Description

This enormous dog is heavily built, with a heavy, square head and a deep chest. The English Mastiff has small, floppy ears and a large, square muzzle (which is sometimes undershot). The deep chest is also wide, so that the legs are spaced widely apart. The English Mastiff’s tail is high set and long, tapering to a fine point.

Origin: England

Look

The English Mastiff has a short, dense coat. The hair is straight and comes in many colours. Common colours are apricot and fawn, often with black brindle on top. Mastiffs always have a black mask marking on their faces. The English Mastiff sheds heavily, especially as the seasons change. You can brush your English Mastiff to remove excess loose hair.

Health

The English Mastiff is prone to a few health problems:

• Hip dysplasia
• Cystinuria
• Seizures
• Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
• Gastric Torsion (bloat)
• Cancer

At Newdoggy.com we promote reputable breeders, who use genetic testing and good breeding practices to remove genetic conditions from their breeding lines. Newdoggy.com’s Health Guarantee certifies that all promoted puppies are in good health.

Learning

The English Mastiff is calm and quite intelligent. They may seem tough, but they are surprisingly sensitive dogs. Most English Mastiffs respond well to positive reinforcement training methods, with lots of praise and treats! Training is important for such a large dog, as they can easily knock people over with a playful bound. Good manners are essential for this breed.

Temperament

The English Mastiff is incredibly courageous but also incredibly gentle. They are famously calm and sweet tempered, with a somewhat signified air. They are usually polite to strangers unless they feel threatened (due to their nature as a guardian dog). Despite their tough appearance, English Mastiffs are quite sensitive, and may become fearful or aggressive if treated roughly. At the same time, your English Mastiff will need to learn good manners, as a rambunctious English Mastiff can cause chaos simple due to their massive size. Socialisation with other people and animals is important, as an unsocialised Mastiff may behave aggressively in unfamiliar situations. If you start socialisation when your Mastiff is a puppy, they will gain confidence and be able to react calmly to new situations.

Living with

English Mastiffs do very well with older children and even with other pets that they’ve been raised with. They aren’t the best pets for those who are unsteady on their feet, such as older owners or very young children, especially since they are often clumsy as puppies.

Although most English Mastiffs can cope with apartment life, they are much more comfortable living in a house with a yard. Even if you have a yard or garden, your English Mastiff will need daily walking to prevent bored. A bored English Mastiff may become destructive.

If you’ve socialised and trained your English Mastiff properly, you will only have two main problems: copious drooling, and gassiness!