What To Expect Of A Mastiff Pitbull Mix

The Pitbull Mastiff mix is a very large sized cross-breed between two parents, the Pitbull and Mastiff dogs, that was first bred a very long time ago in order to be protection canines.

However, it must be noted here that not all BullMastiff Pitbull mix dogs are alike, as it greatly depends on what kind of Pitbull and Mastiff are being mixed together.

For those of you who don’t know, there are many types of Pitbulls [1] just as there are many types of Mastiffs [2], which is very apparent if you run a simple search about the subject online.

With that being said, this article will be talking about the most common characteristics that are found in Pitbull Mastiff mix dogs, no matter which type of Pitbull or Mastiff parent they come from.

Other Names For The Pitbull Mastiff Mix

• American Masti-Bull
• Pit Mastiff
• Bullmastiff Pitbull Mix

If you ever hear someone referring to a Pitbull Mastiff Mix dog as an “American Bandogge”, correct them right on the spot and tell them that this term is used to describe the American Bulldog and Mastiff mixes, not the Pitbull Mastiff Mix.

Temperament

They are most likely to inherit personality traits from both its parents, so we’ve listed the most commonly found traits among all Mastiff Pitbulls no matter which of its two parents it takes most of its personality from.

Aggression

If you ask anyone what they think about the Pit Mastiff, chances are they’ll immediately run away because the word “Pitbull” was mentioned.

As we always say in many different articles on this site, Pitbulls are wrongfully targeted by media and people alike, and need to be cut some slack because they’re not the monsters they are always made out to be.

Anyway, that’s a different topic for a different day.

As for the Mastiff, this breed isn’t as feared as the Pitbull. If you really look at a Mastiff, you’ll probably picture someone who’s both sad and sleepy, anything but intimidating to be honest.

For those of you who might be worried that a Pitbull is involved in this mix, don’t be.

We’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of Pitbulls that are very well behaved adults and are just loving, affectionate and sweet-hearted creatures.

This is all possible because they were raised in the right environment, trained the right way and were socialized when they were young.

Activity Levels

For a dog their size, Mastiff Pit Mix dogs need ample amounts of exercise during the day in order to remain healthy and happy.

If you’re someone who loves to go outside for some physical activity on a daily basis, then this canine will love you for it because they like nothing more than to be outside the house.

These dogs love spending quality time with their owners and exercising with them, participating in all sorts of physical activities such as walks, runs, playing in the park, or whatever else you can think of really.

Socialization

If you’ve got any other pets at home, then you may want to make sure that your Pitbull Bullmastiff adult dog has been socialized [3] and is able to get along very well with other animals.

This is because they generally aren’t the most outgoing and friendly canines when it comes to interacting with other animals.

When not properly socialized, they can sometimes see other animals/household pets as pray, which is definitely not something you want happening.

If you’ve recently brought home a Pitbull Mastiff puppy, then you don’t have anything to worry about because you can easily socialize them so they grow up to love interacting and playing around with other animals and household pets.

Guard Dogs

Coming from two very protective and excellent guard-dog parents, Pitbull Mastiff puppies have a very protective nature to them when it comes to the people it loves most, and will do everything in their power to protect them from any harm.

Given the fact that this canine isn’t very fond of strangers from first sight and doesn’t immediately make friends with them, this is a very good characteristic you’ll want to see in your guard dog.

However, the Mastiff Pitbull isn’t known to be much of a barker, so they won’t be very good watchdogs because they won’t bark to alert you of a dangerous situation that you should be aware of.

So, as far as being a guard dog that will act when you or any other family member is in danger, this breed meets this criteria.

But as far as being a good watchdog that will bark when there’s something you need to be aware of, they don’t meet this criteria.

Training

Both the Pitbull and the Mastiff aren’t exactly the easiest canines to train on the planet, which means that you’ll have your work cut out for you when training the Pitbull Mastiff, despite the fact that it’s a very smart dog.

This is because similar to both its parents, the Pit Mastif has a very strong personality which requires you to establish yourself as the leader when training it.

If you fail to establish yourself as the leader for them to follow during training, they will easily see through your lack of confidence and will deem that to be a weak personality, which results in them not following your orders at all and disobeying you.

With other breeds that don’t exactly have such a strong personality to them, your job training them is a bit easier.

Not to mention the fact that other canines aren’t nearly as large sized and intimidating in looks as this dog.

Appearance

Size, Height & Weight

First off, the Mastiff Pit Mix has a fairly strong body and a large frame to it, which is very much expected when mixing the obese-lookalike Mastiff with the muscular Pitbull.

