How To Pick Your Bullmastiff Puppy

When looking for a good quality puppy between the ages of 6 – 8 weeks, the key word is square. Everything about the puppy should be square and he should be balanced and compact. The head should be blocky and the muzzle should not taper. The stop should be deep. Look for the puppy with a short broad muzzle, wide skull with wrinkle, and lots of width between the eyes. The ears should be well up on the skull. Eyes should be very dark. The bite should be overshot at this age.

Body coupling should be short, and the pup should stand squarely on all four feet. Avoid a puppy that stands naturally close in front and rear. His limbs should be straight in front, and there should be a well-rounded look to the stifle. A straight stifle in a puppy will mean straight stifles at maturity. If the hock joint is straight, stay away from that puppy too, as a straight hock joint will give your dog a straight look from toe to hip. A straight hock and stifle tend to raise the back in the mature dog, giving a poor topline as well as appearing too high in the rear. It is unusual to see a Bullmastiff with extreme angulation of the stifle and hock joints.
The puppy should have good depth and plenty of width at the brisket. Take hold of the puppy and feel the bone in the legs. It should feel round, solid and thick. If the bone feels flat, and not very thick and heavy, be careful in choosing that puppy. Look for a puppy with a thick tail root, and the tail should come to the hock or a bit below. Remember that the tail is an extension of the spine. Avoid a skimpy rat tail, or a very short one, or one with a kink or crank in it.

A small white spot on the chest is permissible but avoid a large patch of white, or white feet, or white anywhere else on the body. A black muzzle is essential, toning off towards the eyes, with black markings around the eyes, giving expression. Dark eyes are a must, as it is good, deep pigmentation in fawn, red or brindle. The brindle should have clearly defined black striation on a red or fawn background, and should not appear all black or mottled. Fawns and reds should be clear and rich. “Washed out” pigment is to be avoided. Black overlay on chest, legs and underbody is less pleasing to the eye than the clear coat, but is evidence of strong pigmentation. Toenails should be black.

Look at the puppy’s locomotion. Choose a puppy that picks up those front feet and reaches far ahead for his next step. Watch the elbows to see if they go too far from the body, or too far under the shoulder while in action and standing still. Watch the hindquarters during movement carefully. Here the pup should pick up those feet and reach well ahead. Be wary of the “shuffler” or the pup who barely gets his back feet off the ground. A shuffler covers very little ground between each step and will obviously be taking very short steps even though trotting at a good speed. Look for the pup that moves with sufficient width in the rear end to keep the legs moving straight ahead. Young puppies often sit or stand with the back feet turned out to a certain extent. Observe this movement before passing judgement. Cowhocks, or hocks that turn inward, or even knock together usually accompany turned out feet, and when in action may actually rub together. Avoid the puppy with extremes. Rarely does it mature with good action.

Do not overlook the puppy that simply “moves close” with the back legs. If the legs are straight, and move straight, simply keeping the legs fairly close together is not too much to worry about if the action is good. Some puppies experience greater degrees of clumsiness than other litter mates at different stages, so do not rule out the clumsy one if his action is basically sound.

Look for the puppy with the sparkling personality. If he is also built like the good puppy described, you will have an excellent representation of the breed.