I wonder if the story is inaccurate and the dog is really a BULLMASTIFF...

that breed is aggressive by nature, and was bred for protection, at 110-130lbs, where Mastiffs are about 220 lbs.

this is a Bullmastiff...

JustErin said:

paintedlady said:

THAT^^^ is not a Mastiff, its a Newfoundland.

Mastiffs look like this

That actually is a mastiff, not a Newfoundland. It's a Tibetan Mastiff. There are several types of mastiffs.

I stand corrected....

the long haired large breeds all look like bears to me.

paintedlady said:

JustErin said:

That actually is a mastiff, not a Newfoundland. It's a Tibetan Mastiff. There are several types of mastiffs.

I stand corrected....

the long haired large breeds all look like bears to me.

You're not totally incorrect in a way, though...Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, Bemese Mountain Dogs...they are all pretty much mastiff type breeds.

[Edited 11/16/12 17:42pm]

paintedlady said:

I wonder if the story is inaccurate and the dog is really a BULLMASTIFF...

that breed is aggressive by nature, and was bred for protection, at 110-130lbs, where Mastiffs are about 220 lbs.

this is a Bullmastiff...

I'm sure if it was, they would've already made corrections to the story.

JustErin said:

All dogs are a direct reflection of their owners and their treatment and nothing more.

This is true, I was watching an english reality show where they pick 2 dog owners who have "problem" dogs, and then they send the OWNERS off to be trained! (says it all IMO) In the episode I caught, both owners were not TOP DOG in their house and their lap dogs were bossing them.

I think little dogs - because they are little - rarely get trained properly. They get carried around and when they bark and get aggressive, their owners pick them up and soothe them instead of saying NO! in a stern voice.

In a family like mine there have been issues esp. when we got our new puppy and the older dog started trying to boss my youngest 2 kids and now all boys have been taught to be TOP DOG - the dogs need to know they are at the bottom of the hierarchy, especially in a large household.

It really irks me how people jumped on the fact that there was a pit bull mix in the house and started talking about how terrible they are when it wasn't even that dog who attacked and KILLED this woman. Meanwhile, people are saying how docile and sweet mastiffs are when the offending dog was one. That sounds so backwards to me.

I'm not going to reply directly to anyone so I should hope that its perceived that this is being generally stated, with reference to earlier posts. Pit Bulls are naturally aggressive and thus must be trained not to be? Huh? So they're born with the desire to go around ripping off faces and tearing throats? I don't think so. My family has had them and mixes of them and I have never been afraid or threatened by my dogs. No one else has either. When I was 8 I had one. That was like...04-05 I was a small child. And I'm still alive, imagine that.

All dogs are pack animals. Bottom line is this, if the owner doesn't properly socialize their dog, give the dog love and affection then the dog will have behavior problems. Different breeds have different charateristics and traits but it all comes down to this. Any how, this is really a sad thing that happened with this woman and I think, they said she didn't have the dog for long so it didn't really know her. Maybe she moved in the wrong way or made a gesture that made the dog feel threatened.

It says the mastiff was going to be put down...Why?

[Edited 11/16/12 19:59pm]

I don't know anyone saying it was a pit bull. I know it wasn't me lol plus from what the news reports suggest, she just bought the dog.

Skylightt said:

It really irks me how people jumped on the fact that there was a pit bull mix in the house and started talking about how terrible they are when it wasn't even that dog who attacked and KILLED this woman. Meanwhile, people are saying how docile and sweet mastiffs are when the offending dog was one. That sounds so backwards to me.

I'm not going to reply directly to anyone so I should hope that its perceived that this is being generally stated, with reference to earlier posts. Pit Bulls are naturally aggressive and thus must be trained not to be? Huh? So they're born with the desire to go around ripping off faces and tearing throats? I don't think so. My family has had them and mixes of them and I have never been afraid or threatened by my dogs. No one else has either. When I was 8 I had one. That was like...04-05 I was a small child. And I'm still alive, imagine that.

All dogs are pack animals. Bottom line is this, if the owner doesn't properly socialize their dog, give the dog love and affection then the dog will have behavior problems. Different breeds have different charateristics and traits but it all comes down to this. Any how, this is really a sad thing that happened with this woman and I think, they said she didn't have the dog for long so it didn't really know her. Maybe she moved in the wrong way or made a gesture that made the dog feel threatened.

It says the mastiff was going to be put down...Why?

I totally agree with this.

Our neighbour bred pitbulls and didn't train or socialise them, they would regularly escape and injure other dogs, the last time being a fatality which of course brought the law into it and all dogs destroyed and owner heftily fined.

