Bullmastiffs

[Tracy DeBerry]

Hey, all.

I'd like to get everyone's experience with, and thoughts/feelings on Bullmastiffs.

I've had a longstanding appreciation for, well, a lot of different breeds; but Bullmastiffs have been one. Don't worry, I've said in times past that I intend to always have a Doberman. I am someone who is always trying to learn, to explore and to be open minded though. I admit that I sometimes fantasize about the good qualities of another breed.

Really I want an alert, capable guard dog that is a great deterrent via its physical appearance; but the Doberman's high prey drive and high exercise needs are a downside to me. A major downside to the Bullmastiff is the drool.

I found this very interesting thread from a forum called mollosserdogs.com:

working Bullmastiffs :: Forum

I really like that thread because it talks about a most important topic: Will a Bullmastiff protect naturally with no testing or training? Some say the Doberman will. Some say the Bullmastiff will. Some say neither will.

I also love that breed. I used to have a female . She was a big baby, but very protective of her family. She was also very smart. She did drool, but I didn't find that it wasn't tolerable. A great breed and one of my favorites for sure !

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Looked in on Americana Cane Corso's 'book page.

Check out this gnarly, big rugged looking dude. This is a Mastiffy looking Italian Mastiff. No Boxer evident here.

Weird that his tail looks as thick as her hand!

(Photo credit: Americana Cane Corso)

 

[Lizbeli]

^ Dog looks like a bear! Agree, crazy how the tail looks so thick. Can definitely tell thats a large dog with a nice big head.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

^ Dog looks like a bear! Agree, crazy how the tail looks so thick. Can definitely tell thats a large dog with a nice big head.

They call him Ursa.

I just need this breeder to talk to me about health and temperament! I see very little info about either.

He says we are welcome to come visit. They are located like a couple hours or less away.

One question that has occurred to me is: Is a big, stocky, heavy boned (some may perhaps even overdone?) Cane Corso like pictured just above going to have the same physical drawbacks as a big, thick, stocky, overdone Euro-style Dobe? Movement? Endurance? Longevity? Joint problems? Some, or none of the above?

 

[Lizbeli]

Im sure it does affect their agility. Definitely would want to see if their hips got tested. They probably have trouble in the heat too, but tbh Jasper doesn’t seem to fare well in the sun. He dehydrates so fast.

Are you looking for a dog to compete with? Or just a well bred companion/guardian?

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Im sure it does affect their agility. Definitely would want to see if their hips got tested. They probably have trouble in the heat too, but tbh Jasper doesn’t seem to fare well in the sun. He dehydrates so fast.

Are you looking for a dog to compete with? Or just a well bred companion/guardian?

Not to compete with. That involves way too much driving a car.

I want a well bred companion/GUARDIAN.

 

[rowrow]

The corso are great dogs that require training as in any dog. I shown corso before they were AKC. They became popular and started falling in the wrong hands and people started breeding them for money. Bigger is not always better, if you look they were farm dogs that worked. If you look at the history, you would never see a 150lb corso. Their are good breeders and bad ones. I love the corso but sometime its hard to look at them now and see what some have done to this wonderful breed. My kids grew up with them, they were house dogs that I train them, showed them and love them. This is all written IMO.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Yes, it seems a very common theme: So many breeds back when they were doing what they were intended to do were smaller.

It's pretty clear which type of Corso I would need if I wanted it to run with me, go on semi-challenging hikes, to play frisbee in warm weather or stay engaged in a fight with aggressive human attackers in hot weather. It would be the smaller, more Boxer-y type that I posted a couple pics of above, not the large, coarse, heavy ones I posted pics of.

Still, the deterrent factor would go to the large, heavy ones; and deterrence is 99.8% of the war.

 

[jazzies mum]

Saw the really old movie Turner and Hooch for the first time last night. Don't know how I never saw it before. This is what I think of when I think of bullmastiffs! I know Hooch is a Dogue De Bordeaux but it's still what comes to mind!

Apart from the huge sloppy head he did have a very muscular body that impressed.

 

[MyBuddy]

Hey, @Oh Little Oji did you see the commercial with the Bull Mastiff??? You'll laugh that I remember the Mastiff and not the product! Husband and wife making up their bed and smelling the freshly washed duvet. In walks Mastiff (with a little drool!) who wants to smell too. He jumps on the bed, rolls around and sprawls into a sleeping position! Good looking dog, too! I think it was for something like Downy.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Hey, @Oh Little Oji did you see the commercial with the Bull Mastiff??? You'll laugh that I remember the Mastiff and not the product! Husband and wife making up their bed and smelling the freshly washed duvet. In walks Mastiff (with a little drool!) who wants to smell too. He jumps on the bed, rolls around and sprawls into a sleeping position! Good looking dog, too! I think it was for something like Downy.

I did see that commercial! I notice, too, that in some versions of the ad they show the Bullmastiff at the end of the commercial with a string of drool hanging from its mouth.

 

[MyBuddy]

I notice, too, that in some versions of the ad they show the Bullmastiff at the end of the commercial with a string of drool hanging from its mouth.

Oh did they?? LOL. I didn't see that. He was cute though, wasn't he?

