By Vince Stead Platinum Quality Author
I have owned and raised several different English Mastiff's over the years. They are also known as the big friendly giants! The English Mastiff comes in the colors of Apricot, Fawn and Brindle. English Mastiffs are not the easiest of dogs to find for sale. When we bought our puppies, we searched the AKC website for a reputable breeder. We found one about 500 miles away. We talked over the phone, and I asked him lots of questions, that he answered with good answers.
We planned the drive, and spent the first night in a nearby motel. The next morning, we went out to a farm, where the puppies parents were on site. We checked out the parents livings conditions, and the puppies. We wanted a puppy that came from a nice home.
In the long run, we ended up with 3 English Mastiffs that we raised. We did have one of them get killed by a car on us. Our male Tiger, and the next door neighbors German Shepperd, she was a girl, and Tiger was a boy, and somehow they got out of their kennels, and both them got hit at the same time by a car or truck, that was a sad day. We live on 1 acre, and I found out, that about the only thing that will keep a 150 pound Dog inside the yard, is metal and steel. In the Beginning I built stuff out of chicken wire, and then they got bigger. I used a post hole digger, and make a fence. They either dug under it, or pushed the top down. When all 3 of them were full grown. I learned that I had to have bars across the top, and I had to run a concrete liner across the bottom so they could not dig out. I had to do this usually in the 110 degree heat you get in the high desert.
On average, they say most average size dogs have a life expectancy of 15 years or so, and a Mastiff has a life expectancy of 10 years, because they are such a large size dog.
English Mastiff, along with Bull Mastiffs, need a soft place to lay down when they sleep. You can not leave them on a hard surface. They need something soft to lay on, like a pillow or blanket. If you look at your dog, and he has like calluses, just like a camel might have, where there is no hair, and it is hard skin, that is because he or she is sleeping on a harder surface than they should be on, so treat them right!
I always heard that you needed a c-section for an English Mastiff when they have puppies, because the puppies are so big, it might hurt the mom?
This is not true. Both of my female Mastiffs had puppies within 24 hours of each other. We had bought a new house on 1 acre, and we bought a male puppy, and 2 female puppies.
We raised the puppies just like little kids almost. We spoiled them, and they had plenty of kids to play with also. English Mastiffs are great with kids.
The safest thing you can do with big dogs like that, is don't leave them in packs, that's when they revert back to their ancestry, and get that pack mentality, and then start to get crazy.
When they were puppies, we would bring them in one at a time. We could easily let them jump up on the bed, lay down, and we could play with them, and lay our heads on them, and they were like big little puppies, even thou they are big. They are big babies is what they are really! When they are by themselves.
When they were all 3 running around together, it was not like the dog whisper, where they would walk and listen. That is when they would take off, run along the fence with the neighbor dog, and if they ever got out, they are so big, they would surely hurt the neighbor dog, that was always in the back of my mind.
I did not like them to run around together. One time the 2 girls got in a fight, and it was worse than 2 drunk men fighting in a bar, they were ripping each other apart, and I could almost do nothing, I had a board that I tried to separate them, and that was one time I realized that the dogs could be like this.
I was telling you about the moms having puppies on almost the same exact day. One of them had 11 puppies, and the other one had 10 puppies. I had built 2 whelping boxes. I made them out of plywood, then used fat PVC white piping on the inside, I made a perfect 4 foot square whelping box, and then made a 4 foot safety barrier for the puppies, so they don't get squeezed and suffocated by the mom when she is laying down. I made them on stands so they stood up about 6 inches off the ground also.
Just like mother nature is supposed to be. When the moms had their puppies, it was pretty easy. The mom would stand up a bit, and then the puppy would come up, and it what pretty big! It was the size of a hot dog bun I would say, just a little bit shorter. Each puppy came out so easily, it just slid out, as the mom is a big dog, so it was just natural, and then before you know it, all the puppies were out, and the moms were so good to them.
I remember I thought what would happen if the mom is to protective over her young babies. But even right after they were born, I helped her take each puppy, and give it to her so she can clean them up. You do want to be their when she is having the puppies. If something goes wrong, it is nice to be their. Also, since you go thru the process with her, I feel she thinks the puppies belong to you also in a way. A stranger might want to beware, but I had no problems. I could get down and play with the puppies, and she did not mind at all. Either mom, they would growl at each other if they knew each other was around, but that was just them being protective.
I wrote a book on Amazon called Sammy the Runaway Mastiff, it is just like a true book. We drove across the country to purchase a new Mastiff one time. It was in the same general area of my brothers house, and I wanted to take a vacation, so we made road trip of picking up the new puppy, and visiting my brother, and we all had fun! English Mastiff is one of the best dogs you could own if you have 1 of them. They are good watch dogs, they get along with children, but if you have 3 or more, just keep an eye on them, you can't take the many many years that have been their heritage, and they are a big dog, but they are a Big Giant Friendly Dog if you treat them with Love!
Vince Stead has written 11 books so far. He wrote a book called Sammy the Runaway Mastiff, that your children might enjoy if they like English Mastiffs!
You can find his books at places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and even his own website at http://www.vincestead.com
You can get every one of his books as a book at regular price, and you also get them as digital downloads for only $2.99 each.
