Big Dog Owners

[pickles521]

Hmmm...so you have almost 400 lbs of dogs at your house! I bet it costs more to feed your pups than it does to feed my horse .

BTW, I'm glad you gave him a cheeseburger for his post vet snack! I bet he really enjoyed it.

I laughed at this.

Several years ago we had 3 dogs - more than 250 pounds between the three of them, so not huge, but we certainly didn't have tiny ankle biters! Anyway, I went to the commissary for my once-every-couple-months dog food run. DH was deployed so it was just me and I found it much easier to get all my dog food at one time but at a seperate time than I got groceries. So, I go through the check out with about 240 pounds of Purina ONE and a gallon of milk. The cashier asked if I had big dogs. I looked straight at her and said I had a chiuahua, fully expecting her to giggle. She didn't - she stammered a little bit and refused to look me in the eye after that.

Well... she apparently believed me, because the next time I was in the commissary, a couple of the cashiers and the manager decided to stage an intervention and let me know that I if I was struggling with my DH deployed (I wasn't - we actually made significanly MORE money!) that they would help me find an organization or maybe get food stamps. One even offered to help me go over my budget and find a way to free up more money for people food. After I figured out what they were talking about and then stopped laughing I told them it was a joke, only apparently I didn't tell it well enough since the cashier actually believed me! I thanked them for their concern - and they did seem truly concerned! - but assured them that I was just fine.

 

[stichy]

We had a boxer, who wasn't even that big, and people ducked when they saw him coming. He was scared of his own shadow!!

I think it's just because there are too many big dog owners that don't have control of their pets.

My boxer is very petite. She's only 52 pounds and very delicate bone structure. (can you tell I think she's the best dog ever?) People kinda look twice at her too. She's absolutly scared of everything. We were just at the vet and there was another person in the waiting room so Zuzu spent the whole time attempting to climb into my lap.

 

[Kae]

Last time I took Dexter to the vet some lady picked up her dog & stood outside tell they called her dog. Her DH stayed inside tell they called the dog & then went & got her. I think my dog should have been scared of the lady.


Dexter is a 99# German Shorthair Pointer.
Kae

 

[heatherwillmom]

DH keeps wanting an Irish Wolfhound. I told him it he gets one, it has to sleep in the barn with the rest of the horses! I had a friend who had one & she had to take out the 3rd row seat in her SUV for him to have enough room

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Several years ago we had 3 dogs - more than 250 pounds between the three of them, so not huge, but we certainly didn't have tiny ankle biters! Anyway, I went to the commissary for my once-every-couple-months dog food run. DH was deployed so it was just me and I found it much easier to get all my dog food at one time but at a seperate time than I got groceries. So, I go through the check out with about 240 pounds of Purina ONE and a gallon of milk. The cashier asked if I had big dogs. I looked straight at her and said I had a chiuahua, fully expecting her to giggle. She didn't - she stammered a little bit and refused to look me in the eye after that.

Well... she apparently believed me, because the next time I was in the commissary, a couple of the cashiers and the manager decided to stage an intervention and let me know that I if I was struggling with my DH deployed (I wasn't - we actually made significanly MORE money!) that they would help me find an organization or maybe get food stamps. One even offered to help me go over my budget and find a way to free up more money for people food. After I figured out what they were talking about and then stopped laughing I told them it was a joke, only apparently I didn't tell it well enough since the cashier actually believed me! I thanked them for their concern - and they did seem truly concerned! - but assured them that I was just fine.

Great story!

 

[Serena]

My daughter has an English Mastiff named Kitty. She is big,but a sweetheart. I understand people are afraid of big dogs, but the only dog that ever attacked me was a chihuahua.

 

[koolaidmoms]

This is our 7 1/2 yr. old baby, Roufus. He's a 188 lb. lap dog in his mind.

That was the cutest dog. This is our second Saint and we love them. They are lovable and good with the kids and he scares the heck out of anyone who comes to the door. Little do they know he only wants to play with them.

