Originally Posted by
StressMonkey:
“Eldest Son has recently become the owner of a Mastiff Cross - dam was 3/4 English Mastiff, 1/4 Staff and sire......probably straight Bull Mastiff. Though from the sounds of it he could have been anything from a Jack Russel to a Great Dane.
Despite a very poor start in life, since Eldest 'aquired' him, Bishop is thriving and the most laid back, well mannered 14 week old pup I have ever known. .
Thing is, at 14 weeks he is easily 17 inches to his shoulder
Not quite Clifford but.....
I know Tass has a Mastiff (French?) so any idea how big this boy could be? With humans they say double the hight at three years, is there any equivalent correlation for dogs?
Plus, I'm of the understanding that 'giant' breeds shouldn't be castrated until they finish growing at 18 - 24 months. Bishop only has one apparent testicle so the other is probably retained. As such their vet has recommended castration at 9 months. Does this sound right?”
Hi, I don't have a mastiff,
although I have met many and I have had a great Dane in the past, but one of my dogs is a large sighthound who is a similar height to many mastiffs at the shoulder but obviously much lighter than a mastiff would be.
Sight hounds all tend to fold up reasonably small though as they are mostly leg - dogs on stilts
I'm not aware of any reliable formula to predict size, especially as, like children, individual dogs stop growing at different ages.
Even with paw size I find it gives very little indication. l have known relatively small dogs with big flat feet and tall dogs with very neat, compact, small paws.
Breed gives a standard range, when you know what breed it is, but there can be considerable variation within pure bred dogs and obviously more so with crosses, with males being considerably bigger than females in many breeds. In this case it sounds as though the smaller staff is greatly outweighed by the mastiff breeds so I would guess he will mature somewhere near the male English/Bull mastiff range:
Bull mastiff male size range :63.5-68.5cms 25-27 ins at shoulder, 59-59kgs110-130 lbs. The largest male bull mastiff I have come across had a 30 inch neck girth without being at all overweight.
(English) Mastiff breed standard doesn't give size but says heght and substance highly desirable so basically as big as possible without losing quality
Giant breeds are slow maturing, physically and psychologically and they should be fed for slow steady growth. It can cause future developmental problems if you feed too well so they shoot up too fast.
The basis of neutering large breeds later is because neutering can slightly increase the risk of bone cancer and large breeds are at a higher risk so relatively late neutering is recommended as, if I remember correctly, sex hormones are to some degree protective for this.
I think the recommended age is at about 2-3 years.
Bearing in mind large breeds are relatively short lived so with late neutering they are not unprotected for very many years.
Retained testicles are much more likely to develop testicular cancer than normal ones, so in this case it is a question of balancing that against the bone cancer risk but I would think testicular cancer unlikely to develop prior to 2, but it would push the balance in favour of castration, rather than consiering keeping this dog entire his whole life, however calm his temperament.
I'm afraid on neutering I would have to disagree with Sue51.
I know breeders almost invariably consider you don't neuter before maturity whatever the breed but in most breeds when beign kept for pets the medical and behavioural benefits of earlier neutering, from ~6 months say, outweigh the disadvantages, but there are reasons for exceptions to every rule due to breed and individual considerations.
With pets you are often neutering early precisely to prevent some of the behavioural effects of maturity so permanent neotony (staying with juvenile characteristics), when that means they don't e.g. get confrontational with other dogs, is an advantage not a disadvantage.
Most pet owners are less experienced than breeders and so many are less able to manage entire dogs, whether bolshy teen males or managing in-season females with the behavioral and physical changes that can involve.
Early neutering can also prevent the dog developing a fully adult look, particularly with males, a consideration for breeders, who often show as well, but not for most pet owners.
