Bullmastiff Temperament
Considerations in Nurturing the Breed and Raising a Puppy
 In
cities and countries across the world, the breeding and owning of
various breeds of dogs have been banned. Why? People and their pets
have been injured or killed when proper care has not been exercised by
dog owners. Thus it is crucially important particularly when buying
a protection dog that owners understand the work the breed was
created to do and learn how to prevent disasters from occurring.
It is common knowledge that Bullmastiffs were originally bred to
help gamekeepers on the large estates of England and Scotland. The
dog's job was to search out, knock down and hold poachers until the
gamekeeper could take them in hand. In order to do that, if the
poacher had a dog, the Bullmastiff must first quickly dispatch it and
then take on the poacher. Off duty, the Bullmastiff typically lived
with the gamekeeper and his family. So it was bred to treat children
gently, guard the house and yard and lay up by the fire when it wasn't
doing any of the above.
 All
of this makes a Bullmastiff the ideal family protection dog
in the
right circumstances. Unfortunately many owners are deceived about the
enormously strong instincts of the breed. The puppies they bring home
from reputable breeders are sweet and
gentle so gentle in fact that they like quiet people and quiet
voices. Loud noises and high emotional pitch are anathema. Although
active like any toddler and like a toddler chewing on everything in
sight they are biddable people-lovers, happy and playful - with
people and with other animals.
Many people, in fact, report the puppies have
no protective instinct. Owners may pride themselves on successfully
managing an "open door" and "open yard" policy with neighbors and even
distant friends. They "socialize" the pup with neighbor dog or dogs at
a nearby play center. Sometimes owners are encouraged to believe they
can "tame the beast" by what they read and hear from breed
organizations, breed experts and animal behaviorists.
Then somewhere between seven months and two years come indications
that the puppy is maturing into its original job description: it is
becoming a family guard dog. The first clues may be as seemingly
innocuous as catching a squirrel, bringing a baby bunny onto the porch
or "hackling up" at a stranger or non-family canine playmate.
This is the time to
IMMEDIATELY change your living circumstances if you have ever
(foolishly) allowed dangerous situations to arise in the first
place. You must do this because the puppy now understands the
home territory is his to protect. Family members wherever they
are are hers to guard. Strangers animal or human entering
house, yard or the proximity of a loved one without permission
of family adults are no longer automatically welcomed. Yard
gates and house doors should be locked now. Entrance should be
only after permission to enter is given and the dog reassured
that the guest is safe. Typically playing with same-sex or
"yippy" dogs should no longer be allowed.
It is foolhardy to think that
"properly socialized" by obedience specialists or training
classes, the Bullmastiff will be reliable in overcoming her
genetics. Instincts to do her job are deeply imbedded in the
individual. Independent thinking is a hallmark of the breed.
Historically, on-the-job survival meant "kill or be killed" as to
the poacher's dog. It meant "take down and hold" or be killed by
the poacher. These instincts that support this work can no more
be "socialized away" than can your instinct to keep your head
above water if drowning.
Although we pride ourselves in
owning Bullmastiffs who can discern friend from foe, it is
unreasonable to be inconsistent in the behaviors we expect from
them. In one week during the summer of 2000 a two-year-old male
I bred but do not own was acclaimed and punished for the
same sort of guarding behavior. He illustrates the quandaries
facing our dogs when our expectations are unrealistic.
Early in the week the dog
we'll call him Rex was a hero. A man had broken into a nearby
house, beaten and robbed the elderly homeowner and was escaping
on foot across the nearby yards. Another neighbor sounded the
alarm. "Take him!" Rex's owner directed, loosing the dog (who
had never heard this command before). Rex knocked the burglar
flat with a quick gallop and a shoulder to the back of the knee.
He stood on him until the police came and his owner called him
off! A hero!!!
However, I didn't hear this story
until several days later and it's not why the owner called. In
fact, the owner called to report "an aggressive incident." Rex,
walking on lead with the owner, had been baited and tackled by a
testosterone-rich professional football player he hardly knew.
Rex, coming into his own testosterone at two years, funnily
enough, had tackled back
.doing some slight damage to the player
in addition to taking him down. The owner had crated Rex for the
day as punishment. Until we discussed it, the owner
told me he had seen nothing inconsistent about how he responded
to the two incidents.
Well-bred Bullmastiffs are
fabulous dogs. They are everything they were ever designed to
be. But never forget, they ARE what they were bred to be
not
couch potatoes, not pack dogs, not blindly compliant. At least
into their geriatric years when Bullmastiffs, like their
owners, begin to mellow out the dogs again like their owners
have the capacity to be either loving companions or lethal
weapons
or both!
SO
if you choose to own, breed
or rescue a Bullmastiff, enjoy every minute of it
.but STAY
ALERT and THINK AHEAD!!!
© 2000 Lynnel Jones for
AndalusianBullmastiffs.com
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