English Mastiff advice (from English mastiff owners).?

I would love to get an English Mastiff. I have read just about every book written on them I can find. What I DON"T have is info from english mastiff owners. I don't know any so I havent been able to get any one on one. Can anyone out there who has owned and english mastiff give me an honest idea of what it is like to own one? Books and the internet can only tell you so much. By the way, do not reccomend I go to dogbreedinfo.com because I beat you to that suggestion.

I've owned English Mastiffs before, so I should be able to help. I am going to be completely honest with you and not gloss over the bad aspects of this breed so that you, as a potential owner, know what you will be getting into should you decide to go ahead and get one.

For starters, be aware that they can be VERY destructive puppies and can have terrible separation anxiety. If you have a job that takes you out of the house for any longer than a few hours at a time, I wouldn鈥檛 suggest these guys. My first Mastiff probably caused 20,000 dollars or more of damage to my house within her first year of being here.

Especially when they are young; they tend to have random 鈥榖ursts鈥?of energy in which they will go from politely laying on their dog bed to being a giant blur of flying dog, leaping from furniture piece to furniture piece with their feet rarely touching the ground a couple of times a day. This is cute to watch, but not so much fun when you have a madly jumping 120 pound puppy use your lap as a launching pad.

A lot of Mastiffs have problems with other animals, even when they are raised with them. It isn鈥檛 unheard of for a Mastiff to be perfectly fine with other animals in their house, and then shortly after they turn a year old, decide that they don鈥檛 like having other animals around and seriously injure, or even kill other pets in the household. This is something worth considering if you have other pets, and you鈥檒l need to prepare to do the 鈥榗rate and rotate鈥?routine or find a home for whichever animal if you DO have a Mastiff that does this. I have had this problem with a Mastiff that I鈥檝e had, and my vet has had several Mastiff-owning clients report the same issue. Some lines are more prone to this than others, so be sure to quiz the breeder on how their dogs do with other dogs, cats, ferrets, etc.

You鈥檒l need to invest in multiple six inch thick, memory foam dog beds around your house to prevent joint damage from them lying on the floor. Regular dog beds 鈥榙eflate鈥?quickly when being used by a Mastiff, and will need to be replaced every month or so, so the memory foam usually more than pays for itself over time.

They are INCREDIBLY heavy droolers. I am sure you have read about this, but you can鈥檛 know the reality of it before owning one. You鈥檒l have to mop up the floor several times a day, they can cause staining on carpets, have bits of slobber on your walls, 鈥榮treaking鈥?on your car windows every time you take you dog somewhere, and you can expect to have a 鈥榳et lap鈥?almost every time they come to visit you.

They are very dominant dogs, and often times won鈥檛 listen to their handler. You MUST be very consistent telling them 鈥楴o鈥? and you can鈥檛 ever give in with them. Training classes are often necessary. It can be a constant battle of wills with your dog, particularly before they turn three years old. They are simply too much for most to handle, and for this reason alone I don鈥檛 recommend this as a first, second, or even a third dog for the majority of people.

They are very big, and so is everything that comes with them. Prepare to get an SUV type car unless you already have one, a large crate, lots of dog food, expensive vet bills (it costs me more than 300 dollars to spay my females), a large pooper scooper, lots of heavy duty toys, a high fence, dealing with lots of slobber and dog hair, and lots of patience.

While they can be the epitome of a 鈥榞entle giant鈥?for someone who can properly house and care for these guys, someone needs to be honest with themselves about their household and lifestyle before getting one. Unless you have a lot of free time, experience with dominant dogs, and patience, I wouldn鈥檛 recommend this breed. If you can deal with them and all of the problems that come with them, then they can be the best dog you could ever ask for. If you can鈥檛 deal with it, please save yourself the bills, heartache, and stress and find a breed more suited to your lifestyle.

Here is a website that has a very honest review for this breed.
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews...

I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions on these guys, feel free to message me and I will be happy to assist you in any way I can. :)

Good luck!

you better have ALOT of room for them. they are kind gentle dogs

English Mastiffs are awesome, my parents owned one when i was still living home. They are huge so keep that in mind, they shed ALOT due to their big size...and they slobber alot. But other than that, they are a big friendly beautiful dog, If i was going to get a big dog, that is what it would be. My bulldog and shih tzu are enough right now but you never know we might and up having a small medium and large breed!! LOL

i have a mastiff. she is a great dog. as long as you have a large space {mine loves to ..patrol the property..3/4 of an acre,fenced in}, do not mind shedding {they shed a lot, we took the carpet out, and out tile down, easier to clean hair off of it}, do not mind slobber. if you can handle the above, you are going to do fine. they are loyal, goofy, beautiful, loving, and a slight bit clingy. i would not trade her for anything!!! we also have a rhodesian ridgeback, and they get along well. took 2 weeks for the main potty training, and only a few..accidents when we were away too long or she had the runs. smart dogs, and stubborn when they want, just be the boss/alpha and it will be fine. puppy training at 3-4 months helps also.

Just a suggestion.
What about contacting some of the private breeders from the internet to ask a few questions even if you're not going to purchase a dog from them.

I have two mastiffs, 1.5 years and 3 months old. I've had several dogs during my lifetime, and these are by far my favorites. They are loving and smart and affectionate. One 'issue', however, is the gassiness. Oh My! But, they get along with our cats, chickens, and hamster, with no signs of aggression. You definitely need lots of time to spend with them as they are very needy of human contact. I think they really suffer without it, so please keep that in mind when you decide on your breed. Good Luck!