Bullmastiff x American Staffy male (Alfie) vs Bullmastiff x American Bulldog male (Artie)
When I brought Alfie the puppy home I realised quickly that I'd made a mistake. The aggression Artie showed was on another level. Every time the puppy went near him there was serious bearing of teeth and a terrifying growl like I'd never heard before.... like he would tear the puppy's head off if it weren't for the muzzle. I went online for some help and every single article I read said it was too risky to bring a male puppy into the family with a male bullmastiff. Even our vet said it was a good idea to sell him. After week 1 I started to take Alfie outside with Artie more and more frequently, every time supervised and every time with Artie having a muzzle on. After 3 weeks I listed him for sale because of the excessive aggression our male dog showed towards the puppy but we were too attached and despite 3 quick enquiries, I removed the listing. At every occasion, the male dog looked like he would kill the pup and showed dominance like I had read about in all of those articles. After about 5 weeks of daily supervised interaction with a muzzle, the aggression started to drop... but the muzzle stayed on. There were still some serious strikes and Artie looked like he would still kill the pup if given the opportunity. He followed him around aggressively showing dominance especially if our family was in close proximity. 6 weeks in... I took off the muzzle and closely supervised and today for the first time they launched into an hour play session - I realised that Artie is no longer a threat to Alfie. This was a huge learning experience and possibly not for everyone. I also can't guarantee your male bullmastiff breed won't kill your male puppy. This takes time and a lot of patience. Your whole life will be turned upside down whilst they get to know each other, ensuring separation and supervising every time they meet and even now I supervise any time there is food around. For us its been worth it and we know that for the last 2 years of so of Artie's life he'll have a playmate that he won't squash every time they wrestle :)
