mastiff pups 4 weeks old

The mastiff puppies are 4 weeks old now. They are getting around well and starting to play with each other a lot. They are starting to develop their own little personalities as well. One of the males shows his assertiveness quite a bit more than the others and one of the females is a bit shy, so we are spending a little more time with her.

English mastiff puppies 3 weeks old

The puppies turned 3 weeks old today and all 4 are doing well. They can see now and are walking around, playing and starting to explore a little.

English mastiff pups 2 weeks old

Here is a picture of the english mastiff puppies at 2 weeks old today. They just opened their eyes. If you noticed there are only 4 instead of 5 in this picture, we lost one of the girls this week. We are not real sure what happened. At that early of an age it could have been most anything I guess. Hopefully we are past that stage now. They all seem to be growing well and healthy.

1 week old mastiff puppies

Here is a picture of the 5 puppies at 1 week old. They were born April 27th. They havn't opened their eyes yet. They should in the next week. All of them are brindle colored, fawn and black, just like their parents. There are 3 females and 2 males.

English mastiff and small children

If you were wondering how English mastiffs were with small children, here is a small example. These 2 get along great. However children, especially small children should be supervised with them at all times. These dogs really have no idea just how big and strong they are. To them a playful move could injure a small child easily.

Here are a couple pictures of Yogi and our daughter playing. They have become the best of friends. He loves her to death and watches her every move. She is always hugging on him.

English mastiffs

Here are our 2 English mastiffs Yogi and Maya meeting for the first time. Maya is about 4 months old here and she is a fawn brindle as well, but she is a lot darker than Yogi. We had a good feeling these 2 would produce some great colored puppies.

English mastiff 6 months

Here is a picture of Yogi at a little over 6 months. He is a fawn brindle. At the time he was about 140lbs.

english mastiff family pet

Now, with all that said, those are the standards for ideal dogs and competing in dog shows, and for some people the only legitimate reason for ever breeding a mastiff, or any other breed of dog for that matter. I personally have a difficult time with other people, who do not have a clue about other breeders or their practices making judgements on what one should or should not do. Granted there are a LOT of bad breeders out there who do not do a good job of taking care of their animals and fall into the puppy mill status in my book. Many of the breeders you read about like to talk down about "backyard breeders" as they like to label them. Some of these same breeders if you do your research have multiple females and multiple males for nothing but the sole purpose of breeding. Do the research yourself. On their very own pages they will have (most times a female) "Fido" (or whatever their name may be), and beside it retired. Retired from what?, being a family pet, or retired from having litters of puppies? So would you want a puppy from someone who has 4 or 5 females having litters all the time and making a business out of it (sounds a lot like a puppy mill to me) or from a family with a pair that pays special attention to each one daily.

We have been breeders of labradors for a good amount of time. The difference is, we don't just have the dogs to breed, they are our pets and our friends, raised with our family and children. I have always wanted English mastiffs and the opportunity arose for a really good male whom someone had gotten without realising just how large he was going to be. At 6 months, they decided they had to give it up and I was lucky enough to find him and continue giving him a good home. I was very impressed with the nature of the dog and we decided we wanted a pair, so the search began for a female. After a bit of searching one that we liked was found, and so the story begins.

English mastiff

Englsih mastiffs make great family dogs for the right people. Here is a listing of the breed standard copied right off the AKC site.

Mastiff Breed Standard
Working Group

General Appearance
The Mastiff is a large, massive, symmetrical dog with a well-knit frame. The impression is one of grandeur and dignity. Dogs are more massive throughout. Bitches should not be faulted for being somewhat smaller in all dimensions while maintaining a proportionally powerful structure. A good evaluation considers positive qualities of type and soundness with equal weight.

Size, Proposition, Substance
Size--Dogs, minimum, 30 inches at the shoulder. Bitches, minimum, 27½ inches at the shoulder. Fault--Dogs or bitches below the minimum standard. The farther below standard, the greater the fault.

Proportion--Rectangular, the length of the dog from forechest to rump is somewhat longer than the height at the withers. The height of the dog should come from depth of body rather than from length of leg.

Substance--Massive, heavy boned, with a powerful muscle structure. Great depth and breadth desirable. Fault--Lack of substance or slab sided.

Head
In general outline giving a massive appearance when viewed from any angle. Breadth greatly desired.

