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- My name is Nicole Riesgo.
I've owned lovable mastiffs for 10 years.
The Bullmastiff is a loyal family dog.
The best thing about the bullmastiff is
they make you laugh every day.
Every day they'll do something funny
that they'll look at you or they'll grab a toy
or something 'cause they wanna make you happy.
They're a great family dog because they're completely loyal
and they wanna be with the family at all times.
For me, the bullmastiff is a huge comfort.
When you come home from work and you open the door
and they run up with a toy or wanna jump up
and give you kisses, they have so much love
and they're so happy to see you, it makes coming home feel special
because you know that you're loved and that there's someone
every day who is ecstatic that you've come back to see them.
They're sweet, they're caring
and they make living in a house fun.
Jax, for me, is lots of fun.
He came home and from that day, he's been happy, happy, happy.
Everything you wanna do, he's good with.
You wanna go for a walk, you wanna go play,
can I sit and watch TV with you, and he will actually
sit and watch the TV and sometimes interact with the TV.
He wants to be with you.
He wants to show people how fun life can be.
So, for me, even if it's the worse day
and I come home and I'm exhausted and frustrated,
he comes up, he gives me kisses all over my face and I'm happy.
Everything else just melts away and it's just Jax and I having fun.
The bullmastiff is called the gamekeeper's night watch dog.
And the bullmastiff originally was to guard the manor houses in England.
They had used mastiffs and they had used bulldogs
and both of them had traits that they wanted
but they we're exactly right for the job.
They wanted to be able to catch a poacher on the manor's land
but not kill the poacher because the manor owner
would have to pay the family of the poacher.
So the idea was, they wanted to knock the poacher down
and pin them, hold them until the gamekeeper could come
and then take them away.
Well, the mastiff was too big and not quite fast enough all the time
and the bulldog was a little too aggressive at that time.
So they developed a 60/40 mix of mastiff and bulldog
to create the bullmastiff.
The bullmastiff was trained specifically to knock
the poacher down and hold them,
so we call it the knock and pin.
This job was done all at night.
During the day, the bullmastiff was with the gamekeeper's family.
So he was in the house, by the hearth, with the kids
which is what they still wanna be.
These dogs are not just put outside and they guard your property.
They are personal protection.
They wanna be with you and the family all the time.
They're guard instinct is natural.
With both my bullmastiffs, I've noticed that
right out one year old, they figure out that
this is their home and this is their land,
this is their property, this they have to protect.
And you don't really have to do anything to teach them that,
it comes on quite naturally.
For Jax, you can see the awareness,
suddenly it was, I can hear someone at the door
and maybe I should go check on the door.
And he'll sit on the couch and he'll look out on the property
and he'll watch when people walk by.
He'll watch when someone comes into the yard.
And he has very acute awareness of where everything is in the house.
Jax, in particular, is very sensitive to anything being moved around.
So, if someone comes in, say, the gardeners,
and they move a pot around or they move one of the cars,
or they move the bench to a different side,
you'll see Jax come out and suddenly he'll go to attention,
his ears will come up, and his eyes will become very focused
and he's realizing that there's something different.
That on his land, something has been changed
and he has to evaluate whether that's okay or whether it's a threat.
And that goes back a lot to the breed's original training.
When they were prowling around at night, looking for the poachers,
a lot of time they would have to look at,
were there gaps in the fence,
was there a bush that had been disturbed,
were there tracks on the pathway.
So it harkens back to that old feeling, that nature,
that I've gotta make sure and be aware
of what's going on in my life.
Jax is a very active bullmastiff.
Jax has always been active and playful, very energetic.
So with him, it was always about keeping his brain active
and motivated, so when he was a puppy,
we did puppy socialization, a puppy playgroup
every Saturday and then on Sundays we would go and we would
do puppy obedience.
I think it's really important for the bullmastiffs to have
obedience training because with a dog that large
you wanna make sure you have control over them.
You wanna make sure that they know how to sit,
how to stand, how to wait, how to lie down,
all the commands that you might give to them
on a daily basis, you wanna make sure are engrained in them
from a very early age.
After we did that with Jax, he started his show training.
And so that was another activity that kept him engaged.
Jax is a great show dog because Jax loves to show.
You can't have a show dog that doesn't like to show.
We hear that all the time,
do the dogs really like it, do the dogs enjoy it,
aren't you pushing the dogs too much?
You can't show a dog that doesn't want to show.
If a dog goes into the ring and lies down,
you're not gonna win.
You have to have a dog that wants to show,
that wants to be out there.
Jax is great because Jax loves attention.
He likes being a ham.
He likes when people are out there and commenting on him
and clapping for him.
So Jax has done really well.
Jax got his championship at just under one year of age.
He's got his grand champion,
he's working on his grand champion bronze,
he's over halfway there.
Being around the show requires a special type of training for the dog.
Dogs, when they're waiting around the ring
are going to be around lots of different dogs,
all different ages, all different types of breeds.
When you're walking through the crowd people wanna meet them,
they stop and ask you about your dog,
so the dogs have to be very well-socialized in order
to be show dogs.
