Mastiff mixed with Pitbull? Would a Pitbull Mastiff mix be a good dog for you?

If you’ve spent any time learning about large-sized guard dogs, you have probably seen the Pitbull Mastiff Mix mentioned. Mastiff crossed with pitbull is not a very new crossbreed: people have been crossing these two unique breeds for decades with some impressive results. These dogs, however, still exist only as hybrids, not as a distinct breed. Which is too bad, because they definitely possess enough distinct personality and features that could make a very interesting breed.  What kind of a pup would a mastiff crossed with pitbull be and should you look into owning this dog?

Pitbull Mastiff mix
Source:Instagram

Navigation
Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: types of cross breed depending on parent breeds
Pitbull Mastiff Mix history
Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: physical appearance
Working qualities
Personality
Would Pitbull Mastiff Mix be a good dog for a first time dog owner?
Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: would this be a good dog for a family with kids?
Training your Pitbull Mastiff

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: types of crossbreed depending on parent breeds

While the Pitbull Mastiff Mix doesn’t exist as a separate breed, it also sort of doesn’t exist as a separate cross-breed, but as several types of crossbreeds. This is because a different type of mastiff can be used to cross with Pitbull Terrier to produce this crossbreed. It can be traditional English mastiff, Mastino Napolitano, Spanish Mastiff and other types. Of course, more often than not it’s the English mastiff that is used as one of the parent breeds – to produce a more impressive looking dog.  Further in this article, we’ll be talking about this cross in particular.

Mastiff Pitbull Mix Puppy
Source: Instagram

In breeding Mastiffs to Pitbulls, breeders generally pursue the goal of combining excellent working qualities of Pitbulls (good temperament, loyalty to owner, and fierceness in fight situations) with the equally admirable temperament of a mastiff plus its grand size. This is truly a perfect combo to produce a superior guarding dog with hundreds of years of “working dog” attitude in its genes combined with physical power and prowess and stable, even personality.

Pitbull Mastiff Mix history

Mastiffs descend from a long line of ancient molossus dogs

While the Pitbull Mastiff mix is a relatively new crossbreed (few decades give or take), the two parent breeds are pretty much ancient. Mastiffs descend from a long line of ancient molossus dogs that were well known as far back as in Ancient Rome. They were used as fighting dogs and guard dogs and even took part in war action. The breed itself was mentioned in some British books as early as the 16th century. This is a large-sized dog (one of the largest breeds out there) that can stand as tall as 170 cm in height and weigh up to 250 lbs.

Pitbulls originated from the cross of two other breeds: Old English Terriers and Old English Bulldogs. This new crossbreed eventually evolved into what we know as Pitbull today. This was primarily a fighting dog, bred for pit fights against other dogs. Today, this is a medium-sized dog that can reach up to 50 cm tall and weighing up to 60 lbs. It’s significantly smaller than a mastiff, but still a powerful, muscular dog.

Pitbulls originated from the cross of two other breeds: Old English Terriers and Old English Bulldogs

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: physical appearance

Pitbull Mastiff mix, like both of the parent breeds, is a large-sized dog that can stand as high as 75 cm tall and weigh up to 120 lbs. It has a typical mastiff-looking large square head with a slightly flat nose, wide forehead, and medium-sized eyes. The nose is usually wide as well. Like mastiffs and Pitbulls, the Pitbull mastiff mix has a wide, thick, and muscular neck, straight and wide back, wide chest, and a short tail.

The legs are usually shorter, but well proportioned to the rest of the body. The coat is short and sleek and can be of various colors: tan, gray, brown, brindle, and anything in between, depending on the colors of the parents. The coat is short and very low-shedding, so you won’t need to do a lot of grooming for your Pitbull Mastiff Mix.

In general, the Pitbull mastiff mix is quite a bit larger than pitbull (by 20lbs or so!) and a bit smaller than a mastiff, which makes it a very comfortable size for people that may find pure mastiffs a little on the big side for their liking (or for the size of their house/car!). The physical appearance of Pitbull Mastiff Mix can still vary quite a bit from litter to litter as this isn’t a well-established breed yet.

