Calling all Bullmastiff owners

[stevieg]

I am looking for any tips/advice any Bullmastiff owners may be able to give me.

It is looking increasingly likely my husband & I will be taking on a 4 year old bullmastiff bitch as a result of the sudden death of her owner. (a very close friend of my husband's).
We have never had one of the bull breeds before and I was wondering whether anyone could offer any advice or tell me anything you think we should know.

Thank you in advance

 

[_GG_]

I can't offer any help as have never had one, but I do want to say what a wonderful thing it is you are thinking of doing. Taking on any dog in these circumstances is a big commitment, but such a large breed really does show what wonderful friends you and your husband must be.

 

[stevieg]

I can't offer any help as have never had one, but I do want to say what a wonderful thing it is you are thinking of doing. Taking on any dog in these circumstances is a big commitment, but such a large breed really does show what wonderful friends you and your husband must be.

Why thank you. That's a lovely thing to say. His parents are very elderly and can't really cope with her. He thought the world of this dog and my husband cannot bear the thought of losing touch with her. We have had GSDs for many years but just wanted some tips peculiar to the bull breeds

 

[Zoejl]

I do not own one, but have a friend who has had Bull mastiffs all her life. They are lovely dogs, great temperament, they seem easy to train, sensitive and not thugs. Very athletic when they run. Bad points seem to be they love sitting on you knee, and when young ate at lot of things they should not have eaten.

 

[Embo]

I love mastiffs - a trait inherited from my dad. I got him a beautiful Bullmastiff puppy for his 50th and he adored her (and she, him). She's called Hera.

As wonderful as they are, they are not known for their intelligence (however, I did teach our girl to do a 'perimeter check' for zombies!). They have zero spatial awareness, so expect anything and everything to get knocked down or go flying, this includes objects and people. They are typically fairly quiet until there's a knock at the door. We never, ever managed to teach Hera to 'speak'. If she spots any 'zombies' out the window, it's always a very, very low growl, sometimes with a soft 'oof'.

They are a big, strong breed and quite stubborn so you need to keep on top of training. Once you establish key commands, they're fairly easy but it's getting there! Food helps.

They are very loyal and tend to be wary of strangers outside their family unit. They do make great family pets, but strangers need to be introduced slowly and considerately. But once they know you, they never forget you and you've got a friend for life. It took Hera a good 4-5 weeks of regular visits to recognise my OH as 'safe', but now she adores him and he gets a warmer welcome than I do!!

If they're used to kids, they are great with them. I have 3 nephews, aged 12, 9 and 4 and she loves them all. Apart from forgetting her size and sometimes knocking the smaller ones down (accidentally, of course), she is so gentle and tolerant of them. She loves to chase them around and join in when they play.

Of course, as with any strange dog, I would be careful with kids mainly because of their size. Also because they can be shy of strangers, I'd be extra careful until you really get to know this dog.

Walking is easy, Hera has excellent recall and often will just walk next to us instead of exploring. However, people get nervous of her because of her size so we tend to keep her on her lead until we find a solitary spot so she doesn't scare anyone! She's always been good with other dogs, unless they come charging up to her. Then she tends to run back to us for rescuing with her tail between her legs!! Not so brave.

Another thing to note is the drool. Keep lots of towels handy, at all times.

I'm by no means 'expert' in the breed, but I do love them and hope you find this helpful. Hopefully someone with much more knowledge and experience will be along and can give you even more hints and tips