Otis the Mastiff

[GR8DAME]

I'll toss my hat in too and say that I would also take a mastiff over an Aussie. Not that I think that Aussies are not perfectly wonderful for people with very physically active lifestyles, I just don't think that I could cope with the type A personality of an Aussie.
As far as affording multiple dogs, after a while, you really don't notice the extra expense. The yearly vet visit is timed with our income tax refund arrival because it is a good chunk of change to take all three in, but other than that, the occaisional emergecy is doable because they have been few and far between. We eat more hamburger than steak, and a vacation to the Bahamas is a pipe dream, but I really like camping better anyway. My skin-kids and hockey is more of a financial drain than the dogs, any given year.
Stella

[Moni]

If you do get the aussie NEVER try to corner it, they will snap. 

I thought that you had a lot of good points about aussies.. but this line worried me.   

I've known many aussies and although they can be "reserved" with strangers, reserved does not mean skittish, shy and scared.  It means "ok my Mom/Dad says you can pet me, but if I don't know you I could care less about you".  I don't believe snapping if cornered is an aussie trait, that sounds like the reaction of a frightened dog.  My current aussie boy, Mojo, has his CGC and my deaf and blind aussie, Zephyr, was the sweetest angel in the world when he was around. 


Also aussies shouldn't act like they're crackheads all day.  lol  They need to be taught a "settle" command when they're younger.  Most breeders with working lines can't believe that people think aussies have to be on the go 24/7.  The reason I prefer aussies to Border Collies is because they have the gusto to go all day, or chill on the couch/bed/floor for a day with you(though they DO need work and jobs to do, they can't do nothing everyday).  They don't care what they're doing as long as they're doing it with their owners. 


BTW  where is this aussie that needs a home and what information is there about him?  I know most sane people would pick a mastiff over an aussie, but aussies are my heart and soul(yes even over dear Tenchi, but don't please don't tell him, its an extremely close 2nd).  Good luck with whatever you decide. 

Moni

[chaos270]

The reason I said that is most aussies I have known would snap if you tried to corner them. One was in an abusive situation but another was the sweetest girl in the world who I grew up with.  She was our babysitter and would keep herd on all of us and the other pets. But if you tried to put her in a corner she would go to bite....I think it mostly stems from the strong herding urge and that they don't like to be gotten the better of.  Lacey is definitely one that can't be cornered except maybe by me or my mom.  She also can't handle strangers but we're working to get her better about it. So I was just speaking from my experience and it is something to beware of if you are considering an aussie because it could be a possible problem.

[paharts]

i think lots of exposure to different things is invaluble for any breed at all ages. i also think that there are exceptions to every 'rule'. growing up in a breeding show home, we had many Mastiffs and we only had a couple that were not like the others. one became kennel shy [i was too young to know the details] and another became dangerous because of the way he was raised by the family that bought him [he was a puppy from my bitch's 1 litter and became food protective, charged at a kid while on a walk, and tried to 'get' my mom outside the show ring]. the one that was kennel shy had to be put to sleep and the other 'disappeared' despite our best efforts .

i guess what i'm trying to say is that any dog can develop issues regardless of our best intentions. a high energy working dog that is already an adult, has been caged a lot, & is scared of people will require plenty of rehabilitation & time. and a generally low energy dog will require its moments of playtime with plenty of socialization so it doesn't develop any neuroticies (sp?). this bit has nothing to do with breed.

BTW - my mom now has an Am Staff that they adopted from the animal shelter. he is the MOST sweetest, loving boy in the world. i don't like him called a pit bull because 1) of the negative stigma attached and 2) he has never fought in the pits, um, that we know of.

[ilovebabe]

how old is he ?

[paharts]

um -- not sure which 'he' you are asking about
Bacchus, the Aussie, is 10 months
Otis, the Mastiff, is 2 year old male brindle

Dudley, the Am Staff, is ...

