Mastiff
Dog Breed Information
Some hundred years ago the Mastiff was a great warrior.
He fought the battles man put him in, and he fought them well.
Those days are long gone, and no one seems to be happier about
that than the Mastiff himself. He is now a completely retired
fighter, dedicated to watching over his family and friends. With
his great sense of patience and affection, he must be said to
be the best example of "man's best friend".
The English Mastiff is normally great with children.
He seems to understand that they are "puppies", and
treats them gently. He is both patient and protective, and despite
of his size and weight, he can be trusted to look after even small
children. If the dog isn't used to children at all, he is able
to learn how to deal with them even if he's fully grown. The ideal
situation is of course to bring up the puppy with the "human
puppies". Some dogs don't have the same respect for children
as they have for adults. The Mastiff would never harm a child,
but the most dominant males may try to inform the youngster that
he doesn't want to be treated like dead meat. This doesn't mean
that he'll hurt the child. It's more likely that he'll grab the
child's arm or hand gently, to say "don't do that!".
If the Mastiff couldn't handle being with other
dogs, you would never want to have one! It would be totally impossible
to control a 200 lbs. aggressive male! All there is to say about
this, is that you have no reason to worry at all! The English
Mastiff is a very peaceful and tolerant breed. Even if another
dog attacks, the Mastiff often turns his back to the opponent.
He will NOT fight unless he has to. Self defense is the only reason
for an average Mastiff to use his strength. Many Mastiffs love
to be with smaller breeds. Some say they are not aware of their
impressive size, and that they feel comfortable playing with small
dogs because of that. The chances are bigger that many Mastiffs
almost never meet other dogs as big as themselves, and therefore
they find such big dogs just as scary as smaller dogs often do.
They experience their own strength by playing (and fighting...)
with other dogs. If a dog seldom gets the opportunity to play,
he won't be able to be aware of his might.
