Last week Alison and I watched a baseball game in a Toronto park, and a guy wandered past with THE. BIGGEST. DOG. I. HAVE. EVER. SEEN.
This dog was literally as large as a juvenile lion, a fact I breathlessly reported to Scott and of which he was deeply skeptical. However, I have actually petted a juvenile lion (that’s what happens when you work in kids’ television for 6 years, you get to touch lots of weird animals, including terrifyingly huge juvenile lions, which by the way are hella allergenic. And also one time a sheep pees on your foot on live TV). So I think I should know.
This dog was as tall as a Great Dane and as thick as a Rottweiler. It had a short muzzle on a huge face and its head was pretty much the size of a basketball. It was also very docile, plodding along slowly and sniffting at things. It was kind of like a Chinese dragon puppet from a parade, and kind of like a golden-haired buffalo. The dude who was walking this enormity was clearly pretty accustomed to all the attention and was happy to tell us his dog’s breed: Old English Mastiff.
I did some google searching so I could share with you this awesomeness. Most English Mastiffs you’ll see on the Interwebs are slender gazelles in comparison to our boy from last Tuesday. They basically just look like tall Rotties.
Dakota here is not representative of her breed.
I know you’re all like BIG WHUP. But you know what? IT WAS A BIG WHUP. Assuming of course that by “whup” you mean “dog”, and by “big” you mean “unbelievably huge”.
The man in this photo weighs 270 lbs.
This dog's weight was recorded as 286 lbs, but the owner thinks his actual weight is probably quite a bit more, since 'his butt wouldn't fit on the scale'
I would not be surprised if the woman in this photo is 6 feet tall.
And imagine you’re a common burglar and you hop a fence into the yard containing this big boy:
Note that the head and body of this dog are the same thickness. It's like a pommel horse with pointy parts at both ends.
Sad day for the thief: although dogs of this breed are usually quite laid-back, they were originally bred as guard dogs. Cromwell the dog got to keep the intruder’s shirt, and the thief sped away topless (and probably a little damper in the pants area than he liked to be).
The average weight for an English Mastiff is about 225 lbs… but the Guiness record for Largest Dog Ever is held by an 8-year old male English Mastiff who was named Zorba, who weighed 345 lbs, and was 8″3′ from nose to tail. Just to give you a sense of scale, basketball player Shaquille O’Neal is 7″1′ tall and weighs 325 lbs.
So yeah. Old English Mastiffs. Niiiice doggie.
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May 23, 2009 at 6:57 pm |
It’s like the BBC did a CGI-based faux documentary about pre-iceage dogs that roamed Pangaea and pulled trees up by the roots.
May 25, 2009 at 11:54 am |
I thought the one we saw suffered from Gigantism or something. Guess not. I totally want and don’t want to own this dog.
May 25, 2009 at 7:36 pm |
alison, there is no room for a dog of this size in your life. no dog of any size can fit into your life.
May 29, 2009 at 11:19 pm |
Where was this? Maybe it was my dog! I live in toronto and have a VERY large English Mastiff!
May 29, 2009 at 11:30 pm |
It was in a park beside the DVP, near the Bayview extension, I think. Broadview and Danforth area. Like 10 days ago. Was it you?!
June 23, 2009 at 2:21 am |
Regrettably it gives humans, whom Power, Size and Weight as a worthwhile character a characteristic regard. I have Bull – Mastiffs and can only reports for years: ” to feed each idiot, meaningfully and moderately, can train weighed out feeds means Diziplin”. But this lacks the owners also, as should it there with the dogs fold?.
July 4, 2009 at 4:28 am |
That is just disgusting, these people need to exercise their dogs more, they should NOT be that big.
July 4, 2009 at 4:35 am |
ummm… that’s not really how that works, travis.
September 14, 2009 at 2:28 am |
Aatamperoo…Travis is right,MMMM I work at an animal hospital with yeas and practice of skooling…veternarian technologist.. DOGS DO NEED THERE EXERCISE, are owners awful for it, some of thoes breeds just by looking at there figure are in the overweight category…some of them have belies and a lot of fat above the ribs and not just that no figure and there are diet foods for animals out there, not over the counter tho.. alot of the grocerystore pet store food isnt great, there are nice brands but there just okay.
Some of them are fine tho and in normal ranges and they can grow to be that large but some are overweight!!!!!!!!
October 8, 2009 at 10:50 pm |
that pin cushion steroid fool probably thinks he looks good, but he’s really a roid junkie
October 9, 2009 at 2:36 pm |
These dogs can range from 147 pounds to 252 pounds on average, depending on their blood line. As puppies they grow in one day as much as human babies grow in three weeks – thats twenty times the growth rate of a human baby! They must not be exercised too much until they reach around 15 months old. The bitches will mature at round two and a half to three years and the dogs between three and a half to four years. They take ages to mature and then some can age fairly quickly. The average life span is around ten years.