They have to be able to cope with the stress and the noise,
the people, the examination.
So it does take a certain type of dog to be a very good show dog.
Jax is also trained to do therapy work,
so there's a certain amount of specialized training
when it comes to being a therapy dog.
So, you have to find an activity that your bullmastiff likes.
And some bullmastiffs will make great therapy dogs, some wouldn't.
Some are absolutely extremely agile and energetic,
others wanna be more in the couch and under your feet.
The bullmastiff is absolutely an indoor breed.
The bullmastiffs, obviously, go outside and they'll play
and they'll run around but they don't want you to throw the ball
50 times and bring it back and retrieve.
They wanna go out, walk around the trees,
see their yard, check to make sure that everything's okay.
Throw the ball for them a couple of times,
maybe throw a tug toy for them to play with,
but they don't need hours, and hours, and hours outside.
And they especially don't want to be outside
if you're not there with them.
It's really not interesting for them.
They want to be wherever you are.
So if you're inside with them watching TV, they're happy.
If you come outside and you're playing with them
and you're running around with them, they're happy.
But they don't wanna be left alone outside.
Well, the nice thing about having the bullmastiff inside
is although they're a big dog, they wanna be close to you.
So, they're not really running around jumping over furniture
or going crazy.
When they're in the house, they wanna be
wherever you are.
So, if you're in the kitchen, they love to be laying there
watching you cook dinner.
If you're in your bedroom, they love to be laying down
on the bed while you read a book.
If you're in the living room, they wanna sit there
and watch the movie with you.
Of course, every once in a while, they'll get bored
or they'll wanna play or they'll have their little zoomy moment
but in general, they just wanna be wherever you are.
So, whenever you're in the house with a bullmastiff,
you'll know that you have a companion
and you feel secure having them in the house.
Jax gets a lot of free reign in the house
but he's had to earn that.
When Jax was a puppy, we definitely let him know
what areas were okay for him to go in.
So, as a puppy, we'd have him out with us in the living room
but he couldn't just wander off and explore wherever he wanted
because he would have an accident or he would get into something
that he was supposed to.
So we learned real early, one of the first things
that we did was create a place for him.
So in the most popular area in the house,
where we spend the most time, we set up his bed
and we taught him that that was place.
So anytime we wanted him to be with us
but to feel comfortable, we would have him go
to his place, which was his bed and that had his toys,
something to chew on, something to play with,
a pillow, whatever would make him comfortable.
As he got older and he behaved well and he didn't get into things
or learned not to get into things then he had more free reign
of the house and would gradually explore.
Because the bullmastiff, as large as they are,
they don't actually need that much area to move around in.
The best thing to do for a bullmastiff for them
to be successful is to tell them what they can and cannot do.
They are a very smart breed and they're very discerning.
So, I think sometimes everyone gets
into telling the dog what not to do.
Don't get on the sofa, Don't get on the table,
don't jump up on people,
don't go outside the door
but when you do that, the dog then suddenly decides to choose
what they want to do.
So, if someone comes into the house and you're telling your dog,
don't jump up, don't bark,
don't go behind them, well, then the dog goes,
okay, you said don't jump, so maybe I'll bark.
Well, you said don't bark, maybe I'll paw at the person.
Okay, you said don't paw, maybe I'll run behind them.
You have to tell the dog what you want them to do
so when someone comes in, we taught Jax that you sit
and you wait, once the person's in the door,
'cause we didn't want him going through the door,
then he would go up and he could greet them.
And when he didn't jump, when he didn't bark,
then he would get a reward.
And so that way he learned how to greet a person properly.
I think ti's almost more important to tell the people the rules
about the house 'cause I know how Jax is gonna act,
I know how my bullmastiff is gonna respond.
You don't always know how the people are gonna respond
to a big bullmastiff coming to greet them at the door.
For people, I think they worry about the drool a lot
and the most important thing when they come in
is greeting the dog.
And we tell them, you're coming into our house and this is
his house as well, so you need to greet him.
You can't walk in and ignore him and pretend that he's not there.
You have to give a bullmastiff their due respect.
So we tell people when they come in to say hello.
We try to tell people to remain calm.
I think everyone when they see a big dog gets really excited
and they wanna yell and scream and go,
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!"
Well, it's very enticing to a dog and it's very exciting,
so if a person is jumping up and down and waving their hands,
they bullmastiff thinks, oh okay, maybe I should jump up and down.
Maybe I should start spinning around.
So we tell people just remain calm, let him come in,
let him greet you nice and slowly.
After that, usually when they go and sit down on the couch,
Jax will wanna go up and sit with them or sit next to them
and we tell them, depending on the person,
how comfortable they are with him, either he can stay
and sit on the couch with them or maybe he goes to his place
or maybe we put him back in his crate.
It depends on how comfortable the person is with our dog.
The other thing with the bullmastiff which we get a lot,
I think a lot of the big dogs especially with the cute big heads,
people love to grab them.
So we really have to tell people, you're more than welcome to pet them.
