Is Bullmastiff The Next Pitbull?

[mixeduppup]

I've noticed a massive hike in the news reports of bullmastiffs and their crosses being blamed for dog attacks. Obviously MOST of these dogs are just random crosses and mix breeds and for some reason the media is reporting them as bullmastiffs and their crosses without having the slightest idea what a bullmastiff is or what it looks like. I'm so worried that Bullmastiffs will become the next unfairly labelled dog breed. Do you think there is ANY way we can combat this BEFORE it happens?

Edited October 5, 2013 by mixeduppup

[Alison03]

I've noticed the same thing, not sure what can be done about it, I'm guessing the dogs in question look a certain way and that's all it takes to classify them. They don't get a dog breed expert in do they? I saw a Lab crossed with a boxer in the park, lovely dog, looked like a mastiff to me but it wasn't.

[juice]

I have noticed for years lots of pounds id -ing anything tan with a black muzzle as a mastiff x, it really irks me as BM's are not common, so the chance's of it being a x is remote.

[Remarkabull]

It's not just the media though, it's also the owners and or the witnesses that are identifying theses dogs as such and such breed.

I see dogs all the time in rescue, on Gumtree and FB pages that are being advertised as a particular breed or cross and they look nothing like it. People seem determined to label their dogs instead of just saying they have a small, medium or large cross breed.

[Snoopy21]

I have crossbreed dogs from rescue, so I don't know what breeds they are. But everywhere you go with the dogs, people ask what breed mix they are, and aren't really satisfied with no answer. They usually go on to tell you what they think.

Most people wouldn't be able to pick a bullmastiff out of a line of dogs, so it's fairly obvious that a lot of these dogs aren't pure bullmastiffs. But once a breed becomes prominent in the public consciousness it is hard to change the perception whether good or bad.

[Ruffles]

My theory is that they need to start reporting things as a different 'breed' because saying every dog bite is from a Pitbull, is admitting that their legislation isn't working.

I could be just a conspiracy theorist though

[Bullmastiffmum]

I own a bullmastiff, he is 5yrs old and I think only 3 people have known he is a bullmastiff!

Most common guesses are a big boxer or staffy.

He is my first, and I would hate it, if because of incorrect reporting that the breed could possibly be banned or just that public perception is negative towards a bullmastiff.

He is the sweetest thing, 50% of people are afraid of him, other 50% (to my amazement) usually approach him, before even asking if it is ok to.

Random people patting him, shoving children/babies up to him, so they can see the large puppy etc etc I could go on about how I believe some people could do with an education on interacting with dogs let alone strange ones.

I feel for the families of young children and the tragicness of any attack, but I also feel that maybe a note after the article stating that it is a horrible reminder why children should not be left unsupervised and why socialisation for dogs is so important.

Did I mention he is the sweetest thing, even with his unique oddities and little quirks.

[mixeduppup]

This is Horse Puppy, she isn't a bullmastiff (I know her full breeding and there is NONE in there) but according to 80% of the public, she is. In this day and age of Google you'd think people would know more but they know less. How hard would it be to Google 'Bullmastiff' and see what it looked like? UGH

[Holmesy]

I just finished ranting in that dog attack thread when I saw this one. The problem will probably only get worse.. As more stories of bullmastiff attacks are published, more BYB will advertise "bullmastiff" puppies to appeal to thugs and people looking for a guard dog rather than a companion pet, thus these bully x-breeds will then be in the news again under the name bullmastiff, because that is what the owners believe that they are.. Then the vicious cycle will continue.

I'm not blind to the facts though. Purebred bullmastiffs are a large, muscular and powerful breed of dog, that are very capable of inflicting a lot of damage to people or other animals.

I have been around dogs for most of my life (i'm 38 now), and my 2 current dogs (mastiff and bullmastiff) have been e by far the most passive/calm and gentle dogs that i've ever owned.

The only thing that I can do, is take my well trained and socialised dogs out into the public when i walk them, or take them to the dog park, and show people that bullmastiffs are not the vicious killers that the press seems to make them out to be.

[Santo66]

I don't think there are enough Bull Mastiff's around in the BYB system to be producing all these cross breed dogs. It appears anything of a Staffy X origin larger in appearance than a staffy is wearing a Mastiff label? There are heaps of Staffy X's in the BYB system to be further crossed with larger dogs to produce these dogs labelled Mastiff is what I am thinking?

[JulesP]

Yeah I don't see many real Bullmastiffs around. Can count on one hand the purebred ones I have seen. And that would include a couple of french ones.

I don't see many (any) pitbulls either though. Maybe it is were I live. Just a couple of not well breed staffies.

