American Mastiff?

alban

Hi to all,

I am looking Into the American Mastiff.i like what I have learned so far about the breed but I did want to ask what are the thoughts here

shibamistress

I never heard of them, so I looked them up. I don't know, but I'm a bit dubious about a breed that was accepted by the CKC (which is kind of a dubious registry) in 2000. From what I see so far, they look like GoldenDoodles or other designer "breeds." I found the whole page on the American Mastiff council a bit....off, as if they're trying to create a history for a dog that isn't really a breed yet.

I doubt very much this dog will be any more long lived than any of the other mastiffs, too, which means 8-10 years, and I couldn't really see that I believe that it would drool less! The mouth looks a little tighter, but I don't think that would be enough to completely stop the drooling problem. (the wiki page claims the cross breeding was to address drooling, among other issues...that made me laugh!)

I guess for someone who was interested in this kind of dog, and didn't mind that it is kind of a new "breed" it would be ok. They were pretty expensive, though, and I noted the breeder pages I looked at didn't really talk about health issues, detail health guarantees, etc. That would make me pretty nervous, esp. given that English Mastiffs have a whole bunch of health issues, and I'm not convinced they're all gone because of the cross breeding.

Dunno. If it were me, I wouldn't get one, but...

kimputai

@Alban @shibamistress Do you think there are still breeds nowadays that make history? For instance, the American Akita, with all do respect, you can breed a dog bigger and heavier, but the AA will never get 5% of the history of the Japanese Akita.

jellyfish

@kimputai "the AA will never get 5% of the history of the Japanese Akita"

that depends on who you ask. Many "japanese akita" owners actually own american akitas, unbeknownst to them. There are enough back yard breeders who will claim the japanese heritage of their akita so much that they believe their dog is a japanese akita. Its rather frustrating.

That may have been a little off topic. Okay, a lot off topic. But I've had a few beers

shibamistress

I don't really understand that question? What do you mean about history?

I just meant I don't trust the idea of a "new" breed that is essentially just a cross breed. I suppose if people keep breeding them they will eventually become a breed, but....

kimputai

IMO the Akita will always be a Japanese breed, Japan will always set the standards for the breed, no matter what name the breed may have or get. I really don't understand why they changed the Great Japanese dog into American Akita, what will be next, a European Akita? Same for the Tosa, in Japan there are almost white Tosa's that have a weight of 35 kilo, in Europe or USA dogs have to weigh a minimum of 55.............but when we see a Tosa that's 35 kilo we don't consider it as a Tosa dog.

shibamistress

Well, the American Akita and the Japanese Akita are two different breeds now in most of the world, and have been for awhile. You may not agree with the breed split, and that's fine. Some people don't. But most of the world recognizes them as two different breeds, and many of us in the US wish the breed would be split here too. It's pretty hard to believe that people consider the two dogs to be one breed, in my opinion. and the name doesn't mean that the Akita is not originally from Japan, it just means that the two types are so different now that they aren't even really the same breed at all.

that said, if you want to dredge up the issue of the breed split, there may even be a really old thread about it somewhere, but this thread really isnt' about that at all.

BradA1878

@kimputai - Do you have any pictures of white Tosa? I'd be interested in seeing them.

With the Tosa, I'm guessing the Japanese are still breeding for their work-ability more than their looks. Since dog fighting is not allowed in most of the west, the breeders focus on the looks of the breed for showing. Anytime you have western-style dogs showing you have hyper-type (exaggeration of a breed's looks). That's my opinion, anyway.

PS: A 35 kilo Tosa sounds pretty awesome to me. But, I am a guy who owns a 120lb Boerboel and a 90lb Cane Corso... they are both "working" examples of their breeds and therefore smaller and more agile.

shishiinu

Even in Japan, dog fighting is illegal in most of the Kantou and Toholu region of Japan. I think most of the legal fighting takes place kouchi area.

ayk

I had heard that grandfathering of other breeds still takes place with the Tosa though not very often as it brings in vocal traits. Vocalizing during a fight is considered a weakness.

kimputai

http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/7186/tosa

I started a new thread...............