The Bullmastiff of today is generally considered to be a loyal, loving, family companion as long as it has been well socialized at an early aged and proper training has been put in place.  They are patient with children and are being used more and more as therapy dogs. 

The Bullmastiff is a powerful dog with great strength and agility.  It is considered to be a working breed as this is its origins as a faithful, loyal guard dog protecting the gamekeeper while apprehending poachers.  The Bullmastiff is highly alert and intelligent and very quick.  Although early Bullmastiffs sometimes had to hold there own against those on two or four legs, today's Bullmastiffs are affectionet family pets that will, however, answer the call if put to the task of protecting those it has come to love.

The intelligence, strength and quickness of the Bullmastiff requires that todays owner uses proper training and socialization methods from the very moment of obtaining a puppy.  A 90 lb female Bullmastiff with a muzzle on can take down and hold a 200 lb man without allowing him escape.  Bullmastiffs in general knows no fear and must be respected.  Owners must establish themselves as the leader, never striking the dog, but using proper corrections and training tools such as leashes, collars and always fenced in yards.  These dogs should never be allowed to roam the neighborhood at will.

The recognized colors are brindle, red, and fawn.  It is mostly said that the Bullmastiffs is 60% English Mastiff and 40% Bulldog.  The Bulldog that the Mastiff was crossed with is not the Bulldog that we see today.  It was a much more streamlined dog and was much more ferocious.  If you read books such as Bullmastiffs Today by Lyn Pratt or Bullmastiffs by Alan and Mave Rostron you will find references to the fact that Bloodhound and probably Great Dane were also added to the original mix to create what we now know as the Bullmastiff today.

Very little grooming is required with a Bullmastiff.  Bathing is more at an owners discretion.  Shedding is minimal except when the dog blows it's coat about three times a year and even this is normally just a slight inconvenience especially if you are used to having other breeds with more substantial coat.  The colors of the Bullmastiff's coat also indicate density:  brindle is the thinnest and therefore will shed less, red being the next, and fawn being the thickest.  The thinner the coat, the brindle, will also be the shinnest.  The fawn coated Bullmastiff will not appear to have as shiny a luster as a red or a brindle.

Bullmastiffs all have general traits which is what ties them together as a breed.  Each dog though has its own personality and unique habits that it will form over its lifetime.  Some of these traits are of course genetic and some will be a result of environmental conditioning.  Dogs will learn from their litter mates, the humans and animals they live with and the environmental exposures that they have during critical developmental periods. All will shape the dog's individual personality and will last a lifetime.

This is not a breed that is for everyone or everyones pocketbook.  Time and money involved to train, feed and devote to create a well rounded Bullmastiffs that you will be proud to own and love is not cheap or easy.  Becoming an owner of a Bullmastiff is a life changing event.  Ours has been forever changed.