I've read these forums and I see a lot of negative talk about rockport mastiffs and I felt compelled to put my two cents in. I have an olde English mastiff from rockport. He is very happy and very healthy. He is also a very well mannered
Dog and is great with my young children. In fact this is my second mastiff from rockport with same results with each dog. I also have nothing but the utmost respect for the breeders themselves they have been nothing but helpful to me and my family with any questions or comments I have ever had. Kudos to rockport I highly recommend them.
Great to see so many Mastiff lovers and thank you Tmkaa. In reading these posts there have several comments that are slightly misinformed. First, we have had several Mastiffs. From a BYB then a magnificent male from Lazy D Mastiffs and now a wonderful,male and female from Rockport. All spectacular as they have the most desired traits: calmness, loving, gentle, social. As far as the comments of Rockport not appearing healthy and overweight. Rockport adheres to the Old English standard and not the AKC standard for Mastifs. Note that Rockport is in Canada and not the US. This is primarily shown in the depth of chest being greater as well as length of body being longer. So there will be differences depending on the hereditary lines for each breeder. Next are comments on some of the pictures on Rockports page, some of the females are pregnant or recently pregnant. A couple of,the pictures posted on this thread are actually from and in the Rockport hereditary line. As far as health and testing. I cannot vouch for testing but our male from Lazy D ( the top rated breeder in America ) was spectacular but died of cancer at age 5. Our male and female from Rockport are also spectacular but a comment on elbow and hips in Mastifs. OFA testing is primarily AKC driven and is not generally accepted until a minimum age of 2 and more accepted at age 3. Extremely important for any mastiff guardian is to find a vet with knowledge of or at least open to questioning with giant breeds. Mastiffs can be diagnosed with elbow and joint issues, even x-rayed for confirmation but be very carefull. Full bone and joint growth may take 2-3 years to fully develop and close growth plates. This is not to say that there may not be issues but a responsible vet will know better than to jump to the standard conclusion that all closures will be fully formed by 6-9 months of age. Rockport, like Lazy D is a very responsible breeder. Our boy Boomer from Rockport is now 13 months, stands 33" at the withers and weighs 200 with very little excess. Our girl Babe from Rockport, also 13 months is beautiful girl, 25" and 120lbs. She seems tiny compared to Boom but both are healthy, typical Mastifs pups. Just the same as our previous boy Bo. Love and proper nutrition will give you a loving companion.