We visited a Tibetan Mastiff breeder while in "The Springs"

BradA1878

While Ahi was being prepared for surgery we took a detour from buying dog food to spend some time at a TM breeder's kennel. It was really nice, her dogs were SO SWEET! TMs are surprisingly small, most of hers were very young but she did have one 2.5 year old and another 1.5 year old and I would say they were not much bigger than Hilo. This was kinda shocking to me and Jen.

Another breeder happened to be there too, she has been in the breed for 20 years and was very knowledgeable. We learned a lot.

We got some pictures, tho they are very dark because Jen is still learning to use our camera... but here they are anyway:













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Ryu

very cool!!

Leonberger

Tibetan Mastiffs are beautiful dogs!
And yes, they can actually be shorter than an Akita. At least for FCI Akitas are 67cm, but have a 3cm tolerance, so they can go up to 70cm. Tibetans start at 66cm, and have no upper limit. But they are heavier.

scarlet

I am surprised too. I thought the TM were huge. I must have been thinking of another breed, or else having seen poor breeding in the past.

sujewel

I just checked wikipedia and it says they can go up to 31inches (79cm). How old are the sire and dame of your to be pup?

sujewel

According to the American TM Association, the females can be 24 inches (61cm), which is pretty shocking....

okiron

Oh wow very exciting. Sounds like your trip had its good parts too They're gorgeous dogs.

dlroberts

That's great! They are gorgeous dogs. That last shot with the human in the picture does show their size nicely. From the thread on TMs I really thought they were massive animals. Like twice the size they appear in these pictures. Maybe since there are no upper limits, some breeders breed them bigger?

brandon_w

Based on your thread where you mentioned one that reached 200+ lbs, I would have thought they would be a little bigger than that too.

zoiegirl

WOW those are big dogs very cool

BradA1878

In that last picture, that dog is a 6 month old female. The 1st and 4th picture is of a 1.5 yearold male, you can see he still has large growth plates. The 5th pic is of a 6 month old male - he was a big boy.

I have a pic of the 2 yearold but it is just to dark.

The reputable breeders in the US breed for their dogs to be around 130lb, the less reputable breeders breed their dogs to be closet to 150lb - 170lb.

These dogs mature real slow, so they will continue to grow till they are 4 years old!

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I'll have to check on the ages of the sire and dam for our pup's breeding... this breeder we visited is not the breeder we will be getting our first TM from. We may get a male from her in 3 years or so depending on our situation.

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tsukitsune

they are still very interesting looking dogs!
Would you trust one that young (under 4 yrs)/small to guard against coyotes and mountian lions?

Romi

Wow - they do look kind of small, from what I was expecting. Very good looking dogs though! I love their ears!

BradA1878

Jen - I think, and the breeder I met with agreed, that a 1.5 + year old TM could hold its own against most threats, if you pair them with another they can handle any natural threat. Pretty impressive considering their size.

When I was there, the larger male puppy put his paws on my shoulder... this little guy almost knocked me down! They pack a punch... he was heavy! It was cool - and 100% for love, not aggressive at all.

These dogs were so soft too - it was amazing!

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tsukitsune

they sound really, really cool, i'm sure they could certainly use their weight to their advantage!! - I'm glad you got to experience them first hand!!