My wife has wanted a certain breed of dog for several years (actually, longer than I have personally known her). Myself, I have wanted a Collie…you know…Lassie and all of that jazz. But the breed of dog my wife has wanted? When people ask me, "What type of dog is that?" I answer them with this: "Just think, ‘Domesticated Bear’". Oh, yeah…what type of dog is that? Bullmastiff.
Well, anyways…to the story at hand. One night, my wife tells me that she found something that she wants to get. I am thinking, "shoes…shirt….car…." But, no, it couldn’t be as easy as a new car. She has found, not one, but TWO Bullmastiff puppies. TWO "DOMESTICATED BEARS"!!??!! Yep…two of them.
You see, they are brothers, and they have never been apart. The lady that owns them, are wanting to give them away. Give them away? I ask, "Why?" These things sell for several hundred dollars. Well, my wife tells me that they are mixed. They are ½ Bullmastiff…and….she trails off. I ask what the other half is. A look of hesitation spreads across her face…then she lays it out. The dad was a full Bullmastiff. The mom? Pit-Bull. I groan….and groan a little bit more. I see that look, and I know she has wanted a dog (DOGS!!??) like this for a long time.
She had already went to the lady’s house to see the puppies. She tells me that the woman has told her that the mom (pit bull) is a great dog. And, she has a boy that mauls on the dogs and the dogs are just fine about it. Which, is good, because we have 2 boys, ages 3 and 5, that will maul also.
So, I go along with it…groaning the whole way. Se go to meet and get the puppies. "Puppies"…heh, such a funny little word. These two "puppies" are only a year old, and already are just as tall as my two boys…and they each weigh about 100 lbs. "Domesticated Bear".
One is black with some brown…and the other is brown, with some black. The black one is all licky-licky all over the place, tail wagging, and just excitement all over. The brown one…well, he is very reserved. Not mean…just very reserved. He wants to sit back, and check everything out first. The black one? He jumps right in with all 4 legs, wagging, licking, and drooling all over the place.
I decide to sit in the back of the van with the dogs, to maybe try to help keep them calmed down…and to try to keep them in the back of the van. We no sooner got going, when both dogs literally lay down on top of me and…get this…go to sleep. 200 lbs laying on top of me. Anyways, we get home.
The black one jumps out the van and goes right inside the house with no problem…it took some coaxing for the brown one to follow suit. But finally, they are both inside. Now, these two puppies have never been inside, other than the garage…I was originally going to have them stay outside, keep them as outside pets. But, I got to thinking. These dogs make GREAT guard dogs. And what good is a guard dog if he is locked up outside? So, we decide to keep them inside. I know…it is going to take some training, but I think we can handle it.
The thing is, before I saw the dogs, I was not sure about getting another pet. Especially TWO of them…and two of them the size (and the potential size) of these two. But you know what? When I saw them, I fell for them totally. They practically stick to me like glue when I am home. They are very well-behaved, at least, so far. They want to please, they want our attention (and really, how can we not give them attention when they lay their big heads with their long droopy jowls across our leg or arm?). They are very good with the kids. When they were first in the house, they knocked into my 3 year old (Jacob), and pushed him into a piece of furniture, bumping his head. Jake cried, and I put him on the couch. Both dogs walked over to the couch, and laid their heads on the couch, looking at him. Today (we just got them home last night), Jake was mad about something, and fell to the floor (in his dramatic fashion), and cried. The brown one walked over, and stood OVER him, and just stood there, looking down at Jake every few moments.
I have really started to like these two guys….a WHOLE LOT, to be honest. They even have the same temperaments as my two boys. The black one is more like Jake…in your face, happy (or whatever emotion he is choosing to show at the moment). And the brown one is more like Christian…reserved, always thinking….
We are trying to work on getting them house-broken…not sure how much "fun" this will be. But really…I really want to succeed with these two guys. They both are so laid back…and you can look into the eyes of the brown one, and just see "depth". So far, I am really enjoying my time with them….
Oh, and their names? I have renamed them. Albie and Reno just wasn’t two names I really cared for. What are their new names? Brute & Massacre. Brute is the black one. Massacre is the brown one.
If anyone has ANY tips or suggestions one how to train these two guys, PLEASE send it my way….I could use it!!
my wife and I have started some of the training. We took them outside in the back yard (we have a pretty decent sized backyard), and walked them around on their leash. They seem to be pre-disposed (is that the right word?) to walk right along with us. Although, Brute (the black one) gets kinda excited and wants to "switch" sides. But, we are working with them to have them sit automatically everytime we stop while we are walking. They did pretty good...I think they know that their reward will be us petting them and loving on them if they do sit. Sure, they needed reminding...but that is ok.
I really am loving these dogs. I love having them around in the house. And it is very cute to have them laying down practically on top of each other on the floor when they are sleeping.
(NOTE: For some reason, the first time I posted this, it was not showing up as an article of mine in my blog. So, I resubmitted it. I also cannot delete the first thread in the forums, so, if any oof you want to delete, speaking to the mods, go ahead, but please leave this one. Thanks!!)