DOG BREEDING

My first Old English Mastiff was a lovable, apricot female named Susie and later on an apricot male named Bindo. Before my father emigrated to the U.S. he and I built what was to become the first licensed Dog Boarding and Breeding Kennels in the Johannesburg Municipal area. This way the boarding dogs enabled me to keep many more of my own dogs and for 20 years my Bobolink Kennels were a big part of my life. We also owned a large livestock and hay-growing farm, so our own dogs had the freedom of mixing with cattle, horses, sheep, and goats which we raised for market. During this time I bred Great Danes, German Shepherds, English Mastiffs, Labradors, and Rottweilers. The children each had their own little dogs –Maltese, Min Pins, Pugs, Bostons and Whippets. Not only were the big dogs my following companions during the day, but they were also my loyal protectors. This was something that was very necessary on farms in the years prior to my leaving my homeland.

Now on our 11 acres we raise Old English Mastiffs, Great Pyrennees, Great Danes, German Shepherds, Rottweilers and some ‘Designer Dog’ crosses.

THE REASON FOR CROSSBREEDING

QUOTATION from James Herriot DVM in his book ‘All Things Wise and Wonderful’

“And there’s one thing in Duke’s favour – he’s not a pure bred. Cross bred dogs have a thing called hybrid vigour which helps them to fight disease.” (p.49) This fact is something that I have always known, but which a lot of people are not aware of. Even some breeders of pedigree dogs do not know this and they criticize breeders of cross bred dogs, saying that crossing two different breeds of healthy pedigree dogs will only multiply health issues, but the Veterinary world knows the truth of this issue.

It was in South Africa that I discovered the advantage of a crossbred dog – not a Heinz 57, but a cross between two pedigreed dogs of different breed. The crossbred dog has the stamina and health which a lot of today’s pedigreed dogs lack due to inbreeding. They don’t have hip/elbow dysplasia, heart or thyroid problems, eye problems or other genetic/heredity problems.

One of our crosses that is in great demand here is the English Mastiff x Great Pyrenees. This is a fantastic family and guard dog. It has the best characteristics from both breeds. The Pyrenees likes to wander, being bred as a sheep-guard, traveling with the sheep, so it is also alert and barks. The English Mastiff has the reputation for being ‘a couch potato’ and when he sleeps, he really sleeps. So the cross is a happy medium. We love the Mastiff, but don’t care much for the drooling. The crossbreed doesn’t have this, so it makes a good indoor/outdoor dog. The long, shedding coat of the Pyrenees is eliminated, as all the pups are shorthaired, and look like the Mastiff, with the size, and loving disposition from both parents. We currently have pups sold to Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Wyoming and all over Utah. Happy owners email photos and testimonials about their “awesome” and “naturally obedient” dogs.

Our aim is to raise a happy, healthy dog with a good disposition and personality, that is loyal and beautiful.

The best dog I ever owned was a dog, named Buck, a Great Dane x German Shepherd. He had the size of the Dane, together with its loving nature, plus the intelligence, obedience and loyalty of the Shepherd. So this is another cross that we raise. Yet another cross that we raise is the Mastiff x Great Dane, due to my owning an incredible dog, named Simon, many years ago.

It was during the dangerous years for farmers in South Africa that I raised an excellent cross that I sold and shipped to farmers all over the country. It was the English Mastiff x Labrador . The Mastiff for its size and aggression when roused, and the Labrador for its alert boldness and energy. These dogs were the perfect farm dog. They did not wander as the Labrador is prone to do, neither were they like the ‘couch potato’ Mastiff. They were a happy medium. They were also more alert than the Mastiff, with the alarm bark of the Labrador and the follow through of the Mastiff. They also had the loyalty of both breeds and obedience and trainability of the Labrador . Their boldness was also bad news for snakes. I have seen two of these crosses grab a snake from both ends and rip it apart. Crossbreeds are great dogs!

 

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