hi after reading your board today i would like some advice!!!
we have a 12 month old bull mastiff who is a very much loved family dog along with 2 ancient cats and another 12 r old little cross breed! lucy is very aware of the pecking order, cats are the boss! we also have 6 children from 14-1.
ucy the mastiff is no problem at all we couldnt of had alovlier animal, but she is actuall the second mastiff we have had from the same litter. we first had audrey who suddenly died after2 weeks from major major heart defects. her heart was the wrong way round ,upside down just awful. but because she had such a lovley nature i wanted another from the same litter( a proper breeder in nottingham). we only wanted her as a family dog not to show or breed.weare rather ignorant as to the pros and cons of pedigrees but are totaly happy with lucy.but after reading some of the messages i am beginning to wonder if lucy is healthy, will she survive. the breeder said that they had not had any problems before.we paid £500 for audrey plus the vets bills . the insurance obviously reimbursed us but we then paid £ 300 for lucy 200 less as a goodwill gesture.lucy has always been well and active and very happy ,smiley almost!
butwere we ripped off ? should we have gone elsewhere should we of reported audreys death and the terrible heart problems to the ennel club or somebod else?really confused but happy dog owner!

I'm sorry to hear you lost your first bull mastiff. There is no reason to believe that the breeders were not telling you the truth, that this was a one off. Have you had Lucy checked over? the chances are she is fine. All breeders including the most reputable ones can have a problem with a litter or a pup, what marks the good ones is how they react to the problem.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

What happened to the last bullmastiff is sad but not so unusual . may I go on to say all giant breeds die at around seven or eight . you may be lucky and get the odd ten yr old , but it is rare indeed . like all giant breeds, bullmastiffs have their fair share of troubles . I have bullmastiffs as well. I have to say in my experience with breeders including myself . there is a deep passion for the breed. no breed fancier will continue deliberately to breed from them if they are not healthy. All we want to do is to improve them and allow them to live longer. I think I know the breeder in nottingham you got your bully from if they are who I think. you have nothing to worry about .The breed is well known for their deep love of children and are fast becoming the most popular pet for children. originally known as the keeper. having said this I always state my cardinal rule . please never leave a young child alone with any dog it is not 100% percent safe to do so . I think you have been treated fair and square by the breeder if you dont mind me saying . I would like to wish you all the best with your bully and I hope you get as much pleasure from them as I have mari

Dear guest,
As orriginator of the "More Sad News" story, that involved Abbey, who suddenly died from a heart attack, I feel I have to put your mind at rest.
As a breeder of large GSD's & breeder of Abbey, we can occassionaly bend "Natures laws" because we help the dam at whelping. If we leave it to nature, then say out of a litter of 8 puppies, we may find 6 alive pups leaving 2 dead, why, possibly because the bitch wasn't fast enough to get the pups out of the bags or was there some water left in the wind pipe, the list goes on.
Sometimes in helping, an occassional puppy with a fault may survive for far longer than expected, and that fault may not be diagnosed till they are 8 weeks old, or for some, it maybe even be a year old.
Before I started breeding, I spent 3 years helping 2 very reputable breeders and now have a number of breeder friends who all help their bitches at the time of birth.
From reading your post, I'm guessing the time scale, but you should have alreadytaken your new pup for the first injections, and this is where your vet would have given him/her a thorough check over, so if no bad news here, relax and enjoy your newpuppy. Your breeder has been very good to you and thankfully your story is rare.

All the best for the future,

Elmbridge