 

[JessicaR]

Hmmm...so you have almost 400 lbs of dogs at your house! I bet it costs more to feed your pups than it does to feed my horse .

The kibble part isn't too bad its all the steaks and chickens that add up.

BTW, I'm glad you gave him a cheeseburger for his post vet snack! I bet he really enjoyed it.

The kibble part isn't too bad its all the steaks and chickens that add up.
He loved his burger!

He looks like "Fang" from the Harry Potter movies. He wasn't one of the four Mastiffs that played Fang from these movies is he?

These dogs can be very lovable dogs. Slobber all over you, but very loving.

Slobber is an understatement. But yes oh so lovable.

When we bring the 3 danes somewhere, people always ask if they live in the house. Um yeah

Of course they live in the house sometimes they even let us live with them too!

Oh he is cute!!!! Would you mind telling me some about the breed? I am reading up on them now, but would love to hear a first hand experience. I would love to consider this breed for one of my future pets.

Thanks! OK lets see they slobber, they are love starved and always in need of touching you or following you wherever you may wander in the house. They only eat once a day but snack a few times also. They LOVE fruit. They are very protective of their family especially if we are at home. They are prone to bloating. They have short life spans... They can be prone to cherry eye and hip dysplasia. They are very silly, love the snow as much as their pools. Easy to train, loyal and very obedient. You better be the boss cause you dont want a Mastiff that is your boss. The have HUGE hearts. Did I mention they slobber? A lot...

I adore your dog!! I have had a lot of different breeds over the years, English Bulldogs, Shar-Pei, Bassets, but nothing as big as yours. I have had a lot of people afraid of my Bulldogs who the only way that they would hurt you would be lick you to death!! It looks like your baby is probably the same. Now my Min Pin who weighed 5 pounds, she would bite anyone or anything. She even bit my horse once.

Gotta watch out for the little ones! My sisters Pomeranian jumped up and bit Brutus right on the nose! Brutus just cowered away.

We have an English Mastiff. (Think hercules from the sandlot) She is the biggest baby. She honest to god thinks she is a little dog or something. She loves to cuddle and play with our other dogs. I do understand where you are comming from when people look at your dog and assume it is vicious because of their size. It's very annoying. She is probably more afraid of you than you are of her.
Side note: I was walking to my mailbox one afternoon and the groundskeeper at the church beside our house had his mastiff with him while he was mowing and I saw his dog and kept walking toward my mailbox. when I got up there I held out my hand and introduced myself to his dog and then pet him. The man said that I was the first person that didn't stop dead in their tracks when they saw his dog. I told him I have a mastiff too and they get a bum rap.

Love The English mastiffs too! Talk about large. I have a habit of stalking anyone I see with a giant breed dog.

OMG!! What a CUTIE!!! He is so adorable!! I wouldnt walk away from you in my vet!! My pups would want to play!

I think you need a new vet!!!

I was thinking the same but he came so highly recommended. Maybe it was an off day. I hope anyway.

He is beautiful and looks like a sweet big baby to me. I get just the opposite reaction when I go to the vet with my dogs. I have 2 brother and sister 1/2 great dane, 1/2 St Bernards. Everyone who works at the vet's office are so happy to see them and come over to say hello. Most people in the waiting area are friendly and ask about them too.

They have a floor scale for all dogs to walk on no matter the size. My mother's dog is 7lbs. They all use the walk on scale.

Thats the way I hoped it would be too! I bet your dogs are just beautiful - would love to see them also,

Many people are/have been afraid of my German Shepherd(s) as well. I respect it. The last thing I want to do is make anyone uncomfortable. I pretty much act like everyone is going to be afraid and respect their space. If then, people ask to pat her or invite her over, that's fine. When people realize a dog is not going to come in their space, usually they're ok. Some might get up and move but that's fine, too. A good rule of thumb is that your dog should be under your control at all times. With a dog as big as yours, people will be nervous, especially if you give off the air that you're not in control (dog pulling, barking, not obeying commands, etc). They might indeed take cover, understandably - don't fault them for it, they probably have no idea what kind of gentle giant he is! (Although I agree this is strange at a vet's office!)