The product you get when mixing these two breeds is a dog with a very well defined, muscular body.

This cross-breed is also fairly heavy, generally weighing between a hefty 100-140 lbs and standing between 25-29 inches tall.

Female Pitbull Bullmastiff dogs will weigh a little bit on the lighter side of the scale and stand a little bit shorter, but nonetheless are still much larger than average sized canines.

Coat

This is where the coat colors of the Pitbull Mastiff Mix dog’s parents come into play, as the coat color of one will vary considerably from another depending on that of their parents.

In general, the most common colors this cross-breed comes in are brindle, white, black, blue, red or brown.

And it’s not a necessity that they come in only one color, their coat can be a mix between a few colors.

Health Problems

Pitbull Mastiff mix dogs are more prone than other breeds to suffer from certain health problems, mainly those that their parents are prone to suffer from as well.

Not to mention the fact that many of these health problems are also associated with other breeds that are as large in size as this cross-breed.

The most common health problems that Mastiff Pitbulls are prone to suffer from during their lifespans are:

• Hip dysplasia [4]
• Bloating
• Skin disease
• Eye disease
• Cardiovascular disease
• Seizures
• Kidney failure
• Hypothyroidism
• Obesity

Much of these health problems that are associated with this mixed breed can be avoided (or at least greatly minimized) with a healthy lifestyle that revolves around ample levels of activity and exercise, as well as a proper diet that suits the nutritional needs of a canine this size.

In general, the The Pitbull Mastiff Mix will go on to live a lifespan of 8-12 years.

Living Conditions

It’s probably not a very clever idea to bring this cross breed to live in an apartment, as they thrive on living in properties that have large spaces to them (such as a large backyard) and will only become depressed if they don’t have enough space to move around in an apartment.

Seriously, the moment you take this fella out of the house to get a breath of fresh air, you’ll immediately notice how fast their mood changes into the positive.

Also, it’s a terrible idea if you’re thinking about bringing this mixed breed dog home without you being able to spend much time with them, as this canine is one of the most breeds that get attached to their owners and need to spend time with them on a daily basis.

If you leave them alone for a long time, that’s just a recipe for them developing separation anxiety.

Last but not least, adding this breed to a family with young children in it isn’t exactly the brightest of ideas, because a canine this large in size can easily cause harm to young kids when playing around with them or when/if your kids interact in a wrong way with the dog.

Your best bet would be getting this cross breed into a household that you live in by yourself, or you live in along with someone else/a few adults.

Care

When it comes to grooming this canine, you won’t be required to get into too much work and effort and grooming it is easier than the same task with other breeds.

First off and thanks to the fact that they have short coats, you won’t be needing to brush their coats as often as other dogs because their coats won’t be shedding as often.

So, you’ll be more than fine brushing their coat around 3-4 times a week.

Compare that to other dogs that shed heavily that require their coats to be brushed 1-2 times A DAY, that’s some valuable time saved right there!

However, one potentially tiring task you could face when it comes to caring for this cross-breed is during bath time, as giving such a large-sized dog a bath is certainly no walk in the park.

If you don’t have a large space on your property such as a backyard where you can give them a proper shower, then your best bet is to let a professional groomer take care of this for you along with other grooming tasks while they’re at it.

Sure, this might eventually mean more expenses on your pocket, but giving a canine this size baths on a regular basis is nothing to be taken lightly, it’s a workshop on its own!

Watch this video to learn ways to train your large dog to like baths!

Besides brushing their hair and giving them proper showers when they need them, we’re left with brushing their teeth once every 3 days, cleaning their ears about once every week and trimming their nails whenever the need to do so arises.

You can take care of brushing their teeth all on your own, and even cleaning their ears if you have the necessary experience to do so, but when it comes to trimming their nails, you’ll have to take a different approach.

The Pitbull Mastiff Mix dog has very sensitive nails that can easily be a source of terrible pain for them if you hit a nerve by mistake, which is why trimming their nails is best off left for a professional groomer to take care of.

If you are interested in other examples of pitbull cross-breeds why not check out our articles on the pitweiler, a pitbull mixed with a rottweiler  or the labrabull a labrador pitbull mix.

Resources

1. Myths and Facts About Pit Bulls https://www.petfinder.com/pet-adoption/dog-adoption/myths-and-facts-about-pit-bulls/

2.Full list of Mastiff Breeds https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/the-mastiff-breeds/

3. The Complete Puppy Socialization Guide https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/puppies/pre_puppy_prep/the-complete-puppy-socialization-guide/

4. Hip Dysplasia in Dogs https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/canine-hip-dysplasia#1