We lived next to their house for 4 years with babies and toddlers who weren't allowed in our front yard during that time in case those dogs were on the loose.

My question is, if a person is an irresponsible moron and doesn't feel the need or have the knowledge to train a dog, why on earth get one (or more!) dogs of a breed listed by the council as a"dangerous"?? (which of course you need a permit for and this is also the kind of person who does shit like this without registering their dog at all )

So to me it's almost like there is a kind of person is attracted to owning a dog like that, as if it's some kind of symbol of their own desire to have a "dangerous" image. A small poodle would be more appropriate for this kind of person yes, it might bite and cause some minor injury when it feels threatened, but KILL? It doesn't have the jaw or neck muscles required to properly maul to death.

Timmy84 said:

I don't know anyone saying it was a pit bull. I know it wasn't me lol plus from what the news reports suggest, she just bought the dog.

That's what I'm saying could be a factor in what happened. The full post/ video whatever says that the dog was going to be put down. Euthanized. Could it have been because of behavorial problems, something this lady might not have known about before she decided to adopt him/her. That's what I'm thinking about.

Zombie: See, that's the kind of thing that I'm talking about. Some people breed dogs who shouldn't even own one dog because it's a easy way to earn money for them. It really sucks that that had to happen to the poor dogs, and everyone in your neighborhood who had to worry about their own pets and children.

[Edited 11/16/12 20:20pm]

^ Might be... but yeah it seems like no one told the lady what was going on with the dog.

I don't think the dog was a Bullmastiff. The breed wasn't bred to attack, but to pounce on intruders and pin them to the ground. They'e considered gentle giants.

Timmy84 said:

Don't see anything docile about this mastiff... maybe this is the one that killed the woman.

I saw the video this picture is from, another mastiff was in its area...

Other than that, I want one of these dogs soooo fucking bad.

watch the series called "don't blame the dog", when the owners are trained and sent back to their dogs, the dogs character changes, on it i have seen various dog breeds misbehaving, meaning biting their owners and showing agression towards their owners and other dogs, tearing up furniture the lot. but as soon as the owners change through a long process with professional dog owners, who own at least a dozen dogs, some own up to 120 dogs, these trainers change the other dog owners and in turn the dogs they own who were agressive etc, change completely.

in this case, the woman got the dog from a shelter, however i still think their must have been a factor with this woman, not blaming her, just saying, if she had more suited or professional, maybe this wouldn't have happened. like i said, the dog owners in the series show own lots of dogs, big dogs, yet they control the dogs, not the other way around.

mastiff and mastiff crosses are known to have a go at children, having said that, many small dogs do the same, they have a go at children but it doesn't get as much attention, even labradors can attack. mastiffs i believe are an ancient breed of dog, so in a way they might not be as domesticated as the other breeds, making it harder for the people around them to control them.

please be mindful i am not blaming the woman, i am just speaking from what i have observed myself. i wouldn't say that i am a great dog owner either, some dogs just have a mind of their own, but if you get a mastiff, you are running a risk. same as with other guard dogs, with protective nature or dominate personality, not all dogs like to submit, there are the odds one here and there who are difficult, in all shapes and sizes, but rarely can a small dog kill, please note that i know many dog owners, and there are plenty of cases of small dogs attacking children and even attacking other small dogs, this behaviour comes from their ancient uses what they used to be bred for in many cases for hunting or even killing other animals.

You all are giving small dags a bad rap! Like I said, I have a chihuahua and until recently a rat terrier RIP

They are NOT all yippy and tempermental!

My dogs never barked at people, never stand at the window and bark at things, never have been aggressive to people, never nipped at or spazzed out at anyone or any other dog!..

I raised my dogs like I did my children, TONS of love and kisses, taught them how to behave in public, displined them when needed, I didnt disregard their feelings.. yes, its a dog, but they feel love, excitement, fear and anger just like people do.. Oh, and I was THERE for the dogs.. I didnt get a dog only to leave it tied up in the yard all day.. nothing PISSES me off more than when I see shit like that... if you cant spend time with the animal DONT GET IT!

[Edited 11/17/12 5:05am]

lauralevesque said:

imago said:

I don't know much about the Mastiff, but most dogs in that class (including pit bulls) are pack animals.

This means, that while the man (who is the master) is away, the dog perceives her to be a threat to his domination.

I don't by into the nonsense that pit bulls are harmless animals that must be taught to be agressive. This is BS. They must be taught to be gentle. They are inclined towards hunting and pack behavior and this by default makes them agressive.

