English Mastiff Temperament and Health

Mastiff breed is a combination of grandeur, dignity, and courage; calm and affectionate to its master, but capable of guarding. The breed is innately good natured, calm, easygoing, and surprisingly gentle. It is a well-mannered house pet but needs sufficient room to stretch out. This is an extremely loyal breed and, though not excessively demonstrative, it is devoted to its family and good with children. However, it can be very protective of its owners and must be handled sensibly, since it is exceptionally powerful and can be difficult to control. When an “unrecognisable” visitor enters the home, the Mastiff will usually place itself between its master and the visitor until their master has recognized the visitor in a way that appears to be compassionate or friendly.

This is a particularly large dog demanding correct diet and exercise. The expected lifespan is 9 to 11 years.

Major issues include hip dysplasia and gastric torsion. Minor problems include obesity, osteosarcoma, and cystinuria. Problems only occasionally found include cardiomyopathy, allergies, vaginal hyperplasia, cruciate ligament rupture, hypothyroidism, OCD, entropion, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), and persistent pupillary membranes (PPM).

When purchasing a purebred Mastiff, experts often suggest that the dog undergo tests for hips, elbow, eyes, thyroid, and DNA for PRA.

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