Hi all. Does anyone know what type of dog a Mastiff is? I mean what category it fits into, like: hound, working, hunting, toy???? I wish I could find a list of the "categories" of breeds. I am trying to learn all I can about dogs right now before we get our next dog. My five year old son is allergic to cats and that is one concern. I am trying to find out how often a Mastiff moults or sheds his dander because there is a Mastiff/mix puppy that we are all in love with. We want this dog so badly but I don't know how allergy friendly he is. Any help is appreciated!
any type mastiff. the one we're looking at is a mastiff/mix. I just want to know about mastiffs in general.
Hello and welcome to Dogsey. All mastiffs are in the working group, but there are a few different kinds of Mastiff, so have a look. http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2
Have a look here many mastiffs in the working group http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2 Bull mastiff English Mastiff Neo Mastiff Bernese Mountain Dog Dogue De Bordeaux Tibetan Mastiff St. Bernard there are others on the list, some mastiffs are not under the kennel club Have a look here as Mastiffs fall under the Molosser Breed group and there are so many http://www.moloss.com/ http://www.moloss.com/001/ptxt/breed.html
I suffer from both hayfever and asthma and mine does not aggrevate my allergies.Moulting wise-not excessive,but he is shorthaired so it blends in!
Firstly, there is no such thing as a 'hypo allergenic' dog of any breed. ALL dogs (regardless of breed/coat type) produce dander (the dust formed by dead skin cells etc) and this is most commonly the trigger for allergic reactions, rather than actual fur. This is why some people (me included) will have a reaction to some dogs and not others. Secondly, all breeds that shed their fur will do so to some extent on a more or less continuous basis, particularly if they live indoors due to central heating etc. A more noticable serious moult occurs once to twice per year in most 'shedding' breeds. Finally, as the puppy you are interested in is a mastiff 'mix', it will be impossible to predict what the coat type will be like as an adult. Even if you can see both the mother and father, adult coat type can and will vary among pups from the same litter and will not necessarily be anything like that of either parent. While I commend you for researcing mastiffs before taking this pup on, that is only half the picture. As it is a mix, unless you know what it is mixed with ,50% of the genes could be from any other breed under the sun (or combination thereof as there is no guarantees that parents are pure bred) so the end result may be nothing like a mastiff. Cross breeds and mixes are always a bit of an unknown quantity (even when the combination of breeds is known) but, like so much else in life, you pay your money, you take your chance Incidently, if you are gettig the dog from a rescue shelter, don't always take it at face value that the breed is what they say it is. I know of a very recent case in the US where a dog was advertised on a very well known rescue website as a Newfoundland mix. It turns out that the dog was a very rare and specialised breed called a Tornjak (Croatian Mountain Dog), imported directly from Croatia and signed over to the shelter by the previous owner. The shelter knew exactly what breed the dog was and had all his paperwork (pedigree, import documents etc) but thought that he would have a better chance of being rehomed if people thought it was a Newf mix because no-one would know what a Tornjak was Anyhow...good luck with the pup if you do decide to go for it
All Mastiff type dog breeds are considered as "Working dogs". However, the work that they have been bred to do varies with the breeds, and so does the temperment. For instance, I've heard people group tosa inu with english mastiffs. Those are two very different dogs, and learning about mastiffs in general isn't going to help you understand the dog you're considering. Get more info on the exact breeds before you decide, and watch out, many mastiff breeds can be dominant and strong willed.
