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Messages - mastiffmomoftwo

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61
Hi Titan's parent.
My name is Chris and I'm very new on this board.
Remember this is just my opinion.

First a question:
1) Is Titan out of hand?  Displaying aggressive behaviour etc?

We got Beau neutered at 8 1/2 months of age and 165 pds.
My vet wanted me to wait as long as possible because giant breeds need that time for their growth plates to close.  My Beau was quite a handful.  He was playing rough etc, but not having had a puppy for 20 years, didn't realize that this was puppy behaviour.  Beau does not have a mean bone in his body.

Knowing what I know now, I WOULD WAIT!  I would get him neutered at about 1 1/2 to 2 years of age.  Remember a mastiff will not stop growing till they are 3-4 years of age.

Please do some more research as well.  I will try to find some stuff for you to read.

There are certain types of sutures that should not be used on mastiff's.  They are allergic to it.

There are certain types of anasthesia that should not be used, again because of a high rate of not waking up.

Is your vet familiar with giant breeds?  Mine is somewhat, and really does her research, but for example when I take him in, she tells me he needs to loose weight.  Now I just tell her he's a mastiff not a greyhound!  I guess my point is that you need to educate yourself and not just take your vets word  on things.  Before Beau was neutered he was gaining 5 pds a week.  After surgery, he gained about 1 pd a month if that.  Do I want a monster dog? No, but I should have let him grow to his full potential.  At 130pds, I think Titan is on the smaller end of the scale.  Now growing them slowly is exactly what you want to do, but he probably won't blossom till he's 3 or 4.  Of course it also depends on his parents.  My Luke for example is only 160 pds, but looks well put together.

As for the surgery itself, Beau did very well.
He did not lick at all.  Didn't even look at himself.
Of course one could not miss the grapefruits hanging between his legs!!!  The swelling went down within 3-4 days.  One positive thing is that Beau still pees girly man style.  He still squats!

I will try to get back to you with some links.


62
Old English Mastiff Discussions / Re: Mastiff behavior issue
« on: March 22, 2008, 01:54:16 pm »
My Luke walks wonderfully beside me, but Beau still becomes enthusiastic when he thinks someone out there wants to fawn over him or he sees a doggie that he wants to meet.
I have a sensible or no pull harness for him that works very well for me.  Make sure that it is tight enough though.
The ring that you hook his leash onto is on the front part of his chest.  When he gets to the end of his leash, or when you pull him, he looses a lot of his body strength because his body goes sideways.  If you have a regular collar on him, try stepping to his side instead of being behind him, and pull towards you.  They aren't able to stay as strong in that position.
Can you go to a neutral area with your dog and a couple of friends that know him, and start off walking past these people with him, and get his attention somehow.  Either call his name and get him to look at you, or if he's food motivated, as you walk by bait him with the treat and tell him what a good boy he's being.
Start doing this with strangers as well.
My Luke would growl and get his back up when I first got him.  He does not like strange men!  I always tell people to ignore Luke totally and to pay attention to Beau.  Luke then goes up to them himself.  Also tell people to hold their hand out to him and not look him in the eye.  Luke does NOT like people going for his head.  It takes a bit of work, but it's been 7 months now and on our last big dog walk, he went up to a group of strangers all by himself!
Huge progress!


63
Old English Mastiff Discussions / Re: TITAN AND HIS CRATE
« on: March 22, 2008, 01:42:07 pm »
Hey that's great.
We did not let Beau into the rest of the house on his own till he was over a year old.  Even now, we baby gate the rest of the house off, and he gets the kitchen, family room and small dog room.  Both the dogs are fine now, but they still like to sleep in their crates, so they are still set up.  I just have taken their doors off.  They both feel very safe
in their crates.






64
Old English Mastiff Pictures / Pics of Beau & Luke (more pics added)
« on: March 22, 2008, 01:35:07 pm »
My brindle mastiff is Beau.  He is a 2 year old neutered male and weighs in at 205 pds.  He still thinks he's a puppy sometimes and has the zoomies around the house or yard.  He's a great sleeper as well.  We have had him since he was 8 weeks old, and although he was a very good pup, I don't think I ever want to do the puppy thing again!  These guys tend to be land sharks, and at times I was very frustrated.  He is mellowing out all the time, and getting him another companion has really helped.











My second Mastiff is Luke.  He is a neutered fawn. We got him end of July 07.
He is 7 years old and a sweetie.  Poor guy has always had skin issues as well as recurring ear infections.  He is also cowhocked which is probably  from poor nutrition while he was growing up.  He is 160 pounds and the best dog we have ever had.  After an evaluation with my homeopath, I am pleased to say that Luke has had no skin or ear issues while with us.
I can't say enough about the people that do rescue, because their evaluation of him was spot on.  He has some issues with strange men, and if they are wearing hats, look out!!!!! :o
I take both my boys everywhere with me, so he has gotten much better with meeting new people.  A couple of times a month we  get together with a large dog walking group in the next city from me (about an hour's drive) and he has met well over 30 giant and large breed dogs and their owners.  He is my shadow.







As you can see he has great wrinkle!





The boys are best friends  ;D
They play together all the time, and when Beau is a little too enthusiastic, Luke tells him so!!!
By the way, Luke came with his name, we did not name him.
So people tell me all the time that it must have been karma!










Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the long story.

Chris

65
Old English Mastiff Pictures / Re: Meet Joe
« on: March 22, 2008, 01:05:23 pm »
What a beauty!
I haven't had too much experience with other large breeds, I have my 2 mastiff's now.  Prior we have always had SPCA specials.
I do know that mastiff's take separation from their owners very hard.  They need constant contact with their people and often guard with strangers.  He will be ok as long as he is introduced to new situations slowly.  He needs to gain the trust of his new people.  However, that being said, they shouldn't let him get away with anything either and should make him work for food, treats, cuddles etc.
When my hubby went to look at Luke (got him from Mastiff rescue) Luke did NOT give him a warm reception.  It took a couple of visits and ignoring him at first before he calmed down.  Now when he went to pick Luke up, Luke walked right up to him, sat down and waited for his leash to go on.  He jumped right into the van and didn't look back.  He has glommed onto me, and very rarely leaves my side.  He is the best dog we have ever owned.

Handsome Joe will be alright!  Especially when he realizes he's got it made!


66
Hi!
My name is Chris and I live in BC, Canada.
I currently have 2 English Mastiff's, 7 cats & no skin kids.
I volunteer at my local SPCA and am very active in fundraising
for them.
Life is generally busy, to say the least.
I have been lurking for a while now.
I love my big paws.


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