For years my husband has wanted a Mastiff. Recently we saw an add in a local paper advertising Mastiff puppies for 350.00. I thought this was an awful low price for a purebred pup so we called and we were told that the pups were 5 months old, housebroke, and had already been socialized with animals and children. They said the reason the pups were so inexpensive was because they just had a new litter of 12 and they wanted to get these sold. When we got there, there were 2 females in a kennel, one was a dewey brindle and the other a dark brindle. One dog barked excessivly while the other one walked off and sat in the corner, she would not come or even look when called. We asked to see the male and we were told the male was on the way. When the male arrived he jumped out of the car and was very interested in us. I have to tell you guys this dog was HUGE for five months old. He just didn't fit any of the classifications of Mastiffs that I had researched or looked at. When I brought this up to the owner she assured me it was because he was a dark brindle not the fawn I was used to seeing. She said his father wieghed 165 and his mother 160. Seemed small for an English to me. The girl who brought him said she has had him since he was 8 weeks old. She had a poodle and a two year old and said he did great with both. He had been nuetered and all his vaccines were up to date. Her landlord found out she had him and was making her get rid of him. Well we bought him against my better judgement. The girl gave us a folder containing all of his vet records and vaccine records. As we were driving home I started reviewing the records and discovered a reciept of purchase for an "English Bullmastiff" pup, born May 7, 2005. Needless to say I was pissed. This pup is 7 months old not 5 months old and is a Bullmastiff not an English Mastiff. Well I wanted to go back but my husband is already crazy for this dog. When we get home I started researching Bullmastiffs and he doesn't really fit their criteria either. I finally came across an article that used the phrase "English Bullmastiff". The definition was, "Mutt, English Mastiff bred with Bullmastiff." I believe this is what I have.
Sorry for the long story but wanted you to have some background. Shaq is 7 months old, 70 pounds, and already 22 inches tall at the withers. He was altered at 5 1/2 months and is housebroke. It is quite obvious with his size and natural temperment(stubborn)he will need intense obediance training. I have already started using a prong collar and have ordered an e-collar. I have taken him to the only two trainers we have in our area. The first one refuses to work with "Bull type dogs that will eventually kill something no matter what." And the other one showed me a lovely Halti and threatened to turn me in for animal abuse? So now I am left to my own devices. I have ordered the obediance tape and plan on using that. My husband has agreed to let me train the dog since I'm the one that is aprehensive about keeping him.

I should say that Shaq is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever been around. He is very alert, watches strangers but never barks or runs up to them. He seems smart and able to learn quickly. At his previous home he had his own couch, his own toybox, played WWF wrestling eveynight, and slept on the bed. We were able to correct all of these behaviors in less then a week.
Do any of you have experience training this breed of dog. Everything I find says they are hard to train and tend to be aggresive, yet I've read some posts on here that say otherwise. Any advise, insight, or opinion on this breed would be greatly appreciated. I do have some training experience but mainly working bird dogs.

Im guessing the "breeder" didn't guarantee anything. Hope hes healty. Other than that, it sounds like you have a really nice dog. $350 is not alot more than it would cost you to neuter him anyway. I would train the dog myself if i was you. Its a ton of fun and helps you to bond and establish order with your dog. Id bet the least educated/experienced dog trainer/owner on this forum is better suited to help with training advice than either of the trainers you have found. There is a lot of info here and in Ed's tgraining articles. Good luck.

He is very healthy. I called the vet in his paperwork. The previous owners took great care of him with regular vet visits and natural diet. I just think they thought of him as an over sized kid and didn't forsee the problems they were creating for themselves. No breeder guarentee. They would help us resell him if we change our mind. Thats not fair to the pup or an option for me at this point.

I have a mixed breed mastiff of some kind that the shelter told me was a bullmastiff x apbt. He's the coolest dog I've ever had. I'll probably spend thousands trying to find another dog like him over the rest of my lifetime <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I think you're really lucky he sounds like a great dog!

When I got mine he was jumpy and wild which led to his name; Tigger <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I didn't use a prong or E-collar. The prong I never heard of and an E collar IMO is best left for experts. I haven't worked my way up to that level yet, so I stay away from it. You can do serious damage if you don't know what you're doing with it I've heard.

How I managed to get some control over my dog is correcting and then ignoring him for any behaviors I didn't like while using extra exhuberant praise for behaviors I did like. I too had only experience with bird dogs (labs), but I found the mastiff cross to be much easier to train than the labs. I didn't start trying to train him till after his first month here because I wanted to bond with him and make him feel comfortable. I did correct behaviors I didn't like and praised like crazy.

