Considering an AMERICAN MASTIFF ?
Want to know what they are
all about ?
The
American Mastiff is a fairly new breed . Foundation breeder is out of Piketon Ohio , Fredericka
Wagner of Flying W Farms. I wont speak much of her because I think its more important to speak of myself ,share my own experiences
and my goals for the Breed. I started on my American Mastiff journey in 2002. I have raised , shown, worked, bred,
trained, Rescued and boarded dogs literally all my life. I am almost an antique. I chose the American Mastiff breed
shortly after being on recess from my Australian Cattle Dog journey of 22 years. Having bred them for so long, seeing them
go from a " MUTT "or non registered dog to the AKC show rings was an amazing thing.
Very often I hear people question the authenticity of the American Mastiff. Some
comments have been, " The American Mastiffs are Mutts" The American Mastiffs are aggressive, I would never get a
dog that has Anatolian in them, The AMs arent pure breds, the breders are in it for the money, it goes on and on. So let me
clarify some of the listed. MUTT. What exactly does MUTT mean ? It means a dog which has an untracible genetic past, also
means a dog of several or many breeds in its genitics or a dog that is not recognised or registered by a registry. For
example, our Lab got hooked up with the neighbors Rotty Shepard cross. This would be a MUTT. Some breeds that at one time
or another that were considered MUTTS were The Australian Cattle dogs, Officially Recognised in 1980 by AKC, The Anatolian
Shepards ,Officially Recognised in 1996 by AKC ,The Akita, Officially recognised by AKC in 1972. These are just some
fairly new dogs to the registry. At one point in time , all 3 of these breeds as all others were considered to be MUTT
At what point does a dog become a PURE BRED DOG? Heres how that works: Their is a " Breed Standard "
for all pure bred dogs. The Breed Standard is a guide line of standards to be followed and upheld by all breeders responsible
for reproducing stock or" Puppies ". For example, The Australian Cattle dogs standard is as
follows, a strong compact dog,should show ability to move stock,Loyal dogs, head ,strong but in balance to its overall
body confirmation,Hindquarters ,broad,strong and muscular. coat, smooth with a two layer coat,an undercoat and a longer secondary
coat, Color, blue , Red and red or blue speckle. Height Males 18-20 inches, Females 17-19 inches at the withers.Temperament,
Loyal and protective. So those are some examples of the " Breed Standard "for the Australian Cattledogs.
When a dog is recognised by a Registry it then is the responsibility of the breeder to uphold the BREED STANDARD. for
a dog to be excepted into a registry , its a process of proving a standard. In other words, a dog of consistant standards
is more likely to be excepted by a registry than one that does not hold a standard. So lets say your Bull dog got into your
neighbors yard and breed to their Shih Tzu dog. for some funny reason you thought these were wonderful puppies. They were
beautiful, wonderful temperaments and were healthy as well as loved children. Not a pure bred dog , simply a MUTT. BUT, if
you were to continue to breed this cross and you came up with a consistent standard, COLOR, HEIGHT, TEMPERAMENT, MOVEMENT
ETC you could then possible get a registry to approve your breed and register them as a PURE BRED dog. If that were the case
then it would be up to the breeders and their responsibility to uphold the
" BREED STANDARD
" Do breeders always uphold the standard ? Noooooo. But that doesent stop breeders from continuing their lines. ( unfortunately
) So with that said the agumant with regards to the AMERICAN MASTIFF and it being a "PURE BRED DOG "or not
a pure bred dog is faulse. YES, it is a pure Bred dog. Why? Because it holds a standard and is recognised by a Registry.
Do all breeders up hold the Standard ? Nope , as with many and most other breeds. A puppy is only as good as the team it has
been delt. The breeder must do their due diligence to uphold and continue the breed standard. Lets take the Damation
for example. The Dalmation is a dog of medium size, white in color with black or Liver spots. Very often when breeding
you will produce puppies that lack the standard. So being that the dog has less spots would it be less desirable than
lets say , one that had a lot of spots, Dalmations have spots ! So yes that pup should be sold as " Not to breed standard
" the Dalmaion is known for its spots, you would assume that a Dalmation that lacked spots or had very little spots
would be less desirable than those of many spots. Are these puppies of less value ? Not necesarly unless your looking
to reproduce or show them in the ring. A Dalmation that lacks spots does not meet the " Breed Standard " therefore
to breed a Dalmation that lacked in Standard would be irrespnsible of the breeder. Again, their are breeders out there that
dont focus on their breed standard. I personally thrive on breed standard and do my very best to reproduce pippies that
hold the breed standard. I absolutly DO NOT breed a pup that lacks the breed standard. So Their ya go. The American Mastiff
just as the Australian Cattle Dog, The Akita, and the Anitolian Shepard are in fact PURE BRED DOGS.