Some were bred extra heavy in the 1970’s and 1980’s for the show ring – this is where the above dogs gene pool is from. They can really begin to sag at the age four – yet the lighter dogs stay looking better for longer.
I have a bitch that weighs 200lbs at the age of four. Her father weighed 252 pounds. I rescued her and she was starved as a puppy. My vet, (who seems to be one of the few that understands Old English Mastiff’s) said that her metabolism is very slow, due to being starved as a puppy. Also down to her sheer size, she is very lazy, rarely runs or trots, but she has two walks per day. There is nothing wrong with her thyroid or heart. She is fed a raw, natural diet including chicken wings, organic vegetables and a small amount of biscuit. She eats about the same as a german shepherd. People assume she eats like a horse and is fed rubbish – which is so wrong!!! They eat more when they are growing and should be fed twice a day – never once as they are big dogs. Mine get a snack in the afternoon too.
IF YOU WANT AN ENGLISH MASTIFF – MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE PARENTS as the range of size can vary.
There is a book called ‘Mastiff Images’ which is photographs of Mastiffs which live in the Netherlands. The author’s Mastiff’s apparently trot along with him for miles when he rides his bike and are very active. It depends on the bloodline you see. Also ‘A lion is to a cat what a MASTIFF IS TO A DOG’ – EVEN THEIR BLOOD IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT – but they can take normal dog blood. I do not think Mastiffs should be compared to any dog that is not a Mastiff – even a cross breed – they ARE different. They are the OLDEST BREED IN THE BRITISH ISLES and have been used a war dogs for years. They even pulled the Munition Carts in World War I; and were sadly used for bull and bear bating too. They have a bloody history. They are beautiful loyal, noble and stately dog who have earned a place in our hearts like horses have. Now is their time to be looked after, they deserve it, for what they have so bravely done for us in the past.
Do NOT compare them to Bull Mastiff’s either – this mix is only 60% Old English Mastiff and 40% Old Bulldog! This is soooo infuriating – this is why so many people see an Old English Mastiff and think it’s an overweight Bull-Mastiff.
You just get sick and tired of explaining yourself and HAVING TO JUSTIFY YOUR DOG’S SIZE.
I shall get off my soapbox now.
Thanks for reading this.
Bye x
October 9, 2009 at 2:41 pm |
Puppies need to be fed 4 times a day and gradually as they grow, drop it down to 3 and then 2 main meals.
Thought I’dbetter add that in case it was not clear to you. (See above). Your dogs appetite will tell you.
October 16, 2009 at 4:51 pm |
As the owner of a black-over-fawn brindle English Mastiff female (her name is Sadie) I can vouch for the size this breed can reach. As mentioned by others, there are some dietary needs for this breed during their growth years (up to about 2.5 years of age) that MUST be considered. They’ll eat a lot during this time, as they need a considerable amount of calcium and protein to ensure that their bones and body mass develop properly. They can have serious hip and joint problems if not fed a healthy diet during this time. As adults, they don’t eat any more than a German Shephard or Rottweiler does.
Sadie is now 11 years old, and weighed 207 lbs. when we last weighed her, but is probably a little over that, now. She’s still very heathy, but is very old for her breed. She’s probably about 10 lbs. or so overweight, but at her age, I’m not going to put her through the stress of going on a diet. She has no hip dysplasia, just a bit of arthritis in her back legs, but she’s still getting around just fine. She’s a bit slow getting up, these days, but so am I.
This is a large, heavy breed and should not have that scrawny look of a high-energy dog. Some of those pictured above are certainly overweight, however. They should look beefy and solid, not fat. They have a wonderful disposition, and are good guard dogs by virtue of their sheer size. Most people instinctively know better than to mess with anything this big that has teeth. Sadie is strong. Really strong. Mastiffs tire easily, but she can drag my 170 lb. narrow butt across the yard when motivated.
My 140 lb. Rottweiler was a big boy. He lived with Sadie for several years before his death at 9.5 years of age, and during that time he never gave her any guff. Even he knew when he was playing out of his league. Sadie doesn’t take any smack talk from other dogs, period. She’s never aggressive, but she’ll put them in their place if they annoy her too much. Our 75 lb. Catahoula Leopard Dog (very high energy breed) torments her, but she tolerates him and still plays with him a lot. When she’s had enough rough play, she gives him a little growl that tells him she’s done, and he leaves her alone for awhile.
The Mastiff is a wonderful breed, but they are big and messy and not for everyone. They take up most of the bed, so you have to get used to sleeping on a narrow strip along the edge. They snore very loudly, so earplugs might be needed.