The Bullmatstiff as it is today:

Large, compact and active, the Bullmastiff is a combination of great loyalty and affection. This breed has a special courage and intelligence like no other in the canine world. With a black mask and black ears accentuating a large, gorgeous and
expressive head, the Bullmasiff comes splendidly dressed in shades of fawn, red, and brindle. The males stand from 25" to 27" at the shoulder and the females are from 24" to 26" tall at the shoulder. Weight should be sufficient in relation to bone
structure and height, with overall balance the goal.

While the breed cannot be considered rare, one does not find a Bullmastiff on every street corner. There are only slightly more than 2000 Bullmastiff puppies registered with AKC each year in the United States. Breeders are fortunate in that
they can pick and chose the very best owners for their puppies. ( By comparison, there were over 100,000 Rottweillers registered last year -1993- with the AKC).

If you are interested in acquiring a Bullmastiff, the best thing you can do is to call several breeders. You can discuss each breeder's goals and get a bead on what he/she is trying to accomplish. There is a great variation of type within this breed. By speaking with breeders and visiting their kennels, obtaining photos and by going to some local shows, you will get an idea of what type of Bullmastiff you would like to own. The AKC STANDARD for the BREED describes what a Bullmastiff should look like, and there is plenty of room for various styles in the breed.

A Bullmastiff should look like a Bullmastiff!

Buying a puppy from an established bloodline will ensure that your dog will look like a member of that kennel's strain. Once you get the opportunity to see a few good specimens of the breed, you will not find it difficult to choose a breeder and a dog. This may mean you will have to wait for a time because there are no really large kennels in the breed, and each breeder usually has a waiting list. If it will help you with a time frame, most bitches have litters in the Spring and in the latter part of Fall.
Should you buy a male or a female? From my point of view the sexes are equal in their ability to serve as great family companions. Some breeders will not recommend males, but I feel that the boys have as much virtue as family companions as do the bitches. I love my boys! In this breed, the males display the breed characteristics to a greater degree than most females do.
At home with his family, the Bullmatiff thrives on love and returns it with a double measure of affection and loyalty. They love children and will take abuse from kids that they would never tolerate from adults. The Bullmastiff takes his role as the
family protector very seriously. He will gladly accept your friends, but the stranger will be scrutinized, and the illegal intruder will have much to worry about!
Rare is the family once belonging to a Bullmastiff that is ever willing to be without one again!

Ch. Tailwynde's Double Dutch and me.....

Watercolour by Adele Pfenninger of Tailwynde's Dame Edna Everage and Tailwynde's Miss Monroe

My Breeding Program...........

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Ch. Tailwynde's J. Paul Get'Em,
OFA359, ROM

Breeding quality Bullmastiffs had always been a family effort. We have owned Bullmastiffs since 1964 and have been actively breeding them since 1969. Our children grew up with Bullmastiffs. Iusually kenneled between 16-30 dogs for my own breeding program. I used the breed standard to produce dogs with true type, stable temperaments, and physical soundness.
My program has been one of selective linebreeding, with the use of an occasional well-planned judicious inbreeding to improve my dogs with each generation. I have fixed the type, and endeavored to reproduce it generation after generation.
My breeding program has produced over 200 champions for us and for other breeders in this country as well as abroad.From this bloodline have come 5 all-breed Best In Show winners, 4 American Bullmastiff Association National Specialty Best of Breed Winners, (Ch. Tailwynde's Gentleman Barney, ROM, in 1975, Ch. Tailwynde's Rinky D'Ink, in 1977, Ch.
Tailwynde's Mister Fips NN, in1983, the year of ABA's Golden Jubilee Anniversary, and Ch. Mr. U's Music Man in
1991.) I have bred many National Specialty major Point Winners, a Winner's Dog, two Winner's bitches, one went on to Best of Winners, and a Best In Sweepstakes bitch at the National.

There are currently 19 Register of Merit Sires and Dams from my bloodline ( at the present time, 1996, that is more ROM Bullmastiffs than any other breeder). Several of those animals have produced ROM offspring as well. This is a point of which I am the most proud an happy, that my bloodline is having an effect on the breed, both here and abroad.