Pit bulls were breed to hunt boars. It was only later at the turn of last century they started becoming house dogs and 'babysitters/protectors' of children, etc. Even it's attack behavior betrays it's breeding--it lunges for the face and grips tightly.

A friend of mine owned a pit bull that he called Dolly (Dolly! ) which he emphatically said was the sweetest dog and would never hurt a soul. Well, one week he goes upstate to visit his folks and during that time, Dolly bit off part of his roomate's girlfriend's face....a lawsuit ensued.

Yes, you can nurture these animals to be loving. Yes, they can make wonderful pets. But this is not their natural inclination. Their breeds exist for different purposes, and the damage that they can do is lethal.

We can also nature/nurture hyenas (youtube hyena pet in Miami) and tigers, but it only takes one slip-up for it to be lethal.

I don't think Pit Bulls, Mastiffs or any dog capable of so easily taking down a human being, should ever be a house pet. These should be licensed work animals and strictly regulated.

So true. No offense to whomever on the org owns one of these, but these dogs are DEMONS. Seriously, they are the devil. They are mean, vicious and I get so pissed off when I hear people saying how great they are with children. I would never have one of those things near my child. This is a true story: Recently I was making dinner and tv. was on in the background and the announcer says, "Today in Ridgeland, the animal defense league (or whatever it was called) met to try and overturn the ruling not allowing pitbulls in the city, saying that pitbulls are pure love and kindness but were turned down by so and so so and so..... and in unrelated news, a woman's car broke down and when she walked to a nearby house for help, she was attacked by two pit bulls who chewed her face off and she is in critical condition..."

This is a really ignorant post. It's pretty clear you don't know what you're talking about.

uPtoWnNY said:

I don't think the dog was a Bullmastiff. The breed wasn't bred to attack, but to pounce on intruders and pin them to the ground. They'e considered gentle giants.

Hey.... I didn't say "attack" I said "protection" or scare off intruders. Heck, my aunt has a miniature Schnauzer that does just that... she's a mean little bitch too!

But that's good to know that all the large breeds seem to be docile by nature.

sad story. and, i think we're all starting to see why birds make the best pets after all is said and done

tinaz said:

You all are giving small dags a bad rap! Like I said, I have a chihuahua and until recently a rat terrier RIP

They are NOT all yippy and tempermental!

My dogs never barked at people, never stand at the window and bark at things, never have been aggressive to people, never nipped at or spazzed out at anyone or any other dog!..

I raised my dogs like I did my children, TONS of love and kisses, taught them how to behave in public, displined them when needed, I didnt disregard their feelings.. yes, its a dog, but they feel love, excitement, fear and anger just like people do.. Oh, and I was THERE for the dogs.. I didnt get a dog only to leave it tied up in the yard all day.. nothing PISSES me off more than when I see shit like that... if you cant spend time with the animal DONT GET IT!

[Edited 11/17/12 5:05am]

It's a question on whether or not the person's dog was big or small. A small dog wouldn't have killed her. And if this was a big dog, I'm guessing that she didn't get a chance to train it in case the dog attacked for no reason. I always put it that something happened to the dog to make it react the way it did. Who knows?

XxAxX said:

sad story. and, i think we're all starting to see why birds make the best pets after all is said and done

PurpleJedi said:

Mastiffs are renown for their calm nature though, no?

There must be more to this story.

My ex-boss had a mastiff. The dog was MASSIVE.

...and was so calm that you wonder if it would even get up to do anything about a burglar.

My ex boss actually did the research and bought him BECAUSE it was the type of dog that doesn't bark, doesn't jump around, and all that.

RIP to this poor woman.

This is what I thought and have heard from Mastiff owners. They are huge, but have a very gentle disposition. I have a neighbor who has a Weimereiner and mastif mix. The dog is only 6 months old, and it is already huge; however, the Weimereiner must have his brain because that dog is spastic!

Spinlight said:

lauralevesque said:

So true. No offense to whomever on the org owns one of these, but these dogs are DEMONS. Seriously, they are the devil. They are mean, vicious and I get so pissed off when I hear people saying how great they are with children. I would never have one of those things near my child. This is a true story: Recently I was making dinner and tv. was on in the background and the announcer says, "Today in Ridgeland, the animal defense league (or whatever it was called) met to try and overturn the ruling not allowing pitbulls in the city, saying that pitbulls are pure love and kindness but were turned down by so and so so and so..... and in unrelated news, a woman's car broke down and when she walked to a nearby house for help, she was attacked by two pit bulls who chewed her face off and she is in critical condition..."

This is a really ignorant post. It's pretty clear you don't know what you're talking about.