Eyes set wide apart, medium in size, never too prominent. Expression alert but kindly. Color of eyes brown, the darker the better, and showing no haw. Light eyes or a predatory expression is undesirable. Ears small in proportion to the skull, V-shaped, rounded at the tips. Leather moderately thin, set widely apart at the highest points on the sides of the skull continuing the outline across the summit. They should lie close to the cheeks when in repose. Ears dark in color, the blacker the better, conforming to the color of the muzzle.

Skull broad and somewhat flattened between the ears, forehead slightly curved, showing marked wrinkles which are particularly distinctive when at attention. Brows (superciliary ridges) moderately raised. Muscles of the temples well developed, those of the cheeks extremely powerful. Arch across the skull a flattened curve with a furrow up the center of the forehead. This extends from between the eyes to halfway up the skull. The stop between the eyes well marked but not too abrupt.

Muzzle should be half the length of the skull, thus dividing the head into three parts-one for the foreface and two for the skull. In other words, the distance from the tip of the nose to stop is equal to one-half the distance between the stop and the occiput. Circumference of the muzzle (measured midway between the eyes and nose) to that of the head (measured before the ears) is as 3 is to 5. Muzzle short, broad under the eyes and running nearly equal in width to the end of the nose. Truncated, i.e. blunt and cut off square, thus forming a right angle with the upper line of the face. Of great depth from the point of the nose to the underjaw. Underjaw broad to the end and slightly rounded. Muzzle dark in color, the blacker the better. Fault snipiness of the muzzle.

Nose broad and always dark in color, the blacker the better, with spread flat nostrils (not pointed or turned up) in profile. Lips diverging at obtuse angles with the septum and sufficiently pendulous so as to show a modified square profile. Canine Teeth healthy and wide apart. Jaws powerful. Scissors bite preferred, but a moderately undershot jaw should not be faulted providing the teeth are not visible when the mouth is closed.

Neck, Topline, Body
Neck powerful, very muscular, slightly arched, and of medium length. The neck gradually increases in circumference as it approaches the shoulder. Neck moderately "dry" (not showing an excess of loose skin). Topline--In profile the topline should be straight, level, and firm, not swaybacked, roached, or dropping off sharply behind the high point of the rump. Chest wide, deep, rounded, and well let down between the forelegs, extending at least to the elbow. Forechest should be deep and well defined with the breastbone extending in front of the foremost point of the shoulders. Ribs well rounded. False ribs deep and well set back. Underline--There should be a reasonable, but not exaggerated, tuck-up. Back muscular, powerful, and straight. When viewed from the rear, there should be a slight rounding over the rump. Loins wide and muscular.

Tail set on moderately high and reaching to the hocks or a little below. Wide at the root, tapering to the end, hanging straight in repose, forming a slight curve, but never over the back when the dog is in motion.

Forequarters
Shoulders moderately sloping, powerful and muscular, with no tendency to looseness. Degree of front angulation to match correct rear angulation. Legs straight, strong and set wide apart, heavy boned. Elbows parallel to body. Pasterns strong and bent only slightly. Feet large, round, and compact with well arched toes. Black nails preferred.

Hindquarters
Hindquarters broad, wide and muscular. Second thighs well developed, leading to a strong hock joint. Stifle joint is moderately angulated matching the front. Rear legs are wide apart and parallel when viewed from the rear. When the portion of the leg below the hock is correctly "set back" and stands perpendicular to the ground, a plumb line dropped from the rearmost point of the hindquarters will pass in front of the foot. This rules out straight hocks, and since stifle angulation varies with hock angulation, it also rules out insufficiently angulated stifles. Fault--Straight stifles.

Coat
Outer coat straight, coarse, and of moderately short length. Undercoat dense, short, and close lying. Coat should not be so long as to produce "fringe" on the belly, tail, or hind legs. Fault Long or wavy coat.

Color
Fawn, apricot, or brindle. Brindle should have fawn or apricot as a background color which should be completely covered with very dark stripes. Muzzle, ears, and nose must be dark in color, the blacker the better, with similar color tone around the eye orbits and extending upward between them. A small patch of white on the chest is permitted.

Faults--Excessive white on the chest or white on any other part of the body. Mask, ears, or nose lacking dark pigment.

Gait
The gait denotes power and strength. The rear legs should have drive, while the forelegs should track smoothly with good reach. In motion, the legs move straight forward; as the dog's speed increases from a walk to a trot, the feet move in toward the center line of the body to maintain balance.

Temperament
A combination of grandeur and good nature, courage and docility. Dignity, rather than gaiety, is the Mastiff's correct demeanor. Judges should not condone shyness or viciousness. Conversely, judges should also beware of putting a premium on showiness.