American Mastiffs are aggressive ! So lets touch on this somewhat common comment. As a Behavioral Specailist of 33
yrs, specailizing in Aggression and bad behaviors, who better to educate you on " Aggression " thank myself? Yes,
American Mastiffs can be aggressive. SO CAN CHIHUAHUAs !!! and Labs, and Pittys and Poodles and on and on and on. Heres the
thing : A dogs behavior can stem for many of different reasons. A few to name, Breeding or the lack of quality of breeding,
or responsible breeding. Environment , huge for a dog. Training or lack of, behavior allowance. The behaviros that you allow
your dog. Frustration, a frustrated dog. All of these things and more could lead up to an aggressive dog. Is it fare to say
a dog is aggressive because of the breeder? Is it r=fare to say a dog is aggressive because of the owner ? yes and yes but
only after a proffesional behavioral specailist has evaluated you dog. I dont mean a VET and I dont mean a Dog trainer. I
mean someone that has a Lot of background experience in aggression and bad behaviors. Trainers are normally all about positive
repetitive , treat based training. These tactics will NOT help you to understand your dogs behaviors. They are trainers, they
traind dogs. Your average dog trainer took a 10 month traing course because they love dogs. The American Mastiff is a protective
but Non aggressive dog. THIS IS THE STANDARD for the breed. Does this mean that some breeders breed dogs that carry an undesirable
aggressive genitic fault? Absolutly. Some breeders dont have the option to have 12 dogs. They raise a dog to be 2 yrs old with
the full intension of breeding the dog to their bitches. ( or Females ) not all but a lot of breeders dont have the
funds to Cull ( Take out or rid of ) a 2 yr old male. So for example. The dog meets the breed standard in hight, color,
weight and apearance as well as offers a beautiful look, BUT he tends to be aggressive towards strangers, and has food
aggression. he is also a bit shy of shiney objects and does not settle well in new environments . But this is the
ONLY male they have for their breeding program. So they settle in their mind and tell themselves , Hes beautiful ! Hes great
with our family , just doesnt like strangers and hes a home body because he doesnt like to go to town and doesnt like
new surroundings. But again they have no other choice because hes the only male they have. So guess what? They breed him ,He
produces puppies that have his genetic fault. YES these are genetic faults and a dog that examples these behaviors should
by no means be put into a breeding program. Do some breeders do it ? YEP ! and that is your responsibility to educate
yourselves with regards to a reputable breeder. I personally evaluate my dogs , all of them prior to breeding.
If their temperament if faulty, shows any sign of aggression or lack breed standard, They are NOT bred. I have Culled out
aprox 16 dogs from my program that were raised to the age of 1 -2 yrs old. I would say on the average of every 10 dogs that
I Keep for my program, 4-6 make the program. the others are Culled out and rehomed. Very often that an American Mastiff
shows any sign of aggression, the dog lack strong leadership. Therefor the dog falls into its breed insticts and over guards.
This is an allowed behavior that lots of dog owners are guilty of , not just the American Mastiffs. I personally guarentee
my dogs Temperament and health. If for some reason a pup is showing signs of bad behaviors or aggression, I am here for my
clients. If a pup or dog is truly aggressive, I surly do not want my name on that dog. The dog is immidatly to come back to
the ranch for further evaluation and deemed one way or the other. If a one of my pups is deemed aggressive ,I WOULD ABSOLUTLY
take the dog back and offer anothr puppy that exampeled the breed standard. Have I ever run into this problem? Absolutly,
Id be lying if I were to tell you otherwise. This has happened 2 times in all my years with my AMs and both clients now have
another Puppy and are very happy and content with their new dog. Again, I guarentee my lines for health and temperament.
BREEDERS ARE IN IT FOR THE MONEY !!! Come on , is this really a fair statement ? Not if your talking about me,
because I am still not rich but I am DOG BROKE !!! My dogs are very well cared for. They have beautiful runs, indoor and out
door access. They all are very well fed, vetted, cared for, exercised and trained. This take an enourmous amount of time and
detication. Most all of my American Mastiffs are CGC cetified and registered service / companion dogs . Are some
breeders in it for the money ? YEP ! again, your responsibility to fine and educate yourselves with regards to a reputable
breeder. Lots of really irresponsible breeders out there. I am not one of them ! My suggestion is to visit several breeders.
If they have a dump of a kennel, filthy un kept facility, dogs that are not trained or socailized , theirs your sign. I am
always happy to have visitors to our ranch, to meet myself, my family and our dogs. If you dont leave her amazed , I would
be shocked. I am very proud of our rannch and all that we put into it for all of our animals.
I have raised aprox 30 AMs to an adult age.Some made my breeding program, others did not. What would cause
a dog to not qualify for my program and what are some of the things that would qualify a dog? I know the breed well and spend
all day with them. They are what I do !!!!!
The American Mastiffs also known as AMs are BIG
( can range any-wear from 130 to 200+ ) give or take.= ) The AMs require daily exercise and ALOT of socializing starting at
a very young age.They are very easily trained if your consistent and direct.The AMs are VERY loyal and are not big roamers.
They Love the fire place in the winter and an air conditioner in the summer. They do well in your back yard and make great
indoor /out door pets. If you plan on putting an AM in your back yard and not incorporating it into your daily lives, DON'T
GET AN AMERICAN MASTIFF. These dogs need a lot of social interaction. If they don't get it your in trouble. If you plan on
keeping your AM in your home during the day while you are gone DO NOT GET AN AMERICAN MASTIFF ! They NEED the indoor / out
door availability and will create bad habits when alone and board. I HIGHLY recommend and I say HIGHLY ,building a Kennel
( not a crate ) in your garage that has a dog door to an out side run. This will allow a safe environment for your dog while
you are away, all while offering the puppy / dog a secure safe indoor room. If you plan on leaving your puppy / dog in a crate
while you are at work or for 2 or more hrs during the day DON'T GET AN AMERICAN MASTIFF ! To sum it up, They are BIG, LOYAL,SMART,
PROTECTIVE ( but not aggressive ) dogs that will thrive if you are not a push over . Any questions e mail me at lotsaminis@aol.com or call 707-257-2957 or 707-363-7998. I also text ; )
