Bull Mastiffs?

[Divine Boxer]

Thanks Krikket, I'll be sure to check those sites
out!
As for the litter, I'm assuming it was an accident,
and I don't really believe they were bred for fighting,
etc. I surely hope not. I kinda look at it this way, at
least I'll be saving a life. Otherwise I'm sure they
will end up in the pound or worse. Being most people
would be completely turned off with it having any
pit what so ever in it. Oh so sad. But like you said
I'll look into the BM rescue as well. Thanks again.

By the way everybody I greatly appreciate
your posts and info. If you have any comments or any
knowledge on the subject feel free to let me know.

 

[Lava Linda]

I had Boss (short for Basso Profundo, for his deep voice) for 10 wonderful years. He was half pitbull, half Rottweiler, and the "breeder" said they were called "bear dogs" in the 40's. Clearly they were bred for hunting or baiting, but Boss was a really neat dog, raised with love and discipline. He was a beautiful golden fawn color, with a docked tail and a broad, blunt muzzle, and many people thought he was a boxer.
He was advertised for $200, but they guy let me have him for $100.
I've always been a fan of halfbred dogs, personally, until I got my boxers. "Hybrid vigor" was a term I was taught in Animal Science at UC Davis, where halfbreds will be more vigorous, and have fewer health problems than their purebred counterparts, but that was with regard to livestock, not dogs. (?)

 

[Alisha Mobley]

Originally posted by Lava Linda
... where halfbreds will be more vigorous, and have fewer health problems than their purebred counterparts, but that was with regard to livestock, not dogs. (?)

That's funny because I have always heard this also (but refering to dogs). My husband's cousin got a Boxer last summer, we were over there one day and a friend of their's made the comment about their Boxer to them "Remember this isn't a mutt, don't feed it table scraps 'cause purebreds can't handle that" I told him table scraps aren't good for any dog not just pruebreds. He said "Yeah, but it's worse for purebreds". If I would of been in my own home the discussion wouldn't of stopped there but instead I just laughed. I feed my dogs the best I know how, do vet checks often, keep them wormed, etc. My dad always tells me he never had to do this with any of the mutts we had as I was growing up and it's true. They never seemed to get sick, they were outside dogs left loose (we lived out in the middle of no-where), never wormed, never saw a vet, never had a vaccination, lived off table scraps and dog/puppy chow (I don't know of a cheaper dog food) etc. I have always wondered if these "mutts" where healthier or if we just didn't know they were realy sick because they never saw a vet and never had any type of health test ran.??

[Edited by Alisha Mobley on 03-08-2001 at 03:26 AM]

 

[artemis4951]

BMs= good dogs

i've had many opportunities to deal with bull mastiffs because quite a few of them come into the UGA small animal surgery with injuries or whatever (honestly, most reputable people who own those love their dogs and if something unusual happens to them, the owners tend to drag them across any number of states to see the specialists there) and my friend paul, who works there, loves them.
to be fair, he only asks me to come over and see the ones he likes, but he likes every one of them and every one that i've gone to see, even though often in pain or groggy or what have you (one i saw had lost his elbow after being shot by some idiot hunter), has been gentle and friendly in a reserved kind of way. i also stood between two of them when i took my lab to obedience class, and they tolerated her well and were very nice to everyone.
they love their owners and are very devoted, which to a boxer owner would seem to be a good thing. if you can stand the prodigious quantities of snot and slobber, they're great.

(for the record, my friend is also a raving fan of pit bulls, american bulldogs, and german shepherds. so i don't know how much his opinion counts.)

 

[jicksies]

Bull Mastiff or not?

Hi there!!! My sister has a beautiful female bull mastiff who is just a sweetheart. She is very gentle and loving and gets along wonderfully with my boxers. I will say though that the energy level of a mastiff does not compare with the boxer! If you want another dog to play with your boxer (And keep up with him?) I'm not so sure a mastiff would be the right choice, but if you just want a mastiff because you like them, then go for it!
I personally have always wanted a Mastiff (rather than a bull mastiff) but will have to wait until I have MORE ROOM! They are big, beautiful, lovable dogs but do need lots of training to keep them under control. Good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[Boxer Family]

I was watching Breed All About It and they said that Bull Mastiffs were a great and gentle dog. The do require some persuading to get them to exercise. The couple on the show had a vineyard and would drive in the car down the road and the dogs would run along side of them. They would do this once a day and that was quite enough exercise! They do drool badly but are very quiet couch potatoes. But when it comes to protectiveness......Yes, they are. But that's what the couple liked about the dog because the lady was always at home alone. As far as getting along with a boxer; I don't know.....all the had were three BM. Good luck with your decision.

