Bullmastiff
The bullmastiff was made in nineteenth-century England for a single job: gamekeepers on large estates needed a dog fast enough to catch a poacher and controlled enough to hold rather than maul him.
The recipe was roughly sixty per cent mastiff to forty per cent bulldog, and the breed was known as the gamekeeper's night dog.
It is very large and heavily built, with a broad square head, a short muzzle and a dense short coat in fawn, red or brindle, always with a black mask. Bullmastiffs are quiet, steady and undemonstrative — far less noisy than their size suggests — and naturally protective without being sharp.
- Origin
- England, 1800s
- Size
- 45–59 kg, 61–69 cm at the shoulder
- Lifespan
- 7–9 years
- Coat
- Short, dense and weather-resistant
- Temperament
- Calm, steady, protective, quietly stubborn
- Exercise
- About an hour daily, gentle while growing
Related: Bulldog
3 bullmastiff photos, newest first
Living with a bullmastiff
The coat is easy; the wrinkles and jowls are not, and they drool.
They feel heat badly — the short muzzle limits panting — and should not be worked hard in summer.
Growth needs managing carefully: a giant puppy exercised too hard damages joints that will carry a great deal of weight.
Hip and elbow dysplasia are common and should be scored. The breed has high rates of lymphoma and mast cell tumours, and is at risk of bloat. Entropion and subaortic stenosis also occur. The short lifespan is the hard part.
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual dogs vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.
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