PS I would love to pat your dog!

I agree we dont allow the dogs to invade anyone's space. If they ask to play we say absolutely. So many people have large dog phobias and I respect that. Brutus would love you to pat him.

I love his big, sweet face!!!

Aww thanks, your dog is a sweetie pie too!

 

[JessicaR]

Cupcake has DEFINITELY got the fur, holymoly... every year during shedding season I'm vacuuming and sweeping daily! LOL She's worth it tho! And yep, one blue eye, one brown Her mom was purebred, got off her leash one day and ended up with a big ol' litter of pups!

Here's a picture of her:

Oh Darsa she is stunning! Love that shot with the snow in the background.

 

[acejka]

I'm in LOVE! I just want to hug him! What a beauty! I love big dogs!

 

[JessicaR]

OMG ~ I LOVE your doggie!!!! We've always had big dogs until Zippy and I miss them! I think they get a bad rap. I was reading something the other day that said the top three biters were Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Jack Russells.

Zippy's favorite friend at the dog park is a Bernese Mountain Dog. He loves it when she lays on top of him Zippy is the Jack Russell and Babe is the Berner

His other good friend is a Husky and she mothers him ~ too funny! When he gets in trouble she comes over and talks to me. The other day he was playing with a Great Dane and he had to get on the bench in order to kiss her.

Zippy would be heartbroken if he couldn't play with the big dogs!

So sweet! Love that picture.

 

[JessicaR]

Oh, he's adorable!


DD13 has been begging for an English Mastiff for several months now. I would also like to hear more about this breed, as we have never owned a giant breed before. We do have a St. Bernard mix, but his mom was a Spaniel (yeah...lol) and so he's only about 65 lbs. He's 9 years old, which is old for a St. Bernard, but not so old for a spaniel, so we don't know how long he has left. He's still in good health, though.

Anyway, how much does a 200lb dog eat each month? Just curious. Trying to think of what it would cost to care for a dog like that before we let DD get one. Do they really slobber a lot? Do they shed a lot? They look so gentle; I understand people are fearful because of their size, but they look so sweet to me!

They do slobber a lot and they fancy flinging it on the walls too. My kitchen has stacks and stacks of slobber rags as we lovingly call them, at all times. The hardest thing for me to overcome if their life span. I justify it by telling myself the love they share is worth the shortened time they are with me. They are so devoted, sweet and smart. I go through a 55 lb bag of Solid Gold every 3 weeks - a couple of chicken roasts a week and 2-3 large London broils. They also get pumpkin, plain yogurt, sweet potatoes, bananas and brown rice. They have a vanilla ice cream weakness too! They are very gentle and have very soft mouth, lots of wrinkles, barley shed and love their baths. Maintenance wise they are easy. Ears have to be cleaned often but they dont mind it. Most kids that come in contact with them just want to love them up and ride them!

people do the same thing with my American Pitbull Terrier(Belle). and really she is a sweetheart.

They are sweethearts! Have a picture?

He's so handsome!

.

Thanks!

Beautiful dog! Looks like a Mastiff to me. I remember when I was visiting my parents up in the NYC area earlier this year, a small shop owner had one behind the counter. He jumped up with his two front paws on the counter, surprising me half to death. I grew up with big dogs (100-120 lbs), but my god... I never realized how big Mastiffs were until I saw one in person. Biggest sweetheart in the world too, and just wanted to be petted. He was only a puppy, and was a solid 150 lbs already.

It seems that the bigger the dog, the bigger the heart they have. The only time I've ever been bitten by a dog was by a Chuhuahua.

They are so massive looking when on two feet. They are taller than my husband. They seem to like that position too so they can see whats going on.

I laughed at this.

