Most Recent Almost 3rd Dog Update
We had a chance to talk to the new neighbors at the end of the street. Yes, our most recent “almost 3rd dog” was theirs. His name is Striker, and they appreciated that we put him back in the back yard. He had apparently jumped out.
The one fun piece of news is that Striker is not a pit. While he’s the size of a full grown pit, he is actually a very, very young bull mastiff. That’s right, I almost brought home a bull mastiff puppy.
Mind you, I like the mastiff breeds. While big, they tend to be very good dogs (as Striker’s sweet disposition attests to). But, well, they’re mastiffs, they’re huge. And they eat.
Granted, we would have taken him home, left them a note, and put up flyers. Talking to them, there’s no way we would have had the dog long term. Which is good. There’s no way we would have had room on the bed for a full grown bull mastiff in addition to Smokey, June, and us.
And then there’s my one actual problem with mastiffs (and all other “giant” dogs)- life span. Dogs that get that big have heart problems and tend to live less than 10 years, averaging 6-7. We lost Moree and 9 years, and I just can’t imagine going through that heartbreak that often.
We’ve talked to mastiff breeders about this (C is a huge fan of the breeds) and found out that the responsible ones are doing what they can to deal with this issue. Mastiffs will never stop being massive, but the breeders are trying to breed them so that they grow more slowly, not reaching their full size for 5+ years.
This reduces the strain on the heart, not just because they are smaller longer but also because the growth happens more slowly, allowing the heart more time to adapt.
Striker is a beautiful, sweet dog, and I can’t wait to see him all grown up. But I hope it takes a few more years. And I am glad he’s not growing up in my house.