Mastiff Breeding
Size is a quality very desirable in this breed. The height
of many dogs of olden days was from thirty-two to thirty-three inches. The
height should be obtained rather from great depth of body than length of
leg. A leggy Mastiff is very undesirable. Thirty inches may be taken as a
fair average height for dogs, and bitches somewhat less.
The method of rearing a Mastiff has much to do with its ultimate size, but
it is perhaps needless to say that the selection of the breeding stock has
still more to do with this. It is therefore essential to select a dog and
bitch of a large strain to obtain large Mastiffs. It is not so necessary
that the dogs themselves should be so large as that they come from a large
strain. The weight of a full-grown dog should be anything over 160 lb.
Many have turned over the scale at 180 lb. The Shah, for instance, was 182
lb. in weight, Scawfell over 200 lb.
One of the great difficulties that breeders of Mastiffs and all other
large dogs have to contend against is in rearing the puppies; so many
bitches being clumsy and apt to kill the whelps by lying on them. It is,
therefore, always better to be provided with one or more foster bitches.
At about six weeks old a fairly good opinion may be formed as to what the
puppies will ultimately turn out in certain respects, for, although they
may change materially during growth, the good or bad qualities which are
manifest at that early age will, in all probability, be apparent when the
puppy has reached maturity. It is, therefore, frequently easier to select
the best puppy in the nest than to do so when they are from six to nine or
ten months old.
Puppies should be allowed all the liberty possible, and never be tied up:
they should be taken out for steady, gentle exercise, and not permitted to
get too fat or they become too heavy, with detrimental results to their
legs. Many Mastiff puppies are very shy and nervous, but they will grow
out of this if kindly handled, and eventually become the best guard and
protector it is possible to have.
The temper of a Mastiff should be taken into consideration by the breeder.
They are, as a rule, possessed of the best of tempers. A savage dog with
such power as the Mastiff possesses is indeed a dangerous creature, and,
therefore, some inquiries as to the temper of a stud dog should be made
before deciding to use him. In these dogs, as in all others, it is a
question of how they are treated by the person having charge of them.
The feeding of puppies is an important matter, and should be carefully
seen to by anyone wishing to rear them successfully. If goat's milk is
procurable it is preferable to cow's milk. The price asked for it is
sometimes prohibitory, but this difficulty may be surmounted in many cases
by keeping a goat or two on the premises. Many breeders have obtained a
goat with the sole object of rearing a litter of puppies on her milk, and
have eventually discarded cow's milk altogether, using goat's milk for
household purposes instead. As soon as the puppies will lap they should be
induced to take arrowroot prepared with milk. Oatmeal and maize meal,
about one quarter of the latter to three quarters of the former, make a
good food for puppies. Dog biscuits and the various hound meals, soaked in
good broth, may be used with advantage, but no dogs, either large or
small, can be kept in condition for any length of time without a fair
proportion of meat of some kind. Sheep's paunches, cleaned and well
boiled, mixed with sweet stale bread, previously soaked in cold water,
make an excellent food and can hardly be excelled as a staple diet. In
feeding on horseflesh care should be taken to ascertain that the horse was
not diseased, especially if any is given uncooked.
Worms are a constant source of trouble from the earliest days of
puppy-hood, and no puppy suffering from them will thrive; every effort,
therefore, should be made to get rid of them.
With proper feeding, grooming, exercise, and cleanliness, any large dog
can be kept in good condition without resort to medicine, the use of which
should be strictly prohibited unless there is real need for it. Mastiffs
kept under such conditions are far more likely to prove successful stud
dogs and brood bitches than those to which deleterious drugs are
constantly being given. Back to:
Mastiff Dogs
Back to: Dog Types
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