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: physical appearance
Source: Instagram

Pitbull Mastiff Mix working qualities

When talking about Pitbull Mastiff Mix working qualities, particularly in fighting, it’s important to mention that Pitbull Mastiff Mix is actually not as strong as pure Pitbull. Their endurance is a little lower which leads to the dog getting tired more easily and potentially being not as effective in action as a pure pitbull.

That is only important if you are thinking of seriously training your Pitbull Mastiff Mix to serve as a guard dog and is only applicable when thinking of Pitbull Mastiff Mix having to fight another dog. It is still a massive, heavy, muscular dog that will easily ward off strangers from your property or become a personal bodyguard if you happen to need one, which hopefully you do not!

Pitbull Mastiff Mix personality

Another reason Pitbull Mastiff Mix is quite popular in its circles is due to a wonderful temperament combined with the excellent working qualities of this dog. Despite being a cross of two breeds that, let’s be honest, have a reputation of being “scary” and “aggressive” breeds (not true!), Pitbull Mastiff Mix is actually more of a gentle giant than a fierce aggressor.

A well-bred, well-raised and socialized Pitbull Mastiff Mix is a confident, well-temperamented dog with a good deal of patience when it comes to their own family members, and indifference when it comes to peaceful strangers. Like all mastiffs, this dog will have strong guarding instincts and will be happy to protect you, your kid, and your property against aggressors. But in peaceful times this is not a dog to be afraid of, provided it’s well trained and fully controlled by you, the owner.

Source: Instagram

These gentle giants have giant hearts, are extremely loving, devoted, and loyal to their families, and love nothing more than spending time with their people. This is a very social dog. It will not bother you by being too clingy or needy, but it likes keeping their humans in sight and generally prefers to do whatever you are doing with you. They also love lounging on a couch watching Netflix with you.

Pitbull Mastiff Mix is a very intelligent dog. They inherit high mental acuity from both of the parent breeds: it’s hard to say which breed is more intelligent: English mastiff or Pitbull. They have a well-developed ability and desire to live closely in tune with their humans and understand everything that is going on around them. They are fighting dogs and guard dogs, so they have to be attentive and perceptive. They also have strong intuition which helps them make decisions when decisions need to be made.

Pitbull Mastiff Mix is a very intelligent dog
Source: Instagram

This is a working dog, which means it needs some work to do to stay mentally and physically healthy. If you are thinking of owning a Pitbull Mastiff Mix, you need to think about whether you will have time to spend with the dog. It would be best for the dog to live with an active family that enjoys spending time outdoors in active pursuits such as hiking, cycling, etc.

Anything that can get your dog out and get it “sweaty” will do (well, not really because dogs don’t sweat). A dog as intelligent as Pitbull Mastiff Mix also needs to have plenty of mental stimulation to stay excited and mentally healthy. This should include training, which is very important for a massive, powerful dog like Pitbull Mastiff Mix. It can be learning tricks and playing games as well as just a calm conversation with you.

Did you know these dogs are excellent communicators? You can share your soul with them and you’ll see comprehension and empathy in their big eyes. No matter what you do with your dog, as long as you spend time with them and invest in their physical and psychological behavior, they will be a happy dog. And you will be a happy owner.

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull makes for a wonderful crossbreed
Source:Instagram

Would Pitbull Mastiff Mix be a good dog for a first-time dog owner?

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull makes for a wonderful crossbreed that can boast many excellent personality traits as well as impressive looks. But would it be a good dog for first-time dog owners? I would have to say no, for several reasons. First of all, this is a large dog. Not only is it large, but it’s also very strong and can potentially be very destructive if you cannot control it.

It’s all fun and games when you get a new puppy and the most harm they can do is chew up your furniture (although even that is plenty frustrating.) But, as the dog grows and matures, you will go through several stages of development, and not all of them will be rosy. Some of them will be outright challenging. Such as, for example, a young adult stage. At that stage, any dog can become challenging, even a Labrador Retriever, let alone a Pitbull Mastiff. This is the time when dogs test their limits (and yours). This is when first aggression issues may rear their heads.

