Mastiff Mania...are you tough enough?

As you all know by now, we have two English Mastiffs. Two dogs this size seems kinda crazy to some people. Add the factor that BOTH of our Mastiffs are still puppies and 9 out of 10 folks will agree it is crazy indeed. Then add cold weather to the mix. Cold weather which mandates that these girlies spend all their time in the warm indoors. Two large frisky pups indoors looking for some way to pass the time....I may have to throw in my hat and agree-we may be a tad bit loco! But I wouldn't have it any other way.This is gorgeous Ella.She weighs in at 110lbs at 7 months. She is our serious girl. Strong, reliable, stable, loving. A true perfect example of the breed.

This is Harlow:

She is the flip side of the coin. Goofy, silly, playful and a host of issues. But we love her dearly. (She weighs in at 124lbs at 14 months old.)

These two girls are as close as can be. They are almost always together. (Usually digging up my landscaping...but I digress.) Today however, they are just lounging upstairs side by side. The following is a smidgen of how they are spending their "snow day"...

They start out lounging/napping side by side. Then, one of them tires of just lounging, and decides it is time to "frolic". Can you guess which one usually starts the Mastiff Wrestlmania 99% of the time? If you guessed the goofball Harlow....

Well, you'd be wrong. Because Harlow is many things; but, she's a lover not a fighter! She never starts the madness. She will just simply succumb to peer pressure. Yep, it's little Miss Ella that starts the craziness around here. Today I had my camera out and caught the action. Let's take a peek shall we?....

This is the girls just resting together. Been napping for awhile. Then Ella awakes and gives me that look. She is looking for some playtime. A little excitement. It's too cold to go outdoors. Must look for fun from within. And she knows just where to find action indoors....

Honest to goodness, this is how it starts...the STARE DOWN tactic! Harlow will usually turn the other cheek. As demonstrated in above photo. But Ella, she's determined to play a game. A game we like to call "STRANGER DANGER." Practice for the real deal. So Harlow succumbs ...DING! DING! DING! Round 1: (Note: for any of you who want to HEAR the action, just go turn on the National Geographic channel. Find some show with Grizzly Bears growling and attacking. Turn up the volume and then continue reading this posting. It's the same exact sound...TRUST ME!)





So the grizzly bear sound ensues. They get "mouthy" with each other. Actually, they play well together. Each will take her turn playing the "victim" or "underdog" if you will:

Here Ella is the portraying the defenseless girl... "Help me! Help me!!!" Then Harlow takes her turn:
"Help me! Mad Dog!!! Maaad Dawwggg!!!"

At some point, they always tire of laying in the same spot and take off chasing each other. To anyone who isn't familiar with mastiffs, this sound is equivalent to a herd of elephants stampeding through your house.

So just to keep you abreast of the action, we having barking. We have grizzly growling and now we have stampeding elephants thrashing through the upstairs. (Just another normal day around here.) In fact, I've jokingly told Ricardo: "If we were out in the woods and heard a bear, we wouldn't be scared. All of us would just assume it was one of our dogs." Yep, now that we have become "desensitized to nature," I think it best that we never venture far from civilization...ever! But then I will find any excuse not to go camping, so maybe I'm not the best judge on this issue to begin with.

Now where was I? Oh yes, Round 2. After the "chase scene" comes the cornering. After Ella corners Harlow, she will start chomping on her neck like a great white shark after her prey:

This little girl is intense. She goes for the juggler:

Harlow, ever the patient soul, tolerates this well. Truth be known, she's not the least bit scared. And for good reason. They can turn off the wrestling in a split second if you ask them too. Then they resume their sweet disposition. But today we're after footage of what would happen if push came to shove.. The serious showdown. Two heavyweights in the ring practicing for the main event. "The main event" being what WOULD happen IF a stranger entered their turf.

Just look at the intensity and focus in this little girlie's face! Oh I pity any fool who stumbles across our threshold unannounced. Why, only a fool would want to tango with her! This English Mastiff, grizzly bear, elephant, great white shark crossbreed...she's a freak of nature! Are you a nature lover? Are you a thrill seeker? Are you tough enough to take on this pup?!

Are you brave enough to enter our domain unannounced or without proper welcome? Or as Ella succinctly paraphrases it: "Care to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" LOL!