Purina

Other names/Nicknames:

• Gamekeeper’s Nightdog

Country/Date of origin:

• Great Britain
• 1800’s

Height:

• Females:  24 to 26 inches
• Males:  25 to 27 inches

Weight:

• Females:  100 to 120 pounds
• Males:  110 to 130 pounds

Personality:

• Luckily, most members of this breed are gentle and even-tempered.
• A cranky or irritable Bullmastiff is a menace to society.
• Intelligence is not the strong suit for this breed.
• They can be trained to obey basic commands.  Just don’t ask them to do anything too complicated.  It only confuses them.
• Fearless and will not back down from man or beast.
• It is important to remember the original purpose of this dog.

History:

The recipe for a Bullmastiff was four parts Bulldog and six parts Mastiff, and was created to help gamekeepers catch poachers on English estates. The big, agile dog inherited the best of both ancestors.  From the Mastiff, it got size and courage.  From the Bulldog, it got aggression and agility.  After a few generations, the mixture mellowed into exactly the kind of deterrent the gamekeepers needed.  The dogs caught poachers not so much by biting them but by using their weight and knocking them down.  They would then hold the culprit until the gamekeeper could take over.  The Bullmastiff was granted breed status by the British Kennel Club in 1924 and by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1933.

Body Type:

• Large, imposing dog of a definite Mastiff type.
• Tail is set high, thick at the base and tapering at the end.  It is not altered.
• The V-shaped, hanging ears are not altered.  Their small size gives the head a square appearance.

Coat:

• Short and smooth.
• Permissible colors are red, brindle, or fawn all with black face markings called a mask.
• The ears must also be of a darker color than the body.
• Minimal grooming required.

Health and Wellness:

• Hip dysplasia.
• Elbow dysplasia.
• Autoimmune thyroid disease.
• Calvarial hyperostosis.
• Metabolic bone disease.
• Lymphoma.
• Gastric dilatation and volvulus syndrome (GDV, also commonly called bloat).
• Cervical vertebral instability.
• Bacterial folliculitis.

What you should know:

• Puppies in this breed are clumsy oafs.  Big clumsy oafs.  They tend to be wild, too.
• This breed is not recommended for first time dog owners due to its size, power, and assertiveness.