Mary
Emma 5 1/2 months
flashy,fawn,cropped & docked
three skin kids: 8, 5, and 13 months (all girls)

 

[Lisa M]

Originally posted by Divine Boxer
Hey everybody think I may have possibly found me a
Bull Mastiff...sort of. Well actually I saw an ad
and checked it out. Turns out the puppies are half
Bull Mastiff half pit bull. The mother was a pit and
the father a BM. Not quite a BM but almost. The puppies
are all brindle in color and look to be mostly BM.
They seem really healthly and the owners are real nice.
What do you do you all think about this? Good Idea?
I will save a grand as that it was the average BM is
going for. I'm only looking for pet quality anyhow.
Well?

I would not recommend owning this mix, try a bull mastif rescue. Pit bulls need owners who really understand the breed, I would think a pit mixed with a mastif would be even harder to seperate due to larger size.

If you are concerned with cost - visit the shelter. Ours have boxers and bull mastifs and rotties, you can visit with the dog to asses its mature personality a big bonus if you are worried about aggression issues. During the week I got Casper there were four boxers available for adoption at the shelter.

 

[artemis4951]

whoa there. pit bulls aren't bad.

they do require "understanding," especially if they're recuse (older) dogs. but i've never had any problems with any raised lovingly from birth. again, the vet school thing. pit bulls are by nature even bigger babies and even more loving of their families than most other dogs -- they make excellent watch dogs and are absolutely devoted. temperament test the pups that you're thinking of and if they pass, go for it.the only thing that seems fairly uniform and maybe a little suspect about pits is that their sense of territory is pretty strong. while they're not likely to attack you, they feel threatened more easily than do some other types of dogs, especially when strangers invade their space. it's not a problem that would stop me from getting one, but it's something to consider and work against when socializing pups. also, pits are brighter than mastiffs, but they're still not the sharpest pencils in the bunch. your new puppy may be difficult to train for this reason. but if you're like me, you probably had to bribe your boxer after many attempts at training (she's smart, but very pigheaded.)and should find a stubborn/slow dog not to be an unexpected challenge. (bottom line, the pit part of the mix should be fine, especially when mitigated by the mastiff part. but keeping it in mind, you'll probably need to spend more time than usual socializing and training your dog.)

 

[Divine Boxer]

Well folks I got one! I went to check them out, and
both the parents seemed to be real good natured. They
didn't show the least bit of aggressive. Then it came
to the puppies. They were all brindle with either a
light or dark fawn background. There were also 10 of
them so it was a difficult choice. But I came home
with one only one no matter how tempting. I got a male
that had a light fawn background. So far he seems
really sweet, he also looks to have mostly Bull
Mastiff in him from what I can tell so far. He seems
kinda laid back in a way. Well lets just see how it
goes from here.

 

[Christy Burden]

Cool ! ! !

I am glad you made a choice you believed in and it was well thought out. My opinion would have been to get the pup even if it is a mix. I grew up with mix breeds and they were all wonderful. As for the pit bull, well they have a reputation- AS THE BOXER IS NOW GETTING!!!!! You see us boxer owners in here are talking about the pit bulls, but if someone dares talk about our boxers it becomes an issue. I used to have a pit bull purebred when me and my sister were little. She was 3 and I was 8! We found him in the alley and he ran up to us and scared the poop out of us, but we got knocked down to be licked to death. Well, of course we took him home and my dad argued that they were mean dogs, but Mom let us keep him until he got ill and we had to put him down. He had heart problems and my parents did not have the money for any surgeries. Very sad story, sorry! Anyway, my best friend has a BM and she is the laziest, but FRIENDLIEST girl I have seen! She is very protective of my friend though - towards anyone play fighting with her. So at least anyone over at her house treats her right or they have to answer to her "LADY BUG" (her name)! I think this mix you got will be truly wonderful. Sounds like he has a great owner who cares a lot for him. We all know it takes a good owner to make a great dog! Congrads!!!!!!