About Monastic Mastiffs

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Below are our Temmlock, Ari, Zacha and Windy- all among our beautful Mastiffs who have crossed the rainbow bridge. I will never forget them. But it is comforting to still look upon their much loved faces in the beautful painting done for me by Louise Crowell every day until we meet again...

Welcome to our home on the world wide web!  Monastic Mastiffs is not a kennel nor are we a business. We are a family who has shared our home and lives with Mastiffs since 1990 as a hobby and a passion. I grew up with giant breed dogs (St Bernards) and then in the 1980's our first Harlequin Great Dane joined my family. While going to dog shows with my Danes, I found myself drawn to the Mastiffs every time. In 1990 Linda Cain brought us our first wonderful Mastiff puppy- MADDIE. She was a fantastic example of our breed who we adored.

Through the years nearly every day I learn something new about our beautiful breed either about health, training, breeding etc... Each Mastiff I have loved has been an individual with different personalities and activity levels- but ALL have been a blessing; loyal, loving devoted companions - to their last breath. This is why I love Mastiffs so much and why I have spent many years promoting responsible ownership, breeding, and Rescue of this ancient breed.

It is my strong personal belief that all Mastiffs deserve to be beloved family members who live in the house with their owners, sharing their lives with the families entrusted to them. Our dogs are not 'farm dogs' or status symbols. They are a part of our family's daily lives. So any Mastiff I place will go to homes who also want their Mastiff to live inside their home with them and not to be 'outside dogs'.

We enjoy exhibiting our Mastiffs in AKC shows on a local/regional basis, to earn their AKC Championships, and breed only whenever we have what we believe to be a very outstanding example of our breed to carry on with, in mind and body, and when we and our friends are ready for that next amazing family member and beautiful Mastiff to carry on with. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sabra beside our pond- 2003

Temperament, conformation and health must be all excellent for me to consider a dog for breeding,  I use pre-breeding health-testing as an additional tool to assist  in making responsible breeding decisions.  Each gorgeous Mastiff sound of mind and body that I breed is the product of many generations of artful and responsible breeding decisions. So my work with breeding is just adding a link in the chain of the pedigree of a wonderful Mastiff.

In deciding if a Mastiff I own will be a candidate for future breeding, first they are health tested for OFA hips, Elbows, Patellas, Cardiac, Thyroid, Cerf, (eyes)  PRA, Cystinuria, Cystinuria DNA Marker, Degenerative Myelopathy DNA Marker and CMR (Canine Multi-focal Retinopathy)

It must be stated that NO amount of health testing done on sire and dam will guarantee that any given animal produced will not someday become ill. And giant breed dogs do have more than the usual share of health issues as they grow and age. Some will never have any problems all of their lives- and some will.

For this reason, we strongly encourage getting AKC (or another carrier) of pet health insurance from puppyhood on.

So while I can never guarantee that because I am utilizing this health testing that problems cannot arise, I am doing all that I can personally do to at least narrow the odds and consider it RESPONSIBLE breeding. Also by doing available DNA testing as well, we can avoid doubling up on genetic carrier statuses to help improve upon each future generation.

For us each breeding is done as though it is the only one we will ever do- breeding only the best we have to the best we can find. Our babies are raised in the center of our home with constant handling and given every opportunity to develop into the kind of Mastiff we all want them to become.

We do not breed often and the majority of our puppies are placed on spay-neuter contracts on AKC limited registration as companion dogs with loving and responsible families who are committed to training with consistency and love, and who are willing to devote the necessary time to socializing them properly and regularly.

The reward is a lifetime of the unconditional love that only a Mastiff can offer. As a way to 'give back' to this breed I love so much, I've been webmaster for and served on the boards of our national and regional Mastiff clubs (MCOA and SSMF) . From 2004 through 2013 I was the fundraiser, webmaster, Al state coordinator and central contact for Southern States Mastiff Rescue.  I currently serve as secretary of Southern States Mastiff Fanciers, am webmaster for SSMF to be of service in promoting breed education and responsible breeding.

For more information about Mastiffs please visit the SSMF website at www.ssmfmastiffs.org, and the Mastiff Club Of America's website at www.mastiff.org

                     

Above are some of our Honor/Cash pups with their dad Cash

One of our Mastiff's best friends in the world- our sweet grandson Aiden

Magellan, Angelo & Dante- 25 months of age

Magellan and Angelo- 25 months of age

Below is a picture of our little grandson kissing Honor as a baby- after they were both running through the sprinkler- in front of our house.

 

 If you are interested in being put on our waiting list for a special Mastiff to add to your family the next time we do a breeding, please submit a puppy application, or if that is not working, email us at millcreekx@mchsi.com

 
Member Of Mastiff Club Of America www.mastiff.org      Member & Secretary Of Southern States Mastiff Fanciers www.ssmfmastiff.org
Email: millcreekx@mchsi.com