Hi All I've been reading this forum for months & this is my first post. After seeing a stunningly gorgeous mastiff, I became completely captivated by this amazing breed of dog. I found this forum & some great websites & spent months reading & soaking up as much knowledge on the breed that I could find. After finally deciding that a mastiff would be the perfect fit for our family, we took the plunge! The kids & I all agreed that we wanted a brindle male English Mastiff, we found a breeder that was expecting & watched our puppy grow from the day he was born. Finally, a few weeks ago, we brought our baby home! I have 3 kids ages 7, 9, 11 that spend lots of time cuddling & playing with him. He rides along to drop them off at school every morning & cries when they get out of the car, which breaks my heart, but it is so adorable to see his excitement when they get home! We started training him on day one. He is a master at "sit" and will sit before he gets his food & before he goes in and out of the door. He is doing good with "lay down" and "stay" also. But we definitely need to teach him to "drop it" and "leave it" because he loves to "shake up" and chew his toys aaannndd also things that are not his toys & we have a hard time getting them out of his mouth when he makes up his mind that he is going to chew it! The kids have been calling him "Papi" since the day he was born. (Papi is the dog from the movie 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' haha!) But they named him Dulce Diablo. He loves his belly rubbed, sleeps good in his crate, even going in on his own for naps & is a great addition to our family! We could not be more in LOVE with this little guy!