OMG..... it was Feb. 1995.  holy cow how time flies ...... we feel he was around 9 months but they say 1 year. soooooo that makes him around 12 years old. i can not believe this

[kristi]

UPDATE......
I have decided - after a lot of thought & sadness that we may not be the right home for Otis and/or he may not be the right addition to our current family...
I am sad for selfish reasons, he's so sweet & loveable... But I am confident that he will find a good home.
I have passed all of his info on to Julie & told her all of my "findings" after spending time with him. She said she will contact his owner, etc.
I will continue to keep my eyes & ears open... the right one is out there somewhere...
-k.

[paharts]

i'm sorry kristi. that must have been a very hard decision to make.
hopefully julie wioll post that they decided to 'take the plunge' into multi-dog-dom

[kristi]

HOORAY!!!
-k.

[Boyle]

I talked with Otis' owners also and let them know that I would be able to foster if they aren't able to find a forever home soon. 

Julie, I have a mastiff so I am prejudiced.  They are wonderful companions and we don't know what we would do without Nola.  Good luck with tomorrow's get together.  I hope it goes well for all of you. 

[kristi]

Jules-
I don't think it will be a problem... he's not very alpha.
Sampson is fixed (he's - he didn't care there were no issues here on either dogs part...
Good luck! I'm so excited for you!
-k.
ps. call me & tell me how it goes!

[Lyn]

I've been following this thread.. and I just wanted to say I hope everything goes well. Paws crossed. 

[GR8DAME]

Julie,
I have had more problems with my female adjusting to other dogs than any of my males, not matter what the sex of the newcomer. Even my extremely dominent intact male doberman lived in harmony with another intact male dog. It really depends on the personality of the boys involved, and you'll have to try it and see. They may take a bit to work out the logistics of a new pack dynamic, but it can potentially be just fine.
Stella

[paharts]

recent personal experience:
we just added a 3 yr intact mastiff male (pre-named Elvis) to our crew. Kado is about 5 yrs old & was neutered a few years ago. they are doing quite well.

i had all the concerns that i see expressed here. i did not get to meet E before he came today about 6 hours ago. we have a very large yard so let E explore it, mark, & get a bit used to us. then we let out Holi but he was so exuberant in his wanting to meet her that he scared her. this did not surprise us since she is generally timid of dogs, esp. large one's since K ran her over. we put her back in the house & brought out Rosie. she is also timid around others & again, he was so exuberant that he scared her.

let me add some background on Elvis. the woman we got him from is in the military & married. she got E when he was a baby & she had a 2 yr daughter [now 5 yr]. she now also has 3 yr & 12 mth old daughters & they are trying for another child. she discovered that with working & caring for everyone, there was not much left to give E the attention he deserves. he got fed 5.5 cups at night then walked & then walked the next morning. beyond that, nothing much was done with him so i expected him to be quite excited when he got here. back to my experience today ...

we put Rosie back into the house, put a leash back on E's buckle collar, put a choker & leash on Kado, then did the scary act of introducing 2 adult male dogs. well ... everything went without a hitch! after a while we removed K's leash then eventually released E. by then E was pretty tired but they played lightly anyway. everyone is in the house now & E has been panting almost constantly; collars are still on the boys "just in case". we currently have E crated to try to get him calmed down.
     the worst part is all the humping! i know it is part of figuring out who's what but it does get obnoxious after a while. E keeps licking K's p***s and air-humping. K has growled at & snapped towards E to get some space. this has been going on for a while. when it was time for dinner, we gave E 2c food then ended up putting him back in the crate for digestion.

I am thrilled that things are going so well. i have introduced many dogs but my only experience with 2 males [both intact] resulted in a big fight. i would like to ask some questions. am I getting happy to soon? should i expect things to get more tense later? when will the humping stop??
thank you all for the advise. i'm hoping this will help julie & gweck with their current hopeful situation.

[paharts]

i am SO happy for you all!! about Otis, that is. the computer thing sucks
i look forward to hearing how well Otis is settling in once your visitors leave