The American Mastiff is the result of a cross between an English Mastiff and an Anatolian Shepherd. The founder of this breed Frederick Wagner tried to solve the problem of excessive salivation in European mastiffs. The breed is recognized as pure by the American Association of Cynologists, but the world cynological organization does not recognize the American mastiff as a separate breed.
Features
In Russia, dogs of this breed are not very common, American Mastiff puppies are registered in only one organization located in the USA, it includes only 10 people. Therefore, you can buy a real representative of this relatively new breed only from them. Due to the close location of the state of Ohio (where there is a club registering puppies) to Canada, the breed quickly spread in this country, sometimes dogs are called Canadian mastiffs, but this is the wrong name.
Being born dark, puppies brighten during growth, the most common colors of the breed: beige, apricot and tiger. There may be white spots at the ends of the legs and under the chin. Dogs are considered large and keeping in small apartments will be difficult. According to the description the growth of the largest representatives of the breed is 91 centimeters, and the weight can reach 90 kg, the smallest representative registered in the association was 65 cm tall and weighed 63 kilograms.
The mastiff's eyes are a little oval and deep set, they should be dark as well as the muzzle. The ears hang and have a rounded shape. The muzzle of the dogs is elongated, but not sharp, but wide. A muscular neck and wide legs are also hallmarks of dogs. The breed is short-haired, with a slightly harsh coat.
The dog's appearance is a bit like representatives of the fighting breeds. The most important feature of the exterior is the black mask on the face.
Despite the impressive size and external similarity with the fighting breeds, mastiffs have a calm and friendly disposition. Dogs are not very playful, but you need to deal with them. Walking is required, but long running is not recommended due to weak joints of the animal.
Very dedicated in nature, they are more protective. They like to be in the spotlight and be useful to their owners. Mastiffs are wary of strangers, in case of danger they will fully protect a person.
With proper education, they get along well with other pets if they do not feel threatened by them. Get along with the kids, but leaving them alone is not recommended due to the large size of the pets, they can make a careless move and injure or scare the baby. They are well trained., but do not recognize a rude attitude or punishment, they need to look for the right approach.
Of the minuses can be identified laziness and the desire for dominance, dogs are not very active in nature, with age become more passive. Attempts to dominate the owner should be avoided; for this, a person must correctly show his status. The dog must see the leader in the owner and respect him in order to carry out commands and be obedient.
Content and training
It is desirable to keep representatives of such a large breed in the areas of private houses, but at the same time create comfortable conditions for them. Dogs can not stand the cold, so for the winter it is better to take them into the house or put a heater in the aviary. In fairly large quadrature apartments it will not be difficult to contain mastiffs, given their lazy naturebut regular walks and exercises are needed to avoid aggressive outbursts of unspent energy.
You need to try to socialize and educate a dog from an early age, since untamed and ill-bred puppy can grow into an uncontrolled aggressive dogwhich will become a threat to people. American mastiffs very thinly feel weak, so when training the master's voice should be firm and confident.
If you doubt your confidence, then it is better to transfer the training to the hands of specialists who, without punishment and disrespectful attitude towards the dog, will teach her to protect the owner, as well as instill all behavioral norms. Mastiffs rarely enter battle, their protective functions are manifested in an attempt to intimidate and drive away a dangerous stranger from the owner, and not tear to shreds.
The main components of upbringing are the strength of the owner and understanding of the dog. Despite the lazy nature, the mastiff will make attempts to dominate, which must be correctly suppressed.
You can not put emphasis on the protective functions of the dog, if you just need a friend dog. Then you should educate and socialize the pet in other programs.
Care and Feeding
The only care feature is the need claws clipped every two to three weeks. In these pets, the claws do not grind naturally, as in many other breeds, so the owners need to follow this. You need to bathe the dog as it gets dirty, but not more than once every 3 weeks, and if she lives at home, you need to wash your legs and stomach regularly, for this it is better to use a damp cloth.
When eating, food can remain in the folds of the mouth and later lead to infections, so you should wipe your mouth and check the folds for cleanliness. The same applies to the ears: it is worth examining the ears for plaque, wipe them with tampons if they are dirty. During molting, daily combing of the dog is recommended, the rest of the time - 2-3 times a month.
American mastiffs are prone to obesityTherefore, nutrition must be carefully monitored. Dogs should not have open access to food.You can feed them with natural food or special feeds, the main thing is to ensure that the diet of the animal has a sufficient amount of necessary nutrients for the development and maintenance of health. When feeding natural food, you need to include in the menu:
- meat and fish products;
- cereals and offal;
- fruits and vegetables.
It is forbidden to give the following products:
- fried, smoked, too fatty and salty foods;
- sausages and flour products;
- confectionery;
- legumes and potatoes.
With a natural method of feeding, you need to buy vitamins for your pet.
It will be difficult to monitor obesity, because an adult eats about 30 kg of feed per month. The physique is considered normal if the pet has the last two ribs visible when walking.
Purchase
It is not recommended to buy American mastiffs from Russian breeders - the risk of fraud is very high. Puppies officially available only in America, since it is not known whether other breeders are breeding this breed. Due to the small demand and small population, the price of puppies varies from 60,000 to 100,000 rubles.
Mastiffs from America live on average from 11 to 15 years. Many representatives of these dogs still have some genetic diseases, the most popular of them is hip dysplasia. You can learn about the heredity of the disease by carefully studying the pedigree, but the risk still remains. With this disease, proper care and treatment is necessary to avoid disability and death of the pet.
The greatest attention should be paid to puppies up to a year: in what conditions they are kept and how they look. It was revealed that up to a year puppies are most vulnerable to infections and diseases, in particular, to hepatitis.
Do not buy an American mastiff if:
- you are afraid of large dogs;
- You do not have experience in raising and communicating with large breeds;
- there is no free time or you are not ready to spend a lot of time and effort to educate and socialize the pet;
- if you like cleanliness and squeamish about salivating a dog;
- active sports may be your hobby, but not suitable for this breed.
About American Mastiff puppies, see the next video.
