[CavalierMommy]

Is it safe for my 3-month-old Cavalier to play with a 2-month-old Old English Mastiff (after she gets her final shots)? I guess they will be 3.5 months and 2.5 months by then.

After reading about Old English Mastiffs, and also talking to someone who has them, I thought it would be fine, but a friend of mine says no way, that puppy could be very aggressive and rough with my Cavalier.

Does anyone have insights into Old English Mastiffs? I know all about Cavaliers; we also have a 5-year-old. Our two dogs get along great, and my 5-year-old gets along with a variety of dogs. My puppy hasn't played with anyone else since he left his breeder.

 

[CptJack]

the problem isn't so much aggression, as it is size and body awareness. By which I mean puppies are clumsy and that is a huge size difference. I can't tell you how many times my little dog has been stepped on or sent head over heels rolling because the biggest one ran over her. And that's without any typical puppy wrestling happening, and with a lot of supervision and many time outs.

So, I wouldn't worry about aggression but I would HEAVY discourage any rough games and do a lot of time outs and rewarding of CALM behavior together.

 

[MastiffGuy]

Yes they could.
Should they most likely not, but not for the reasons you think.
The EM's bones are very soft jumping and rough play could easily cause a injury to the Mastiff pup.

Aggression in EM's should never be a issue in a pup with correct temperament.
A Cav puppy will have a ton more energy than the Mastiff pup, they play for 5 to 10mins and sleep for the next hour.

English Mastiff's as puppies define clumsy and slow, if another slightly older pup where to play with the mastiff pup, it would have to want to get squished for the weight to really be a issue.

I'd advise 6 months for the EM pup to play with another pup who was a lot higher energy, and then keep a eye on rough play and over play.

 

[CavalierMommy]

The EM's bones are very soft jumping and rough play could easily cause a injury to the Mastiff pup.

Wow! I would never have thought of that! My Cav is currently (slightly) larger than the younger EM pup, and he's definitely a high-energy puppy who would jump on the EM.

 

[Hiraeth]

I'd worry about injuries to both.

Not sure how much the EM puppy weighs, but Titan was around 28 lbs at 2.5 months old. He played with his paws heavily and smacked everything, so I'd worry about the Cav for that reason. A smack to the head of a Cav puppy with a giant leg could do some damage (and I'd really try to avoid head trauma with a Cav because of their health issues).

The EM could also get hurt, as MastiffGuy explained.

It doesn't mean they can't interact! Just make sure they're supervised and separate if rough play starts