Several years ago we had 3 dogs - more than 250 pounds between the three of them, so not huge, but we certainly didn't have tiny ankle biters! Anyway, I went to the commissary for my once-every-couple-months dog food run. DH was deployed so it was just me and I found it much easier to get all my dog food at one time but at a seperate time than I got groceries. So, I go through the check out with about 240 pounds of Purina ONE and a gallon of milk. The cashier asked if I had big dogs. I looked straight at her and said I had a chiuahua, fully expecting her to giggle. She didn't - she stammered a little bit and refused to look me in the eye after that.

Well... she apparently believed me, because the next time I was in the commissary, a couple of the cashiers and the manager decided to stage an intervention and let me know that I if I was struggling with my DH deployed (I wasn't - we actually made significanly MORE money!) that they would help me find an organization or maybe get food stamps. One even offered to help me go over my budget and find a way to free up more money for people food. After I figured out what they were talking about and then stopped laughing I told them it was a joke, only apparently I didn't tell it well enough since the cashier actually believed me! I thanked them for their concern - and they did seem truly concerned! - but assured them that I was just fine.

Thats funny!

This is our 7 1/2 yr. old baby, Roufus. He's a 188 lb. lap dog in his mind.

That was the cutest dog. This is our second Saint and we love them. They are lovable and good with the kids and he scares the heck out of anyone who comes to the door. Little do they know he only wants to play with them.

What a face! I could kiss him all up!

 

[DisneyKT]

I love all your dogs. They are so cute. I understand what your saying I have now a 6 month old German Shepherd. But before I had 2 Shepherds which past because of old age. One of the vets at the office was very nervous around them seems strange. So I just make sure I dont get her. Ah well. Love big dogs. And small dogs.

 

[sunnyday123]

I think I'd be finding a new vet-that would make me worry they'd be afraid of him and miss something in an exam.

And I get the "big dog syndrome", and it stinks. My puppy is now a slim 107 lbs, and we have people pick up their dogs and walk the other way at the park, give us a wide berth, or just walk the other way. I think it's the combination of being a black dog, and a big dog. For some reason, black dogs are perceived as menacing, and they're the last to be adopted at shelters.

When someone does pet her, they realize she's the biggest baby ever. When we go to the pet store, it takes us FOREVER to get out because people ask us a billion questions about her.

No, we don't have a saddle for her.
No, we don't have a huge house.
No, she doesn't eat a lot.

 

[ilovepete]

I have a big Great Dane and get the same reactions! She is the sweetest thing, too!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I have never even thought of saying anything like that about someone's dog! If your dog is under control, I don't see the big deal. There are entirely too many ignorant and misinformed people in the World. I would happily pet your dog and allow him to sit beside my cats or Boston Terrier without the fear of them becoming lunch, dinner or a snack!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

We have a boxer-mastiff mutt named Delilah. She's actually the most docile dog we've ever owned.

She's incredibly spoiled and is, basically, my parents' new baby. She weighs about 115 pounds, I think. She's actually less aggressive than the little dustmop who lives next door!

 

[heatherwillmom]

I adore big dogs! The short life span is what has kept me from getting one, although typically English Bulldogs, which I have had, also have a short life span, but we have been pretty lucky with ours. The slobber thing I'm pretty used to. I used to show one of my Bulldogs. I learned very quickly that you carry a slobber towel in your pocket to wipe them off just before the judge gets to you. My Basset Hound is bad for slobbering too & he also loves to sling slobber everywhere. Our neighbor has Newfoundlands & they are so well behaved. I have noticed after they get a bath, he "dries them" with the leaf blower & they just stand there. My Basset would be running in fear & my Corgi would be trying to attack it.

 

[Darsa]

My daughter has an English Mastiff named Kitty.

Best name EVER!! I can just visualize your daughter opening the door and hollering "HERE KITTY!!", and this huge ol' dog come galloping up!

 

[Suz725]

As the mom of a 150 lb newfoundland, I feel your pain. doesnt he look vicious