English Mastiff Puppy Information

The English mastiff puppy is friendly, inquisitive and eager to learn. Mastiffs live between 6 and 10 years on average, according to the Great Lakes Mastiff Rescue. The breed is extremely powerful and requires training in order to be a well-behaved dog. The most common health issue in mastiffs is joint problems due to their giant size.

  1. Identification

    • A mastiff puppy's coat is fawn, apricot or brindle, and all mastiff puppies have a black mask on their faces and black ears. The mastiff puppy has a large frame even if it weighs only 20 lbs. and may appear clumsy when running due to its big paws. A mastiff puppy may grow to over 130 lbs. by six months of age. Since mastiff puppies grow so quickly, they need lots of rest and require frequent naps.

    Temperament

    • Often referred to as a "gentle giant," the mastiff's calm and friendly demeanor makes it a good family pet if properly trained from puppyhood. The mastiff puppy's natural guarding instinct causes it to corner or lie on top of would-be intruders rather than bark at them, according to the Dog Breed Info Center. The mastiff puppy requires daily walks, although too much vigorous exercise can harm its growth plates and cause joint problems when the puppy grows up, says MastiffWeb.com.

    Feeding

    • Because English mastiff puppies grow quickly, they require a giant breed puppy food designed for extra large breed puppies, according to MyDog8It.com. Mastiff puppies eat three times a day until they are four to six months old, and twice a day after six months. Dog food bags provide guidelines on how much food to feed based on the English mastiff puppy's weight.

    Training

    • Training mastiffs as puppies is important because they are smaller and easier to manage than fully grown mastiffs. Mastiff puppies are generally intelligent and eager to please, according to Great Lakes Mastiff Rescue. Mastiff puppies can be stubborn, but with short, frequent training sessions can learn quickly. The mastiff puppy's sensitive nature makes punishment-based training methods unsuitable, but the pup should respond well to positive reinforcement-based training.

    Considerations

    • The main consideration when purchasing or rescuing an English mastiff puppy is the size the puppy becomes as an adult. As the world's largest dog, the English mastiff weighs between 120 and 230 lbs. as an adult, says the Mastiff Club of America. A relatively small English mastiff puppy does not stay small for long. Socialization is also a consideration, as an unsocialized mastiff puppy can grow into a shy, uneasy adult dog, according to the Great Lakes Mastiff Rescue.