I admire the look of the rottweiler and the bullmastiff and I also like the fact that either of these breeds would make an excellent guard/watch/protection dog.

I have read numerous articles relating to both of these breeds, but would like some feed-back from some owners.

Some questions:

... How much does a Bullmastiff slobber?  Is it enough to be off-putting?

... In your experience, how do these breeds go with children, cats?

... Is it safe to let these breeds off-leash in a dog park?

... Life expectancy?

... How protective are they? 

... Intelligence?

I would appreciate any feed-back to these questions, and feel free to share anything else you might have to offer.  Even if its another breed, bearing in mind that I not only would like a pet, but also a protective pet.

PS...Yes, I have owned a dog before, and have alot to do with a Rottweiler mix.

I can only comment on the Bullmastiff as i have owned them for 24 years now when it comes to buying a bullmastiff you do need to buy from a breeder of long standing that will know the breed and there lines inside out i done rescue for 15 years and we got alot of youngsters
in that had bitten
children but that could have been because the dog came from a person that didnt know any thing about the breed and had not botherd to take it to training classes. Now both the breeds you are interested in will guard they will not need any training for that i do know that there have been bullmastiffs which have been trained for protection and have had to be PTS in the end as they become to much to cope with.
Yes they slobber some more than others yes it's vile up walls doors, and no you should not take a bullmastiff to the park and let it off
i dont care what any body says this is a no no. But after all these years  i still breed and show them and love them to bits, and if bred/  reared and trained with care and love they make wonderful family members.

Hi guest,
I'm not quite sure why you want a protective pet, but I'll answer your questions as honest as I can.

I have owned, bred, shown & done obedience with Bullmastiffs for many years.
I have owned,shown & done obedience with a rottweiler (but never bred rotties)

Slobber, yes bullmastiffs slobber a lot, it's something you have to learn to live with & whenever you go out, you'll learn to always take a slobber rag with you.

I have children & cats & never had a problem, but as with any dog providing the dog is brought up with them from a young age, there should be no problem. Remember these are large dogs & care should always be taken with dogs & children.

Off the lead in the park, I'd say it really depends on the individual dog, but if the dog has been well socialised & is obedient, with excellent recall, I see no reason not to let the dog off lead for a free run.

Life expectency, Niether are long lived breeds, I'd say the life expectancy of the bullmastiff is probably not quite as long as a rottweiler - although each individual dog is different.

In my experience, most of the Bullmastiffs I've had will happily guard the house & bark if there's anyone around, but that's it. Rotti's (again just the ones I've known) are more protective, my big lad would have risked his life for me, he was well socialised & I didn't want him to be protective, but that's the way he was & he'd guard the home / car & me with his life!

Intelligence, oh boy, I don't want to offend anyone in saying this but my honest opinion is that Bullmastiffs are lovely but not intelligent at all. But rottweilers I would say are extremely intelligent, as I said earlier I've done obedience with both breeds & in my opinion, I'd rather work a rottweiler anyday, bully's are happier curled up by the fire. A rottweiler is happier with something to occupy his mind. I've also seen rottweilers working as police dogs & spent training days with them, they work for the love of it & enjoy being stimulated.

WOW - hope I haven't offended anyone saying bully's are not intelligent, perhaps it's just mine that had no brains.

Hope that helps, Both breeds are beautiful but please go to a reputable breeder. I think temperamentally the Bullmastiff is more sound. I would want to ensure the temperament of the sire & dam were very good before buying a pup.

Hi,

I own bullmastiffs so can really only comment on them.
Slobber, yes but not all the time. One of my boys was quite bad, but the three i have now only tend to slobber when food and water are around!!!! Learn to live with a towel/ kitchen roll handy.
Cats, yes they can live with cats, i did have two old cats, who used to bully the bullies. But saying that they will try and chase any cats that are not ours. I also have two children 8 & 10 years old and the dogs are fine with them and also their friend when they come around, but as with all dogs and children rules have to be set, children need to be taught for example, if the dog is lying quietly don't go over and start trying to play, and a close eye kept on both children and dogs, never leave them alone.
Training and socialisation from they day you get your puppy is essential, then you will have a dog that can be off-leash in a park, what you need to be aware of is other peoples reaction, to your big dog runing up to them etc. with my own dogs we walk very early int eh morning so they can all free run, if we go out later we tend to lead walk them and only let them off one at a time, this way every one is  safe.
Life expectany can be anything up to 8 -12 years.
As for being protective,yes they are but this is not something that you need to teach, it is natural to the breed.
I do have to dissagree with the last poster (sorry can't remember name), i do not take any offence thought, they are very intelligent, but do like to give the air of not being, they tend to be very matter of fact and will think about whether
it is worth doing something first!!!
Hope this has been of help.
My next advice is to go and see breeders/owners of each breed and talk to as many people as possible. If you want to talk more please feel free to contact me. (01428 658978)
Karen.

I can only mainly comment on Rottweilers (we've had them for 18 years).  It concerns me that you say you like the fact that either of these would make excellent guard/watch/protection dogs.  Why would you want a guard dog???  Rottweilers have a reputation that doesn't justify the breed.  There is absolutely no guarantee that a Rottweiler will guard.  Our last male Storm had absolutely zero guarding instinct.  Our current male Alfie who is 9 months, already has a good guarding instinct and one definately does not need to encourage them to guard - if its there so be it, if not it doesn't matter.  Have you ever had a big powerful dog before, are you a total bossy boots and will leave the dog in no doubt who is Alpha??  Do you have the time to train the dog.  So many large breeds get to about 10 months and the owner can't keep it anymore because they haven't been Alpha from day one and they haven't been training, then the terrible teens kick in and they can't cope with the dog.  Alfie walks most days with Cassie who is a Bullmastiff, they both walk off their leads and are fine (although Alfie has reached his teen stage and on occassion goes deaf :-(  Both dogs are extremely friendly towards other dogs, but this is all down to socialising them from an early age.  As for life expectancy of Rotts, they say between 8-10 years Ive not been able to get any past 8.  Rottweilers are extremely intelligent (don't really know about Bullmastiffs) they need to be stimulated.  They also don't cope very well being away from their pack and adore being with them.