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I love mastiffs. But I still have a few questions on them.
First, really and truely, how much does it cost on average to feed them per month? I definatly want to make sure I can afford an apetite for a dog that large.
I own a four door sedan. Will I need to get a larger car before I get one of these dogs? A truck perhaps?
Would an aquarium be safe from being knocked over from that large of a dog? My 55 gallon is free-standing,against a wall, and rather sturdy, but I don't want to risk it getting knocked over and losing my well established tank. (it probably weighs close to 700 pounds total with stand).
Okay, so the last question was sort of silly. Can't help it. That's probably the only questions for now.
Thanks for any answers.

Hope this helps you a little. First off, I have French Mastiffs, which are a little smaller than some of the other mastiff breeds (females are 100-135 lbs and males 125-170) As for the cost of food I am not sure, I feed a quality food that is about 30.00 a 40# bag I have 2 mastiffs and a rottie and on this food they only eat about 3-5 cups a day each. For a vehicle I use an Astro van with the 3rd seat removed, I can fit 2 crates in the back to accomidate my female mastiff(smaller) and rottie then with the middle seat removed a large crate fits there for my male mastiff. Mostly what you need to be prepared for is vet bills. Mastiffs can run up some big bills there so you need to be prepared for that.

I am so glad to see you are looking at all aspects of owning a mastiff before you commit yourself. Spend the time now getting to know some reputable breeders - watch some of their pups growing and see what they turn out like. This will give you a chance to see if that line has health problems or temperament problems that are something you want to avoid or if they have the type dogs you want to have spend their lives with you.

hope this helps,
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Val.
proudly owned by
Majic the Rotten
Purl - the Nottweiler (Dogue de Bordeaux)
Quest - the otherweiler (DDB)
Chrissy & Tina who have earned their wings

Thank you for your reply. Even the slightest idea helps.
I will probaly be looking into shelters before breeders. I understand many people turn all different mastiff breeds in because they don't relize how large they actual get.
I still have a little while to decide, though. Need to move first (pretty soon, though!)

If you are open to looking at a rescue for your home that is wonderful. You are correct there are many of the mastiff breeds in rescue, Neos, French and English just to name a couple. Also study the different types of mastiffs as some of them are not much bigger than an average rottie if you would prefer a smaller mastiff. But also be aware that the different mastiff breeds will very a lot in temperament. If you want a low key less active one I would recommend a English, although some of the French mastiffs are big couch potatoes also. Neos tend to be a more active stronger willed breed.

Val.
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Val.
proudly owned by
Majic the Rotten
Purl - the Nottweiler (Dogue de Bordeaux)
Quest - the otherweiler (DDB)
Chrissy & Tina who have earned their wings

As you mentioned in your last post, some mastiffs are lazier than others.
Other than English what mastiff breeds are lazy? (or even mastiff type breeds)
I wanted to ask this before, but forgot. I'm not a true high energy person. And I wouldn't want a dog like an friend of the family got. They got a komodor, not relizing that it would want to walk for over 5 miles a day! Eeeek!
So which of the breeds are couch potatoes?

Not real sure about the energy levels on the other mastiff breeds that I did not mention. But, since you mentioned rescue, if you are willing to go with a rescue dog they would be evaluated and the foster or rescue co-ordinator would be able to match you up with one that would blend with your life style.

Also back to the fish tank, with a little work I am sure you could train a dog to be careful around it, but just as a precaution maybe you could place it where it is in a corner and more protected or even use a strap to secure it to the wall.
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Val.
proudly owned by
Majic the Rotten
Purl - the Nottweiler (Dogue de Bordeaux)
Quest - the otherweiler (DDB)
Chrissy & Tina who have earned their wings

If you would prefer a lower energy dog, you should avoid these mastiff breeds: Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino, and Presa Canario (all these are working dogs and will require a lot of exercise). Neos and DDBs don't require as much, but more than EMs and Great Danes.

And how a dog behaves in the house mainly depends on how well you train it. From my experiences (not that much), small dogs can knock over things just as much as bigger dogs.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mastiffs! I have a Dogue de Bordeaux or French Mastiff, female. She's about 29" at the withers and weighs about 90 lbs. Many of the Mastiff breeds are larger, few are any smaller.

If you will only be getting one dog, there are doggie seat belts you can get to help restrain the dog in the back seat of the car. However, they tend to be addictive and the next thing you know you've got one or two more.

Shelters are good places to get dogs, you could also consider rescues. Many times if the dog has a health issue the rescue organizations will have a good idea how much it could cost you on average or they may well have gotten health issues corrected by the time the pet is adopted. This is definately an issue you will want to explore if you have to watch your funds.

There are many good foods available at a reasonable price. I go through 80 lbs of food for 1 French Mastiff and 2 Rotties every month. I use Nutro for Large Breeds and it costs about $35.00 per 40# bag. Hope that helps. You want to be very careful about over feeding and make sure you are feeding a good quality food.

As far as your aquarium is concerned, obedience training and a good roomy crate will help you to avoid any accidents with the aquarium. My 3 are pretty good house dogs. I don't allow too much playing and rough housing in doors so it's not been an issue with us.

Please do keep us posted, let us know how the process is going and feel free to ask whatever questions you feel you need to. The only dumb question is one not asked.
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PHRottn
HRottn@PetHobbyist.com" target="_blank">My Email

Rott-N-Dogues make excellent best friends!

Thanks!
Those are my basic questions for now. Might have more later, though!