My linebreeding program is based on the above dog. J, Paul was a powerful dog, at the top of the standard in every respect. He was tightly inbred and a prepotent sire. He has 15 champion offspring. Not the most champions, but certainly some of the best: Six of his offspring are Register of Merit sires and dams. He has two all-breed Best In Show sons:
Ch. Mister Fips NN, OFA, ROM and Ch. Needles Beau Colorado NN, OFA, ROM. "Fips" also won the American Bullmastiff Golden Anniversary Show in 1983.
J. Paul was a marvelous dog with great heart and good nature matched with great intelligence. He is the perfect animal to linebreed on. His champion grandchildren are legion. By linebreeding to him, I perpetuated the best of his virtues while concentrating his great genetic influence.
How has J. Paul influenced the breed to the present day? Through our Ch. Tailwynde's Double Dutch, ROM. "Dutch's" sire was a J. Paul son and his dam was an INBRED J. Paul daughter. Dutch is the sire of the Number One Bullmatiff in the USA for 1990, 1991, and 1992, Ch. Mr. U's Music Man.

"Satchmo" has 26 all-breed Best In Shows to his credit. He is the second all-time winning Bullmastiff in the history of the breed in this country. He won the National Specialty in 1991 under noted German judge, Christofer Habig. He is the only Bullmastiff ever to win the Working Group at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club. Satchmo won two regional specialties; the Southwestern Regional Specialty in Texas in March of 1993, and the California Regional Specialty in May 1993. He is a great ambassador for the breed with his terrific temperament and his outstanding ring presence. His dam is a J. Paul granddaughter who was brought her to be bred to Dutch.
"Stachmo" has a litter brother in Canada, Can. Ch. Morgarth's He's the Boss, who has three all-breed Best In Shows to his credit. He has sired many puppies in Canada, and recently (May 1994) I had a daughter of his in for breeding to Tailwynde's Bart Simpson, again, a linebreeding to J.Paul.
I exported a litter brother of Dutch's to Elana Salmi in Finland. He was Finnish Ch. Tailwynde's Atlantic aka "Yankee Boy", and he became a top stud force in Finland. A litter sister to Dutch and "Yankee Boy" was exported to Germany: Bundiseigeren Tailwynde's Christa, who has become a top producer in the country.
The all-time top winning Bullmastiff in Canada is Can. Ch. Gurka's Baron of Blackmoor. His dam is Tailwynde's Far East Gurka, sired by Ch. Tailwynde's J. Paul Get'Em x Ch. Tailwynde's Good Girls Don't. "Beef" has many specialties and BIS to his credit.

This is a Can. Champion son sired by Ch. Tailwynde's Double Dutch,ROM....this dog is a litter brother to BIS, BISS Ch. Mister U's Music Man.

photo courtesy of Wm. Mewhaw

Purchasing a Bullmastiff puppy:

As I mentioned before, try to see or talk with as many Bullmastiff breeders as you possibly can, even if they are on the other side of the country. When you decide on where and from whom you will purchase your puppy, you are of course
going to want to know the price of a puppy. Price varies from breeder to breeder as well as geographical territory. A good ballpark figure for a well bred puppy from an established breeder can start in the neighborhood of $1000.00 upward.
Along with the purchase price, some breeders require you to show the dog to its championship, and they may retain breeding "rights" to a male, or require that a bitch be bred and also dictate what stud she should be bred to. I have a personal dislike for "strings" or "deals", feeling that if you pay a good price for a puppy, that should be the end of it right there. If you chose to show, it is your choice to do so. If you chose to breed, that is also by your own initiative.
Remember that you are really paying a good deal more than the purchase price when you agree to allow free breedings to your male or give up a litter or two just to own a Bullmastiff.

I do not like the term "pick of the litter". If a litter is a good one, there may be several puppies in it with plenty of promise. If it is not a good litter, then the best of a bad lot wouldn't qualify "pick of litter" status, Whose pick anyway? Yours? The breeder's? If you decide on a kennel, it is best to let the breeder guide you to the right puppy.

Captain Moby Richard in his office...

.....giving credit where credit is certainly due: I never would have been able to breed Bullmastiffs without the cooperation of my ex-husband Dick. Without his money, his muscle and his constructive critcism, I'd have been broke, both financially and with my bones all askew and amok.....and he kept me honest by reminding me that there is always somebody richer, thinner, smarter, prettier, and younger than me....and who breeds better Bullmastiffs than I did. I dunno who she is, but if I find her, I'll introduce him to her! (THAT WAS A JOKE, YOU GUYS!!!)

Here I am, with my summertime buddies........right before I lost a chunk of my derriere.......

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"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is HIS."
"In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexiblity than most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense, precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another."

----From "Self-Reliance", Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844

Bullmastiffs of Tailwynde, Registered~~~end of the line.........

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