Breeder, handler, and judge Diane Collings shares her lifelong journey in dogs, insights on Mastiff structure, breeding, and mentorship.
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My name is Diane Collings and I live in Novato, California. I am a second-generation dog breeder, exhibitor, and judge. I began showing Great Danes 1967 at 10 years old and co-bred Danes with my parents, Vince and Joan Mulligan of Paradise Great Dane fame. My involvement in Danes continues as I have been co-breeding for the last 30 years with my best friend Kathleen Davis under the kennel name Davishire Great Danes, Harlequins, Mantles and Merles. Shortly after graduating from high school, my journey in dogs transitioned into becoming a handler where I was introduced to the Mastiff in 1977 and completed the championships of over 100 Mastiffs, won a National Specialty, and campaigned numerous No. 1 Mastiffs, both dogs and bitches. It is through my association with this magnificent breed that I met my husband of 43 years and started our small Mastiff kennel, under the Black Point kennel name, only having a litter every few years. We stopped breeding for many years as work life and my desire to concentrate on furthering my judging career, having judging approvals for the Working Group, one Sporting, one Hound, and nine Herding breeds, and all-breed Juniors. We currently live with two Mastiffs, an almost nine-year-old spayed Grand Champion bitch and our three-year-old fawn bitch “Lizzie,” who won this year’s National Specialty and earned her RN title. She is only the 15th bitch in the 77-year history of the MCOA National to win BOB, and “Lizzie” is the most-titled Mastiff to have won the National. I am a two-time past President of the MCOA, past Judges Education Chair, and currently a MCOA BOD and approved MCOA JE presenter/mentor. I have had the honor of judging the MCOA National in 2018, Mastiff Club of Denmark 75th Specialty in 2023, and numerous Regional Specialties over the past 12 years.
The hallmarks of the Mastiff are correct rectangular proportion, prominent prosternum, breadth and depth greatly desired, muzzle/skull proportions of 1:2, heavy bone, and moderate angulation. These things are important as they define a Mastiff and provide the sound structure to support the tremendous amount of weight of this breed as it grows and matures. Like most breeds, the Mastiff is losing it front angles; it’s hard to find a correct front with a prominent prosternum and correct return of upper arm. In the Breed Standard, the prosternum is the foremost point of the shoulders, forward of the chest, and defines the Mastiff’s rectangular proportion. It also assures correct layback of the scapula and return of upper arm so that the depth of chest will be AT LEAST to the elbow, which is the minimum at any age. In my opinion, Mastiffs are getting too tall and losing their angles as well as breadth and adequate depth, while many breeders are living under the myth that these structure-based qualities will come with maturity. Maturity should only accentuate what is there structurally. Most judges today rarely see what a mature Mastiff will be at 6-7 years old, and a strong front, which includes correct bone and big, round cat feet, is required to support the majority of the weight of a Mastiff.
Mastiff heads are distinct. First, they should fit the body, be 1:2 muzzle/skull proportion, and have parallel head planes. Both a too long or too short of a muzzle are equally incorrect and change the expression, which should always be kindly. Heads should be square and not round, with small triangular ears that flatten and add to the overall breadth of the skull when at attention. It is while at attention that you should see the marked wrinkle called for in the Standard.
Now to the moderate angulation called for in the rear. We all know that the term “moderate” is used in hundreds of Standards, and mainly to define angulation. In the Mastiff Standard, we actually provide a visual tool to help ascertain whether the angulation is moderate. This tool is the plumb line, which, dropped from the ischium, should fall in front of the rear foot with the hock set perpendicularly to the ground. With many Mastiffs today, the plumb line falls in the middle of the foot. Both under-angulation and over-angulation leave the stifle vulnerable to injury, which can leave lasting impacts on the dog as well as in your wallet. Because of the trend towards taller dogs, as a judge I am seeing too many straight stifles, as many in JE and our JE participants noted at our National this past May. The Mastiff Standard calls for reach and drive, which straight-angled dogs cannot achieve, and this is concerning. Mastiffs can and should move.
In my opinion, there are absolutely enough puppy homes to support breeding a litter this year! I’ve just bred “Lizzie” this week and have more people than I will have puppies. I know of several litters of Mastiffs in the oven or on the ground, which is super-exciting as there has been a drought for a couple of years. Mastiff puppy buyers are families looking for a breed that is gentle with children, loyal, and protective when the need arises, the breed’s size alone is usually deterrent enough.
I highly encourage all breeders of Mastiffs to use all the latest technologies for health testing. This includes DNA (cystinuria, CMR, DM), ophthalmological (PPM, PMR, cataracts), radiographic (hips, elbows, patellas), cardiac (echocardiogram/Holter), and thyroid testing. But don’t limit the cardiac, cystinuria, and thyroid testing to “one and done,” as these results can change throughout their lives. If we want to promote purebred breeders as being the preservationists of our breeds, we must consider health as one of the primary considerations along with correct structure, temperament, and breed type when planning any breeding.
In California, I still hear many ads for rescue fairs promoting shelter pets and rescue. I wish the AKC would do more promotion of owning purebred dogs, buying from show breeders, and getting information through the parent clubs who truly want to protect our breeds. But I do see hope, as I also see more spectators coming to the local shows who are interested in all the breeds they didn’t know exist. As you would think, Mastiffs, due to their size and calm demeanor, attract people to ask questions, which we should all be open to answering and encouraging them to research what breed suits their homes, lives, and pocketbooks. Breed showcases at large all-breed clusters should be promoted more, as in the past, benched shows were the best vehicle for this in-person interactive event.
As an exhibitor and judge, I have seen a trend of mediocrity in the quality of the dogs being shown across the country in all breeds. In particular, since Mastiffs don’t have any DQs, I see many exhibits that should never have been sold as show quality. Frankly, it’s embarrassing to see Mastiffs that are clearly unsound and lack any breed type in the ring. I encourage judges to please withhold ribbons and awards on these exhibits, please! Addressing this, I wish that Mastiff breeders would be more discriminating and honestly evaluate their puppies appropriately, remembering that the puppies you allow to be shown represent you, your breeding, and your kennel. I think that this is a direct result of poor (or no) mentoring of new breeders and the lack of education of the basics in dog structure and the art of breeding. We need to encourage mentoring at all levels, which was so prominent in the distant past.
Social media has been fabulous at being able to share information, promote breeds and clubs, share pictures of your wins, and keep in touch with breeders and puppy people across the county. But the negatives are concerning. The money spent on promoting dogs of questionable quality, and a few judges who can be influenced by these promotions, is not in keeping with, in my opinion, the true purpose of dogs shows: the evaluation of breeding stock. Lastly, the rumors that can be spread without consideration to the damage that can caused are also very concerning.
The judge’s education opportunities in most all breeds, whether in person via classrooms, ringside, or online, are making the ability to learn a new breed so much easier. Parent clubs have put together outstanding judging materials and have these materials available on their websites to review at any time. The AKC’s Canine College is a resource that all dog enthusiasts should take advantage of and be aware that they can do so.
I do want to “shout out” to the MCOA Members Education Committee on their hard work to put together the Mastiff Illustrated Standard that was developed as an educational tool for our membership and is an outstanding tool for anyone interested in learning about the Mastiff. It is available for download on the MCOA website at: www.mastiff.org.
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