With regard to WWF style wrestling, I found that mine required that as an outlet for all his wildness. He showed guardiness when I first visited him at the shelter. I had to wait till they fixed him before I could take him home so I would visit. Whenever a male employee would get anywhere near me, he would go on alert and watch the person until they were away from me. If anyone so much as raises their voice to me even now, he'll warn them. You may have to train your dog when it's appropriate to respond to a threat and when it's not. Mine showed reasonable judgement, he was just a little eager to defend... This required special training to manage. Even though I've brought him thru many scenarios to show him when it was not appropriate to react, there are still times when he does because he hasn't seen a particular situation. An example was at a Christmas parade I brought him to. Frosty the snowman was walking awkwardly toward a little boy, then touched and bent over him, my dog reacted thinking the boy was in danger. The time before that we were fishing at the dock. A guy was there with his son and just abusing this kid verbally. My dog got mad and warned him. The good part was the guy started being really nice to his son after that. You'll have to watch the dog closely till you know him better so you can gauge his guardiness. If you live in a nice area you may never see it at all.

Do you have any pictures? There is a lady here named Alice who has extensive experience with mastiffs. Maybe she'll chime in. Good luck with him, I think you're really lucky <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />!!!

I do feel lucky to have him. I am using the prong collar for leash work and some correction. I have used an e-collar in the past and at this point I ordered it more for future training. Shaq is already a large dog and a bit independant. Although he knows some basic commands, he only does them when he feels inclined, otherwise he feigns deaf. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> We don't wrestle with him because he gets to excited and then tends to get mouthy. We play fetch and go for walks. Because I believe him to be 3/4 English Mastiff and 1/4 Bullmastiff I don't let him do any heavy running and no jumping because of possible injury to his joints. I was told to wait until he was at least a year old before letting him enjoy these activities. I have been doing a ton of reading on these giant breeds but am looking for some insight from people that have worked with them in all different kinds of situations. I appreciate your reply and I do have to give him some time to adjust to a new family. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Thanks, Leann

 Quote:

Although he knows some basic commands, he only does them when he feels inclined, otherwise he feigns deaf. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, that can be a problem. So, when he wants to play, eat or get attention, you feign deaf until he complies to your commands in a timely manner <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> It worked for us <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Besides fetch, tug is a game he might like to play. Rough housing requires teaching rules so nobody gets hurt. That's mens work though <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You're right about running and jumping, and the prong should really help expedite training under distractions. Food works as a great motivator also. Have fun with him <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

leann, for some reason i did not see your thread until now. i've owned english mastiffs for 40 years. please feel free to PM me with any further questions you may have.

your boy sounds very typical for the mastiff personality. there is a lot of misinformation on this breed out there. they are extremely smart and very sensitive. mine have all been trained very quickly. the problem is that they are quite independent thinkers and often choose to not do what you ask if they don't see a good reason for it.

the bullmastiff is 60 percent mastiff, so your dog is mostly english mastiff. i agree that you need to wait before doing much running/jumping until he is at least 18 mos. old. best to wait until he is two years old. until then, let him exercise himself as much as he likes. it's possible for them also to get injured because they aren't allowed to be active. they need to use their muscles to protect their joints. but with a youngster you have to maker sure you aren't overexercising.

so let him play at will, and take him on walks, just don't put him in situations where he's forced to be active beyond where he might have stopped had he not been trying to keep up with you or please you.

i have found it is best to be clear about what is and what isn't allowed from day one. mastiffs have to have firm, clear limits set. correcting problem behaviors is extremely difficult to do with a dog that outweighs you, so it is best to not even let them get started. they are creatures of habit, so establish good habits and behaviors right off the bat.

 Quote:

Everything I find says they are hard to train and tend to be aggresive

i almost missed this. wrong, wrong, wrong. double wrong. this is a true statement for the bullmastiff, but not the english mastiff. english mastiffs are easy to train, and they usually are exceedingly gentle and docile, very sweet animals. the bullmastiff was created because the mastiff, as a general rule, will not bite. so the bullmastiff is more aggressive. the typical mastiff is a total lover.

Our Bullmasiff is the sweetest dog we have owned (her favorite sport is napping). She is extremely soft and was easy to train due to the fact she has a food drive which is absolutely out of this world. Anyway here is a link to a picture of her and the Shepherd. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y106/jtb04/83926737807_0_ALB.jpg
As you can tell neither are exactly working dogs but both are great pets.

oh, what a pair! and what a cool picture (the shepherd's smart enough to know a good pillow <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />