Old English Mastiff : This is a dog with enormous size but, gentle and calm in nature. We can call them gentle giants with lots of love and loyalty towards their owners. This is a perfect companion most of us will like to have with such a big size. This breed can be owned by little bit lazy people but, experienced dog owners. They are fearless and intimidating but, are calm breed.
Old English Mastiff Origin
Old English Mastiff is the oldest dog breed known in the United Kingdom. They are believed to be there in England from around 2000 years ago. As Old English Mastiff is present before the times of written records keeping on dog breed, the actual origin of this breed is in the debate. Many theories are there. Large mastiff-like dogs are depicted in Egyptian and Mesopotamian artifacts. They are believed to be brought from Asia by Phoenician traders. They were used for guarding livestock, estate, ranch etc from wild animals like bears.
- In around 15th and 16th century they were used for hunting bull, bear and even lion. Around the 19th century, their role came to guarding and as a companion to people.
- The first breed standard of Old English Mastiff was written in 1859 by Dr. John Henry Walsh in The Dog in Health & Disease.
- In 1948, the United Kennel Club (UKC) fully recognized the Mastiff as the English Mastiff.
Old English Mastiff Temperament
Old English Mastiff is a perfect companion dog of very large size. They have everything in their nature which you will want to be in your pet as a companion. Old English Mastiff is even-tempered, gentle, calm and extremely loyal to their owners. They are extremely devoted to their owners and form a very close and intense bond with their owners. Never try to kennel your English Mastiff or leave them alone for longer periods of time as it leads to serious separation anxiety because they can’t live without their people. They are big lap babies who don’t know their large size and love to sit on laps of their owners. As they have high protective instinct and are fearless, you need to socialise them to get along with strangers that don’t harm the owners. One more positive trait of this breed is that although they don’t back down, they don’t easily attack anyone until severely provoked. They just pin the threat or corner it till owners arrive.
They are too good and gentle with children and can tolerate well rough play. But, young Mastiffs are quite playful and can knock down children and hurt them unintended. So, you should be careful with young Mastiffs and children around them.
They get along with other dogs well and can live in multi dogs family. However, due to high territorial instinct, they don’t do well with same sex dogs. They do okay with other non canine pets if grown up with them.
They are intelligent but, are stubborn. Therefore early training is must in this breed.
Old English Mastiff Physical Appearance
English Mastiff is a very large sized and muscular dog. They are the heaviest dogs in the canine world. They are rectangular proportioned i.e. body length is more than their height. They are incredibly bulky in the build. The chest is wide and deep.
Head is wide and blocky and not long. They have a short muzzle and are brachycephalic. The muzzle is pointed slightly upwards. Head and muzzle is covered with thick wrinkles. Ears are small compared to head and are triangular in shape with rounded tips. Ears are set close to head. Muzzle and eyes are dark like a mask.
They are double coated having a soft and dense inner coat and short and rough outer coat. Coat colors come in brindle, fawn, and apricot. Brindles can have fawn or apricot as base colors. Little white patches on the chest are allowed.
The tail is long and thick at the base which tapers towards the end tip. The tail is held straight with a slight curve at end.
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Old English Mastiff Size
- Height
- Male – 30 inches minimum
- Female – 27.5 inches minimum
- Weight
- Male – 150 to 250 pounds
- Female – 120 to 180 pounds
- FCI Classification
- Section – Section 2.1, Molossian: Mastiff type
- Group no 2
- Date of acceptance – 11/5/1964
- Country of origin – Great Britain
- Standard no 264
Old English Mastiff Grooming
As English Mastiff is a large size dog you should make your dog used to grooming from very early life of your dog. Brush your English Mastiff’s coat once a week with rubber curry brush or by dog gloves. Regularly you can rub your wet hands on its coat in opposite direction of hair to make it clean. You should give bath to your dog when it is either dirty or giving bad odour.
As your English Mastiff has wrinkly face, care of wrinkles is necessary to avoid infections in these layers. Clean your dog’s wrinkle folds first with wet washcloth and then dry them with dry soft cloth. Always check for debris or bad odour in these wrinkles. If necessary please consult your vet.
You should brush your dog’s teeth at least two to three times a week or if possible daily to keep your dog’s oral health to optimum.
Clean your dog’s ears once a week with ear cleaner and cotton balls. Always check for smell or build up in ears.
Nails of your dog should be trimmed once a week.
Old English Mastiff Nutrition
When your English Mastiff is a pup and young always offer medium protien and fat diet to make them grow little bit slowly to avoid increasing pressure on their joints. You can feed your dog premium quality dog food tailored for large breeds. Their food should contain 20 to 25% protien and 12 to 18% fat.
- You should keep away foods like corn, wheat and diary products as they are allergic to these foods.
- Adult English Mastiff should be fed twice daily to avoid bloating which is a life threatening condition.
- Always keep clean water available for your English Mastiff.
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Old English Mastiff Training
When you bring your English Mastiff pup home bond it with love and care. Then start to make it know it’s place in the pack gently and win respect. Early training is very much necessary for your dog who becomes enormous in size when it grows up. They do very well in training when you are able to have its attention on you. So, when they look upon you when you call, reward them with words of appreciation in positive tone. Then engage them for a short session of training. They do very well with positive tone of your voice and treats when they perform correctly. When they don’t follow your command then say “no” to them firmly. They love to please their owners.
As they come from gaurding background, early socialisation is must for this breed from very early.
Old English Mastiff Health Challenges
Old English Mastiffs largely suffer from hip and elbow dysplasia and to tearing the ligaments in their hind legs. Other structural ailments they suffer from are Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy and Panosteitis. They also suffer from eye conditions like Cataract, Distichiasis, Ectropion, Entropion etc.
The other health issues in this breed are
- Hypothyroidism
- Cancer
- Heart diseases
- Epilepsy
- Cystinuria
- Spondolitis
- Wobblers syndrome
- Bloating and
- von Willebrand’s Disease
Litter size of Old English Mastiff is 5 to 10 puppies.
Life expectancy of Old English Mastiff is 10 to 12 years.
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