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Okay, I find this very very interesting. This seems too tidy. By the way, I keep gaining information by being signed up for the "insta." This is a post from a Canis Panther owner who had her dog DNA tested. What do ya' know? These are the four breeds that are said to make up the breed Canis Panther. I thought an example of this breed would be more sloppily composed; but no, apparently this dog is made up of those four breeds. I'd love to find genetic breakdowns of other CP specimens. I imagine that, at least, the proportions of the breeds vary? I know the breed's originators talked about some looking more like AmStaffs, and I know I see some that look more like Danes, and some that look more like Dobes.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

@Lizbeli , check out Senza Tempo Cane Corso's U toob for a vid from August 25 of this year.

You said you wish she'd breed Preacher more going forward. Turns out she agrees with you. She explains it all, and that she is going to purchase, soon, a large black female who has had one litter and is from a breeder she knows and is a good match and a good situation.

I look forward to seeing what develops.

Preacher, in several ways, is a Cane Corso that I'd like to have. He's not that big-boned, Rustic type that I like the looks of, but... He's finer boned, yet thick in build and muscled and amazingly quick and fast. His head is good and we can see through the videos he doesn't drool much. His temperament seems very stable, and he's the Alpha male. (I just wish his tail was docked shorter!) (oh, and that he wasn't pink under the tail there )

 

[Lizbeli]

@Oh Little Oji

Yes I actually watched that yesterday! I was really excited. But then I checked her instagram and im not sure how I feel about the female. But there were only two photos of her. I was considering placing a deposit on that litter when it becomes available, but honestly I have been going back and fourth if I want two dogs at a time. And whether or not it would be a doberman.

I love Preacher. He has an amazing temperament if you watch her videos. Very level headed, no nonsense dog. Temperament seems to be one thing that can go sideways with this breed, if you know what I mean. So I like that I can watch her dogs regularly and get an idea of how they behave in social encounters.

Here is that new female. Screenshots from her instagram. Hard to judge by these photos. Her legs look short? Maybe its the angle.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Yeah, initial reaction is her head is too small. Nice expression though. Some more I could say, but:

After appreciating Preacher, I happened to watch Senza Tempo CC's vid of their visit to a breeder where they got to meet the following CC: Sangue Magnifica ZZ Top.

This dog, to me, is the same overall type as Preacher but he doesn't have the things that I don't like about Preacher (most notably, ZZ Top has thicker limbs). So I don't know how I can wind up with a CC that is of the quality of ZZ Top, but I'm just making a note of it.

 

[Lizbeli]

Sangue Magnifica ZZ Top

I follow them on instagram too. Definitely agree he is like the same type as Preacher. Which is probably why I really like him. They have a lot of photos even with some other males that look appealing.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Okay, I learned something more from the interwebs the other day.

Remember that post I made regarding the big black Cane Corso of that internet personality named Jason Corey? He has a whole U toob channel or whatever devoted to his dog. I posted a video of him trying out a bite sleeve with his 150+ lb. CC for the first time. The dog did great – took to it like a Dobe from decent working lines. Shocked the heck out of me. The dog even went all 4 off the ground jumping in for a full-mouth bite on the sleeve.
This surprised me so much because I assumed the dog was from a breeder who bred for looks and "superior" size. Really, it quite elevated my opinion of the breed that such a dog would naturally possess such capability/tendency. (by comparison, my first Doberman who was from a hobby breeder would scarcely bite a sleeve at all and when he did, it was with his canines)

Well, Mr. Corey actually revealed recently the breeder from which he got his big boy.

I pulled up their website and sheesh! Just looking at their latest breeding is like Wow in terms of the titles on the sire and dam! I've never seen so many.

Sire: IPO 3, High In Trial

Dam: a Champion with BN, RN, CA, DN CGCA, CGCU, TKI, ATTS, TD, IPO BH (and OFA Excellent, Normal Elbows)

Breeder is Italica Cane Corso

I have little doubt that I could not afford a CC from this breeder.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Another breeder is Outlaw Cane Corso in Louisiana. This breeder, judging by their website, is pretty hardcore and I like it. They favor the working temperament and structure. They claim to be "true" and "old style" (like a few different breeders seem to – ha).

I tell you what though: I've been thinking it would be good to get my hands on some books on the breed, as I did in my early days of experience with Dobes. Well, on Outlaw's website are a few articles written by a man who is apparently vitally important in the revival of the breed, Dr. Paolo Breber. I was thinking of copying and pasting the articles here (the website encourages us to share) but I'll just paste in the breeder's website:

Cane Corso behavior - Outlaw Kennel

Very informative and extraordinary articles.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

I've read some things recently about Cane Corsos that had me thinking I should go for a breeder that values working temperament. I've seen too many accounts of shy, fearful Corsos. I know the breed is in "recovery," and the physical type and the temperament varies. That's a scary thing to a puppy buyer My number one fear has always been getting a wimp of a dog. My number two fear is getting an ugly dog – especially one that is not impressive looking.

Unfortunately, Outlaw Cane Corso charges $2800 - $3800 for a pup and are quite a long drive away from me (added money) and as with the majority of Corso breeders do not include ear cropping in the price of the pup!

Of course, I'd also be concerned I may be getting something too similar to a Dobe in terms of exercise/stimulation needs, energy level, prey drive (SO done with prey drive) and I wonder about whining.