[ Post a Response | True English Mastiffs ]
Posted by JennyR on 4/9/2006, 6:11 pm, in reply to "Re: question for Rodsue" As I saw that everyone was blaming the person who was bitten (and clearly he was ignorant) I thought, let’s not overlook this dogs temperament. I thought that everyone should at least recognize that this is not “ideal temperament”, based on how I interpreted what the Mastiff Club of America says about temperament. Well what I realized is that this while it is not ideal (or even tolerable) temperament for me; it is temperament that many on the board accept and even a few encouraged. Lesson learned for me. The gal that I had a disagreement with wanted to blame it on the fact that there were other dogs present, the “pack animal” analogy, I honestly think the dog in question would have bitten the guy regardless of whether or not the other two dogs were present. I may be wrong, but I don’t think that several well trained and socialized Mastiffs will become biters just because they are together. I think that is not the nature of the breed, I wouldn’t necessarily say the same for some more aggressive breeds like Akitas and Rotties. We went back and forth on this, each trying to make our point, but in the end she thought I was attacking her and her dogs personally. I had, up until that day, only read her name on random posts on that web site (giving advice etc.); I did not know the history of her animals. It was an incident in my own history dealing with hips that mad me use the analogy that she thought was directed at her personally (I would not have used hips as an example if I had know her history). She also accused me of using an alias e-mail and misrepresenting who I am, which is not true, my email is in the first post and is correct, it is one my husband created for home use and doesn’t reflect my first name. I am not ashamed to say that my name is Jennifer Rice; I use JennyR here because that is what I have always used on this site from my first post. I am not always right in my opinions, and I am seeking to learn as much from others as possible, I am sad that I have made an enemy over a difference of opinion. I guess when folks have great passion for these wonderful dogs and they think someone is attacking their dogs they attack back, I can understand that. I have been very lucky to have owned dogs with unflappable temperaments. I suppose that my background in other more domineering breeds (Akitas, Dobermans and Rotties) has made my training techniques more stringent than probably need be for the Mastiff. I socialize my dogs completely taking them everywhere I go; I allow no barking or signs of aggression towards humans. Having a teenage child and a 4 year old I have children in and out of my house frequently I can take no chance on having an animal that would bite. I still kennel dogs when children are at play. I know that if I someday need them to protect me that they will. MACO states about mastiffs: A Mastiff should possess a calm, self assured temperament and be devoted to its family and friends. Mastiffs should not be aggressive to humans or other animals, including other dogs, although, unfortunately, some of them are. Mastiffs should be steady, gentle, eager for affection, good with children, calm and self assured, and used primarily as a family companion.
Thanks for your opinion, things got heated on the other board and I did not mean for that to happen. I formed the opinion (others may not agree) that the dog in question displayed “inappropriate temperament”. I formed that opinion from the owners statements that she was “non tolerant of strangers” and due to the fact that she did bite the guy who was not a threat. In MCOA’s statements on temperament it states that “If a dog growls when there is no danger, that is aggression, NOT protection”. (Was I wrong?) I suppose that with the owner being inside and unaware of the presence of the man that the dog thought the man was a threat and took action??
This unfortunate incident has taught me a big lesson about people and what they do with their Mastiffs; I just assumed that if someone wanted a guard dog that would bite people that they would choose a breed I considered more appropriate for the task, not true many just train their Mastiff to be aggressive. Another lesson, a 5 foot fence is not high enough to keep a mastiff separated from someone intent on reaching over it. I guess if someone is intent on reaching our dogs they will find a way, but a 6 foot or higher fence is much more appropriate for a dog as tall as a Mastiff.
Please give your opinion on this- Shouldn’t one choose a Mastiff as a pet for the qualities stated by MACO, as a family companion. Are these breeders who are not pressing this point unwittingly setting this breed up for trouble? If I am wrong I want to realize it, if I am not wrong then there are a lot of people out there that are harming this breed.
Thanks Rodney for your thoughts,
JennyR
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