English Mastiffs' Health & Conformation is a Must for your Family Safety! English Mastiffs Education, About English Mastiffs' Buyer Beware!

3 Red Flags to Look for, when purchasing a puppy! See Details Below.

Health & Conformation, a Must for Good Temperament!
Good Temperament a Must for YOUR SAFETY!

Here at CMA's we have a passion for continuing the Old English Traits lost by many, w/ improper breeding. The way we can insure the best quality possible, is to use Health Certify Stock for breeding w/ test accepted by Orthopedic Foundation Association (Test on Hips, Elbows, Patella, Cardiac, Thyroid, Kidneys, & Eyes), for breeding stock, & Breeding AT LEAST 10 generations apart from one another.

Info on Hips, Elbows, Patella, Cardiac, Thyroid, & Eye

Here @ CMA's We Guarantee our Dogs Free of Genetic Defect For the Lifetime of the Dog!

How Can I Tell if an English Mastiff has been bred improperly?

Red Flag #1-  Be Careful of the "less then a 2 year health guarantee"

  A 2 year guarantee covers your dog until the day before it is old enough, to find out there is a real problem. According to OFA, final health testing is not accepted until the dog is 2 years and 1 day. Therefor a 2 year guarantee covers your dog until the day before it is old enough, to find out there is a real problem. You have the ability to do preliminary tests, however they will not be accurate true results, hence the reason they are not official until after 2 years old. Upon 2 years old, this is the most significant growth spurt time frame for this breed, so we prefer to test once they have leveled out in the back and back of their heads fill in, usually around 26 to 28 months

Red Flag #2 -One visual red flag can be an inappropriate Mask and Ears.

According to AKC.org, Mastiff Breed Standard, No matter what color the dog, they should have dark ears (Blacker the Better) & at minimum a Half Black Mask. This means no other color in the muzzle but black, this includes the area, were the tears would drip down from the eyes. See examples Below

You can back up your suspicion of inappropriate breeding with facts, from the pedigrees, same name, repeatedly, can be an indication of why a dog has inappropriate markings, that can also be indication of internal health problems possibilities you can not see.

How do I recognize the difference between a correct & an incorrect Mask?

Cowboy shows an example of a Correct Full Mask

covering entire top of the head & muzzle.

Minimal Acceptable Black on their Face "Half Mask"

Pistol shown here, at 1 yr old, w/Correct Half Mask minimal acceptable black on their face which is Up over the eyes and below the eyes, were tears would drop if the dog was to cry, should be black, and the entire muzzle.

IMPROPER MASK

These 2 Dogs Below are NOT CMA's STOCK NOTICE VISUAL RED FLAG IMPROPER MASK & SHORT FOREHEAD.

Who knows what kind of temperament or other internal issues will come from this short fore headed, improperly marked pup during a growth spurt. Past training experience with improperly bred Mastiffs has proven, they are apt to turn aggressive at any given moment, as well as personally witnessing patients, at the vets office, with improper masks & head confirmation, whom seem to have some consistency of kidney, thyroid or cardiac, as well as other Health issues that developed on or after the 2 years of age mark.

 

Suspicions, of improper breeding?

Red Flag #3 Another Visual Red Flag that can show, suspicion, of improper breeding, that you can confirm or deny the facts, by looking at pedigrees.

Proper Confirmation in the Head-Does the dog have a proper head shape? Is their good height in the Forehead?

Xena (below) has an Excellent Example of a Conformationally Correct Head. Good Temperament in a dog comes from Proper Breeding. Try using a ruler as a straight edge across the top of the head, which enables you to measure The height of the forehead, Height here is A MUST FOR GOOD TEMPERAMENT, for the dogs life time.

If they are short in the forehead, often this can indicate, potential temperament issues, that might occur during a growth spurt, if their from improper breeding. Which also can be confirmed /backed up, with facts, by reviewing the pedigree, for the same name in there repeatedly. The height of the forehead should be similar to the height of the muzzle (not the lips, just the bone structure, like the yellow line indicates on Xena to the left.)

Learn More on How to Notice Growth Spurt Indicators.
Don't forget to take into consideration the dogs age when looking at photos. The Predominate Knot in the Back of the Skull. Or Hips Taller then Withers, are visual indicators of a normal growth spurt, in our very tall line, that occur about every 3 months, for 3 weeks, until they are 5-6 years old. Their withers will catch up, & their heads will fill in, across the back of the skull. See Examples on about the breed page. Each & Every growth spurt is when you want to retract activity levels and offer free food (all they want).

Please make sure your spouse or room mate, is on board with your idea to get a pup before you call me!
All Deposits are Non Refundable!
If something unforeseen happens to the liters your deposit goes towards a pup out of the next liter.