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Living with a Mastiff changes your entire world as you know it. You'll bring this adorable baby into your home, and for a few days he'll sleep on your lap, you'll take him outside to potty, and he'll pudge along as cute as can be. Life is a wonderful, happy, loving place to be with your new baby... and then he begins to grow... and grow... and grow (really!).
You'll begin to notice a few things about your Mastiff as he settles in. First, he'll have to be wherever you are, and if he isn't, he'll cry. I know you're saying, all puppies cry the first few days, but Mastiffs really need to be with you. It's just their nature! They are extremely loyal and loving, and they want to be a part of your family, not just a pet.
As they get older, they will want to go with you wherever you go, and they certainly won't fit into a compact car. With ours, we couldn't even say the word bye-bye, or they'd lope to the door and start whining and turning in circles. Anything that got in their way was pushed out of the way.
Mastiffs don't mean to knock things over but with their sheer size, they just can't help it. They are very clumsy. If you have small children, they'll get pushed over (luckily children grow too and are considerably smarter also). If you have a coffee table (we don't) , their tail will clear it right off for you. Drinks will be spilled, carpets will be stained, and their tail.......well, to put it mildly.... men beware!
You'd be surprised how a simple happy wag can hurt.
If you've met one Mastiff, you haven't met them all! Just like people, they've got personalities of their own. Nellie was our families first mastiff puppy, and an absolute joy to live with! When we drove out to the breeder's house, we were like excited expectant parents. Looking at the litter of beautiful, sweet puppies made us want to take them ALL home with us! We held each one, only to keep coming back to Nellie. Something about the way she looked at us just melted our hearts!
On the drive home, Nelie lay on her back asleep in my arms in such a trusting manner....We were in love! As a puppy, she was eager to please, fairly easy to train, and never wanted to leave our side. She always stayed within sight....if we left the room to do dishes she would follow and lay on the rug or sit leaning against our legs. Watchng tv was so hilarious because she will still to this day sit on the couch as a human does....leaning up against us of course! Sometimes she'll sit on the couch but her front legs are on the floor and look totally comfortable!
Once you've had a Mastiff in your life, your world will never be the same without one! The time will come, however, when your Mastiff passes on, and if you're like my family, you'll go right out and find yourself another one, not as a replacement, but because mastiffs are so wonderful!
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