Tips for Owning and Caring for Bullmastiffs

The breed of Bull Mastiff (Bullmastiff) was originally developed during the 18^th century. English Mastiffs and English Bulldogs were crossed in the hope of combining the best traits of both breeds. The massive English Mastiff was a very large, powerful, and extremely loyal dog, and the English Bulldog, at that time a larger and more aggressive dog than the English Bulldogs of today, was known for its tenacity. (Bulldogs were used to hang on to a bulls muzzle until the bull became worn out enough to be handled. It is this trait that christened the phrase ‘British bulldogs spirit’).

Originally used as gamekeeper’s dogs, the Bull Mastiff cross was found to be extremely loyal and would accompany the gamekeeper everywhere he went. The dog acted both as a deterrent to poachers, and to use their great weight and soft mouth to safely hold down any poachers silly enough to try and attack the gamekeeper. Through the years, the Bullmastiff retained many of its original traits, notably its loyalty, protectiveness of its owner, strong will and tenacity, but happily, little aggression. Today the breed makes an ideal, though large, family dog, however, the very traits that make the Bullmastiff such an ideal pet can also cause problems for unwary owners.       

1. Keep your Bullmastiff Safe and Secure

What many new Bullmastiff owners don’t understand, is that big as they are, Bullmastiffs can still get hurt and can easily get themselves into trouble in the wrong environment. This is why it’s recommend that you always have a secure location for your bullmastiff whether in your yard, garden, garage or home, and that you keep them secured and on a leash when out for a walk.

When a Bullmastiff puppy or young dog starts to gets bored (usually when there is no one around), they often start to chew. Not only can this be troublesome (especially if like us your house started off with nice wood doors, skirting boards and furniture), but as they are not fussy what they chew, (wood, metal, wire, it all seems to be the same for them), their chewing can be very dangerous. For this reason, always keep Bullmastiff puppies in a secured pen and, when larger, keep them in some secured area with no dangers.   

These problems don’t entirely disappear as your dog grows older. We’ve noted that if we are sitting or generally moving around the house, our fully grown dogs will happily lay and sleep all day. But they can – and do - get bored very quickly if no-one is around. While our old bitch is not too bad, our young dog (Fred) appears to take a fancy to our electrical wall sockets. While replacing chewed off socket fittings is an easy and inexpensive repair in itself, there is obviously a real danger of electrocution – and the loss of Fred would cause us much heartache. So, if we are going out, we have to make sure he is secure in a room where he can not get to the electrical sockets, or any other chewable items.

Bullmastiffs are very friendly dogs, but their size (and looks) can easily scare some people – especially if they come running toward them on the street to say hello. To prevent many problems for you and your dog, always keep a bullmastiff inside a secure area or correctly leashed when out on walks.

2.  Dog Training and more Training

Bullmastiffs are extremely loyal and friendly dogs whose looks belie the fact they love people (children especially) much more than they care about guarding a property. But, they can be very strong willed dogs. Their strength of character and sheer size and bulk means that they must be taught to understand who is boss at an early age.

As a Bullmastiffs owner, you must set the parameters of their behavior – especially around small (and not so small) children as they can easily, if inadvertently, knock a child over!

Happily, aggressiveness appears to be rare in the breed. This makes them ideal family dogs, but they must be taught to act obediently and properly when young. If not trained, as they grow older it can cause you some real problems when trying to get them to go where you want, when you want, and to have them behave correctly when out on the leash. After all, its not fun taking an untrained or non-obedient 80kg dog for a walk – because you may quickly begin to wonder who is walking who?

3. Feeding and Watering

Bullmastiffs are big dogs that need a good diet to stay healthy. As they do not do well on many of the cheap dog foods, caring for these dogs by feeding them correctly is not cheap. This said, the breed has a tendency to eat almost anything, especially if it is something they see you eating (from dry bread to chili paste, garlic to an orange!).

These eating habits can be a problem as though large, Bullmastiffs are dogs that don’t appear to need (or want) too much exercise, so overfeeding can quickly lead to obesity. So, keep a regular watch on your dog’s weight – and what your dog eats - and don’t be afraid to cut out the little extra between-meal tidbits if needed.

As large dogs, Bullmastiffs can need large quantities of fresh water, especially on hot days. One problem they have is that if they have been playing or are over hot or otherwise excited, they do tent to slaver and produce excessive amounts of drool. Because of this, always keep an eye on their water bowl to make sure that there is sufficient water, and that it is not full of drool.   

In Closing

Neither the English Mastiff nor English Bulldog are particularly good as guard dogs for areas, and this trait is also true of Bullmastiffs; however, Bullmastiffs are and always have been ‘people protectors’ and whoa betide anyone who attacks a Bullmastiff's owner!

These dogs become very attached to their owners, and if you are new to owning the breed be aware that this can at times mean that they follow you around the house more like a little lapdog - a trait that starts in most Bullmastiff puppies.

To round up, accept your Bullmastiff as a true member of your family, train them well, look after them, and acknowledge their presence and you have a trusting and loyal friend for life. 

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