[pepe001]

This is my theory - right or wrong - no idea but a theory. Mastiff has became the label for large x bully breed dog. Five years ago they were pitbulls for the slightly smaller bully crosses and mastiff for the larger ones. But the 'considered bad' pitbull name is dropped off a bit and any shorthaired, big headed cross dog is a mastiff. BUT 10 years ago, or so, these dogs were called BULL ARABS - a large shorthaired bully cross designed to chase and catch pigs. NOW the BULL bit is added to the MASTIFF bit by mistake and so becomes the BULL MASTIFF. Most, probably all, people who use this term don't even know what a real bull mastiff even looks like and I don't think many of these dogs even have it in their parentage at all.

I used to have a large black dog (pet shop special from my husbands first family). He looked like a very tall/large lab with straight back legs. He was always referred to as a lab*mastiff. I doubt he had any actual bull mastiff in him but something short haired and big. BULL ARAB type dog I expect.

[mixeduppup]

This is my theory - right or wrong - no idea but a theory. Mastiff has became the label for large x bully breed dog. Five years ago they were pitbulls for the slightly smaller bully crosses and mastiff for the larger ones. But the 'considered bad' pitbull name is dropped off a bit and any shorthaired, big headed cross dog is a mastiff. BUT 10 years ago, or so, these dogs were called BULL ARABS - a large shorthaired bully cross designed to chase and catch pigs. NOW the BULL bit is added to the MASTIFF bit by mistake and so becomes the BULL MASTIFF. Most, probably all, people who use this term don't even know what a real bull mastiff even looks like and I don't think many of these dogs even have it in their parentage at all.

I used to have a large black dog (pet shop special from my husbands first family). He looked like a very tall/large lab with straight back legs. He was always referred to as a lab*mastiff. I doubt he had any actual bull mastiff in him but something short haired and big. BULL ARAB type dog I expect.

Bullarabs aren't a breed though. They're just a type and that type varies so widely. Bullarabs usually have Dane, working dog, a bit of sighthound and something heavier and the dogs can look like anything. Horse Puppy is not a Bullarab and has none in her but there is a dog down the road who is a bullarab and looks almost identical to Horse Puppy. In reality I'm pretty sure if the dog has no real defining qualities of a single breed then 'Large mix breed', 'Medium mix breed' etc will suffice. Our need to label everything is putting innocents in the line of fire.

Edited October 6, 2013 by mixeduppup

[JulesP]

I used to have a large black dog (pet shop special from my husbands first family). He looked like a very tall/large lab with straight back legs. He was always referred to as a lab*mastiff. I doubt he had any actual bull mastiff in him but something short haired and big. BULL ARAB type dog I expect.

There are heaps of these sort of dogs around here. Most of them have a small amount of white on them. I've often wondered if they came from the same petshop. They aren't super friendly either.

[Santo66]

Yeah I don't see many real Bullmastiffs around. Can count on one hand the purebred ones I have seen. And that would include a couple of french ones.

I don't see many (any) pitbulls either though. Maybe it is were I live. Just a couple of not well breed staffies.

I have never seen two dogs labelled Pit bull's that look the same. One I know and believe is a genuine Pit bull was quite a small female aside from the red nose could be anything to the untrained eye really? I guess when someone is intrigued by a long coat GSD's "unusual colouring" for a Husky, breed identification isn't healthy

This is my theory - right or wrong - no idea but a theory. Mastiff has became the label for large x bully breed dog. Five years ago they were pitbulls for the slightly smaller bully crosses and mastiff for the larger ones. But the 'considered bad' pitbull name is dropped off a bit and any shorthaired, big headed cross dog is a mastiff. BUT 10 years ago, or so, these dogs were called BULL ARABS - a large shorthaired bully cross designed to chase and catch pigs. NOW the BULL bit is added to the MASTIFF bit by mistake and so becomes the BULL MASTIFF. Most, probably all, people who use this term don't even know what a real bull mastiff even looks like and I don't think many of these dogs even have it in their parentage at all.

I used to have a large black dog (pet shop special from my husbands first family). He looked like a very tall/large lab with straight back legs. He was always referred to as a lab*mastiff. I doubt he had any actual bull mastiff in him but something short haired and big. BULL ARAB type dog I expect.

Not a bad theory Pepe......probably is in the ballpark.

There are heaps of these sort of dogs around here. Most of them have a small amount of white on them. I've often wondered if they came from the same petshop. They aren't super friendly either.

