Almost but not quite … Kim isn't all Ridgeback …

[Gairlochan]

Kim, the ridgeless RR rescuee whom we've had for five months now, has turned out to be a little more than he seems. He looks like a pure RR, if a little on the stocky, blocky side, and his sister/littermate, whom we visited for the first time today, is almost a dead ringer for him; they're hard to tell apart if you don't know at least one of them well.

From speaking to the neighbour who rescued Kim's sister Gipsy, we found out that the abusive and neglectful previous owner of both dogs had stolen them from a farm some way from here as pups, but not before discovering something of their provenance. Apparently they are mostly RR, but Bullmastiff was introduced into the bloodline at some stage a few generations earlier … or was it Great Dane … he wasn't sure.

So I had a good look at both breeds on YouTube and, based on Kim's somewhat stocky build and broad, blocky head, my money's on Mullmastiff. Great Danes have rather narrow heads and are not a stocky breed by any means. Also, Kim's lower lip juts a little, so it's level with his upper lips, and I saw a similar look on the lower lip on the Bullmastiffs.

The odd thing is that they are as small as they are, if they're RR crossed with Mastiff. Kim's approx. 21 - 22" at the withers (can't get an accurate fix because he won't stay still), and his sister Gipsy is quite small, certainly no bigger than four fifths the size of Kim, and she's more lightly built than Kim in both head and body, looking exactly like a purebred RR, to my untutored eye anyway.

So, anyone wanting to hazard a guess as to which of those big breeds is hovering in the background in the genetic makeup of these two can see both on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHIrxOr4ES8

The female, Gipsy, is the one doing most of the work, btw ;-)

Best, Lachlan

[caro]

It could have been a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that was used, but Bull Mastiffs aren't all that tall.  Perhaps you are thinking of the Mastiff.  The Bully was the old game keeper's dog, though they've changed a lot since the years of gamekeepers.

I'll bet they were bred for fighting or to be used like the Band Dogs in the UK which were popular with the drug dealers. 

These two obviously have lucked out by adopting you and your neighbor.  I wonder what happened to the rest of the litter.

Caroline

[Gairlochan]

It could have been a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that was used, but Bull Mastiffs aren't all that tall.  Perhaps you are thinking of the Mastiff.  The Bully was the old game keeper's dog, though they've changed a lot since the years of gamekeepers.

I'll bet they were bred for fighting or to be used like the Band Dogs in the UK which were popular with the drug dealers. 

These two obviously have lucked out by adopting you and your neighbor.  I wonder what happened to the rest of the litter.

Caroline

Yes, Mastiff is what I had meant. I'm afraid I don't know my dogs very well and thought they were the same thing. The neighbour actually said, "Mastiff", and I translated it into 'Bullmastiff' as I thought that was the proper name. The 'neighbour' is actually not our neighbour, but the neighbour of the original abusive owner, which is why he has picked up so much about the two pups which we didn't know.

I can't be certain of course, but I doubt it was a Staffie. The neighbour used to breed Staffies and has a lot of experience with that breed. I'm sure he would have picked up any visible Staffie element after living with that lovely, lively girl for over six weeks now.

As these two 'almost' RRs were bred on a farm inland somewhere, it's likely that they found homes in that region, wherever it was. I can only hope they were good homes.'

best, Lachlan