like to have my oldest son help with the training. I've read stories on how EMs can be incredibly difficult to train and require a ton of patience and repetition and then I've read other stories on how intelligent and easy to train they are. What has been your experience with training? What training methods have worked well with you and your Mastiffs?
On the topic of training, I've read on here that some of you have trained your dogs to wipe their mouths after drinking. This sounds amazing and is definitely something I would like to teach our future dog to do. What ways worked best for you when training your dog to wipe his/her mouth after drinking/eating?
How much exercise to you give your English Mastiff? I've read some things that say you need to walk them 20-30 minutes every day, some that say a romp in the back yard is fine and others describing them as lounging couch potatoes. I like to go running/jogging several times a week, is this the kind of dog that would enjoy being a running partner? I've also read that they have some hip and joint problems so I wouldn't want to do anything that may lead to making that worse.
I think that about wraps up my questions for now. I'm sure I'll think of more later. I look forward to reading your responses and thank you for taking the time to follow up.
My husband and I have two boys, 8 and 6(will be 9 and 7 when we get the dog) a tiny Yorkie(2.8lbs) and a cat. We are moving to rural area with a very large yard(1/2 acre has a chain link fence, 4 acres are fenced for horses/cattle). We do not currently have any livestock, but may consider getting a horse or two in the future. My oldest son has Asperger's and his therapist has suggested getting a dog and having him help us with the training. She thinks it will help with his social skills and confidence levels. We had planned on getting a large dog prior to that, but it is a bit of an extra motivator. We are pretty set on going with an English Mastiff because of their size and temperament.
Some of the questions I had for current Mastiff owners are:
How much does your mastiff usually eat? I've read that they will eat anywhere between 2-5lbs of food per day but I would really like the input of someone who actually owns one rather than general statistics.
Like I mentioned, we do have a very small Yorkie. In your experience, do Mastiffs generally do okay with smaller dogs? She is a little yappy pain in the butt, but she is very submissive and I don't see there being much of a problem on her end, but most larger dogs aren't quite sure what to do with her.
I would like to have my oldest son help with the training. I've read stories on how EMs can be incredibly difficult to train and require a ton of patience and repetition and then I've read other stories on how intelligent and easy to train they are. What has been your experience with training? What training methods have worked well with you and your Mastiffs?
On the topic of training, I've read on here that some of you have trained your dogs to wipe their mouths after drinking. This sounds amazing and is definitely something I would like to teach our future dog to do. What ways worked best for you when training your dog to wipe his/her mouth after drinking/eating?
How much exercise to you give your English Mastiff? I've read some things that say you need to walk them 20-30 minutes every day, some that say a romp in the back yard is fine and others describing them as lounging couch potatoes. I like to go running/jogging several times a week, is this the kind of dog that would enjoy being a running partner? I've also read that they have some hip and joint problems so I wouldn't want to do anything that may lead to making that worse.
I think that about wraps up my questions for now. I'm sure I'll think of more later. I look forward to reading your responses and thank you for taking the time to follow up.