We always tell children, it's always best start to pet them
on the side of them, not on top of their heads.
'Cause going and trying to grab them on top or pet them
on their head can be seen as aggressive to them
and they are a cautious guard breed.
So you wanna be careful about that.
But a lot of people wanna come up when they realize that you're dog
is nice and well-trained and obedient,
then they think, oh okay, well I can be really friendly with him
so they get down on the ground or they'll grab them by their face
and by their jowls and they'll wanna kiss them.
And I have to tell them, while, we do that
'cause we love them and live with them,
most dogs find that pretty invasive
and aren't very comfortable with that type of behavior
so yes, please pet him and give him love
but be gentle.
A lot of times people don't realize with the big dogs
that they should be a little more gentle.
I find that the bullmastiffs actually really like
having a schedule.
They seem to like to know when they're going to eat,
when they're going to go out,
what they're going to do.
There's certain cues, Jax knows the difference.
If I get up at a certain time or I'm wearing a certain type of clothes,
he knows that we're either gonna go to the show or maybe
going to obedience class or it may be just a day at home.
So they're definitely very aware of what's going on at the house
and their role in it.
Jax's average schedule, he's a late riser.
I get up earlier in the morning, my husband gets up later
so generally Jax sleeps in his crate next to the bed.
So he's in the room with us.
Once we get up, then he's able to come out.
Usually, he likes a little rest time before he gets up.
He doesn't like to eat right away,
which I can totally understand 'cause I'm the same way.
So, we get up and he gets some TV time,
some time in the family room,
gets to relax and stretch.
And after about an hour of being out,
then Jax gets his breakfast and he gets to go outside
in the yard afterwards.
Jax spends the majority of his day either outside
on short walks or playing in the yard
or on the couch watching TV, playing with his toys.
He's pretty much with some member of the family all the time
if he's in the house with us.
Jax eats twice a day.
So we feed him once in the mid morning
and then when I get home after work then Jax eats again later on
in the evening and then he'll get one more potty walk
to go outside before he gets to go to bed.
There is a lot of drool with Jax, Jax has a wet mouth.
Not all bullmastiffs drool as much as Jax does.
Some don't drool at all.
It actually depends, for this breed, on the shape of the mouth.
The more pendulous the flues are, the more they collect the saliva
and the more drool you get.
Now, pretty much any bullmastiff will drool after eating
or after they've had water.
The best way I've found to deal with it
is a bunch of washcloths.
We buy them by the 20 pack and we have them
and we kind of hand them out like handkerchiefs.
And you can tell when a person comes over if they're shying away
or they're kind of brushing their pants, you know,
they're a little more concerned about the drool.
So we always tell people, if you have a problem
or you're worried about your clothes, let us know
and we'll wipe his mouth and we'll make sure he's clean
before he comes to greet you.
But generally a bunch of washcloths, some dish towels around
work really well.
We you have the same issues with bullmastiffs
that you have with any large breed in the home.
I've known people who've had bullmastiffs on huge ranch houses
with tons of land.
I've known people who had two bullmastiffs in a single condo.
It depends on how their trained and what you wanna do with them.
They like to take a walk but they don't need to be
running around for hours and hours and hours outside.
Definitely, they don't always know how big they are.
(chuckles)
And so even when people come over they'll wanna try and sit on them
or lay on top of them or lay over them.
So you have to be cautious around children to make sure that they
don't run around or jump on them or knock them down.
In the house, you definitely, end up putting most things
above their head level because they will go and
every once in a while, a tail swipe will take out stuff on the table
or they'll paw something and everything will go flying.
So you definitely have to be aware of how big they are
and what they can do and you actually have to give them
the appropriate space so that they feel comfortable in the house.
The bullmastiff, if they're raised with other pets,
can get along really well.
I know people who have bullmastiffs with one cat,
with a lot of cats.
They have bullmastiffs with bigger dogs, smaller dogs.
The thing about it is you have to make sure that they're raised
with a pet and that they're comfortable.
And that the owners are aware of the risks.
They are a big dog, so if you have a small dog
and they're playing to rough, the smaller dog could get hurt.
And you ever wanna set your bullmastiff up to fail.
You always wanna put your bullmastiff in a situation
where they're gonna succeed and they're gonna thrive.
So you have to be careful around different size animals.
Generally, the bullmastiff, I found can temper their behavior.
They really realize the difference between how to play indoors,
versus how to play outdoors.
How to play with a big dog, versus how to play
or interact with a puppy.
So they seem to know that but they definitely need
a lot of guidance and training from the owners.
The bullmastiff is a wonderful dog.
They are loving, they are loyal,
they are caring, they are protective.
The bullmastiff though requires a good amount of work.
If you're gonna own a bullmastiff,
you need to make sure that you're willing to put the time in
to train them, to feed them properly,
to give them the right veterinary care.
With all that, they are phenomenal
to have in the house.
They're a great pet, a fabulous companion.
You know that you and your home are always protected
when you have a bullmastiff
and I couldn't imagine life without one.