Right. Because I'm always hearing on the news about pomeranians that kill people or chew their faces off.

Shyra said:

PurpleJedi said:

Mastiffs are renown for their calm nature though, no?

There must be more to this story.

My ex-boss had a mastiff. The dog was MASSIVE.

...and was so calm that you wonder if it would even get up to do anything about a burglar.

My ex boss actually did the research and bought him BECAUSE it was the type of dog that doesn't bark, doesn't jump around, and all that.

RIP to this poor woman.

This is what I thought and have heard from Mastiff owners. They are huge, but have a very gentle disposition. I have a neighbor who has a Weimereiner and mastif mix. The dog is only 6 months old, and it is already huge; however, the Weimereiner must have his brain because that dog is spastic!

That's what I was wondering...

lauralevesque said:

Spinlight said:

This is a really ignorant post. It's pretty clear you don't know what you're talking about.

Right. Because I'm always hearing on the news about pomeranians that kill people or chew their faces off.

Your own tiny dog almost bit your fucking nose off. If it had been 100lbs bigger, by now you'd be resembling Mason Verger.

Calling a breed of dog "demons" and suggesting owners have no control over or impact on a dog's behavior is absurd.

tinaz said:

You all are giving small dags a bad rap! Like I said, I have a chihuahua and until recently a rat terrier RIP

They are NOT all yippy and tempermental!

[Edited 11/17/12 5:05am]

I prefer big dogs, like my Papillon

Pokeno4Money said:

tinaz said:

You all are giving small dags a bad rap! Like I said, I have a chihuahua and until recently a rat terrier RIP

They are NOT all yippy and tempermental!

[Edited 11/17/12 5:05am]

I prefer big dogs, like my Papillon

I used to have a friend who had a Papillion she call Chakah. That lil mofo was a terror. He didn't like me at all, and usually I'm the Pied Piper of cats and dogs. This breed is one of two that have ever bitten me. The other was a damn Chow, another breed that didn't take to me.

I shouldn't blame the breeds. That's not fair. I guess these two dogs were very protective of their owners. The Chow was a puppy, and I was petting him when he just hauled off and bit the shit out of me! Hurt my feelins

imago said:

lauralevesque said:

why would he attack her?

I don't know much about the Mastiff, but most dogs in that class (including pit bulls) are pack animals.

This means, that while the man (who is the master) is away, the dog perceives her to be a threat to his domination.

I don't by into the nonsense that pit bulls are harmless animals that must be taught to be agressive. This is BS. They must be taught to be gentle. They are inclined towards hunting and pack behavior and this by default makes them agressive.

Isn't EVERY canine species a pack animal? It's true that temperament varies across the canine species. My mom has owned two lap dogs, and both have bitten or attacked people for...well, who fucking knows why? My mom learned that even her sweet. precios, cute, little boo boos are STILL animals. And she has learned that she must closely monitor activity at all times.

paintedlady said:

Timmy84 said:

Don't see anything docile about this mastiff... maybe this is the one that killed the woman.

THAT^^^ is not a Mastiff, its a Newfoundland.

Mastiffs look like this

that ain't no Newfie. There isn't a purebread Newf on the face of the planet that has caramel color. It's also too short and that tail is off. I bread Newfs for years. The other relative to the newf is the Landseer, black and white, often confused with St. Bernard. My father was the 1st to bring the black & white Landseer from Switzerland to Canada in the 70's. Now they are an intelligent, beautiful breed. The dog in this pic is def. a mutt.

My backyard neighbor has a Mastiff and although I think she's just the best, I'm glad we are separated by a fence, not sure I'd want to be alone with her. She knows me well and this summer a man friend visited me in the backyard. When he came out the back door onto the deck, this dog went absolutely apeshit and had the fence not been there I'm certain she would have torn him limb from limb. Oooooo she did not like him around me. I had no idea she felt that way about me

Red said:

paintedlady said:

THAT^^^ is not a Mastiff, its a Newfoundland.

that ain't no Newfie. There isn't a purebread Newf on the face of the planet that has caramel color. It's also too short and that tail is off. I bread Newfs for years. The other relative to the newf is the Landseer, black and white, often confused with St. Bernard. My father was the 1st to bring the black & white Landseer from Switzerland to Canada in the 70's. Now they are an intelligent, beautiful breed. The dog in this pic is def. a mutt.

Dogs are animals. They can all go into the attack mode.

I had a puppy: a pit mix with a sharpei. Very sweet puppy. But still at 45 Pounds she was more that capable of putting a hurting on anyone.

And one thing I never would say was "She will not bite/hurt you...." to me that is about the worst thing you can say about any animal.