It's unfair that dogs are incorrectly labelled as breeds they are not, but we can't ignore the fact that some of these Bully X breed concoctions can have some serious aggression....the worse dog aggression with serious intensity to hurt another dog I have seen are generally from these type of dogs. A lot of different breeds and mixtures bark and jump around at other dogs and flex a bit of muscle but most with a good "piss off" command will move them on......I don't know why "piss off" seems to work so well, it must be the tone or Cesar Milan whisper perhaps :laugh: but I don't like getting charged at by these Bully type dogs....they make my heart thump harder in that position than other breeds how I am going to handle the situation and try to protect my dog if this dog descending on us at a great rate of knots flashing teeth is a real goer

Edited October 7, 2013 by Santo66

[sandgrubber]

Banning pit bulls has the effect of making the macho dingbats who want muscle dogs look for something bigger that can't be confused with a pit bull. The public doesn't know what to call these, but 'bullmastiff' seems to sound good to those who don't know better. I expect there will be a lot more such reports . . . not because of the dog breed but because of the idiots on the other end of the leash.

[Alison03]

Banning pit bulls has the effect of making the macho dingbats who want muscle dogs look for something bigger that can't be confused with a pit bull. The public doesn't know what to call these, but 'bullmastiff' seems to sound good to those who don't know better. I expect there will be a lot more such reports . . . not because of the dog breed but because of the idiots on the other end of the leash.

Sad but true SG. Banning any breed won't work. The macho idiots will find a different large breed to use to beef up their image. No doubt another name will be invented for them. The responsible dog owners will be punished for those as well.

[pepe001]

This is my theory - right or wrong - no idea but a theory. Mastiff has became the label for large x bully breed dog. Five years ago they were pitbulls for the slightly smaller bully crosses and mastiff for the larger ones. But the 'considered bad' pitbull name is dropped off a bit and any shorthaired, big headed cross dog is a mastiff. BUT 10 years ago, or so, these dogs were called BULL ARABS - a large shorthaired bully cross designed to chase and catch pigs. NOW the BULL bit is added to the MASTIFF bit by mistake and so becomes the BULL MASTIFF. Most, probably all, people who use this term don't even know what a real bull mastiff even looks like and I don't think many of these dogs even have it in their parentage at all.

I used to have a large black dog (pet shop special from my husbands first family). He looked like a very tall/large lab with straight back legs. He was always referred to as a lab*mastiff. I doubt he had any actual bull mastiff in him but something short haired and big. BULL ARAB type dog I expect.

Bullarabs aren't a breed though. They're just a type and that type varies so widely. Bullarabs usually have Dane, working dog, a bit of sighthound and something heavier and the dogs can look like anything. Horse Puppy is not a Bullarab and has none in her but there is a dog down the road who is a bullarab and looks almost identical to Horse Puppy. In reality I'm pretty sure if the dog has no real defining qualities of a single breed then 'Large mix breed', 'Medium mix breed' etc will suffice. Our need to label everything is putting innocents in the line of fire.

Many people think they are a breed. As does the ABBA, The Australian Bull Arab Association. My cousins are piggers and all have heaps of bull arabs are as you describe. But many people would call them a bullmastiff *. To me it is just a big dog type as well.

I just think BULL ARAB that is where the BULL came from. After all mastiff is a type so I actually don't mind them being mastiff * but not a BULLMASTIFF*. Unlike pitbull which is a breed (thetically) but most think it is a type as well - that annoys me. I hate when commonly people use an actual breed name for a type - as you said.

Incidentally, what is Horse Puppy - do you know his breeding.

This week end I met a very large dog owned by an elderly lady who would be called bullarab or bull mastiff *. But she called her a Ban Dog. She was one of the most lovely dogs I have ever met and the absolute perfect dog for this owner who lived alone, couldn't walk much due to ill health and this girl was very happy laying at her feet all day. Polite, calm, barks when someone knocks and otherwise silent. The lady loved her to death.

Edited October 7, 2013 by pepe001

[BlackJaq]

Bull Arab people are actually looking at getting the breed recognized. To me they don't seem much different than Coolies or other breeds that are not recognized here (APBT, too)

Just because KC in Aus does not recognize the breed and you don't know much about them does not mean it is not a breed.

ETA: Actually APBT is a great example because the type there also varies widely. Performance over appearance and all that...

Edited October 7, 2013 by BlackJaq

[sandgrubber]

Banning pit bulls has the effect of making the macho dingbats who want muscle dogs look for something bigger that can't be confused with a pit bull. The public doesn't know what to call these, but 'bullmastiff' seems to sound good to those who don't know better. I expect there will be a lot more such reports . . . not because of the dog breed but because of the idiots on the other end of the leash.

Sad but true SG. Banning any breed won't work. The macho idiots will find a different large breed to use to beef up their image. No doubt another name will be invented for them. The responsible dog owners will be punished for those as well.

b.s. mastiff would be a suitable name