10 Commandments for Pet Owners
-My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you will
be very painful.

-Give me the time to understand what you want from me. Do not break
my spirit with your temper,
though I will always forgive you. Your patience will teach me more
effectively.

-Please have me spayed or neutered. It's better for everyone.

-Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in the entire world
is more grateful for your kindness than mine.
Don't be angry with me for long, and don't lock me up as punishment.
After all, you have your job, your friends,
and your entertainment. I only have you.

-Speak to me often. Even if I don't understand your words, I
understand your voice when it's speaking to me. Your voice
is the sweetest sound I ever hear, as you must know by my enthusiasm
whenever I hear you.

-Take me in when it's cold and wet. I'm a domestic animal and am no
longer prepared to the bitter elements. I ask for little, gentle
hands petting me, my bowl full of water, and good food so I can stay
well. By your side I will stand ready, willing and able to share my
life with you, for that is what I live for.

-Don't hit me. I have the capability of biting you back but I choose
not to do so. Please.

-Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative ask yourself if
something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right
food, I've been out in the sun too long, or my heart may be getting
weak.

-Take care of me when I get old. For you will get old too.

-When I no longer enjoy good health, please do not make heroic
efforts to keep me going. I am not having fun. Just see to it that
my trusting life is taken gently. Be with me when I start the
difficult journey of saying goodbye. Everything is easier for me
when you are there. I will leave the earth with my last breath
knowing that was fate was always safest in your hands. …… I love you.

The Mastiff : The Aristocratic Guardian (The Pure Bred Series) by Dee Dee Andersson (Hardcover)

Mastiffs: Everthing About Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Grooming, Behavior, and Training (Complete Pet Owner's Manual) by Kim Campbell Thornton, Pam Tanzey (Illustrator) (Paperback - May 1999)

Mastiff: A Comprehensive Guide to Owning and Caring for Your Dog (Kennel Club Dog Breed Series) by Christina De-Lima-Netto, Christina De Lima-Netto (Hardcover - September 2003) The Mastiff: An Owner's Guideto a Happy Healthy Pet

The Mastiff: An Owner's Guideto a Happy Healthy Pet (Happy Healthy Pet) by John M. Becknell (Hardcover) Give Your Dog a Bone: The Practical Commonsense Way to Feed Dogs for a Healthy Life by Ian Billinghurst (Paperback - December 1993) Earl Mindell's Nutrition & Health for Dogs : Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy with Natural Preventative Care and Remedies by Elizabeth Renaghan,

The MCOA is dedicated to the health and welfare of the English Mastiff breed conserving its unique breed function as a gentle giant companion and family guardian.

A pure bred dog of this type offers to his owners that he will be of a specific size, shape, color and temperament.

The predictability of a breed comes from years of selection for traits that are desirable and away from those that are undesirable. However, when a breed standard or type is set, those animals within that set have less heterozygosity than animals in a random population.

A so called “American Mastiff” is nothing but a mixed breed when the English Mastiff is crossed with an Anatolian Shepherd or whatever, the resultant first generation offspring, because it is a gamble, the offspring become an unpredictable mix. Coat, body shape, height, color, head etc become a veritable crap shoot. Behavior and temperament, the most essential character of an English Mastiff, varies and centuries of breeding for predictable behavior is lost when breeding to a dog of questionable temperament.

The MCOA is opposed to the cross breeding of pure bred dogs for the purpose of whim and fancy. These mixed breed dogs are not exempt from but more prone to the known genetic diseases of both breeds. They offer none of the advantages that owning a pure bred has to offer.

We urge you to avoid this temptation to purchase a “designer Mastiff”. Be a prudent and informed buyer – search for reputable English Mastiff web sites and most importantly the web site of the Mastiff Club of America..

Remember that buying a dog is not buying the latest electronic equipment, designer handbag or item of in style fancy. Rather it is a long term commitment to a living animal and with prudent selection, should result in wonderful long term relationship..


by:
Dr. William R. Newman

Delegate of the Mastiff Club of America

The following list of dogs are in the group known as Molosser. Only the Mastiff is the true Mastiff others have taken on the name of Mastiff for examples, Brazilian, Italian, French mastiff all go under are recognized by the AKC under their breed names listed below. But the AKC regards the "English Mastiff" as the only true "Mastiff " and the only name for a Mastiff.