At the age of a young adult, Pitbull Mastiff  “puppy” can weigh more than you do and will definitely be much stronger than you! If you are not ready to invest PLENTY of time to train, socialize your dog and learn to control it in any situation, you may be raising a time bomb and you never know when it goes off. You must be ready to put lots of time into training your dog and be ready to fix any behavioral issue that may arise.

Pitbull Mastiffs can be particularly stubborn and self-directed
Source: Instagram

Pitbull Mastiffs can be particularly stubborn and self-directed, as both parent breeds are like that, especially Pitbulls. They like being in charge and making their own decisions, especially if they don’t feel enough authority from their owner. If you are a first-time dog owner, you may not know how to be that authority for your dog. You may not know about the issues you may encounter with a dog – any dog, let alone Pitbull Mastiff mix. You may end up raising a dog that will be a danger to yourself, your family, and society at large, without even knowing you are doing it.

So if you have never owned dogs before, I would say a Pitbull Mastiff may not be the best option for you. You may want to start with an easier dog to manage and a dog that is potentially less “destructive”, such as a Labrador Retriever. If you are interested in “bully” types, you may want to look into bull terriers. They can also be very stubborn, but they are significantly smaller than the Pitbull Mastiff mix and may be easier for you to handle.

If you would like a big dog, you can look into some bigger breeds that don’t have a working or fighting past, such as Great Dane (probably the largest breed out there) or Newfoundland. But I wouldn’t go into such a delicate breed as Pitbull Mastiff  – “delicate” meaning that they need lots of “know-how” from you as an owner to raise this dog well.

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull: would this be a good dog for a family with kids?

Despite their large size, Pitbull Mastiff is actually a pretty good dog to have if you also have kids. A well-raised Pitbull Mastiff is patient and can even be somewhat “docile”. They have excellent protective instincts that they feel when being around kids and so are motivated to be gentle, kind, and protective around the kids. If the dog is mentally sound it will never intentionally hurt a child.

However, they are still very large dogs so you should be careful if you have very small kids. A large dog can accidentally push a child over or step on them etc. It can even give a gentle bite if a child is too rambunctious and plays a bit too rough. This is why you may want to watch a very young child around Pitbull Mastiff. If your children are slightly older, make sure to explain to them how to treat the dog correctly so that everyone is safe.

Training your Pitbull Mastiff

What should you know about training your Pitbull Mastiff? One thing you should know is that you HAVE to train them if you want to have a polite, well-behaved, kind, and controllable dog. A very large dog, let me remind you. Here are a few things to remember to make your training more successful.

Pitbull Mastiff Mix is a very smart dog, very intelligent. But they can also be stubborn. They have strong personalities and like making their own decisions. Because of this, you as a trainer need to be confident and stubborn too. You don’t have to make your dog do the thing they don’t want to do by force. But you do need to make them understand you are the boss here and that they need to listen.

The best way to do it is not through force but through the system of encouragement/discouragement that usually works best.  Giving or withdrawing treats and affection is generally enough to make even a very stubborn dog to play by your rules. Never use aggression towards your dog: it may cause them to become aggressive in response and you don’t want that.  Start training your dog when they are still a little puppy so that they get used to training and understand that you are going to need them to behave a certain way. The earlier this sinks in, the more successful you will be in further training.

Stop training if you see the dog is bored or tired. Don’t overdo it. You want your dog to associate training with fun and encouragement, not with boredom or fear.

Display lots of emotion when your dog gets something right. Pitbull Mastiffs are very highly attuned to their owner’s moods and emotions and they love to know that you are pleased when they do something right. It will motivate them to do more of the same!

Other Mixes:

Mastiff Rottweiler Mix

German Shepherd Mix

Lab Mix

Pyrenean Mastiff

Bullmastiff Pit Mix

Mastiff mixed with Pitbull

Cane Corso German Shepherd mix